LTP 007: For Special Services (1982)

Lighting the Pipes

In his second continuation novel, John Gardner returns Bond to the USA and reunites readers with some canonical staples. Motivated by a recent spate of airline hijackings with potential SPECTRE links, Bond is sent by M to investigate an ice-cream magnate from Texas whose guarded compound and general milieu reeks of suspicion. But the decision to resurrect Fleming's narrative ghosts comes with hefty responsibilities and there's a thin line between successful fan-service and ephemeral tokenism. Join us as we go down the literary gunbarrel for another LTP 007 and discuss the finer points of Gardner's sophomore effort!