When James Bond creator Ian Fleming died on August 12th 1964, readers of his adventures may have feared it was also the end of the line for 007. But there were still two titles in the tank. Fleming's last full-length novel, "The Man With The Golden Gun", was published posthumously in 1965 by Jonathan Cape in the UK and by The New American Library in the USA.

Topping the well-received "You Only Live Twice" would prove an impossible task for Fleming, who was suffering ill-health at the time he penned his 'unlucky' 13th Bond title "Golden Gun". So drastic was the drop in quality of plot and writing that many believed that one-time Bond continuation author Kingsley Amis ("Colonel Sun") was brought in to touch-up the manuscript prior to publication. Although Amis did recommend certain changes, they were never actioned and he never worked on the novel. A detailed account of his involvement can be read in the Titan Books edition of the "Colonel Sun" comic strip compilation.

"Golden Gun" did elicit some praise, but most of the critics in 1965 had their knives out for 007 after his creator's passing. Most were unimpressed with the novel’s villain, the golden gun-toting Scaramanga, especially when compared to Bond’s previous foes.

Above: 1st edition Jonathan Cape hardback (UK). Artwork by Richard Chopping.

Above: British Pan paperback 1st edition (1966)

Almost all reviewers acknowledged the novel’s shortcomings. “Construction is patchy and both sides get away with incompetence which would have been unthinkable or immediately fatal a few years earlier in Bond’s career,” said Raven. The New Yorker wrote, “There is little else here to recall those earlier days. There is no cheerful fornication, no breathless chemin de fer, no gourmet meals, no joyous drinking, no extraordinary physical exertions, and only the merest dribble of spilled blood.”

Anthony Boucher of the New York Times Book Review claimed “this posthumous story contains no imaginative criminal plot, no worthy Bond-antagonist, and not even a Bond-girl.” Kingsley Amis, normally a Bond supporter, also blasted the novel, calling it “a sadly empty tale” with a thin main plot with violence and sex at a minimum. Finally, the Christian Century seemed joyous at Fleming’s death and the end of the Bond line: “We’re spoilsports, kill-joys and affirmers of life,” it stated.

Despite the critical reception, 95,134 hardback copies were sold in the USA in 1965 alone. A serious total made more impressive by the book's presence on the bestseller list for 15 weeks of that year, peaking at number 6 in the chart.