Devil May Care (The New James Bond Novel )
by Sebastian Faulks
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Book Reviews of Devil May Care (The New James Bond Novel )
Book Review: An Authentic Fleming
Summary: 4 Stars
If There Wasn't Death
Please note that I said authentic Fleming but not authentic Bond. It is not possible to recreate a legend. Even Markham's (the very good writer, Kingsley Amis)Colonel Sun did not come near the hero of Fleming, but oh, so much better than the dreadful John Gardner's anemical Bond books.
So Mr. Sebastian Faulks, bless him, although I had not heard of him before this, manages a very creditable Fleming book without falling into the pastiche category. The title correctly identifies him writing as Ian Fleming.
Yes, it is crisp like a toast, violent like a cutthroat on the street and the sex scenes are short and provoking.
Violence: plenty of it, all in the traditional Fleming manner of not lingering too much on the details. Mathis lifted Hashim's clenched fist. There was a bloody piece of meat sticking out of it.
'It's his tongue.'
The villain is nicely vicious, and very anti-British, and although no Goldfinger, is very believable. Yes, he suffers from main de singe, or monkey's hand.
But Bond!
He's still not over his wife's death (read the Moneypenny Diaries), and is not sure he'd ever go back to active service. But he does. He drinks Johnny Walker Black with ice and club soda or Bourbon (where did he get a taste of the sour mash?)with water.
Not too many funny lines but Felix Leiter on learning where Bond was exclaims, 'And just where the Hell is Tehran?' (It is the 70s).
And one of the best throw away lines comes from Gorner the villain, ordering poached egg, bacon, coffee. Bond says, 'I should like black pepper on mine, cracked not ground.' Gorner says, 'Remember the starving Irish, a cup of water for you.'
Yes, Bond is back. Unfortunately the influence of film is written all over it, but it does not sound like a screenplay turned novel but a novel that would make a good screenplay.
Bravo, Mr. Faulks!
Ah, I nearly forgot, watch out for agent 004. Does M really want 007 to work with another or even replace him?
Hugely entertaining
Really enjoyable.
Book Review: Disappointing pastiche that Bond fans will find all too familiar...
Summary: 3 Stars
Anyone who has read and enjoyed Fleming's Bond (as opposed to the filmic incarnation) would have had high hopes for this book which takes Bond back to his 60s roots. But without giving away any spoilers it's a fairly limpid effort by Faulks. It's not parody I'll give it that - it takes itself very seriously - but it's a pastiche or perhaps a rerun of any half good moment from Fleming's novels. The difference is Fleming did not feel the need to rehash his own stories whereas Faulks, unfortunately, has chosen to rehash pretty much all of them in some misguided notion that this is what we call "a tribute" these days. The problem with this is that Fleming would often allude to other missions that Bond had undertaken, suggesting that we were only catching a glimpse of his world (a case in point being the brilliant "The Spy Who Loved Me"). For Faulks, Bond only exists within Fleming's 14 or so novels. Unwittingly, rather than making his Bond authentic, Faulks has awkwardly foregrounded his fictionality.
Only on a few occasions does he capture a hint of Fleming's style (Faulks is rather bizarrely credited as "writing as Ian Fleming" which has to be the most curious disclaimer for literary channeling I've ever seen!!!). Faulks has basically got Bond's tone of speech and behavior right and noteworthy is the tensely written tennis match as well as the off-handedly meancing turn of dialogue between JD Silver and Bond when he tries to warn Bond off the case. But there are so many moments that fall flat. Perhaps the worst for me is when Bond meets Darius and asks him about the villain, Gorner. Darius basically says "I'll tell you about him but first listen to my backstory for 2 pages..." Sloppy exposition. This sequence is compounded by an appalling niteclub sequence that really is so far off the mark for Fleming that I can't even begin to explain. The villain of the piece, Dr Gorner, is your usual run-of-the-mill deformed megalomaniac with an OTT plan and some of the weakest character motivation that I'll just let the reader discover for themselves. A lot of hype surrounded this book and it would seem that hype alone and not plot will sell it.
Book Review: Return to the past
Summary: 3 Stars
New Bond author Sebastian Faulks returns the British agent to mid nineteen-sixties England, immediately after the close of the final Ian Fleming entry in the original series. Faulk creates a period piece in which the character, writing style and environment are returned to their roots.
The plot resembles that of Goldfinger. There is a minimum of mayhem in the first half of the book; especially as compared to the movie series and modern adventure fiction. Bond bests villian Dr. Julius Gorner in tennis rather than golf, helps a woman whose sister was compromised (the Masters sisters in Goldfinger), breaks in to Gorner's stronghold, is captured and held captive at a desert hideaway (a horsefarm in the prior book.)
