Licence Expired: the Unauthorized James Bond

Comments

• vzok

  March 16 Posts: 4,049

  Still works. You might need to consider a proxy
• coco1997

  March 18 Posts: 130

  RichardTheBruce wrote: »

  coco1997 wrote: »

  Anyone read FIREWALKER? It's a solid enough Fleming pastiche with an early '60s setting and a colorful cast of characters. Nice title, too.

  RichardTheBruce wrote: »

  I'll be able to share comments in a couple weeks likely @coco1997.
  
  

  

  
  Well it took much longer than planned but I read the Iain McLaughlin novel Firewalker during recent travel.
  
  To me it was a fun book, with a compelling opening.
  
  At first look it's very professionally presented as a paperback with graphics and type-style on front and back covers. Quickly getting into the first couple chapters there are examples of wrong words used like affection for affectation. Later missing or incorrect or misspelled words. I was thinking maybe not the author's fault, blame going to publishing software or whatever a typesetter is called nowadays. It is what it is, didn't really distract.
  
  McLaughlin took the Bond character seriously enough and respectfully and 007 worked his way through Dallas Texas, London, New York, Havana Cuba, Miami Florida, the Soviet Union. Maybe I missed some locations.
  
  Anyway the detail and action worked fine for me, along with the Russian Bond Girl. Sure this is for a specific demographic as an interested person able to search out a copy. A decent piece of Bond history for what it is. So I think I'm on board with @coco1997 and that positive assessment.
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Glad you enjoyed it!
• RichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.

  March 18 Posts: 14,810

  And by chance pretty timely this week with its lead story hook @coco1997 .
  
  Anticipating the 23 March release of records.
  
  

  
  JFK Assassination Records
  https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
• mtm United Kingdom

  March 25 edited March 25 Posts: 19,434

  vzok wrote: »

  Still works. You might need to consider a proxy

  
  Thank you, did the trick :)
  
  I found this review of all of the stories in the collection, I don't know the reviewer so not easy to tell if it's spot on or not, but it sounds like there's some fun stuff in there
  https://spywrite.com/2016/09/14/review-licence-expired/
• mtm United Kingdom

  March 27 Posts: 19,434

  I read Dirty Business by Iain McLaughlin as it was recommended on that link above: not Fleming but really very decent, worth a read. I’ll try the others.
• RichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.

  March 29 Posts: 14,810

  So I also read Iain McLaughlin's "A Dirty Business", a quick one at 13 pages.
  
  Enjoyed it. 007 carrying out an unwelcome assignment, and creating consequences for some unsavory players on "his side". Next for me likely is Iain McLaughlin's For Queen and Country: A James Bond Anthology of seven stories.
  
  
  
• mtm United Kingdom

  March 29 Posts: 19,434

  Yeah it's not outstanding but a decent read, isn't it?
  What I quite liked was that initially I wasn't sure if it was present day or period, and it struck me that you could write a Bond story and not actually make it clear. Mobile phones don't have to be used, and if you said 'Bond got in his Bentley' etc. then you can kind of leave it up to the reader.
• RichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.

  September 6 Posts: 14,810

  So I should catch up and comment further on Iain McLaughlin and the James Bond anthology For Queen and Country.
  
  And I've read additional unofficial stories during travel.
  
  Meanwhile, I see this unexplainable offering on Amazon in the US. Kindle and paperback.
  
  
  

  Ocular Green: A James Bond Novel
  by Melvyn Howard (Author)
  https://www.amazon.com/Ocular-Green-James-Bond-Novel-ebook/dp/B0FD83X2L5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N25NZXJRMFLQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cdmvx7EHQxX2CTtDQUSwwNytHLNdhubc0M7Mt3e4acsEAy5viMrBuHNCAF5qIEoN1FqRXurb9uJVYzDOZLuGgNy8MXWvjA8vD_D25xCothz0muNcLKS9TRbzmfyrzd9RiOQVkpgW7oux8zGYQPy1yyeOZY0XiboEM4xYgC2XFHYQAaIP-8Bv7Hs-8b-4Gzb9NqmUbShOIZzEsQZNB9ptGwqbefJe0K7Po-RziKx9MYc.YEGoeipBnB5JLTbbduWmwZB3HlfCvgVYXgp1czPaK4M&dib_tag=se&keywords=james+bond&qid=1757034651&s=digital-text&sprefix=james+bond+%2Cdigital-text%2C91&sr=1-1&xpid=i2MVViDr63WyP
  
  4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)

  A new James Bond adventure in the style of Ian Fleming. A band of female assassins, start killing off foreign politicians. But then it becomes personal when they kill a British minister, one of Bond’s past lovers. Officially unauthorized, and against British Intelligence orders Bond crosses the globe from London to Miami, Paris to Africa to hunt down her killers, even though by all appearances he is being lured into their web. But for what reason? Why do they want him? What do they have in store for him? What will they do, when he finds them?

  ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FD83X2L5
  Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 13, 2025
  Language ‏ : ‎ English
  File size ‏ : ‎ 1.1 MB
  Print length ‏ : ‎ 233 pages
  Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled

  
  
  
• RichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.

  October 13 Posts: 14,810

  Another interesting item on Amazon.
  
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Brand-Rocks-Private-Privatized-Spies/dp/198618076X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XSKAMXRX1VDY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-nyqBx8vAuiPu5cXm8njKg.Dl3fNGF2sED39aeZPlvA3NknDD7ZJSJRMtUrjq5fRr8&dib_tag=se&keywords=brand+on+the+rocks+curtis+cook&qid=1760376830&s=books&sprefix=brand+on+the+rocks+curtis+cook,stripbooks,84&sr=1-1

  Brand on the Rocks: Private Lies of Privatized Spies (#27?) Paperback – February 27, 2019
  by Curtis Cook (Author)
  
  No longer coddled by Her Majesty’s Secret Service, James Brand, free agent, confronts his most fiendish and diabolical challenge of all time – the cold-blooded realities of everyday life. In “Brand on the Rocks, Private Lies of Privatized Spies,” Major James Brand leaves the imaginary realm of formulaic mass-market spy fiction to face the realities of the late 1990’s as a jobless senior citizen in a world stumbling toward globalization, privatization and endless war.A cultural icon that role-modeled men’s behavior for generations, Major Brand had been pushed into retirement 20 years earlier by a feminist-led rebellion at Regents Park for his sexual aggression toward a pool typist. He managed as a private citizen to maintain his stylish, philandering, high-stakes, alcohol-fueled lifestyle until the neoliberal nightmare we call modern life caught up with him. He has blown through the personal fortune he accumulated as an irresistible and reckless super spy and is on the brink of losing his London flat to the bank. He is on the rocks.“Very sad, very troubling but actually very funny all at once. We witness the real-world frailties, humiliations, joys, quirks and anguish of human struggle that the mythical hero has always managed to keep off-camera.”Brand’s former colleague Lily Nightlight calls on him and discovers an appalling version of the man she had once served and loved. She connects him with a former agent/colleague, now CEO of a private corporation in the flourishing international security/espionage industry. Despite misgivings over loyalties and principles of private enterprise, Major Brand finds the incentives, perks and female staff highly appealing. He is dispatched to Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad to locate a Russian physicist who absconded with plans for an advanced missile defense system.The physicist, Brand discovers, is an old-line Soviet-era Communist and declines lucrative offers to lure him to the West. He is also unimpressed with Brand's entreaties to individual freedom, materialism and fulfilling personal dreams. With a major bonus at stake, Brand resorts to force and enhanced interrogation to uncover the missing plans – a bad move.

  
  
  
  
  
  Remembering from Page 2.
  
  

  Bond on the Rocks, Curtis Cook, 2015.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27108881-bond-on-the-rocks
  4.00 - 4 ratings, 2 reviews

  James Bond faces his most diabolical challenge of all time -- everyday life. The cultural icon that role-modeled behavior of men for generations was pushed into retirement 20 years earlier in a feminist rebellion at Regents Park. He has blown through the personal fortune he accumulated as an irresistible and heavy-drinking super spy and survives on a modest pension in a world stumbling toward globalization, privatization and war. He is a jobless senior citizen on the brink of losing his Chelsea flat to the bank. "Very sad, very troubling but actually very funny all at once. We witness the real-world frailties, humiliations, joys, quirks and anguish of human struggle that the mythical hero has always managed to keep off-camera." Mary Goodnight calls on him and is appalled at the pathetic version of the man she had once served and loved. She connects him with the former 006 who is now CEO of a flourishing private corporation in the emerging international security industry. Despite misgivings over the loyalties and principles of private enterprise, Bond finds the incentives, perks and female staff highly appealing. He is dispatched to Saddam Hussein's Baghdad to locate and buy off a Russian physicist who absconded with plans for an advanced missile defense system. But the physicist is a stubborn, Soviet-era Communist who resists all offers to relocate to the West. With a major bonus at stake, Bond resorts to enhanced interrogation to uncover the missing plans - a bad move. Bond on the Rocks (not sanctioned by the Franchise) is still available at reasonable cost in Canada, Japan, Cuba, New Zealand, China and many other countries that adhere to the "life plus 50" rule of the Berne Convention. Email: [email protected]

  260 pages, Paperback
  First published September 28, 2015

  
  
• coco1997

  October 15 Posts: 130

  RichardTheBruce wrote: »

  Another interesting item on Amazon.
  
