For Special Services (1982)
Author: |
John Gardner |
Published: |
April 1982 |
MI6 Rating: |
|
Data Stream
Villains: |
Nena Blofeld (Blofeld's Heir), Markus Bismaquer,
Walter Luxor, Mike Mazzard |
Plot: |
SPECTRE is back and plans to gain control of the
Space Wolf Satellites. 007 must go undercover to uncover
the new leader of one of his oldest adversaries. |
Bond Girls: |
Cedar Leiter, Nena Bismaquer |
Allies: |
Felix Leiter, Q’ute |
Locations: |
London (UK); New York (USA); Washington DC (USA);
Amarillo, Texas (USA); Cheyenne Mountain (USA); Louisiana
(USA) |
Highlights: |
Plane hijack; meeting with Blofeld. |
Capsule Synopsis
On secret loan to the American government, Bond joins forces
with his old friend Felix Leiter and Leiter's lovely daughter.
Soon, he experiences the full deadly force of SPECTRE's
new power...(British Coronet Paperback, 2003) |
|
Above: British 1st edition Jonathan
Cape hardback. |
Official Blurb (First Edition USA Hardback)
007 IS BACK AGAIN, on secret loan to the U.S. government in
this brand-new, ultra-Bond thriller. His partner? None other
than the tough-minded and gorgeous Cedar, daughter of his old
friend Felix Leiter. His enemy? The legendary SPECTRE - the
Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge
and Extortion - a SPECTRE whose strength has grown in the new
secret war waged in the gray corridors of political power.
Bond and Cedar make a potent team, as they must, for they face
an unending series of terrifying situations - from a skyjacking,
to a plunging Washington, D.C., elevator, to armies of killer
ants, to confrontation on a speeding monorail. Inexorably they
work their way to the remote and ultra-luxurious ranch of the
ambitious Texas tycoon Markus Bismaquer, where Bond comes face-to-face
- and more - with Bismaquer's young French wife, Nena, and has
experiences of a different kind with the tycoon's sinister,
skull-faced partner, Walter Luxor. Political scandal and intrigue,
military murder and mayhem, follow Bond, yet some final nagging
questions continue to elude him until the last great revelation:
who is SPECTRE's new leader, who calls himself Blofeld? And
what is the final aim of SPECTRE's secret Heavenly Wolf operation?
With Licence Renewed, John Gardner brought back James
Bond, the world's most famous spy. Now, in For Special Services,
Bond is here to stay, in a super-thriller filled with suspense,
intrigue, humour and sprawling action that has made Agent 007
a delight to millions of readers throughout the world.
Official Blurb (First Edition UK Hardback)
In For Special Services, Bond is on loan to the United States
Government, his partner none other than the tough and beautiful
Cedar, daughter of 007's old friend Felix Leiter. Their enemy?
An old adversary, the legendary SPECTRE (Special Executive for
Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), has
reappeared. Bond and Cedar find themselves in some deadly and
terrifying situations - from skyjack to plunging elevator, from
armies of killer ants in the Mid-West to horror on a private
mono-rail - before they come face to face with the heir to Blofeld's
iniquitous empire.
- Three Zeros
- Ninety Seconds
- The House on the Bayou
- Pillow Thoughts
- Cedar
- Rare Prints For Sale
- Invitation by Force
- Intimations of Mortality
- When the Fun Really Starts
- The Road to Amarillo
- Rancho Bismaquer
- Guided Tour
- Tour de Force
- Repellent Insects
- Grand Prix
- Nena
- Heavenly Wolf
- Shock Tactics
- Four Star General
- Cheyenne Mountain
- Blofeld
- To James Bond: The Gift of a Daughter
|
Right: American 1st edition Coward,
McCann & Geoghegan hardback. Far
Right: American 1st edition Berkley paperback. |
|
Above Left: British 8th edition
Coronet paperback (UK). Above Right: British 1st edition
Coronet paperback.
|
Acknowledgements
As with the first continuation James Bond novel, Licence
Renewed, I must acknowledge grateful thanks to the literary
copyright holders - Glidrose Productions - for inviting me to
follow in Ian Fleming's footsteps, and attempt to bring Mr.
