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| High Time to Kill (James Bond Adventure) | 
 enlarge | Author: Raymond Benson
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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You Save: $23.48 (98%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 903178
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 255
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 0399145001
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780399145001
ASIN: 0399145001
Publication Date: June 7, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
James Bond fights for his life on the icy slopes of the Himalayas as he faces a terrifying new criminal society in a race to retrieve missing military secrets.
Bond is back and bigger than ever. Raymond Benson's novels have reached new heights both in sales and critical acclaim. Kirkus Reviews called The Facts of Death "a postmodern treat." Benson "imbues his Bond with enough honor, sexual prowess and action-hero skills to please the purist and enthrall the novice," says Publishers Weekly.
It's at a dinner party with his old friend the former Governor of the Bahamas that James Bond first encounters the deadly new criminal organization known simply as "The Union." An international group, they specialize in military espionage, theft, intimidation, and murder. When information vital to Britain's national security is stolen, M and 007 suspect that the Union is behind it. Bond's pursuit of the crucial microdot takes him from one of England's most exclusive golf clubs to the frozen heights of one of the world's tallest mountains. His every step is dogged by Union assassins. Their presence alone confirms Bond's worst fear--there is a traitor in Her Majesty's Secret Service.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 79 more reviews...
 High expectations dashed by plot holes, incompetence May 2, 2005
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
How much I desperately wanted to like this novel and how hopeful I was to give it five stars. Unfortunately however there are some inescapable problems with this, Benson's third Bond novel.
As a fan of the movie (and book) of the Clint Eastwood spy movie "The Eiger Sanction" that also covers a spy having to mount an expedition up a notorious mountain, I liked what I had heard about this work. But, whereas the earlier work had a legitimate reason for the spy to make the trip (identify an enemy agent), this effort (by respected 007 fan Benson) is immediately fraught with plot holes, that are not helped by Benson's wooden prose.
I hold the utmost respect for Benson. He knows more about the character of James Bond than I could ever hope to. His reference book "The Bedside Companion" is rated by fans as one of the best, if not the best, piece of non-fiction on the character created by Ian Fleming in 1952's "Casino Royale." A character that became a seminal part of the worlds pop culture a decade later when DOCTOR NO exploded onto cinema screens starring a little-known actor named Sean Connery.
The plot involves the theft of a chemical named Skin 17 that has been developed by the British as a means that would allow planes to travel at Mach 7 without falling apart. An interesting MacGuffin surely, a mysterious terrorist group known as the Union (Benson's version of SPECTRE) has stolen the formula and has hidden a microdot with the critical information in the pacemaker of a Chinese national.
All seems to be going to plan until said national crashes into the side of a Nepalese mountain we are informed is the third highest peak in the world. The race is on.
Here lies the major problem. The plane that crashes is a twin propeller plane. We are told that it landed on a fairly level section of the mountain not far from the peak. However instead of sending men up by helicopter (many helicopters out there have flight ceilings higher than the twin-prop used), and wearing pressurized suits to recover the microdot immediately, the British decide to spend a month putting together a team to scale the mountain - why? There is no reason explained.
Aside from this principal problem with the very crux of the story, Benson (who in his defense was not a professional writer before being offered the gig by Fleming's estate) commits the cardinal sin by debunking a key piece of Bond lore laid out by Fleming himself.
In the novel "You Only Live Twice" Bond is believed dead and his boss M even writes his obituary. In it Fleming tells us that Bond was kicked out of Eton after two halves (or 2/3rds of the way through a year). However Benson has Bond musing about his two years at Eton in one of the earliest chapters.
Another continuity error is obvious to even the most casual reader. During the car chase outside Brussels, Bond deploys a remote controlled hovering weapon from the undercarriage of his Bentley called a "scout." Half way through the battle Bond returns it to its position under the car, yet a couple of pages later we are told that it is still hovering 30 feet above the Bentley. It is continuity errors like this, and Benson's troublesome prose and apparent lack of understanding of grammar that has me seriously questioning the ability of his book editor.
A book for which I had high expectations that left me shaking my head at its show of incompetence (on the part of the editor).
