Licence Renewed by John Gardner

Relaunching the James Bond literary franchise

In 1979, Glidrose Publications approached John Gardner and asked him to revive Ian Fleming's James Bond series of novels. Gardner was tasked with updating James Bond and his allies and transporting them into the 1980s. Updating the time frame to the 1980s, Gardner's series picks up the career of James Bond some years after the Fleming novels ended.

 

When Licence Renewed begins, M reminds James Bond that the 00 section has in fact been abolished. But M retains Bond as a troubleshooter, telling him "You'll always be 007 to me". Bond is assigned to investigate one Dr. Anton Murik, a brilliant nuclear physicist who is thought to have been having meetings with a terrorist named Franco. Franco is identified and tracked by MI5 to a village in Scotland called Murcaldy. Since Murcaldy is outside of MI6's jurisdiction, the Director-General of MI5, Richard Duggan requests that M send Bond to survey Murik. Relying on information that MI5 did not have, M changes Bond's assignment to instead infiltrate Murik's Scottish castle and gain Murik's confidence. James Bond makes contact with Murik at Ascot Racecourse where he feigns a coincidental meeting, mentioning to Murik that he is a mercenary looking for work. Later, Bond joins Murik in Scotland at Murik's behest and is hired to kill Franco, for reasoning at the time unknown. Franco in turn has been tasked by Murik to kill his young ward, Lavender Peacock because she was the true heir to the Murik fortune, which could only be proved by secret documents kept in a hidden safe within the castle. Murik's plan is revealed to hijack six nuclear power plants around the world simultaneously with the aid of bands of terrorists supplied by Franco. To ensure that Murik can never be associated to this deal, he attempts to use Bond to assassinate Franco. Ultimately terrorists do take over six nuclear power plants, but are prevented from starting a meltdown when they are given an abort code by Bond, believing him to be Murik. Murik is eventually defeated by Bond and Lavender before his demands are met.

Printing History

Written by John Edmund Gardner (1926-2007)

UK first hardback edition: May 1981 by Jonathan Cape
US first hardback edition: April 1981 by G. P. Putnam's Sons
UK first paperback edition: 1982 by Coronet Books
US first paperback edition: May 1982 by Berkley Books

 

Trivia

The U.S. hardcover edition sold more than 130,000 copies.

Bonus Cover