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The World Is Not Enough

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The World Is Not Enough

By: Raymond Benson
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Greed, revenge and world domination are just some of the ingredients in this James Bond adventure. After oil tycoon Sir Robert King is killed in a bombing at MI6 headquarters, his daughter, Elektra, inherits his fortune and the attentions of her father's killer. His name is Renard. A bullet lodged in his brain has rendered him unable to feel physical pain, and he has but one reason left to live - revenge. There's only one man who can take the heat between a beautiful heiress, a malicious sociopath and his final diabolical plan, agent 007.

©1999 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd as Trustee. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Espionage Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Spies & Politics

Featured Article: The 25 Best James Bond Villains, Ranked


What fun is 007 without the dynamic, dangerous, sometimes sexy, sometimes campy villains? Over the course of 40 officially licensed James Bond novels and 26 James Bond films, there have been more than 100 villains who have taken a crack at destroying the superspy. These particular villains deserve to be celebrated for their evil plots and the brilliant storylines we couldn’t have without them. If you’re a James Bond fan, you have to love a Bond villain.

Featured Article The 25 Best James Bond Villains Ranked
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Raymond Benson returned to novelize his second Pierce Brosnan Bond film with The World is Not Enough. Unlike Tomorrow Never Dies, where that film's chaotic production and frequent script rewriting gave Benson freedom to expand rather sizably on the film, this one didn't offer as much opportunity. That said, where Benson can, he turns what was arguably Brosnan's best Bond film into a fuller work. There is an even greater emphasis on the romance between Bond and Elektra King in the first half, including an expanded casino sequence where the closeness between the two becomes all the more apparent. Benson also expands on the backstory of the villainous Renard, with his journey from a young Russian soldier to the terrorist kidnapper of Elektra explored in a chapter late in the novelization.

Simon Vance, as narrator, offers a solid reading of Benson's prose adaptation. His characters are distinct, including fine versions of Bond and the Judi Dench M, though his Renard sounds closer to Steve Carell's Gru from the Despicable Me films than Robert Carlyle's film character. His narration is solid, though even he can't make Benson's descriptions of the action sequences work, as I found myself rewinding during them trying to pick up details I'd missed out on (despite being familair with the film version).

Even so, The World is Not Enough's novelization makes for a solid listen. Especially if you're a Bond fan of the Brosnan-era films or Benson's brand of literary 007. And, besides, how often can you listen like it's 1999 all over again?

Bond Like It's 1999 All Over Again

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The best bond books have memorable villains. This one is great, and I wish more had those special quirks.

Good bond book, made better by a great villain.

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Benson was not invested into this story and it shows. His lack of detail definitely is noticeable compared to the other Bond novels. Its quite a shame as this story is a great one.

The World Is Quite Enough

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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.

okay Benson, you nailed it

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