The Facts of Death
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1998 Coronet Books British paperback edition. | |
Author | Raymond Benson |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Series | James Bond |
Genre(s) | Spy fiction |
Publisher | Glidrose Publications |
Released | May 1998 |
Media Type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
Pages | 284 pp |
ISBN | ISBN 0-340-69641-9 |
Preceded by | Tomorrow Never Dies |
Followed by | "Midsummer Night's Doom" |
The Facts of Death, first published in 1998, was the third novel by Raymond Benson featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond (including Benson's novelization of Tomorrow Never Dies). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright -- the final James Bond novel to do so -- it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The Facts of Death starts off with several deaths from mysterious diseases. We first find Bond in Cyprus where several British troops have been discovered murdered, under mysterious circumstances. Bond gets too close for comfort for the group behind the actions and is attacked but rescued by a fiery Greek female agent, Niki Mirakos. Bond then beds the latter and returns to Britain. He is invited to attend a dinner party being held by his former boss, Sir Miles Messervey. His current boss and her boyfriend are in attendance. After the party M's boyfriend is murdered. She then tells Bond that all of the killings are connected because near all the bodies there were statues of Greek deities and numbers counting the victims of the horrible killing spree. Bond is sent to Greece and partnered with his current love interest Niki Mirakos. They both seem to be suspicious of an internationally known mathematic cult called the Decada. The head of the group is Greek mathematician, Konstantine Romanos. Bond goes to a Greek casino that is about two hours away from Athens and battles Romanos in a game of bacaraat. He defeats Romanos and catches the attention of a pretty Greek woman named Hera Volopoulos, who is also a card carrying member of the Decada. Bond chats with and later beds Hera. He then is drugged by her after they have made love. She takes him to Konstantine who talks to Bond and tells Hera to kill him. Bond manages to escape Hera's evil clutches. He then manages to figure out Konstantine's plan, to start a major war between Greece and Turkey. Bond figures out where the hideout is and gets there just in time to witness Hera murder Konstantine. She leaves Bond to stop a nuclear missile that will be fired from Greece into Turkey. Bond then figures out Hera's plan, to profit from worldwide murder through a new virus. Bond, with assistance from the Greek military, boards a helicopter and prepares for battle with Hera. He kills her and stops the missile.
[edit] Locations
Locations where the book takes place include:
[edit] Trivia
- Benson's original choice for the title of this novel was The World Is Not Enough, but it was struck down by Glidrose. Although it wasn't used for the title of the book, the final chapter of the book uses it. A year later the title would be used for the 1999 film of the same name.
[edit] Publication history
- UK first hardback edition: May 1998 Hodder & Stoughton
- U.S. first hardback edition: June 1998 Putnam
- UK first paperback edition: November 5, 1998 Coronet Books
- U.S. first paperback edition: August 1999 Jove Books
Ian Fleming
Casino Royale (1953) • Live and Let Die (1954) • Moonraker (1955) • Diamonds Are Forever (1956) • From Russia with Love (1957) • Dr. No (1958) • Goldfinger (1959) • For Your Eyes Only (1960) • Thunderball (1961) • The Spy Who Loved Me (1962) • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963) • You Only Live Twice (1964) • The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) • Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966)
Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham)
Colonel Sun (1968)
John Pearson
James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973)
Christopher Wood (novelisations)
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) • James Bond and Moonraker (1979)
John Gardner
Licence Renewed (1981) • For Special Services (1982) • Icebreaker (1983) • Role of Honour (1984) • Nobody Lives For Ever (1986) • No Deals, Mr. Bond (1987) • Scorpius (1988) • Win, Lose or Die (1989) • Licence to Kill (1989) • Brokenclaw (1990) • The Man from Barbarossa (1991) • Death is Forever (1992) • Never Send Flowers (1993) • SeaFire (1994) • GoldenEye (1995) • COLD (a.k.a. Cold Fall) (1996)
Raymond Benson
"Blast From the Past" (1997) • Zero Minus Ten (1997) • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) • The Facts of Death (1998) • "Midsummer Night's Doom" (1999) • High Time to Kill (1999) • The World is Not Enough (1999) • "Live at Five" (1999) • Doubleshot (2000) • Never Dream of Dying (2001) • The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002) • Die Another Day (2002)
Charlie Higson (Young Bond series)
SilverFin (2005) • Blood Fever (2006) • Young Bond Book 3 (2007) • Young Bond Book 4 (2008) • Young Bond Book 5 (2009)
Samantha Weinberg (writing as Kate Westbrook) (The Moneypenny Diaries series)
The Moneypenny Diaries: Guardian Angel (2005) • "For Your Eyes Only, James" (2006) • Secret Servant: The Moneypenny Diaries (2006) • "Moneypenny's First Date With Bond" (2006) • The Moneypenny Diaries Book 3 (TBA) (2007)
R.D. Mascott
003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior (1967)
Unofficial/Unpublished
Per Fine Ounce (1966) • The Killing Zone (1985) • "The Heart of Erzulie" (2001-02)
Related works
The James Bond Dossier (1965) The Book of Bond (1965) The James Bond Bedside Companion (1984)