The author of 16 James Bond novels between 1981 and 1996.
Followed Ian Fleming and Kingsley Amis as the third writer of original James Bond
novels in 1981.
In his Bond novels, he made 007 a little less flamboyant, and changed his Aston Martin to a Saab. The women characters were given more depth.
During WWII, he served as a Royal Marine commando in the Middle East and Far East. By his own admission, he was "the worst commando in the world". While learning to fly, he bent an airplane (not an easy thing to do).
Gardner's favorite James Bond novel he wrote was The Man from Barbarossa.