  
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Brand-Rocks-Private-Privatized-Spies/dp/198618076X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XSKAMXRX1VDY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-nyqBx8vAuiPu5cXm8njKg.Dl3fNGF2sED39aeZPlvA3NknDD7ZJSJRMtUrjq5fRr8&dib_tag=se&keywords=brand+on+the+rocks+curtis+cook&qid=1760376830&s=books&sprefix=brand+on+the+rocks+curtis+cook,stripbooks,84&sr=1-1

  Brand on the Rocks: Private Lies of Privatized Spies (#27?) Paperback – February 27, 2019
  by Curtis Cook (Author)
  
  No longer coddled by Her Majesty’s Secret Service, James Brand, free agent, confronts his most fiendish and diabolical challenge of all time – the cold-blooded realities of everyday life. In “Brand on the Rocks, Private Lies of Privatized Spies,” Major James Brand leaves the imaginary realm of formulaic mass-market spy fiction to face the realities of the late 1990’s as a jobless senior citizen in a world stumbling toward globalization, privatization and endless war.A cultural icon that role-modeled men’s behavior for generations, Major Brand had been pushed into retirement 20 years earlier by a feminist-led rebellion at Regents Park for his sexual aggression toward a pool typist. He managed as a private citizen to maintain his stylish, philandering, high-stakes, alcohol-fueled lifestyle until the neoliberal nightmare we call modern life caught up with him. He has blown through the personal fortune he accumulated as an irresistible and reckless super spy and is on the brink of losing his London flat to the bank. He is on the rocks.“Very sad, very troubling but actually very funny all at once. We witness the real-world frailties, humiliations, joys, quirks and anguish of human struggle that the mythical hero has always managed to keep off-camera.”Brand’s former colleague Lily Nightlight calls on him and discovers an appalling version of the man she had once served and loved. She connects him with a former agent/colleague, now CEO of a private corporation in the flourishing international security/espionage industry. Despite misgivings over loyalties and principles of private enterprise, Major Brand finds the incentives, perks and female staff highly appealing. He is dispatched to Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad to locate a Russian physicist who absconded with plans for an advanced missile defense system.The physicist, Brand discovers, is an old-line Soviet-era Communist and declines lucrative offers to lure him to the West. He is also unimpressed with Brand's entreaties to individual freedom, materialism and fulfilling personal dreams. With a major bonus at stake, Brand resorts to force and enhanced interrogation to uncover the missing plans – a bad move.

  
  
  
  
  
  Remembering from Page 2.
  
  

  Bond on the Rocks, Curtis Cook, 2015.
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27108881-bond-on-the-rocks
  4.00 - 4 ratings, 2 reviews

  James Bond faces his most diabolical challenge of all time -- everyday life. The cultural icon that role-modeled behavior of men for generations was pushed into retirement 20 years earlier in a feminist rebellion at Regents Park. He has blown through the personal fortune he accumulated as an irresistible and heavy-drinking super spy and survives on a modest pension in a world stumbling toward globalization, privatization and war. He is a jobless senior citizen on the brink of losing his Chelsea flat to the bank. "Very sad, very troubling but actually very funny all at once. We witness the real-world frailties, humiliations, joys, quirks and anguish of human struggle that the mythical hero has always managed to keep off-camera." Mary Goodnight calls on him and is appalled at the pathetic version of the man she had once served and loved. She connects him with the former 006 who is now CEO of a flourishing private corporation in the emerging international security industry. Despite misgivings over the loyalties and principles of private enterprise, Bond finds the incentives, perks and female staff highly appealing. He is dispatched to Saddam Hussein's Baghdad to locate and buy off a Russian physicist who absconded with plans for an advanced missile defense system. But the physicist is a stubborn, Soviet-era Communist who resists all offers to relocate to the West. With a major bonus at stake, Bond resorts to enhanced interrogation to uncover the missing plans - a bad move. Bond on the Rocks (not sanctioned by the Franchise) is still available at reasonable cost in Canada, Japan, Cuba, New Zealand, China and many other countries that adhere to the "life plus 50" rule of the Berne Convention. Email: [email protected]

  260 pages, Paperback
  First published September 28, 2015

  
  So he just republished the same book but changed the name "Bond" to "Brand"?
• mtm United Kingdom

  October 15 Posts: 19,434

  The premise doesn't sound great to me, but maybe it's good.
• RichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.

  October 15 edited October 16 Posts: 14,810

  coco1997 wrote: »

  So he just republished the same book but changed the name "Bond" to "Brand"?

  Yes. Yes, he did.
  
  
  I check Amazon.ca from time to time (for books of interest that can't ship to the US), and was tracking a copy of Bond on the Rocks for USD 207.00. So 30.00 for an imitation is more reasonable. The limited publishing information on my copy states copyright 2013, third printing 2018. Of which books, not sure.
  
  Any good? I'll read it eventually. I'm usually not very critical but a quick look did not impress.