The Next Chapter·Dog-eared Reads

Why mystery writer Peter Robinson loves the James Bond books

The author of the Inspector Banks series shares why he loves re-reading the classic Ian Fleming novels.
Peter Robinson loves the classic Ian Fleming novels. (Mustbe Interactive, Random House Canada)

Peter Robinson loves a good thriller. And he knows what it takes to write one: he's been writing the bestselling Inspector Alan Banks for more than 30 years.

Robinson's books have won many awards and have been translated into 20 languages. He's been called the master of the police procedural — and with the latest Inspector Banks novel Many Rivers to Cross, he's up to book number 26 in the popular series. 

He stopped by The Next Chapter to talk about another successful series: the James Bond books. Robinson loves revisitng the classic thrillers by Ian Fleming.

"A series of books I like to go back to every once in a while are the James Bond books by Ian Fleming. I know he was criticized in a lot of ways, but he does terrific action scenes and wonderful underwater scenes.

He does terrific action scenes and wonderful underwater scenes.

"Bond is a great fantasy figure. It's not that you want to be him, but the idea of there being somebody who can take on the evils of the world and bounce back every time and win every time and get the girl. It's great to read about when you don't actually do that yourself."

Peter Robinson's comments have been edited for length and clarity.

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