Rating: 
Summary: Good story, poorly written!
Review: Although I must confess to having really enjoyed reading HTTK, it struck me that it was one of the worst written books ever. It reads like a teenager's english essay! Having said this it was probably the slickest, fastest moving, and most action packed Bond book of all time. This is proved by the fact that I finished it in just two sittings. All the essential bond elements were there but were overdone- the Jaguar's special 'extras' were ridiculous and the girls and fights were so frequent its a wonder Bond had any energy left for his mission! The story concerns itself mainly with introducing the Union(SPECTRE II!)in a way reminiscent of Flemings introduction to SMERSH in Casino Royale. The Union(with the help of an old rival of Bond's) have stolen an important British Military secret and Bond is sent to recover it. Overall Bensons latest effort pretty good but their is still much to be improved on!
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting and action-packed. A real page turner.
Review: From front to back cover, this book has it all. It has action elements, a thrilling plot, and of course, James Bond 007, need I say more?!
Rating:
Summary: Benson Does Justice to Bond
Review: I have read Mr. Benson's Bond novels before, and even though I enjoyed them, this one was the most enjoyable. In my opinion, Mr. Benson has captured the essence of book Bond in this novel, not movie Bond. This is a wonderful Bond novel, and I recommend it whole heatedly. This book reads like a book, not an outline for a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Very good read, nicely done Bond book
Review: Very will done Bond book. However, I found it much less a thrill to read than ZERO MINUS TEN. Recommended to fans of the Bond books, but Bond movie fans will be very disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: High praise for Raymond Benson's "High Time to Kill"
Review: Attempting to pen a new 007 novel is no easy trick. How many different and exotic locales has Bond not already visited? How many more super terrorist organizations are left to combat? How many new gizmos can Q-Branch invent? How many glamorous fem fatals has Bond already bedded?(80+ by my rough estimates)Who better to answer these questions and embark on another 00-adventure than the world's leading James Bond authority, Raymond Benson. As the author of the James Bond Bedside Companion, Director of the Ian Flemming Foundation and Vice President of 007 Fan Club, no other individual has spent more time examining the life and times of one of literatures most lasting characters. The most pleasurable of Benson's 007 novels to date(he has written two before this) relies on the fact that Benson goes back to the style of Fleming's novels instead of Broccoli's screenplays. Special effects are present but they take a backseat to the special circumstances that the novel's special characters find themselves in. Does Benson try to reinvent the wheel with this latest installment, thankfully no. But he does make watching it almost careen off the world's third highest peak very exciting. Age old Sherpa's meet up with cutting-edge super computer chips. Badguys abound and are unceremoniously decrowned. This tour-de-force travel log takes you half way around the world and is replete with history lessons and delicous gastronomical sessions. Just about the only thing 007 doesn't do while scaling Mount Kangchenjunga is make and shake the "perfect Martini" using glacier ice cubes.(I really wish he had!) Benson allows us to experience the human frailties of 007 along with his superhuman strengths. A new happening under Benson's authorship, female Bondophiles will appreciate that 007's stodgy, old boss "M" has been retired and replaced by a "W". As the new head of MI6, Barbara Mawdsley doesn't shower Bond with maternal affection. Indeed sensing his sexism and knowing of his treatment of women as disposable playthings, she runs him with harsh professionalism. So high praise to Benson for mining fresh life into this seemingly exhasuted series/genre. As long as you don't set your expectations on the moon(raker, that is) you'll not only enjoy where Benson takes Bond, but you will also appreciate where he leaves you both.
Rating:
Summary: A great Bond novel. Benson has written a classic Bond book.
Review: High Time to Kill represents Raymond Bensons' 3rd original Bond novel. Whereas his last book reads like a movie, here Benson shows why the novel Bond is still the best. With minimal reliance on gadgetry, HTTK sees Bond from the civiled streets of Nassau to the brutal, unciviled reaches of the Himalayas. We are swept along with 007 as he searches for a stolen formula, aware that their his a tratior in his midst. HTTK adds to Bonds background without contradicting anything written by Ian Fleming. Benson also introduces "The Union" already destined to be right up there among Bond villians SPECTRE and SMERSH. Here, it remains in the shadows, and we are left wondering where it will rise again to plague 007. Having assumed the mantle of Bond authorship, here Benson gets the whole fireplace as well. His Bond gets better and better. Looking forward to his next Bond book.
Rating:
Summary: Best Benson Bond, and best Bond since "You Only Live Twice"!
Review: Look folks, Ian Fleming, may he rest in peace, cannot rise up and write more Bond novels. However, Raymond Benson seems to be the next best thing. Yes, his portrayal of sex is less subtle than Fleming's style, and perhaps the gadgets are overplayed a bit (such as the contraption that flies out of Bond's car), but Benson's three Bond novels have so far been more sensational than any of Gardner's. Moreover, his portrayal of Bond is closer to Fleming's than Gardner's. Even better, forget Fleming - Benson has developed his a Bond in his own right, and he's a damn interesting character. As well, "High Time To Kill" is clearly Benson's best, with a crackerjack story from start to finish. The trek up the world's third highest peak was nothing short of riveting.
Rating:
Summary: Not as fun
Review: For some reason this is Raymond benson's worst james Bond novel. I don't know why: maybe just because it didn't keep me reading all night like his first two. Maybe another reason was because the plot is far too straightforward and wasn't invloving like the complex plots in both ZERO MINUS TEN and the excellent THE FACTS OF DEATH. Both had complicated plots and mysteries, and kept me reading. The plot of HIGH TIME TO KILL is bland and not involving. The ending is the biggest anti-climax in a Bond novel since CASINO ROYALE and seems to drag on and on without any real excitement. It's still a damn sight better than most of John Gardner's Bond novels, but hopefully Benson will make his next one a bit more reader-involving, and, FOR GOD's SAKE RAYMOND: PUT IN SOME MORE FLAIMN' DETAIL! As soon as I read the opening motorcycle chase scene I knew that Benson had a long way to go to get as detailed as Fleming. Even Gardner made more effort than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Goodbye, Mr. Benson
Review: It's probably a very good thing that Ian Fleming is no longer alive to see an American hack "writing" the James Bond novels. Though he probably would not have liked many of John Gardner's books, he certainly would have found Benson abominable. Bond spouting Americanisms? An incredibly ridiculous gadget-ridden car, perhaps even more so than anything in the movies? Absolutely embarassingly bad descriptions of sex scenes. And BORING. Setting a James Bond novel on a mountain was a poor idea, since there is no excitement generated and since Benson is not a good enough writer to give us real human drama. Raymond Benson is basically a James Bond fan who is trying his hand at the novels.
Rating:
Summary: You love it or you hate it...I hated it.
Review: Well, by looking at the Customer Comments on this book, it appears that you either love it or you hate it...odd how little middle ground there is! Me, I couldn't understand why any fans enjoyed this...I found it dull, slow (Benson does not have the skill to make rock climbing interesting...I kept thinking of that old "Mystery Science Theater 3000" epsiode where the mountain climbing scenes went on...and on...and on...and on...and on...), and most disappointing of all, incredibly predictable (the villain is *exactly* who you, and Bond, suspect it is, with absolutely no intrigue or mystery). Add to that a very awkward subplot featuring a Bond romance gone wrong (hey, we don't want to read about 007 having spats with his lovers...) and you're left with one of the weakest entries in the canon. (Then again, I liked most of John Gardner's entries and my favorite movie is "On Her Majesty's Secret service", so you can take my advice with a grain of salt if you wish--I'm obviously not in the majority of Bond fans).
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