The James Bond Novels and Stories

Part 4: Kingsley Amis and movie tie-ins

Overview by Raymond Benson
Rated on a 5-star system.

Kingsley Amis, under the pseudonym "Robert Markham"

Colonel Sun (1968) ****

Places: London; Athens; Vrakonisi (island between Greece and Turkey)
Girl(s): Ariadne Alexandrou
Villain(s): Colonel Sun
Villain's Employer: Red China
Villain's Project: Sabotaging USSR summit conference and making it look like the British did it
Minor villain(s):: Von Richter; assorted terrorists
Bond's Friends: Niko Litsas; Bill Tanner
Highlights:: Scene at "Quarterdeck"; sea battle; torture scene; climactic battle
Remarks: Rich in detail but lacks Fleming sweep; more political than most; more violent than most

The Film Novelizations

See John Gardner's and Raymond Benson's Bond Books in Print to order books & audiobooks.

The film novelizations follow the films closely for the most part.

James Bond, the Spy Who Loved Me (1977) ***
by Christopher Wood

James Bond and Moonraker (1979) **
by Christopher Wood

Licence to Kill (1989)****
by John Gardner

GoldenEye (1995) *** 1/2
by John Gardner

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
by Raymond Benson

The World is Not Enough (1999)
by Raymond Benson

Die Another Day (2002)
by Raymond Benson

The above information is compiled from my book The James Bond Bedside Companion, first published by Dodd Mead & Co. 1984 and updated in 1988. I have also included information since that publication. The charts are based on one by Kingsley Amis appearing in The James Bond Dossier published by Jonathan Cape Ltd. I have updated it and substituted my own "Highlights" and "Remarks." Any duplication or further use is unauthorized and prohibited without permission of the author. The 5-star rating system applied to each book is my own humble opinion. -- RB Copyright ©1984, 1988, 1995 by Raymond Benson