Author: Raymond Benson
“Zero Minus Ten” is one of the best "non-Ian Fleming" James Bond novels and is expertly written by Raymond Benson. This book feels like the novelization of an unused Daniel Craig James Bond script. Lots and lots of brutal action that is very visually described, featuring a James Bond that is physically very powerful.
The locations are described well (Hong Kong, Macau, and the Australian Outback.) The right amount of leisure and travel-writing occurs with games of Mah-Jong and an Australian Walkabout.
This has to be the best non-Fleming Bond book that I have read to date. The story is brilliantly put together, the plot is really clever and the entire story is wrapped around the handover of British-controlled Hong Kong to the Chinese back in 1997.
I found this Bond novel a 'hard to put down' read, which was a problem when reading late at night! All that said, nothing is perfect and I found the sex scenes borderline cheap Romance novel-porn and the game of Mah-Jong was difficult to understand.
All in all, Zero Minus Ten is an excellent book (my favorite Raymond Benson Bond book), which in my mind deserves to be a James Bond film... Definitely worth a read for any James Bond fan.
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