What are you Currently Reading?

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  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    Here is a fairly positive review of COLD for you Sir Miles ;) : http://www.ajb007.co.uk/post/467093/#p467093
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,417Chief of Staff
    Golrush007 wrote:
    Here is a fairly positive review of COLD for you Sir Miles ;) : http://www.ajb007.co.uk/post/467093/#p467093

    Well...6/10 is a middling score...but it's better than I've read before :D
    YNWA 97
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    edited March 2016
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Golrush007 wrote:
    I still have two more Gardner novels to read (Never Send Flowers and COLD)

    My sincere condolences :#

    Good luck trying to finish either of those -{

    On the contrary those are two of Gardner's best in my view! :))

    But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :D :007)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • stagstag Posts: 2,083MI6 Agent
    While digging about in the loft recently I came upon several boxes of books. One of which was 'The Glasshouse Gang'. It's an absoolute age since I read this book but intend to make it the next non audiobook I read.

    Set in WW2 it's about a British Army officer who gets sent to the military prison after deserting his post. There he is singled out for special treatment among the brutal regime. When he gets released he goes on the run again but this time gathers together some of the men whom he served time with. His rationale being that one absconder will soon be picked up but a platoons worth - acting as a military unit with a Captain (him) in charge will get left alone. They steal vehicles & equipment & set up camp close to the Nile & prepare to sit out the war but unfortunately things don't quite work out for them & they end up running from both the British & Germans!
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    That sounds very interesting, stag! :) -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :D :007)

    Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.
  • stagstag Posts: 2,083MI6 Agent
    That sounds very interesting, stag! :) -{

    It is. As I recall the 'officer' has an agenda of his own. Apart from staying out of the war he takes revenge on the MPs who abused & beat him & his friends. They beat up several of these MPs without any repercussion. However a unit of hardened defaulters spell trouble & the glasshouse gang are forced to flee westwards to somewhere they think they will be safe however as soon as they arrive at the oasis in question, the Germans begin an all out attack,leaving them stranded behind enemy lines! They end up fighting it out with the enemy before attempting to make it back to British controlled territory.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Glasshouse-Gang-Gordon-Landsborough/dp/0532152557
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :D :007)

    Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.

    Probably not you know. I'm happy to be considered "The boy stood on the burning deck" when it comes to 90s Gardner! :))
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,417Chief of Staff
    Barbel wrote:
    But Sir Miles and I don't exactly see eye to eye on late-term Gardner. :D :007)

    Does anyone, SM? The fall in quality of his later books is quite marked. I'll defend his earlier works but after (arguably) LTK there's a marked dropping off.

    Like off a steep cliff !

    Gardner was ill - and his writing suffers :#
    YNWA 97
  • IanTIanT Posts: 573MI6 Agent
    I love the early Gardners but I agree that his writing tailed off towards the end. And the introduction of Flicka was painful.. Was anyone else glad when she died?

    As for what I'm reading now... I've just started The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,417Chief of Staff
    The introduction of Flicka was an interesting development...something different anyway - exploring Bond in a relationship across several books...but we all knew it wasn't going to last...
    YNWA 97
  • IanTIanT Posts: 573MI6 Agent
    It was cringe-inducing. I couldn't imagine someone like Bond living with someone his equal. And M sanctioning the two of them working together??? It went against everything that had gone before.

    That said, her death was pretty much glossed over in COLD.

    Oh she's died, ho hum, back to work.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I remember reading Cold, and thinking she was going to be written out of history. ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • DR NO-ahDR NO-ah AustraliaPosts: 104MI6 Agent
    Finished Trigger Mortis. Finally reading Colonel Sun now after many years of wishing to read it. One chapter in!
    "Mango, banana and tangerine. Sugar and ackee and cocoa bean!"
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,417Chief of Staff
    DR NO-ah wrote:
    Finished Trigger Mortis. Finally reading Colonel Sun now after many years of wishing to read it. One chapter in!

