Benson, Raymond 1955-

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BENSON, Raymond 1955-

PERSONAL: Born September 6, 1955, in Midland, TX; son of M. H. (a geologist) and Beulah (Butler) Benson. Education: University of Texas at Austin, B.F.A. (with high honors), 1978.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Sterling Lord Agency, 65 Bleecker Street., New York, NY 10021.

CAREER: Novelist and musical composer and director. Apprentice stage manager and director at Alley Theatre, Houston, TX, 1978-79. Composer of music for theatrical productions, including: Alice in Wonderland, produced in Houston, TX, 1978-79; Paper Tiger (text by Thomas Brasch), produced by New York Theatre Ensemble, 1980; The Resurrection of Jackie Cramer (text by Frank Gagliano), produced in New York, NY, 1980; The Man Who Could See through Time (text by Terri Wagener), produced in New York, NY, 1984; and Charlotte's Web, produced in New York, NY, 1984-85. Creator of interactive computer games, 1985-86. Member of board of directors of Empire Stage Players, Inc., New York, NY, 1981; director of Ian Fleming Foundation. Instructor, Harper College, 2002—.

MEMBER: Mystery Writers of America, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, James Bond 007 Fan Club (vice president, 1984—).

AWARDS, HONORS: Off-Off-Broadway Award for Musical Composition for the Theatre, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, 1980, for "The Resurrection of Jackie Cramer" and "Paper Tiger," and 1984, for "The Man Who Could See through Time."

WRITINGS:

The James Bond Bedside Companion, Dodd (New York, NY), 1984.

Zero Minus Ten, Putnam (New York, NY), 1997.

The Facts of Death, Putnam (New York, NY), 1998.

High Time to Kill, Putnam (New York, NY), 1999.

Never Dream of Dying, Putnam (New York, NY), 2001.

Double Shot, Putnam (New York, NY), 2000.

The Man with the Red Tattoo, Putnam (New York, NY), 2002.

Jethro Tull, Pocket Essentials (London), 2003.

Also author of novelizations of screenplays Tomorrow Never Dies and Die another Day, and of unpublished novel The Evil Hours. Contributor to periodicals, including Bondage, Dossier, and James Bond 007 Fan Club Magazine.

ADAPTATIONS: Tomorrow Never Dies was adapted as an audiobook.

SIDELIGHTS: Called an "heir to Ian Fleming," Raymond Benson took the reins as the fourth author of the "James Bond" novels following creator Fleming's death in the mid-1960s. A stage composer and director as well as a writer, Benson first became a Bond fan at age nine, when he saw the film Goldfinger. He collected Fleming novels, telling Celebrity Café interviewer Dominick Miserandino that he revisited the books when he was in high school, "and that's when I fully appreciated them. I've re-read them several times since."

In addition to adapting screenplays to the page, Benson has created original "James Bond" novels, beginning with his first effort, 1997's Zero Minus Ten. This tale finds Agent 007 on the trail of espionage in Hong Kong, just days before the island's political control is transferred from Great Britain to China. A Publishers Weekly reviewer found some fault with Benson's maiden effort, dubbing it "more a self-conscious homage than an organic story to sink into," although Booklist contributor Alan Moore found more to like, calling Zero Minus Ten "a decent enough yarn [with] a James Bond we can trust."

In The Facts of Death Bond takes on Decada, a Greek cabal planning a devastating chemical and biological attack against Turkey. The globetrotting sleuth goes from Europe to the United States in search of the group's weapons sources; in doing so he falls into Decada's clutches "and the result is several quintessential 007 escape/rescue scenes," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. High Time to Kill takes the secret agent into the Himalayas to investigate the murder of an official of the Bahamas. A terror group called the Union is the prime suspect. In 2000's Double Shot,Bond faces the Union again, this time when the enemy unleashes a Bond look-alike to frame 007. A critic for Publishers Weekly concluded that Double Shot "will have Bond fans cheering," while Mary Frances Wilkens of Booklist deemed the novel "as good as Bond gets in the post-Fleming era."

Benson's seventh original 007 novel, The Man with the Red Tattoo, was greeted by BookBrowser reviewer Harriet Klausner as "the best of the neo-Bond light tales." The story, which deals with a deadly virus, "includes virtually all the requisite components," noted a Publishers Weekly writer, pointing to the "evil villain . . . exotic settings and beautiful women." Those foundations were put into place by Fleming himself. As Benson told Miserandino, he never tries to copy Fleming's style. "What I try to do is capture the spirit of his writing and be as faithful as I can to his character."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Armchair Detective, winter, 1986, review of The JamesBond Bedside Companion, p. 100.

Booklist, April 15, 1997, Alan Moore, review of ZeroMinus Ten, p. 1329; May 15, 1999, Budd Arthur, review of High Time to Kill, p. 1672; May 15, 2000, Mary Frances Wilkens, review of Double Shot, p. 1732; May 1, 2001, David Pitt, review of Never Dream of Dying, p. 1618.

Boston Herald, May 11, 1997, Erica Noonan, review of Zero Minus Ten, p. 61.

Chicago, June, 1998, Terry Sullivan, "From Indiana, with Love," p. 160.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 1997, review of Zero MinusTen, p. 478; May 1, 1998, review of The Facts of Death, p. 598; April 15, 1999, review of High Time to Kill, p. 571; April 1, 2001, review of Never Dream of Dying, p. 430; May 15, 2002, review of The Man with the Red Tattoo, p. 678.

Library Journal, March 1, 1998, Cliff Glaviano, review of Tomorrow Never Dies, p. 143.

Newsweek, June 30, 1997, review of Zero Minus Ten,p. 8.

Observer, (London, England), March 30, 1997, review of Zero Minus Ten, p. 15.

Publishers Weekly, April 21, 1997, review of Zero Minus Ten, p. 61; May 4, 1998, review of The Facts of Death, p. 205; May 10, 1999, review of High Time to Kill, p. 55; May 15, 2002, review of Double Shot, p. 86; June 3, 2002, review of The Man with the Red Tattoo, p. 66.

Sunday Times, March 2, 1997, Andrew Lycett, "Never Say Never Again" (interview), p. 160.

Times, (London, England), March 6, 1997, p. 18.

Times Educational Supplement, July 17, 1998, review of Zero Minus Ten, and The Facts of Death, p. 33.

Tribune Books, (Chicago, IL), June 22, 1997, review of Zero Minus Ten, p. 7.