∎ Libro Zero Minus Ten Raymond Benson Books

Zero Minus Ten Raymond Benson Books

Download As PDF : Zero Minus Ten Raymond Benson Books

Zero Minus Ten Raymond Benson Books

Having been to Hong Kong myself back in 1989, I was stunned by Raymond Benson's telling of this first James Bond story since he assumed the literary Bond legacy. All facts seemed to bring back my fondest memories of the foggiest big city I've ever had the pleasure to visit. All details seemed truly authentic having given me the impression that he must have made the trip to Hong Kong and Kowloon in order to research the setting herein.

But the setting is not the only thing that captivates the loyal Ian Fleming Bond readers and fans alike! The MANNER of the telling successfully reminds the reader of the original author himself. Raymond Benson, an American author, even went to the trouble to provide English spelling of certain words (e.g. colour, favourite, etc.). He also went into great details as to Bond's gourmand delights and sexual exploits. The novel simply reads like an Ian Fleming novel. And what more can a James Bond fan ask for? Raymond Benson, also a huge James Bond fan, is the most loyal writer to the series who has taken the helm since Fleming's passing. It is a shame that he is no longer planning on penning any more Bond novels. :( But in appreciation for his contributions, the shame is completely forgivable. ;)


Tags : Amazon.com: Zero Minus Ten (9780399142574): Raymond Benson: Books,Raymond Benson,Zero Minus Ten,Putnam Adult,0399142576,General,Great Britain;Fiction.,Hong Kong (China);Fiction.,Secret service;Fiction.,(Fictitious character),AMERICAN MYSTERY & SUSPENSE FICTION,Bond, James,EspionageIntrigue,Fiction,Fiction - Espionage Thriller,Fiction General,Fiction Thrillers General,Fiction Thrillers Suspense,Fiction-Coming of Age,General Adult,Hong Kong (China),Secret service,Technological,United States

Zero Minus Ten Raymond Benson Books Reviews

Set in the days before the return of Hong Kong to China, there are a lot of interesting angles to take. That's what makes a slightly underwhelming start for Benson in the 007 world. There are a few points where the story gets bogged down in the possibilities, which makes it a rather uncharacteristically meandering tale for Benson. That said, it is still a strong story that will please 007 fans.
I had just finished reading this explosive debut James Bond novel (in e-book format) by American author Raymond Benson just a few days ago, and I must say, I almost felt as if I were watching an actual Bond film each time I turned the page. Yet apart from the thrilling and VERY VIOLENT action scenes, Benson also well-displays his knowledge as a truly educated historian in detailing the political drama of Hong Kong's historically turbulent return to mainland China on July 1, 1997. Of course, the drama STILL continues to this very day, with thousands of pro-democracy protesters violently clashing with police in the streets of Hong Kong, passionately fighting for freedom from China's communist rule. I began reading this novel just after having flown from San Jose, CA to the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington (I stayed over at my aunt's house for at least one week with my Mom and other aunt). With the outside temperature much too chilly and damp to go for a walk, reading Zero Minus Ten (in the comfort of the warm room I slept in) was the PERFECT remedy!! The villain, Guy Thackeray, and his menacing trio of Chinese Albino henchmen are vividly well-detailed (heck, if Zero Minus Ten is EVER adapted as a Bond film, I have some *perfect* actors in mind, any of whom could pull off the role of Thackeray with pure panache!!). I very much look forward to reading the second book of Benson's Bond series, The Facts of Death, sometime in 2015!!!!
In the days leading up to reading Raymond Benson's inaugural James Bond novel ZERO MINUS TEN I reread four or five of my favorite Ian Fleming titles. I'm stunned (and delighted) to report that Ray can hang with Bond's progenitor himself.

Benson's adventures of 007 are thrillers of the same stature of Ian Lancaster Fleming's. Maybe even better! Prestidigitator Benson has mastered the old wine in new bottles trick. ZERO MINUS TEN is my new favorite James Bond novel and I say this as an ex-Fleming snob of the worst stripe! The task of making James Bond fun again after the John Gardner era must've been formidable indeed, but Benson succeeded admirably bringing Bond back with Walther PPK in hand and a cigarette in his rather cruel mouth. A similar comparison might be how many writers tried to revive Robert E. Howard's Conan and failed? At least a dozen took a hard fall face first into their typewriters to crash and burn; recreating Conan in Howard's image couldn't be done (not even by Robert Jordan). Fleming's style, like Howard's, cannot be recaptured but Benson's take on James Bond effortlessly outdistanced all other Bond wannabes by a country mile. His resurrection of the 007 of the printed page has mission accomplished stamped all over it.

Bond's escapades in Kowloon and Oz in ZERO MINUS TEN are the stuff old fashioned thrillers are made of. Benson's secret agent 007's foray into mainland China to hoodwink a crooked general, his harrowing fight with bad guys high above the Outback in an airplane piloted by a dead man and his kiss kiss bang bang last minute resolution in Victoria Harbour are as suspenseful as Fleming's Bond busting out of Dr. No's prison 39 years earlier.

Don't take my word for it, read TEN MINUS ZERO and feel the burn of the Fleming sweep reborn.
In Zero Minus Ten, the first novel in Raymond Benson's cycle, James Bond makes a welcome return to action in a timely tale that captures the flavor of Ian Fleming's classic secret agent and the modern action that Bond is known for.

Set against the backdrop of the real-life handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese, Bond has ten days to solve the mystery of the deaths of a British company's board of directors, discover the connection to a Chinese mafia, and prevent a nuclear disaster from wiping Hong Kong off the map. Benson effectively brings Bond's mixture of ruthlessness and humanity to life, to the point of bearing the guilt of a trusted colleague on his shoulders.

Another strong point in Benson's favor is the way he smoothly transitions from the John Gardner cycle of the 80s and mid 90s to bring James Bond to the late 90s era, paralleling the Pierce Brosnan movies of the time. A one-off line in "Goldeneye" is more than effectively fleshed out in print, which Benson (and Gardner in his cycle) handles well.

Action, intrigue, and plenty of gratuitous sex and violence - the hallmarks of any 007 tale - Raymond Benson brings it all in Zero Minus Ten.
Having been to Hong Kong myself back in 1989, I was stunned by Raymond Benson's telling of this first James Bond story since he assumed the literary Bond legacy. All facts seemed to bring back my fondest memories of the foggiest big city I've ever had the pleasure to visit. All details seemed truly authentic having given me the impression that he must have made the trip to Hong Kong and Kowloon in order to research the setting herein.

But the setting is not the only thing that captivates the loyal Ian Fleming Bond readers and fans alike! The MANNER of the telling successfully reminds the reader of the original author himself. Raymond Benson, an American author, even went to the trouble to provide English spelling of certain words (e.g. colour, favourite, etc.). He also went into great details as to Bond's gourmand delights and sexual exploits. The novel simply reads like an Ian Fleming novel. And what more can a James Bond fan ask for? Raymond Benson, also a huge James Bond fan, is the most loyal writer to the series who has taken the helm since Fleming's passing. It is a shame that he is no longer planning on penning any more Bond novels. ( But in appreciation for his contributions, the shame is completely forgivable. ;)