Contact zero vs The Man with the Golden Gun: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Assassins, Intelligence officers, Spy Fiction, Fiction
Contact zero
More
Framed and dispossessed for a crime he did not commit during his first assignment, recent Spy School graduate Ben Locke learns that several of his fellow classmates have been murdered, a situation that forces him to…
The Man with the Golden Gun
More
Bond may have a license to kill, but “Pistols” Scaramanga has a talent for it. He’s a KGB-trained assassin who’s left a trail of dead British Secret Service agents in his wake. His weapon of choice? A gold-plated Colt…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Man with the Golden Gun is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 8 for Contact zero.
- The Man with the Golden Gun has the widest readership — 14971 ratings behind its score.
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission on purchases.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Contact zero | The Man with the Golden Gun | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (262) | 3.6 (14971) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.4 (51) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (18) |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Reception
| Contact zero | The Man with the Golden Gun | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 262 | 14971 |
| Editions | 8 | 95 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 158 | 9447 |
| Reading it now | 7 | 452 |
| Written reviews | 27 | 891 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 3958 |
| Pages | 448 | 134 |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Contact zero or The Man with the Golden Gun?
Contact zero has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Contact zero 3.6/5, The Man with the Golden Gun 3.6/5).
Which is shorter to read: Contact zero or The Man with the Golden Gun?
The Man with the Golden Gun is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Man with the Golden Gun (134 pages, ≈ 2 h 29 m); Contact zero (448 pages, ≈ 8 h 18 m).
Which is harder to read: Contact zero or The Man with the Golden Gun?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Contact zero: Moderate; The Man with the Golden Gun: Light.
Have both books been made into films?
Contact zero: no film adaptation on record; The Man with the Golden Gun: 3 film adaptations.