Icebreaker (novel)

Last updated

Icebreaker
IcebreakerFirst.jpg
First edition cover
Author John Gardner
Cover artistBill Botten (Jonathan Cape ed.)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series James Bond
Genre Spy fiction
Publisher Jonathan Cape
Publication date
7 July 1983
Media typePrint (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages256 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN 0-224-02949-5 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC 10349437
LC Class PR6057.A63 I2x 1983b

Icebreaker, first published in 1983, was the third novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. [1] Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape (cover design by Bill Botten) and is the first Bond novel to be published in the United States by Putnam, beginning a long-standing association. Part of the book takes place in Northern Europe, including Finland; to make his book as authentic as possible, Gardner even visited Finland. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot summary

Bond reluctantly finds himself recruited into a dangerous mission involving an equally dangerous and treacherous alliance of agents from the United States (CIA), the Soviet Union (KGB) and Israel (Mossad). The team, dubbed "Icebreaker", waste no time double-crossing each other. Ostensibly their job is to root out the leader of the murderous National Socialist Action Army (NSAA), Count Konrad von Glöda. The Count, who leads this secret neo-Nazi organisation in northern Finland at its secret headquarters known as the "Ice Palace", used to be known as Arne Tudeer, a one-time Nazi SS officer who now perceives himself as the new Adolf Hitler. The National Socialist Action Army is essentially a new wave of fascism as a means to wipe out communist leaders and supporters around the world.

The novel is full of double-crosses and even triple-crosses, where the agents and agencies go without sharing their true loyalties with one another. The American agent, for instance, first appears to be a good guy then later is in cahoots with Glöda, and then still even later is a good guy once again. Things become even more complicated when the Israeli agent, Rivke, is revealed to be the daughter of Glöda/Tudeer and her allegiance, although appearing to be legitimate, is doubtful. The Russian agent also double-crosses Bond in the hope of capturing him for KGB interrogation.

Bond gets several weeks of driving training from Erik Carlsson as preparation for this Arctic assignment.

Characters

Publication history

Gardner reveals that his publisher originally rejected the title Icebreaker, only to come back to it after rejecting "turkey after turkey" in terms of alternate titles. [4]

Icebreaker was released in Finland under a title Tehtävä Suomessa, James Bond (Mission in Finland, James Bond), as part of the book takes place in Finland. [3]

Reviews

The New York Times critic Anatole Broyard believed that John Gardner was underqualified to write Bond. "His book strikes me as deficient in many of the basic requirements. Mr. Gardner is all awkwardness. Every time I try to enter into his latest conspiracy we bump heads. It's one thing to accept an improbable plot and quite another to accept an improbable style. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief, but not my affection for the English language. I don't see why, when Mr. Gardner can learn all about the various weapons, machines and intelligence procedures he describes, he can't do a bit of basic research in ordinary narrative technique. A man who has no talent for describing women, for example, should let them alone." Broyard cited numerous examples of clichéd writing and dismissed the plot as "a muddle". [5]

T. J. Binyon, writing in The Times Literary Supplement , believed the book was "full of good action; his torture scenes are splendidly painful; his villain is adequately megalomaniac, though perhaps not sufficiently outre; his girls are pretty, sexy, and available, and the courting routines as embarrassingly obvious as anything in the original. But in the end Gardner's Bond doesn't really measure up to Fleming's. There isn't that maniacal snobbery about trivial and useless detail which the original so endearingly manifests. And, further, Gardner simply hasn't grasped Bond's most important trait: he only takes assignments where his creator would like to take a holiday. And who on earth would want to holiday in the 'desolate Arctic wastes of Lapland'? Certainly not the luxurious Bond." [6]

People Magazine's anonymous reviewer said that "the action in Icebreaker is fitful at best" and that the book was "not at all up to Gardner's (first) 007 outing, License Renewed. The Russian villain, however, is an original and sometimes interesting menace." [7]

The Globe and Mail crime critic Derrick Murdoch believed Icebreaker was Gardner's best Bond novel thus far. "In most technical respects (writing, plotting and minor-character sketching), he is more skilful and more painstaking than Fleming even attempted to be. On the other hand, nobody since the Grimm brothers could equal Fleming's gift for improvising such audaciously grotesque adversaries as Dr. No, Blofeld, Auric Goldfinger and his henchman, Oddjob. To make up for the lack of gnomes or behemoths, Gardner offers a plot of labyrinthine complexity, subtler than any of Fleming's. In short, he has taken more risks in Icebreaker to display his own talents, and it has paid off.". [8]

Mel Watkins, writing in The New York Times Book Review , praised Gardner for adding "a touch of the plot subtlety of less insistently action-oriented thrillers." He also applauded Gardner's updating of Bond. "Although Mr. Gardner's Bond is less raffishly macho and arrogant than previously depicted," observed Watkins, "the spirit of the 007 series remains intact, and few Fleming admirers are likely to object. There is, in fact, something appealing about a James Bond who can react to women with some sympathy and confusion at a crucial moment." [9]

Long-time Gardner admirer and Listener crime critic Marghanita Laski believed Icebreaker "is one of his best yet in his 007 mode." She especially admired the book's Finnish setting which she said "has been good thriller value since Gavin Lyall introduced it." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Man with the Golden Gun</i> (novel) Novel by Ian Fleming

The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth and final novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series and fourteenth Bond book overall. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite reviews. Despite that, the book was a best-seller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gardner (British writer)</span> English writer

John Edmund Gardner was an English spy and thriller novelist, best known for his James Bond continuation novels, but also for his series of Boysie Oakes books and three continuation novels containing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional villain, Professor Moriarty.

