CommanderBond.net

This thread is intended for reviews and ratings of Icebreaker by members of the The Blades Library Book Club here. Be sure to add your review if you do vote in the poll!

The Blades Library Book Club will be reading Icebreaker from: 15 December 2006 - 15 February 2007.

Well, I finally finished it. I hope I'm not too late. James Bond's return was great in Icebreaker. The neo-Nazi plot made for excellent drama. I gave it a 4

This was the first John Gardner James Bond book that I read and it's still my overall favorite.
I picked up a copy when it was first published in 1983.

What a great year to be a Bond fan, that was the year of the 'Battle of the Bonds' and media interest and coverage of the Bond films was frenzied. Not only did we have two Bond films with Roger Moore appearing in Octopussy but also Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again but also this, the best (in my opinion) of Gardner's 007 novels.

It was for Icebreaker that I put pen to paper and wrote Mr. Gadner to tell him just how much I had enjoyed the book. I even got a short note back from him thanking me.

Sure there are plenty of Gardner's trademark double crosses and triple crosses, but this was the novel that introduced them. What we did have was a fantastic title, great plot, interesting locations, tense moments and an appealing Bond girl.

It may not be my favorite 007 continuation novel (that goes to Wood's James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me with Higson's Blood Fever running a close second) but it was all in all a great read.

That, combined with the two movies, gargantuan press coverage of the Bond series and a great documetary on the phenomenon to celebrate the series' 21st Anniversary (even included then President Ronald Reagan talking about James Bond) made 1983 a fantastic year to be a Bond fan.

Well I had to give it a 5 because it is one of my best Gardner Bond novel. I really enjoyed it and I remember that it also inspired me to become a writer (mind you I'm still struggling on that one). Licence Renewed, For Special Services and Icebreaker are the best of the Gardner and Benson era. And yes, 1983 was a lovely year to be a Bond fan!

Harry Fawkes MRQ

It was also my first John Gardner Bond novel. I found about 6 of his books at a used book stand that goes up on Saturdays up the street from my house. That was years ago, I gotta read it again. I did enjoy the heck out of it though, that scene when he's forced off the road by the two construction vehicles trying to stop his is excellent.