Sara

this narrator is terrible

Revisado: 01-27-25

the guy sounds like a machine. you might as well have a computer read this book. good story, bad narrator.

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better than the movie

Revisado: 12-26-24

Benson did a good job novelizing the movie, but it's still half-baked entertainment. Don't pay full price for this one. Benson's novel High Time to Kill is much better, as are most of his forgettable novels. Try any of Fleming's Bond books before this one, such as Diamonds are Forever. Simon Vance is a top notch narrator though.

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not a story to pay full price for

Revisado: 12-24-24

This seemed like half of a story with a rushed second half. The characters were not particularly potent, and none. I just finished the story and can't recall a single name. I see that Benson tried to button up Bond's Japanese life the way Fleming should have, and I applaud him for the effort. unfortunately, the finished product seems to lack effort. Too bad.

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Benson keeps getting better

Revisado: 12-20-24

While this novel was not even close to being as good as Thunderball, Goldfinger, Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, etc, it has its moments of excitement and a few surprises. Benson struggles with too much product placement and a few Q-gimmics, but the story puts an interesting twist on characters from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. As with other novels, Benson struggles to bring the plot to a close from beginning to end, and Bond is still a tad unbelievable, which is too bad. The narrator is outstanding though.

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good story, mediocre ending

Revisado: 12-17-24

this story could have been the best in the Benson series, but he rushed the ending. the rising action was fantastic, but then Benson skipped half the climax and explained it away with some hand waving. too bad. I enjoyed it up to the mediocre ending

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okay Benson, you nailed it

Revisado: 12-13-24

The book beats the tar out of the movie. I expected a disappointment and was pleasantly surprised. There are still a few terrible 90s bond one liners and too many gadgets, but the story was fairly solid. Benson added depth where the movie just couldn't. Yes, I'd listen to it again. Benson's skill improved with each Bond story he wrote. He seems to have downplayed everything that made Brosnan Bond suck.

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the best Benson Bond story I've listened to so far

Revisado: 12-12-24

The story follows the Bond canon fairly well. There are scenes plucked directly from the likes of Moonraker, and they were enjoyable. The weak parts of the story include merciless product placement and shameless advertising along with typical 90s nonsense Q-branch BS, but the story was honestly pretty solid. I am a staunch Fleming Bond fan, and Anthony Horowitz does a great job mimicking Fleming in his stories, buy you know what? Benson comes in 3rd place with this novel. Less is always more with the gadgetry and dumb Bond one liners, and he significantly tones all of that down in this story. In short, I like it. It wasn't Fleming or Horowitz, but it held its own and I liked it. 3 stars. I downloaded the whole series because Simon Vance is the narrator and he was superb as always. if you like Simon Vance, try Dracula with Vance and Tim Curry. That's the story that made me a Vance fan.

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better than Tomorrow Never Dies

Revisado: 12-09-24

It's another mediocre Bond spinoff. If Benson wasn't convinced that Bond needs gadgets, it might have been pretty good. The gadgetry really screams 90's nonsense, and the story feels dated (not in a good way). Too much techno-babble about things the audience doesn't care about, too much hand waving about how ridiculous and cool Bond is. In Fleming's originals, Bond is just a guy who worries about his lunch and gets rejected by girls and is generally relatable. Benson goes as far as having the leading lady call Bond a god at the end. In short: too much bravado, not enough story.

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don't pay for this story

Revisado: 12-06-24

This story is an absolute abomination. Here are a list of fantastic alternative Bond stories that are not a complete waste of time: Diamonds are Forever, Thunderball, Dr. No, Live and Let Die, Casino Royale. Pick any of those over this story. If you haven't heard of it, Forever and a Day is fantastic, as is With a Mind to Kill and Trigger Mortis. Anyway this story is unbelievably awful.

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superbly written

Revisado: 10-31-24

I am amazed at how fantastic this novel is. One could easily remove the science fiction setting and what's left are good, down home American values. This is one of the finest novels I have ever experienced, from first to last.

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