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James Bond - Extended Series #48
Forever and a Day
*THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*
A spy is dead. A legend is born. Read the explosive new James Bond thriller.
A British agent floats in the waters of the French Riviera, murdered by an unknown hand.
Determined to uncover the truth, James Bond enters a world of fast cars, grand casinos and luxury yachts. But beneath the glamour, he soon encounters a dangerous network of organised crime.
It’s time for Bond to earn his licence to kill. He must find those responsible and unravel their devastating plan – before he becomes their next victim…
The exhilarating prequel to Casino Royale.
A spy is dead. A legend is born. Read the explosive new James Bond thriller.
A British agent floats in the waters of the French Riviera, murdered by an unknown hand.
Determined to uncover the truth, James Bond enters a world of fast cars, grand casinos and luxury yachts. But beneath the glamour, he soon encounters a dangerous network of organised crime.
It’s time for Bond to earn his licence to kill. He must find those responsible and unravel their devastating plan – before he becomes their next victim…
The exhilarating prequel to Casino Royale.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 31, 2018
1277 people are currently reading
5370 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Horowitz
339 books20.8k followersAnthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.
On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...
On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,089 reviews
June 25, 2018
U.K. publication date and publisher Jonathan Cape 31 May 2018 this cover.
U.S. publication date and publisher Harper November 6, 2018 (With a different cover).
This book: 007 is dead. ‘M’ only has, at his disposal, two other agents sanctioned to kill, and one of them is decommissioned due to injuries. Thus ‘M’ decides it is time to promote James Bond into that elite role of sanctioned killer. After a trial test run in Stockholm for Mr. Bond, ‘M’ finds him worthy of the double digits. He lets Bond choose his own number, and Bond chooses 007 as a tribute to his predecessor who had died in France.
And so begins Anthony Horowitz’s second authorized outing following last years “Trigger Mortis” in the new saga of Mr. James Bond, titled “Forever and A Day”. Early on we are introduced to ‘Jim’, as one of the antagonists calls Bond, in a restaurant, as he is “stabbing at a bad filet mignon accompanied by a worse glass of Burgundy”. Soon he meets a femme who may or may not be fatale. Her name is Sixtine. a cool and elegant card shark that Bond has been warned about. When Bond orders them drinks, Sixteen prefers her martini shaken and not stirred, he notes.
Once again the Fleming Estate has bequeathed onto Mr. Horowitz some of Mr. Flemings original material which he incorporates into this book. According to Horowitz, in his afterword/acknowledgements, this time the inclusion of the additional material is in chapter seven, incorporated from the outline of an American television production that never came to fruition.
If I had any problems with this book, it would encompass the need for the exceptional ‘Bond Villain’ which seems to be needed in every book. This book is no exception. Our villain is named Scipio (I christened him sippie-cup as I was reading) a super-rich, super-evil drug lord who comes off to me rather cartoonish in his language and his henchmen. It’s as if there is a checklist that must be met to insure all the ingredients of the recipe are fulfilled. For example, when Bond is captured by Scipio, he is told by Scipio’s translator. “I have total control here in Marseilles,” he announces villainously. “The port, the city, the police, the justice system? It is all mine!”.
Overall the book is a quick and enjoyable read. If a bit predictable. Certainly not an award winner by any stretch of the imagination, and I am most glad I read this installment.
U.S. publication date and publisher Harper November 6, 2018 (With a different cover).
This book: 007 is dead. ‘M’ only has, at his disposal, two other agents sanctioned to kill, and one of them is decommissioned due to injuries. Thus ‘M’ decides it is time to promote James Bond into that elite role of sanctioned killer. After a trial test run in Stockholm for Mr. Bond, ‘M’ finds him worthy of the double digits. He lets Bond choose his own number, and Bond chooses 007 as a tribute to his predecessor who had died in France.
And so begins Anthony Horowitz’s second authorized outing following last years “Trigger Mortis” in the new saga of Mr. James Bond, titled “Forever and A Day”. Early on we are introduced to ‘Jim’, as one of the antagonists calls Bond, in a restaurant, as he is “stabbing at a bad filet mignon accompanied by a worse glass of Burgundy”. Soon he meets a femme who may or may not be fatale. Her name is Sixtine. a cool and elegant card shark that Bond has been warned about. When Bond orders them drinks, Sixteen prefers her martini shaken and not stirred, he notes.
Once again the Fleming Estate has bequeathed onto Mr. Horowitz some of Mr. Flemings original material which he incorporates into this book. According to Horowitz, in his afterword/acknowledgements, this time the inclusion of the additional material is in chapter seven, incorporated from the outline of an American television production that never came to fruition.
If I had any problems with this book, it would encompass the need for the exceptional ‘Bond Villain’ which seems to be needed in every book. This book is no exception. Our villain is named Scipio (I christened him sippie-cup as I was reading) a super-rich, super-evil drug lord who comes off to me rather cartoonish in his language and his henchmen. It’s as if there is a checklist that must be met to insure all the ingredients of the recipe are fulfilled. For example, when Bond is captured by Scipio, he is told by Scipio’s translator. “I have total control here in Marseilles,” he announces villainously. “The port, the city, the police, the justice system? It is all mine!”.
