Scorpius (1988) by John Gardner - The Most Prescient James Bond Novel?

Do we here at BaB consider John Gardner's Scorpius (1988) to be one of his more prescient James Bond novels? After all, it is the novel which features a suicide bomber plotline, years ahead of Al-Queada suicide bombing insurgency attacks in war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001-present. The Father Valentine front also referred to the televangelism scandals of the late 1980s, as did the character of Professor Joe Butcher in the following year's Licence to Kill (1989) James Bond film (of which Gardner also wrote the novelisation, of course).



What to make of this review by 'Blue Pencil' on You Tube?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCFGRlqrbiw

Interesting nonetheless!

See this John Gardner overview here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA3vaqOdnws

Haven't read Scorpion, I'm listening to The Spy Who Loved Me's.

Anyone else out there read Scorpius and would like to comment on it. I've recently uncovered a lot about its "secret history" and would love to hear your views on this novel.

Thanks,

SILHOUETTE MAN.

Picked up 6 (for the not-exactly-princely sum of £10 for the lot) of the 2012 reprints of Gardner's Bonds back in October, and Scorpius is one of 'em ... am currently working my way through Nobody Lives Forever, though. Sorry, SM.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Picked up 6 (for the not-exactly-princely sum of £10 for the lot) of the 2012 reprints of Gardner's Bonds back in October, and Scorpius is one of 'em ... am currently working my way through Nobody Lives Forever, though. Sorry, SM.

Oh, that's OK, BI. Let me know your thoughts when you get it read in full.

I will ... dunno when that might be, though (my 'to read' pile is fairly hefty). The other 4 are Licence To Kill, Win Lose Or Die, The Man From Barbarossa and Death Is Forever.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I will ... dunno when that might be, though (my 'to read' pile is fairly hefty). The other 4 are Licence To Kill, Win Lose Or Die, The Man From Barbarossa and Death Is Forever.

Yes, I got those in The Works too, some time ago. I'm in the process of writing some new reviews on Gardner's James Bond novels and so I like to hear a sample of fan opinion on them. There's no rush, it's just that I've found a wealth of new material on the backgrouund of Scorpius that I want to share with the wider James Bond fan community.

Must say I like how NLF has kicked off, with Bond on leave but made uneasy by the series of violent events happening around him that he instinctively knows aren't mere coincidences.