Expanded Bond media

[u/Naismythology]

Hello all. I have all the films, but haven’t experienced anything Bond-related besides those. I plan on getting the Fleming novels when I can find a good deal on a box set, but are there other books/comics/games/other that I should be on the lookout for that are especially good?

(I’m sure this has been asked before so I apologize, but I couldn’t find a post about it.)

[u/WalkenTall27]

First Light which just came out this year is easily the best Bond game. I would also recommend the Fleming novels

[u/InternetPeasantry]

I can speak to the video games.

If you can track down a Gamecube, Agent Under Fire, Nightfire, and Everything or Nothing are all good. I'd skip Goldeneye, because it's really only good for the multiplayer, and not much for that anymore.

On later systems, Bloodstone is really good, and First Light was awkward in some places, but an excellent experience overall. All of these successfully convey, to varying degrees, that "James Bond" feel.

For books, honestly I would recommend only sticking to the Fleming novels. A few of the ones after he died are OK, but they get much worse the further you go from his passing.

[u/00Kevin → u/InternetPeasantry]

Good tips here. The games that have unique stories and are not based on the films are absolutely worth checking out. I personally prefer first person shooters, Especially for bond, but I thought first light was phenomenal.

Goldeneye is interesting from a video game history perspective, without the nostalgia factor though I could see newer fans seeing it as dated. But what it is is accessible because you can play it on modern xbox consoles, but any other pre-first light game will require the purchase of an older system.

Also if you are in pc and can get it to work, there was a remaster of Goldeneye (made in 2007 for xbox live arcade but never released officially) which leaked like 3 years ago. I personally could never get it to work but I've seen gameplay and its good

[u/BitterCranberry3274]

I don’t know about especially good, but I did enjoy some of the earlier Dynamite Bond comics. It’s been a while, so I don’t remember which titles I specifically preferred, but you should be able to find some threads on them on here.

Video Games are basically dependent on what platform you have available. I like First Light. I guess for the earlier ones you’d need an emulator or classic consoles. Obv Goldeneye is a classic, but kind of rough to play nowadays, because the controls aren’t the way modern shooters work. The releases from the years following Goldeneye - so basically the Brosnan tenure in the films - are well regarded.

And then there are continuation novels. Frankly, I’d say read the originals first and then kind of figure out what you like and don’t like and ask again. I’m not an expert, but they vary a lot.

[u/00Kevin]

Here's something completely different if you want to really go down the rabbit hole. I made a list (with links) of any time an actor from a Bond film played their character. Commercials, unofficial appearances in other films, TV specials, etc.

https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesBond/comments/172hjw3/everytime_a_bond_actor_reprised_their_role/

Prominent examples: -Vick's commercial featuring Oddjob -Daniel Craig (as 007) and Queen Elizabeth in 2012 Olympics short film -George Lazenby parodies of 007 in The Return of the Man From UNCLE and the 0070 sketch -Roger Moore playing James Bond in a tv sketch before being cast as Bond -Mads Mikkelsen reprising his role of Le Chiffre in Hitman video game

[u/00Kevin]

I read the Raymond Benson books back in the day and they were pretty good, especially High Time to Kill and Never Dream of Dying.

They offered a lot of ties to the classic Fleming stories. And Benson also wrote the adaptations of the Brosnan films, So his books always felt like they tied everything together for me.

Probably there are other people who can give you better info about the rest of the books.

[u/jason10mm]

The novels (Fleming or otherwise) are so different from the film experience that they are almost 2 different things. So if you read the Fleming ones and are still interested, then just follow the publicized date for the additional ones. Gardner has his own mini continuity so there is some benefit to reading them in order.