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Amazon.co.uk Review
Bond is on leave in the Bahamas with the tall, beautiful and intelligent Helena Marksbury, his P.A. at the S.I.S. (as the MI6 is now known). Here, through the murder of his old friend, the ex-Governor of the Bahamas, he has his first taste of a growing World-wide criminal organisation known as "The Union". Back in England two weeks later and the Union is involved again, suspected of being behind the highjacking of Britain's vital military breakthrough "Skin17".

On the trail of the missing micro-dot, 007 travels to Brussels and onto Nepal where he embarks on an epic mission climbing the Kangchenjunga, the World's third highest mountain, in an attempt to rescue the micro-dot from a crashed plane. Needless to say, the British Secret Service isn't the only party interested in retrieving this top military secret and Bond encounters other challenges besides that of surviving this great mountaineering expedition.

In High Time to Kill, Benson has created a 90s' criminal organisation to rival Fleming's own "Smersh" or "Spectre", with a chilling method of disposing of those who cross them. There are some strong episodes--a golf match between Bond and his old Etonian rival, Roland Marquis, and the climax of the mountaineering adventure where Benson keeps you guessing right to the end. Indeed, the appearance of Marquis provides an interesting insight into Bond's schoolboy-like competitiveness.

Although wholesome enough, Bond's romantic adventures aren't as strong here as in many of Benson or John Gardner's previous novels--his efforts are spread too thinly between Marksbury, a toothpick-sucking Belgian agent and the rather dour New Zealand mountaineer, Dr Hope Rendell. Nevertheless, High Time to Kill is a refreshing Bond novel, with the emphasis firmly on espionage and suspense rather than over-stated action and Q-Branch gizmos. --Julian BrosterEND

Book Description
Raymond Benson's new James Bond story is his most thrilling adventure yet, as he pursues a ruthless criminal conspiracy to a breathtaking showdown eight thousand metres above the world on a peak in the Himalayas.

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15 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review (15 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   7 of 8 people found the following review helpful: Definatly the best of Benson's Bond, 15 Mar 2003 By  Simon Ball - See all my reviews This was the seconds novel of Benson's I read, and I have to say, I was most impressed with it. After finishing the very good Zero Minus Ten, I chose this to read, basically, because I liked the look of the cover, it also had a nice feel. Now if you like this cover, like myself, then you'll find you should judge a book by it's cover. Now to the serious past, the story. High Time to Kill introduces the criminal organisation known at 'The Union', which feature heavily in the rest of Benson's work. The story line is simple, in a way. Bond needs to get back some plans which are printed on a microdot, which is on someone's pacemaker, who was on a plane that crashed into the Himilayas. Simple enough right? Well it is a wee bit more complicated. There are a few traitors about, and all hamper 007's attempt to climb the mountain and attain his goal. The majority of the story is, of course, the treck up the mountain and the search for the frozen body. Bond is accompanied by many people, but notibly, Hope Kendall, a Kiwi doctor, Roland Marquis, Bond's old rival at school and Chandra, in my opinion, a class bloke, who is a Gurkha. They all contribute heavily to the book. This really is a facinating book, with a story line and characters to match. I urge you buy this book, I promise you be dissapointed.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: Masterful- Easily rivaling the work of fleming himself., 23 Jul 2000 By A Customer In the novel, Bond, first encounters The Union, a terrorist organisation reminiscent of SPECTRE. Unlike most Bond novels in which you are aware of the villains and their intentions, the book keeps you guessing all the way through the expedition up Kangchenjunga, the third tallest mountain on earth. I thought the expedition was a most origianal setting far superior to the the work of John Gardner. It was also faster moving than any other Bond novel I have ever read, and also had a very contempory feel to it which I liked. There were three main women in the book and two bad guys- Harding and Marquis. I give the book top marks for plot, originality and over all being the best Raymond Benson effort to date.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: For enthusiasts' eyes only, 14 Nov 2002 By  strozzapreti "strozzapreti" (Bradford, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews This review is from: High Time to Kill (Thorndike Basic) (Hardcover) A book is almost always better than the filmed version because it allows your own imagination to envisage situations and characters. This latest James Bond adventure is an exception to the rule. I wish I could view the story’s exciting action sequences on the big screen instead of plodding through the book’s numerous stilted descriptions of politics, sex, food, clothes and equipment. Benson does get some credit for being unafraid to make 007 a fairly disagreeable character, still unwilling to form a meaningful relationship with the opposite sex, and forever whining about physical discomforts of mountaineering in Nepal. Strictly for enthusiasts only.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 15 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews High Time to Sleep This is Bond on the Eiger Sanction/Cliffhanger outing. He has absolutely nothing to do with how the plot develops but goes climbing in the Himalaya's to get back some McGuffin... Read more Published 2 months ago by Mr. Ian Stubbs Perfect fusion makes this one of the BEST Bond novels. HIGH TIME TO KILL is a unique James Bond adventure. It's very experimental in its use of a single setting in the second half of the book, while still deftly adhering to the... Read more Published on 26 Nov 2003 by John Cox True Bond style with fast cars, fast women and gadgets galor Benson once again puts the style and edge back into Bond, showing that he is not some sort of superhero but a man with flaws like the rest of us. Read more Published on 7 Oct 2001 Thankyou Mr. Bond, that will be all. This was my first Bond novel. Perhaps I've been spoilt by the screen versions, but I thought this to be very poor. I did read it through, but I won't be buying any others. Read more Published on 9 Jul 2001 This one kept me up all night!!!!!!! Having read most of the Fleming Bonds and a few of the Gardner's I was prepared for a good solid spy story. Read more Published on 27 May 2001 Suspense, action, romance. HTTK has it all! High time to kill succeds where other bond novels failed with the tension and suspense created throughout the novel. Read more Published on 6 Feb 2001 Benson has nearly made the character of Bond his own. Quite a good novel for a man I didn't think could cut the grade as Bond's writer. In this this instalment of Bond's escapades, Benson has truely created a BRILLIANT criminal... Read more Published on 25 Jul 2000 Benson delivers Benson's best to date and pretty much what we would expect of a decent Bond novel. It could have been a bit longer and with a less obvious 'who is the murderer in our midst' plot... Read more Published on 2 Jun 2000 Bloody Brilliant! This is probably Bensons best book yet. It has loads of cool gadgets and girls. I really cant see why it is not a film. Read more Published on 18 Nov 1999 by philipsmith@talk21.com Benson's best Bond yet Being a fan of 007 myself, this is Raymond Benson's Bond novel since he wrote Zero Minus Ten. It is full of action and the locations are sesational in every way, from the... Read more Published on 28 Oct 1999 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews