Raymond Benson
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Raymond Benson, born September 6, 1955, is an American author best known for being the most recent author of the official James Bond novels. Benson was born in Texas and graduated from Permian High School in 1973. In primary school Benson took an interest in the piano which would later in his life develop into an interest in composing music. Benson also took part in drama at school and became the Vice President of his high school's drama department an interest that he would later pursue by directing stage productions. His other hobbies extended to films and books and designing computer games.
James Bond works
In 1996, John Gardner resigned from writing Bond books causing Glidrose Publications to promptly choose Benson to replace him. Glidrose changed its name to Ian Fleming Publications commencing with Benson's novel, High Time to Kill.
- Blast from the Past (short story, 1997)
- Zero Minus Ten (1997)
- The Facts of Death (1998)
- Midsummer Night's Doom (short story, 1999)
- High Time to Kill (1999)
- Live at Five (short story, 1999)
- Doubleshot (2000)
- Never Dream of Dying (2001)
- The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002)
(See James Bond uncollected short stories for more information about Benson's short pieces.)
Benson also wrote three novelizations from screenplays:
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Die Another Day (2002)
Benson resigned from writing Bond books in 2002.
Other works
Benson is also the author of the non-fiction The James Bond Bedside Companion (1984; updated 1988) and contributed to the creation of the popular James Bond 007 role-playing game in the 1980s. More recently, his original suspense novels Face Blind (2003) and Evil Hours (2004) were published, as well as the non-fiction work The Pocket Essential Guide to Jethro Tull (2002).
In 2004 Benson announced that he had written the first book based on the acclaimed computer and video game series Splinter Cell. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is credited to the pseudonym, David Michaels. Benson will also write second novel in the series, titled Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Operation Baracuda.
Raymond Benson continues to write a series of classic film reviews for the publication "Cinema Retro".
External links
- Raymond Benson's official website (http://www.raymondbenson.com)
- Raymond Benson announcing himself as writer of Splinter Cell (http://www.commanderbond.net/?action=Story&SID=2602)
- CommanderBond.net Raymond Benson interview (http://www.commanderbond.net/index.cgi?action=Story&SID=2306)sv:Raymond Benson