Raymond Benson Books

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Raymond Benson, who is most notable for being outsourced to continue writing James Bond books, was born in September 1955. A sexagenarian, Benson’s place of birth is Midland upon Texas. The penman spent a considerable part of his childhood in the Texan city called Odessa.

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For his O-Levels, Raymond Benson schooled at Permian High School wherein he finished in 1973. For his undergraduate education, Benson studied at the Austin-based University of Texas wherein he got a Bachelor of Fine Arts; the scribbler pursued Directing and got his bachelor’s degree in 1978. Raymond Benson has worked in theatre as a stage director, been a game designer, actor, playwright, freelancer, and has lectured students at the Illinois-based Columbia College Chicago.

Reading voraciously in his childhood set the stage for Raymond Benson’s writing career. Inspired by the fictitious character named James Bond, Benson started writing a non-fiction novel based on the character’s history. Benson began writing in 1981 and the book was published three years later. And thus heralded Benson’s stint writing James Bond books; the novelist-cum-short story wrote his first fictitious James Bond-based novel in 1996. Benson started writing his original novels in 2001. He has also authored Tom Clancy novels under the nom de plume David Michaels.

Raymond Benson, whose niche is especially mystery and thrillers, has authored standalone books, two duologies, a quintet, and a sextet. Even then Benson is notable for authoring Raymond Benson’s Bond series. Basically, the said series is a development of the heroic exploits of Ian Fleming’s famed protagonist James Bond.

The Raymond Benson’s Bond series consists of six major works but the grand total is twelve, including a related non-fiction novel, omnibuses, and novelizations. There are about 15 editions of the first book in the Raymond Benson’s Bond series. Written in 1996, the first edition was originally published in April 1997, titled Zero Minus Ten; and this book is shelved under the thriller (particularly spy thriller sub-genre), fiction, adventure, and mystery genres.

The featured central character in the serialized Raymond Benson’s Bond is the world-famous fictitious characters named James Bond, nicknamed 007. Bond is a fictitious protagonist originally created by Ian Fleming, a journalist-cum-novelist. Bond is black-haired, blue-grey-eyed, slim, and a six footer. He was born around 1920; he is a witty and daring chain-smoker, likes high-end cars, and is often accompanied by beautiful ladies. A past master at espionage, Bond is attached to the Secret Service intelligence and serves in the position of a commander in the Royal Navy.

The cynosure in the earliest book in Raymond Benson’s Bond series, Zero Minus Ten, is a quick succession of disastrous terrorist attacks in both China and Britain in the run-up to a historic reversion of Hong Kong to rightful owner China. Ostensibly, the attacks pit Britain against China. James Bond travels to Hong Kong to investigate the seemingly well-orchestrated attacks that might doom the reversion process. Amid badass antagonists, James Bond delves into the truth of the matter in his signature troubleshooting.

Raymond Benson Awards

In 2006, Raymond Benson clinched the Readers Choice Award, in the Best Thriller category, thanks to his 2006 book titled Sweetie’s Diamonds. In 2010, Benson was nominated for the Shamus Award, in the Best Paperback Original P.I. Novel, courtesy of his 2009 book named Dark Side of the Morgue. Benson’s non-fiction work on James Bond was nominated for Edgar Award, in the Biographical/Critical Work category. In 2014, his fourth installment in The Black Stiletto series bagged the Lovey Award, in the Best Suspense Novel category.

Raymond Benson Books into Movies

The Black Stiletto series has been optioned multiple times. It was very nearly a television series produced by Mila Kunis in 2015 by ABC Studios, but it ended up falling apart as so many things in Hollywood due. As of late, the book is being worked on as a potential major motion picture.

Best Raymond Benson Books

These are the three best Raymond Benson books.

Sweetie’s Diamonds: It features a teenager who is grappling with the shocking revelation concerning his mother, a one-time porn star. That alone is enough to hook most readers, but this book ends up being so much more than that.

Deep family secrets and a two decade old murder are the key to this and the twists and turns in this book keep readers on their toes. The relationship between David and his mother Diane is the key to the drama and their search for the truth really drives this one. A great read.

Dark Side of the Morgue It revolves around a series of murders wherein the targets are rock artists. Spike Berenger, the PI who comes to help, is a former musician himself so this mystery is definitely close to his heart. That is a great hook, but the real appeal of this book is the story of how rock stars become products and seem to lose their humanity in the eyes of some. The book has tons of twists and turns which are a Benson staple. The mystery will definitely keep you on your toes.

A really cool part of this book is that each chapter features a song title and artist. The songs often tie into things that happen in a chapter. They also make a heck of a good playlist.

High Time to Kill: The third book in his Bond-related series; hereby, Bond is mandated to retrieve high-secret cargo from a downed plane amid deadly snipers and harsh environment. Benson knows Bond better than maybe anyone else alive and he nails Bond in this one.

Other Book Series You May Like

Readers who liked book series authored by Raymond Benson also liked these literary series. The first is “James Bond” series, authored by Robert Markham–legal name Kingsley Amis. The second is “John Gardner‘s Bond” series, authored by John Gardner. The third is “The Moneypenny Diary” series, penned by Kate Westbrook–it is a pseudonym of Samantha Weinberg. Just like Raymond Benson, the said authors were outsourced to continue James Bond’s heroic expeditions after the character’s original creator passed away in August 1964.

When Does The Next Raymond Benson book come out?

Raymond Benson doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way and was released on October, 4th 2022.

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