Bond into the 1980;s. In particular, my personal thanks to Dennis
Joss, Peter Janson-Smith, and John parkinson for their patience
and trust.
Great acknowledgment must also go to Peter Israel, of the Putnam
Publishing Group, and my personal manager, Desmond Elliott,
both of whom have given me valuable assistance and support.
I would also like to express my personal gratitude to all members
of Saab (GB) Ltd., and Saab-Scania in Sweden, for the amount
of time, trouble, patience and enthusiasm they have put into
proving that the James Bond Saab really does exist. In particular,
i must mention - among a host of others - John Smerdo, Steve
Andresia, Phil Hall, John Edwards, Ian Adcock, Peter Seltzer,
and Hans Thornquist.
When going through the acknowledgments for Licence Renewed,
I realised I had omitted a most important name - the knowledgeable
man who privately researched a short list of motorcars, which
eventually led my putting Mr. Bond into a Saab: Tony Snare.
Ian Fleming, being the great craftsman he was, always attempted
- with some licence, granted to all writers of fiction - to
get the nuts and bolts correct. I have tried to do the same
thing, with one exception. While the NORAD Command Headquarters
exists - in the Cheyenne Mountains, Colorado - I found it impossible
to get any accurate description of the way into this incredible
defence base. It has, therefore, been necessary for some invention
here. All the space satellites mentioned do exist, and it is
my understanding that the race for a Particle Beam Weapon is
going on at this moment.
The only exception, among the satellites, is the important one
which I have designated the Space Wolf. however, I am firmly
assured that the capability of these weapons does exist and
that they are real, even though, at the time of writing, no
country will admit to any being in orbit.
John Gardner
Ireland, 1981
Afterword
In 1941 Fleming accompanied Admiral Godfrey to the United States
for the purpose of establishing relations with the American
secret service organisations. In new York Fleming met Sir William
Stephenson, 'the quiet Canadian', who became a life-long friend.
Stephenson allowed Fleming to take part in a clandestine operation
against a Japanese cipher expert who had an office in Rockefeller
Center. Fleming later embellished this story and used it in
his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953). Stephenson
also introduced Fleming to General William Donovan, who had
just been appointed Co-ordinator of Information, a post which
eventually evolved into the chairmanship of the Office of Strategic
Services and then of the Central Intelligence Agency. At Donovan's
request Fleming wrote a lengthy memorandum describing the structure
and functions of a secret service organisation. This memorandum
later became part of the charter of the O.S.S. and, thus, of
the C.I.A. In appreciation Donovan presented Fleming with a
.38 Police Positive Colt revolver inscribed 'For Special Services'.
Joan DelFattore,
University of Delaware
(from a dictionary of literary biography)
Excerpt
"As the 747 came whining in, flaps fully extended and the
spoilers lifting as the aeroplane rolled out, touching down
gently on runway 28R, he pondered the hijacker's last words.
No, he thought, it was too far-fetched, an obsession out of
his past. Inspector. In... spector. Forget about the 'In'. Was
it possible after all this time?"
Trivia
The villain schemes with a criminal syndicate to take control
of a series of space satellites - a plot echoed in the 1995
movie "GoldenEye".
Timeline
Nevertheless, Bond meets Nena, Bismaquer’s single-breasted
wife in secret and makes love to her before going to spy on her
husband’s conference centre. 007 comes across a meeting
of SPECTRE, who are planning to gain control of the USA’s
military satellites. They will take over a base in Colorado by
feeding the workers ice cream containing a chemical which makes
them susceptible to orders.
Bond is captured by SPECTRE and hypnotised into thinking he is
General James Banker. Bond makes a surprise inspection of the
NORAD base, in reality letting a SPECTRE agent in. However, Bismaquer
is attracted to Bond and releases the hypnotism. He orders the
troops to resist the SPECTRE men and during the battle Nena comes
to rescue Bond and then kills Bismaquer, because it turns out
she was Blofeld’s illegitimate daughter. She tries to escape,
but is killed by her own pet snakes. Felix arrives to clear things
up, and Bond heads on vacation with Cedar.