High Time to Kill

High Time to Kill by Raymond Benson

After finishing my third of the six James Bond novels by Raymond Benson, I have to say that I’m sad that there won’t be more than six.  I have thoroughly enjoyed each one of these books - they’re definitely better than the John Gardner ones, and I would venture on the edge of blasphemy and say they’re even better than the original Ian Fleming stories.  Benson knows how to tell a crisp, clear story without being too technical, yet at the same time giving the reader a sense of thrill and adventure.

These books are essentially nothing like the movies.  The movies show James Bond as a suave sophisticated bon vivant, that never seems to break a sweat - even if he’s sledding down a snow covered mountain in a cello case.  The literary Bond is much more realistic - after he fights off some thugs, this Bond actually has to go to the hospital for cracked ribs and a bruised kidney.  I doubt any lover of the movies would be disappointed, however, at least with Benson’s bond.  Plus, there are still the familiar characters - Moneypenny, M (now a woman, just like the movies), Q, and Tanner.  Had Benson created his own unique character other than James Bond along with a strong supporting cast, it still would have worked.  The books are simply that good.

The one thing that is similar between the two Bond mediums is sex.  Sex, sex, sex.  It can be a bit much sometime.  When Bond is getting ready to go on a mountaineering rescue mission about halfway through this story, the author quickly describes the team for us and casually tells us that the team consists of “…one female”.  So you already know what’s going to happen.  Then, when the noted female (she’s a ravenous blonde doctor) exposes her breasts towards Bond at one point (in the frigid  below zero temperature) and later confesses to him that she became to doctor to “overcome her addiction to sex”, well, it’s a bit much, and you tend to roll your eyes.

Still, though, it’s an exciting ride.  Without going into the plot, the majority of this story takes places on a rescue mission to the top of the “third largest mountain in the world” (I forget its name).  So, there’s a lot of intense mountain climbing, bad guys that are really good, good guys that are really bad, a lot of mysterious shootings, not enough oxygen, and let’s not forget the oversexed doctor.

Benson has stated that this book was his favorite.  I don’t know if I would rank it as my favorite of the three that I have read so far, but like his other two, he gets an “A” from me.  Nice work 007.