This one, however, was so bad that I couldn't even finish a first reading. It got so tedious that after finishing less than one-third of the book I had to set it down. That was several years ago, and I haven't had any desire to pick it up again since.

It really is too bad that this had to happen because John Gardner really is a good novelist when he puts his heart into it. Sadly, though, his heart was never really with the Bond character. What's even worse for fans of the true Ian Fleming Bond, however, is the fact that the publisher passed the torch to the truly horrid Raymond Benson. Benson's cartoon Bond is lifted straight from the movie screen and makes even Gardner's most mediocre books (like this one) seem like works of genius.


John Garnder goes out in style   December 18, 1998
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Even though others say that John Gardner's James Bond novels do not stand up to Flemmings or even Bensens, I think that he did a spectacular job of continuing the Bond tradition in his own way. His last book, Cold Fall was no exception. John Gardner takes you on a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. He starts you off in the past and then relates it to the present. I think Cold Fall is excellent, way better than any Benson book. Of course nobody does it better than Flemming but Gardner comes close. I suggest to any real Bond fan that they read all of Garnders books.