Sorry Raymond :(
(Note to reader - update to come on this title. Factors have come to light thanks to author Raymond Benson which cast this title in a more favorable light)
 Benson's Bond Series Overview August 25, 2001
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
As a long time 007 fan, I have just re-read all of Raymond Benson's Bond novels in the proper order and have some reflections on his entire series through "Never Dream of Dying." First of all, Benson is not Ian Fleming and readers should get past that expectation before beginning. He's not John Gardner, either (thank goodness!). That said, I believe Benson has come the closest to Ian Fleming of all the post-Fleming writers in that he has truly captured the essence of Bond's character and the universe in which 007 operates. It is a fantasy spy world, not based in reality, just as Fleming's was, but like Bond's creator, Benson keeps the main character very human. Benson's Bond makes mistakes, shows fear, feels pain, and is melancholy much of the time. At the same time, Benson has brought in many elements of the Bond film series (I have read an interview with him that states that he and the Ian Fleming Estate agreed that this would be the approach to take). Therefore, Benson's Bond is a mixture of the cinematic and literary Bonds, and for me, this works splendidly. I have seen some fans object to this or that but it seems to me that these fans are not getting past personal expectations. Bond is many things to many people. Benson, a long time Bond scholar and author of the excellent "James Bond Bedside Companion" knows his stuff. He has nailed the Bond character. Some have complained about his writing style. Benson is no Fleming, as stated earlier, but his style is succinct and easy to read. His books flow quickly and are highly entertaining. "ZERO MINUS TEN": Benson's first book has one of his best plots, but it suffers slightly from being a "first novel." His writing is at its weakest here, but that said, ZMT is a wonderful Bond story. It is very Fleming-esque with its Hong Kong location, characters like Guy Thackeray and T. Y. Woo and Li Xu Nan, and its descriptions of food, mahjong, and Triads. When reading ZMT, one is immediately aware that this is a harder-edged and darker Bond than perhaps what we are used to. For a first effort, it is very, very good. "THE FACTS OF DEATH": Benson's second book is more film-like, it feels like an EON Productions movie story. The plot is more "fantastic" in that it deals with a secret criminal organization called the Decada that is run by a crazy mastermind. The writing is improved, though, and in many ways this is a more entertaining book than ZMT. What is especially interesting is Benson's development of the "M" character and her relationship with Bond. "HIGH TIME TO KILL": My personal favorite of the bunch. This is a classic Bond novel in every sense of the word. The first half is fairly predictable cinematic-Bond stuff, except for a very Fleming-esque opening and 2nd chapter golf match. The second half, however, shows Benson hitting his stride and finding his own voice with a truly original departure from what is expected. As Bond and companions climb one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas, the action becomes more like an "Into Thin Air"-type story. It's authentic spy-stuff amidst an environment that is cruel and harsh. This is a thrilling, un-put-downable book. "DOUBLESHOT": Another departure from the norm, as Benson appears to be experimenting with the structure of a Bond novel with this one. The first chapter is the ending of the book told from the different perspectives of several characters. The rest of the story begins in the past and catches up to the ending, and by then we are hooked. In this story, Bond is not well, he is injured, he is not working at full capacity, and this is what is interesting. "Doubleshot" is the middle book of a loose trilogy (beginning with "High Time to Kill") and it is darker and more introspective than the others. Some fans apparently didn't get it, but in many ways, this is Benson's most courageous book. "NEVER DREAM OF DYING": Another great one, right up there with "High Time to Kill," in terms of glueing a reader to the page. It's an excellent plot, tying up the trilogy that Benson began in HTTK. In this book, one can see the blending of the cinematic and literary Bonds more than in any other entry-- a lot of the action is very movie-like, while the storyline and characterizations are more like the Fleming novels. The moods and settings are the best that Benson has done, and the love interest is perhaps his strongest. The real stroke of brilliance in the book is what the author has done with the character of Bond's father in law. A very engaging book. My five-star review is based on Benson's series as a whole. Each book may not be a 5-star book on its own, but I don't think any of them are less than 4. Benson has put his mark on the Bond literary series. Fans who don't like him tend to focus on one or two aspects of what he does-- his writing style, his dependence on the cinematic elements, whatever... I feel that they're not seeing the forest for the trees. In my humble opinion, Raymond Benson has brought new life to the series and I hope he continues the books a long, long time.
