Devil May Care
Doubleday - Doubleday
Release date: 2008-05-28
Hardcover
Author: Sebastian Faulks
English Mystery & Suspense Fiction, Fiction, Fiction - General, Action & Adventure, Fiction / Action & Adventure, Espionage/Intrigue, Bond, James (Fictitious character), Spy stories
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Devil May Care
Date undefinedThere is good and bad in the new Bond novel. It is great to see 007 back in print and back in his own era. The 1967 setting harkens back to the best of Bond, both in print and on screen. Fleming's novels of the 50's and 60's have never been surpassed by any of the continuation authors and the film series varies in quality after Thunderball, the fourth and final movie to adapt Fleming's work faithfully.
So what's good about Sabastian Faulk's novel? The story picks up after the evants of "The Man with the Golden Gun", which gives a sense of continuity which is present in the best of Fleming's books. We see that Bond is still recovering from the beatings he received in the last two novels, where he was humilated by being brainwashed by the Soviets and was almost responsible for the assasination of M.
The books final confrontation aboard an airliner is also handelled exteremly well by Faulks. He created the same sense of dread in the face of overwhelming odds that I felt reading Dr. No, Moonraker and Live and Let Die. Bond's foray through the Soviet Union in the aftermath of the show down with the bad guys is a fun read too; with Bond trying to remain undercover in hostile enemy territory.
As for the bad of the book?
Setting much of the story in Pre-revolutionary Iran may not have been such a great idea. The activities of the US and UK in that country during the reign of the Shah were villainous, no two ways about it. The UK was looting Iran's oil and the Shah, as their puppet, brutally kept the locals in check while they did so. Compared to this, it is hard to take fictional villain Dr. Gorner seriously. This also means that Bond is aiding his government in doing some very dirty and underhanded work, a common theme in some of the Fleming books, but never so overt.
I also found this book to be a little too long. I think the page count could have been kept under 200, rather than 300 pages. The story just doesn't warrant the length and the book sags in the middle as a result. Julius Gorner isn't much of a villian; he is a little flat and uninteresting, although Faulks gives him a good reason for being who he is.
Faulks also slips a few times; I found some of the references to Goldfinger and other Bond adventures unecessary and distracting, since they were only dropped to tie in better with the Fleming books, and served no purpose story wise, but that's a small gripe.
If Mr. Faulks or another author of quality choose to continue with this new series I would certainly be interested, but I hope that we can see something with a little more punch. Perhaps we can see Mr. Sabastian Faulks writing as Sabastian Faulks next time.
Devil May Care
Date undefinedHow do you revise a series like James Bond? You bring him back to his roots. Like placing your novel in the late 1960's and getting Bond back to being BOND. If you truly tried the political correct James Bond. It would sound like the John Gardner or Raymond Benson series of the 1990 and 2000's. It some ways, it is a tribute to Flemming on his 100th birtday and in other ways, it is a retread of classic BOND.
Now to the audio presentation, it is hit or miss! The narrator Triston Layton is good, however the abridged text bogged down this novel with sub plots that are never resolved. Not good form. Layton seems to confuse his verbal characters every once and awhile. Confusing yes, but hold on, you can make your way through this and enjoy the audio
If you can pass muster with this abridged text, you can enjoy this!
Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD
Devil May Care
Date undefinedI admit, (although I am not proud of it), that I have not read any of the original Ian Fleming Bond books. Ya, I've seen all the movies from Connery to Craig, and every one in between. My sense is that Faulks' 007 is probably a lot closer to the original Fleming than say, Moonraker-the- movie. While this was not the most exciting spy thriller I've ever read, I did try to take in time and place, and put it in the context of the originals, which Faulks did thankfully read and study. It's a good book; but if like me, you bring a lot of Bond (movie) baggage, be prepared to work through your issues. It's hard to duplicate all those cinamatic chase scenes in a book, and this 007 dosen't always get (or want) the girl. Go figure.
