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LICENCE RENEWED (1981)
Gardner's first 007 novel concerns James Bond's investigation of Anton Murik, the Laird of Murcaldy. Murik is a top nuclear scientist who has developed plans for a “perfectly safe” nuclear reactor. But his colleagues at the International Atomic Energy Research Commission refuse to approve his plan; Murik resigns and begins making plans to hire terrorists to infiltrate six major nuclear plants around the world in order to cause meltdowns unless he is allowed to build his own reactor.

The first John Gardner Bond book is still far and away the best selling of the bunch. In many ways this is understandable - it was the first, and many people were curious. However, I don't think it's Gardner's best Bond novel by a long shot.

It’s obvious that author was finding his way with the first one. Even though Gardner denies this, I feel LICENCE RENEWED is the one novel in his series which is most like a film script — there are even events in the book which are reminiscent of particular scenes in some of the early James Bond films.

For example, Bond assumes a cover to infiltrate Anton Murik's castle (where the doors lock guests into their rooms and are opened by a magnetic strip) (On Her Majesty's Secret Service); Bond spies on the castle at night, and then is chased in his car (Goldfinger); Murik is planning nuclear blackmail (Thunderball); the henchman, Caber, is ejected from an airplane (Goldfinger); a street festival provides cover for Bond to escape (Thunderball); Murik claims to be an heir to a fortune, like Blofeld (OHMSS); and Murik has an evil mistress (Thunderball).

Despite these similarities to the films, LICENCE RENEWED manages to seem fresh and new, and I remember having a ball reading it for the first time - as if I'd found a long, lost friend.

I asked John about the book's ‘film script’ feel:
I write in visual terms, but that doesn't mean the same way in terms of a film treatment. I write in visual terms for myself and for the reader.

One of the things I said at the initial meeting with Glidrose was that I wasn't going to write film treatments. In point of fact, we all knew that Mr Broccoli was not interested in us doing the books and there was little likelihood of films being made based on my books. And one thing I was told to never ever do was, if a journalist asked, say which of the actors playing Bond I preferred. And I understand why. Anyway, no, I do not set out to write a film treatment. I write in visual terms, and perhaps, because the movies are so much more prominent in people's minds, they “see” the book in cinematic terms. You know, some authors never mention smell. I think it's a great help in writing visual stuff. You get a whiff of something and it takes you back to a certain place or time. Bond uses all of his senses. I even try to use his sense of fear, and the movies don't always do that [at least they didn't in the Roger Moore pictures].

One of Gardner's strongest stylistic elements is very akin to Fleming's, and that is his ability to 'sweep' the reader along at an extraordinary pace so that he doesn't have time to question things. Like his predecessor's, Gardner's books are page turners, and they move very quickly. It doesn't take very long to read a Gardner Bond, which is another reason why they seem more like films than books.

At the time, I felt that the plot of LICENCE RENEWED seemed influenced by the film The China Syndrome. In fact, the title of this movie is even mentioned during the course of the book. But Gardner denies that he was influenced in any great way by the film. He admits that it was probably a source, but only as a secondary inspiration.

Jonathan Cape/Hodder & Stoughton promotional poster heralding the return of James Bond in 1981

LICENCE RENEWED does have a splendid villain in Anton Murik and I felt that the Ann Reilly (Q'ute) character was a nice touch. The author was forbidden to use Q, because he was a creation of the filmmakers, not of Ian Fleming's (Gardner could use Major Boothroyd if he wished to do so, but he says that he tries not to).

The Armourer remains in the background, referred to but not actually ever “seen”. Instead Q’ute became the liaison to Q Branch. And Ann Reilly is a real person. She is really in the surveillance business. I've been on television with her a couple of times. We did a big special for Irish television. Her name is O'Neill. She really knows her job. However, Ann Reilly's appearances have become less frequent in the books. Yes. I don't know why, really. I think since she and Bond resolved the possibility of an affair early on, she became more of a background character.

LICENCE RENEWED is an enjoyable read and it serves as a good introduction to John Gardner's James Bond. But with publication of his second Bond novel, John Gardner proved he was capable of producing a James Bond story that is nothing less than a dynamo!

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