Bond is once again a two packs of cigarettes a day athlete who consumes martinis more often than he does pushups, while eschewing technical aides or "gadgets." The "sex, sadism, snobbery" mantra of the early books is again in evidence except that the sex is treated lightly compared to current fiction.
Faulks portrays Bond as a "citizen of eternity." 007 is an agent with a moral compass which enables him to make quick decisions rather than think through "ten shades of gray." He possesses the certainty associated with the black and white world of the Cold War.
The book is a nostalgic tour of a low tech past: pre-revolution Iran, padlocks as security, circumspection in Bond's maiming and killing. The story's adherence to period integrity makes it even more interesting when Faulks has the iconic Cold Warrior react to facts unknown at the time. When Gorner tells Bond that the CIA flies cargoes of opium out of Southeast Asia, Bond replies "That's absurd."
Although the feel of the book is dated, that is part of its charm. I did not feel, though, it carried the book much beyond the level of a pot-boiler.
Nostalgia for the Cold War is an interesting appetite. It can be fed by this newest entry into the 007 canon.
Book Review: Yes, it's not perfect - but it's a pretty good Bond pastiche!
Summary: 4 Stars
To celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth, the Fleming estate c ommissioned a new James Bond novel, tapping noted British historical fiction author Sebastian Faulks to wield the pen. Fleming's literary legacy, secret agent 007, is recognized all over the world through books, movies and tie-ins, and Faulks joins a select group of authors who have added new chapters to that legacy: Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Gardner, Raymond Benson, and most recently Charlie Higson (writing about the Young Bond). In what seems to be a stroke-of-genius choice, Devil May Care picks up immediately after the original Fleming sequence and drops a slightly mind-damaged Bond into the heat of the Cold War, sending him to Iran to match wits with another megalomaniacal villain, Dr. Julius Gorner, a pharmaceuticals magnate with shady ties to both sides of World War II. Aided by the lovely and colorfully "liberated" Scarlett Papava, who has her own motives, and a bevy of Fleming-esque secondary characters, Bond begins his campaign with a tennis battle reminiscent of the golf game against Goldfinger. In fact, the whole caper reads a bit like a pastiche of the classic Goldfinger, but not to its detriment. True Bond and Fleming aficionados will argue forever whether this new Bond stands up to the original, but it's undeniable that Faulks presents a less super-human secret agent, and takes the opportunity to make some sly observations about the present-day situation in this volatile region. Ultimately, time and distance will determine whether Faulks succeeds in his attempt to rein in the movie Bond, but Devil May Care seems to hit all the right notes, even if some echo Fleming's own works. Anyone who has followed Bond's adventures will want to judge first-hand whether the Faulks version of the immortal secret agent does indeed pay tribute to Fleming, Ian Fleming. In my mind, it's a resounding yes, even if the new authorial byline is oddly tagged with the curious phrase: "Writing as Ian Fleming."Book Review: The Return Of The Literary 007
Summary: 4 Stars
The literary 007 finally makes a return for the first time since Raymond Benson's exit with the novel The Man With The Red Tattoo back in 2002. With a new author, not known for thriller writing, taking the reigns there was much hope for Devil May Care. So what is the verdict on the new 007 adventure?
Well it is not a perfect book by any means though and I won't claim it as such. Author Sebastian Faulks tries too hard at times to make his style Fleming's style and the plot seems to be taken from some unmade Roger Moore script. That said I feel there are things that Faulks does get right.
Faulks biggest strength in the novel is his characters. To begin with, he seems to have a good idea of the Bond character and while it might not be 100% Fleming's, it feels more like the character then previous continuation authors had in their first Bond novels. The villain, Dr. Julius Gorner, has some interesting echoes of some of Fleming's best villains (Drax, Dr. No) though there are moments when he is nothing more then a two-dimensional villain. The girls in the story, Poppy and Scarlet, make for an interesting twist on the usual Bond girl especially at the conclusion.
Faulks also makes good use of some other Fleming characters. In particular he uses Felix Leiter, M, Tanner, and Moneypenny. They are a near perfect example of a good use of continuity that doesn't feel forced. There are also some nice bits of travelogue that seem somewhat reminiscent of Fleming, one of the Fleming style aspects that Faulks does get right.
As I said it's not perfect, nor does it really claim it to be. It is an enjoyable continuation of the Fleming books and (at times) feels like one. Sadly, Faulks tries too hard to copy Fleming in style with a Roger Moore film plot. Otherwise, Devil May Care is on par with the better John Gardner and Raymond Benson books in terms of quality. Bond fans should find plenty to enjoy in it.