    I'm sure you will enjoy it -{

    I have to hold my hand up here and say I've yet to read Trigger Mortis...even though I have both UK & US editions ;%
    YNWA 97
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Only my opinion of course but Colonel Sun is very much up there with the Fleming novels, by
    Far the best of the continuing books. -{
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    edited March 2016
    Only my opinion of course but Colonel Sun is very much up there with the Fleming novels, by
    Far the best of the continuing books. -{

    Very much agreed on that front, TP. :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • DR NO-ahDR NO-ah AustraliaPosts: 104MI6 Agent
    A bit over halfway through Colonel Sun. Really enjoying it. The characters, location and action is great. Solo arrived in the mail today so I will probably be on to that after CS.
    "Mango, banana and tangerine. Sugar and ackee and cocoa bean!"
  • Westward_DriftWestward_Drift Posts: 3,085MI6 Agent
    stag wrote:
    That sounds very interesting, stag! :) -{

    It is. As I recall the 'officer' has an agenda of his own. Apart from staying out of the war he takes revenge on the MPs who abused & beat him & his friends. They beat up several of these MPs without any repercussion. However a unit of hardened defaulters spell trouble & the glasshouse gang are forced to flee westwards to somewhere they think they will be safe however as soon as they arrive at the oasis in question, the Germans begin an all out attack,leaving them stranded behind enemy lines! They end up fighting it out with the enemy before attempting to make it back to British controlled territory.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Glasshouse-Gang-Gordon-Landsborough/dp/0532152557

    It does sound like a good read, Stag. I'm not sure I'm ready to read all four books in the series, though.
  • DR NO-ahDR NO-ah AustraliaPosts: 104MI6 Agent
    I finished Colonel Sun and very much enjoyed it. Now deciding on Solo or The Spy Who Loved Me novelization to read next!
    "Mango, banana and tangerine. Sugar and ackee and cocoa bean!"
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    DR NO-ah wrote:
    I finished Colonel Sun and very much enjoyed it. Now deciding on Solo or The Spy Who Loved Me novelization to read next!

    I would go with TSWLM novelization by Christopher Wood, which IMO you would find very similar in grit to CS, e.g., "classic Fleming Bond" through the pen of another writer. IMO, Solo will seem as a weak follow-up. As for the recent "classic Fleming Bond" books by newer authors (Devil May Care, Carte Blanche and Trigger Mortis), I think TM is the strongest.

    Back to the TSWLM novelization, though it had a contemporary setting to when it was published (1977), it was as if Fleming's Bond came back, bridged over from Colonel Sun, very different in flavor from the TSWLM movie.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    superado wrote:
    DR NO-ah wrote:
    I finished Colonel Sun and very much enjoyed it. Now deciding on Solo or The Spy Who Loved Me novelization to read next!

    I would go with TSWLM novelization by Christopher Wood, which IMO you would find very similar in grit to CS, e.g., "classic Fleming Bond" through the pen of another writer. IMO, Solo will seem as a weak follow-up. As for the recent "classic Fleming Bond" books by newer authors (Devil May Care, Carte Blanche and Trigger Mortis), I think TM is the strongest.

    Back to the TSWLM novelization, though it had a contemporary setting to when it was published (1977), it was as if Fleming's Bond came back, bridged over from Colonel Sun, very different in flavor from the TSWLM movie.

    I'd certainly second that choice! :) -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    Thanks, SM! I made a mistake, Carte Blanche has a contemporary setting and it was Solo that was set in the 60's. However, I maintain my opinion that it was underwhelming. Though it had a good start, very atmospheric in its late 60s setting, when the story shifted abroad where you couldn't really discern the retro time-period...so, the attempt at a period-piece became immaterial. It felt like it borrowed a lot from Forsythe's Dogs of War, yes, a book written and discernibly set in the 70s; but that plot and theme can better serve a contemporary setting.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,418Quartermasters
    I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,417Chief of Staff
    Golrush007 wrote:
    I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.

    Oh dear :#
    YNWA 97
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Golrush007 wrote:
    I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.

    Oh dear :#

    Come on, Sir Miles, it's really very good! :) -{
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,417Chief of Staff
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Golrush007 wrote:
    I've just started reading Never Send Flowers. As ever with the late-era Gardners I am not expecting much, but nonetheless hoping for a pleasant surprise.

    Oh dear :#

    Come on, Sir Miles, it's really very good! :) -{

    But we both know it really, REALLY isn't :# :o {[]
    YNWA 97
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,644MI6 Agent
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Sir Miles wrote:

    Oh dear :#

    Come on, Sir Miles, it's really very good! :) -{

    But we both know it really, REALLY isn't :# :o {[]

    :)) Oh, Sir Miles!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • IanTIanT Posts: 573MI6 Agent
    No, it's true. It really really isn't.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    To try and give SM a little support, .......... it's not the worst Bond Novel Gardner wrote. ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
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