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rschmidt7's review against another edition
2.0
A good spy novel, but not a good James Bond novel. Gardner's Bond lacks a certain something that Fleming's Bond had. Gardner couldn't quite capture Fleming's style of writing. Although the plot was interesting and contained enough action to be exciting, overall the book did not read like a James Bond book.
Rather Gardner's take on Bond was much more like the spy novels of John Le Carre. If you have read both Le Carre and Fleming, you will know the difference between the two types of "spy novels." And while both are great in their own way, I came into this book expecting James Bond and what I got was more like Le Carre's George Smiley.
Rather Gardner's take on Bond was much more like the spy novels of John Le Carre. If you have read both Le Carre and Fleming, you will know the difference between the two types of "spy novels." And while both are great in their own way, I came into this book expecting James Bond and what I got was more like Le Carre's George Smiley.
csdaley's review against another edition
3.0
When I was a kid I read License Renewed by John Gardner. It was love at first read. I loved Gardner's Bond but over time I loved him less and less. I decided recently to go back and read the last few Gardner Bond books. I get why I stopped reading them. The book isn't horrible but it is decidedly average.
It is also a bad Roger Moore James Bond plot. I am going to have to reevaluate the whole read the missing Gardner books or at least space them out a lot. Going to have to find another authors Bond first and hope it washes the average out of my mouth. I would give this a 2.5 star.
It is also a bad Roger Moore James Bond plot. I am going to have to reevaluate the whole read the missing Gardner books or at least space them out a lot. Going to have to find another authors Bond first and hope it washes the average out of my mouth. I would give this a 2.5 star.
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