Good story, poorly written! September 5, 1999
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Although I must confess to having really enjoyed reading HTTK, it struck me that it was one of the worst written books ever. It reads like a teenager's english essay! Having said this it was probably the slickest, fastest moving, and most action packed Bond book of all time. This is proved by the fact that I finished it in just two sittings. All the essential bond elements were there but were overdone- the Jaguar's special 'extras' were ridiculous and the girls and fights were so frequent its a wonder Bond had any energy left for his mission! The story concerns itself mainly with introducing the Union(SPECTRE II!)in a way reminiscent of Flemings introduction to SMERSH in Casino Royale. The Union(with the help of an old rival of Bond's) have stolen an important British Military secret and Bond is sent to recover it. Overall Bensons latest effort pretty good but their is still much to be improved on!
 You love it or you hate it...I hated it. July 2, 1999
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
Well, by looking at the Customer Comments on this book, it appears that you either love it or you hate it...odd how little middle ground there is! Me, I couldn't understand why any fans enjoyed this...I found it dull, slow (Benson does not have the skill to make rock climbing interesting...I kept thinking of that old "Mystery Science Theater 3000" epsiode where the mountain climbing scenes went on...and on...and on...and on...and on...), and most disappointing of all, incredibly predictable (the villain is *exactly* who you, and Bond, suspect it is, with absolutely no intrigue or mystery). Add to that a very awkward subplot featuring a Bond romance gone wrong (hey, we don't want to read about 007 having spats with his lovers...) and you're left with one of the weakest entries in the canon. (Then again, I liked most of John Gardner's entries and my favorite movie is "On Her Majesty's Secret service", so you can take my advice with a grain of salt if you wish--I'm obviously not in the majority of Bond fans).
 Benson has a license to kill...Bond fans! May 1, 1999
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I snatched up the latest Bond book which has just appeared in some London bookshops and read it immediately. Once again, I felt something really lacking with Benson's effort. First of all, and once again, I am perplexed as to why Glidrose chose someone who had never written a novel to pen the new Bond books. John Gardner was an established spy novel writer already, and even though his Bond books could often be a mixed bag, he had a very smooth, deliberate style most of the time. Benson is strictly an amateur in the writing department. He sometimes wallows in exposition, or worse, has the characters wallow in expository dialogue so that he can explain the history of (pick a book) Hong Kong, Cyprus, X organization or whatever. High Time to Kill finds Bond tackling the Himalayas, which is a potentially interesting location for a Bond book (think Benson was reading a little too much Into Thin Air?) However, once the book gets to the mountain, with Roland Marquis, an old school rival of Bond's, the story comes to an almost deadly halt, despite touches of action. The chapters climax with each new height in meters that the climbing team reaches, en route to a McGuffin called Skin 17. ::Yawn:: The third tallest mountain in the world, while good for a documentary or true life account, makes for an incredibly boring Bond novel setting. Granted, there are some very solid elements: the Bond/Helena Marksbury relationship, twists at the end (who is behind the Union), and some other points about Bond's life but Raymond Benson is, quite simply, a poor writer. He can't put all of his Bond knowledge, the exciting locales or the action, into any type of engaging form or prose that rises above standard cliche-ridden books of the Bond ilk. It is all too obvious that he writes consistently with a movie deal in mind, and that he is (still) praying that EON options one of his novels. John Gardner, in my opinion, never did this. In fact, Gardner even used SPECTRE in THREE novels AFTER the it becames clear (with For Your Eyes Only and eventually with the non-official Never Say Never Again) that the films were finished with that whole thing. Gardner books like The Man from Barbarossa, Never Send Flowers or No Deals, Mr. Bond never felt like movies so much as a different and intriguing type of Bond novel (not to say that those books didn't have their share of flaws.) "The Union", the ::yawn:: new secret criminal organization behind the mayem in High Time to Kill are given nothing in the book to distiguish them from any of the countless organizations that Bond has faced before in Fleming and Gardner books. It's downright cheesy and cliched. It's a mystery and a damn shame that the task of writing the world's greatest spy character has been handed to someone clearly not capable of following his predecessors except in a limp way. One can only hope that Benson's contract is up shortly and that the job is given to a real writer.
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