Raymond
Benson is the fourth official writer of the James
Bond 007 novels. The first was the character's creator,
Ian Fleming. Fleming wrote twelve novels and two
collections of short stories that were published
in the 1950s and early 60s. Kingsley Amis was next,
writing one book under a pseudonym (Robert Markham).
John Gardner took over the mantle and wrote fourteen
novels and two film novelizations before Raymond
was hired to continue the series. (Note:
Christopher Wood wrote two film novelizations and
John Pearson wrote a "fictional biography"
of 007 in the 1970s, but these two writers are not
usually considered official Bond authors since they
didn't write original novels in the oeuvre.)
Raymond's tenure as Bond author began in early 1996 and ended at the beginning of 2003. At that time Raymond felt that after six original novels,
three film novelizations, and three short stories, he needed to do some things of his own. At the same time, a new administration at Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. wanted to explore a different direction with the character (the "Young Bond" series young adult readers, written by Charlie Higson). For further information about the publishing activities of Ian
Fleming Publications Ltd., visit their website.
Novels
ZERO
MINUS TEN (1997)
THE
FACTS OF DEATH (1998)
HIGH
TIME TO KILL (1999)
DOUBLESHOT
(2000)
NEVER
DREAM OF DYING (2001)
THE
MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO (2002)
THE UNION TRILOGY (Anthology to be published 2008, containing HIGH TIME TO KILL, DOUBLESHOT, NEVER DREAM OF DYING, and the short story BLAST FROM THE PAST)
Short
Stories
BLAST
FROM THE PAST (1997)
MIDSUMMER
NIGHT'S DOOM (1999)
LIVE
AT FIVE (1999)
Film Novelizations
TOMORROW
NEVER DIES (1997)
(based on the screenplay by Bruce Feirstein)
THE
WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)
(based on the screenplay by Neal Purvis & Robert
Wade and Bruce Feirstein)
DIE
ANOTHER DAY (2002)
(based on the screenplay by Neal Purvis and Robert
Wade)
Non-Fiction
THE
JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION (1984; updated 1988)
Computer Games
A
VIEW TO A KILL (1985)
GOLDFINGER
(1986)
Role-Playing Games
YOU
ONLY LIVE TWICE II-BACK OF BEYOND (1986)
Stage Play
CASINO
ROYALE (1986) (unproduced)
(based on the novel by Ian Fleming)