<i>Octopussy and The Living Daylights</i> Short story collection by Ian Fleming

Octopussy and The Living Daylights is the 14th and final James Bond book written by Ian Fleming in the Bond series. The book is a collection of short stories published posthumously in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape on 23 June 1966.

Ian Fleming Publications is the production company formerly known as both Glidrose Productions Limited and Glidrose Publications Limited, named after its founders John Gliddon and Norman Rose. In 1952, author Ian Fleming bought it after completing his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale; he assigned most of his rights in Casino Royale, and the works which followed it to Glidrose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Scaramanga</span> Fictional character

Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in the James Bond novel and film version of The Man with the Golden Gun. Scaramanga is an assassin who kills with his signature weapon, a pistol made of solid gold. In the novel, the character is nicknamed "Pistols" Scaramanga and is also called "Paco". In the film, the character was played by Christopher Lee.

<i>Colonel Sun</i> Novel by Kingsley Amis

Colonel Sun is a novel by Kingsley Amis published by Jonathan Cape on 28 March 1968 under the pseudonym "Robert Markham". Colonel Sun is the first James Bond continuation novel published after Ian Fleming's 1964 death. Before writing the novel, Amis wrote two other Bond related works, the literary study The James Bond Dossier and the humorous The Book of Bond. Colonel Sun centres on the fictional British Secret Service operative James Bond and his mission to track down the kidnappers of M, his superior at the Secret Service. During the mission he discovers a communist Chinese plot to cause an international incident. Bond, assisted by a Greek spy working for the Russians, finds M on a small Aegean island, rescues him and kills the two main plotters: Colonel Sun Liang-tan and a former Nazi commander, Von Richter.

<i>Licence Renewed</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

Licence Renewed, first published in 1981, is the first novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. It was the first proper James Bond novel since Kingsley Amis's Colonel Sun in 1968. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Richard Marek, a G. P. Putnam's Sons imprint.

<i>For Special Services</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

For Special Services, first published in 1982, was the second novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. Cover designed by Bill Botten.

<i>Role of Honour</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

Role of Honour, first published in 1984, was the fourth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Putnam.

<i>Nobody Lives for Ever</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

Nobody Lives for Ever, first published in 1986, was the fifth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Putnam.

<i>No Deals, Mr. Bond</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

No Deals, Mr. Bond, first published in 1987, was the sixth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by Putnam. It was the last Bond novel to be published in Britain by Jonathan Cape, ending an association dating back to the first Bond novel, Casino Royale in 1953.

<i>The Man from Barbarossa</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

The Man from Barbarossa, first published in 1991, was the eleventh novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.

<i>SeaFire</i> Novel by John Gardner (British writer)

SeaFire, first published in 1994, was the fourteenth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.

<i>James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me</i>

James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me is the official novelization of the 1977 Eon James Bond filmThe Spy Who Loved Me, which was itself inspired by the 1962 novel of the same title by Ian Fleming.

<i>Devil May Care</i> (Faulks novel) Novel by Sebastian Faulks

Devil May Care is a James Bond continuation novel written by Sebastian Faulks. It was published in the UK by Penguin Books on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond. The story centers on Bond's investigation into Dr. Julius Gorner, a megalomaniac chemist with a deep-seated hatred of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Bond (literary character)</span> Fictional spy

Commander James Bond is a character created by the British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games. Fleming wrote twelve Bond novels and two short story collections. His final two books—The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) and Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966)—were published posthumously.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to James Bond:

<i>James Bond 007: Light of My Death</i>

Light of My Death is a 1993 spy comic book featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond in the central role of the plot, written by Das Petrou and illustrated by John Watkiss. It was published by Dark Horse Comics in issues #8-11 of Dark Horse Comics. It includes the return of a Bond girl from a Fleming novel, Tatiana Romanova from From Russia, with Love (1957).

References

  1. ↑ MI6 :: The Home Of James Bond 007
  2. ↑ "Icebreaker (1983)". MI6-HQ.com. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Tehtävä Suomessa, James Bond". Kirjastot.fi (in Finnish). Kirjasampo. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  4. ↑ John Gardner The Bond Page Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Broyard, Anatole (9 April 1983). "Revised James Bond". New York Times . Available online.
  6. ↑ Binyon, T. J. (22 July 1983). Times Literary Supplement .{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "Picks and Pans". People . 2 May 1983. Available online. Archived 2015-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Murdoch, Derrick (23 July 1983). "It's a Crime: Second thoughts about 007, the literary step-child". The Globe and Mail . p. E.14.
  9. ↑ Watkins, Mel (24 April 1983). "Fiction in Brief". The New York Times Book Review . Available online.
  10. ↑ Laski, Marghanita (11 August 1983). "Death with deep feeling". The Listener . p. 24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.