John E. Gardner, the British thriller writer who became the official authorized James Bond novelist from 1981 until 1996, died August 3rd in England, from suspected heart failure.Gardner established himself as a proper thriller writer from his first book (The Liquidator, 1964), which introduced series character Boysie Oakes (star of 8 books), and was an impressive choice to pick up where Ian Fleming had left off with the iconic espionage character. Between 1981 and 1996, Gardner wrote 16 original James Bond adventures, though he was quoted in interviews as being somewhat ambivalent about writing adventure novels featuring a character not of his own creation.
Retiring from "Bond-age" in 1996, Gardner returned to writing his own completely original fiction, although from 1997 until 2001 he went unpublished, dealing with both medical issues and the death of his wife in 1997. He had recently achieved critical acclaim for his historical mystery series featuring a 1930s female Detective Sergeant named Suzie Mountford.
Here are some links to additional John E. Gardner information:
Gardner books in the Lincoln City Libraries collection
John E. Gardner's official website
Obituary and Tribute on MI6 Bond fansite
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1 comment:
I really enjoyed Gardner's Bond novels -- almost more than the original Fleming books. It was interesting to see him take a character so completely invested in the 1950s and 1960s and update him to the 1980s and beyond.
And, on a side note, having read his Bond books, I did go on to read some of his other novels and was favorably impressed. It's too bad he's gone, but at least he leaves a considerable literary legacy behind!
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