Overall the book is a quick and enjoyable read. If a bit predictable. Certainly not an award winner by any stretch of the imagination, and I am most glad I read this installment.
December 4, 2018
It’s the early ‘50s and British intelligence is worried about unusual activity in Marseille’s underworld so they send one of their elite agents to check it out, but 007 is murdered. His replacement? A young man named Bond. James Bond.
Anthony Horowitz already wrote one retro Bond novel based on some unused Ian Fleming material with Trigger Mortis. Here, he takes us even further back to give us the story of Bond’s first mission after earning his license to kill. Bond finds himself trying to unravel a dastardly scheme as he encounters colorful characters like a morbidly obese Corsican mob leader, a wealthy American businessman, and beautiful ex-British agent who has become a major player by running her own freelance espionage business. Along the way Bond does a little gambling while wearing a tuxedo, drinks some martinis, has a bunch of sex, and kills some people. So Bond got a pretty good idea of what his job would be like early on.
Bond fans will find a lot to like here, especially those whose favorite film version is Sean Connery because that’s the vibe Horowitz is going for. As in Trigger Mortis he cleverly skirts the problem of Bond coming across as a dated jerk by leaning into it and actually having Bond be a dated jerk in many ways. The thing that makes it tolerable is that he’s usually called out for it so it still lets Bond be the classic bastard he usually is without feeling like his behavior is being excused.
So you’ve got all the classic elements in an action filled story that provides an old school origin story. It’s a good dose of Bond to fill the time until the next movie finally gets made.
Anthony Horowitz already wrote one retro Bond novel based on some unused Ian Fleming material with Trigger Mortis. Here, he takes us even further back to give us the story of Bond’s first mission after earning his license to kill. Bond finds himself trying to unravel a dastardly scheme as he encounters colorful characters like a morbidly obese Corsican mob leader, a wealthy American businessman, and beautiful ex-British agent who has become a major player by running her own freelance espionage business. Along the way Bond does a little gambling while wearing a tuxedo, drinks some martinis, has a bunch of sex, and kills some people. So Bond got a pretty good idea of what his job would be like early on.
Bond fans will find a lot to like here, especially those whose favorite film version is Sean Connery because that’s the vibe Horowitz is going for. As in Trigger Mortis he cleverly skirts the problem of Bond coming across as a dated jerk by leaning into it and actually having Bond be a dated jerk in many ways. The thing that makes it tolerable is that he’s usually called out for it so it still lets Bond be the classic bastard he usually is without feeling like his behavior is being excused.
So you’ve got all the classic elements in an action filled story that provides an old school origin story. It’s a good dose of Bond to fill the time until the next movie finally gets made.
March 10, 2024
It's been almost six years since I last read Forever and a Day & it was just as enjoyable second time around.
While Anthony Horowitz may not give us the immense detail that Ian Fleming put into his descriptions of meals & locations the structure of the story is so like Fleming that you almost believe you are reading a lost novel. Of course, as Horowitz points out in his acknowledgements at the end of the book, some elements were taken from a television story outline that Fleming never used. That aside, Horowitz does a superb job in bringing a 1950's set Bond adventure to life.
As this novel is set at the beginning of Bond's life as a 00 agent Horowitz cannot thankfully fall into the trap that many other Bond authors have done by filling the novel with endless in jokes that become irritating.
This is a book that deserves a huge amount of praise. In one of may favourite chapters he simply writes about a character telling James Bond about her life & it's a wonderful piece of prose.
I do have one very small criticism though. The villain's plan (which I will not give away!) is quite similar to one used in an old Bond film. Perhaps the author used it subconsciously, but I did find it spoilt (though only slghtly) an otherwise perfect novel.
While Anthony Horowitz may not give us the immense detail that Ian Fleming put into his descriptions of meals & locations the structure of the story is so like Fleming that you almost believe you are reading a lost novel. Of course, as Horowitz points out in his acknowledgements at the end of the book, some elements were taken from a television story outline that Fleming never used. That aside, Horowitz does a superb job in bringing a 1950's set Bond adventure to life.
As this novel is set at the beginning of Bond's life as a 00 agent Horowitz cannot thankfully fall into the trap that many other Bond authors have done by filling the novel with endless in jokes that become irritating.
This is a book that deserves a huge amount of praise. In one of may favourite chapters he simply writes about a character telling James Bond about her life & it's a wonderful piece of prose.
I do have one very small criticism though. The villain's plan (which I will not give away!) is quite similar to one used in an old Bond film. Perhaps the author used it subconsciously, but I did find it spoilt (though only slghtly) an otherwise perfect novel.
March 22, 2019
Alcohol. Nicotine. Tortured. Sex. Revenge. Bond. James Bond.
February 2, 2019
4★
“Death was part of the job. And like it or not, there would be times when the service would have to strike first, when a state-sponsored assassination would be the only answer to a particular threat. M could not have his hands tied.”
Post-war England – the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War. If you like action, mysteries and spies, and you’ve never heard of Ian Fleming’s world-famous spy, James Bond, you’ve got some catching up to do!
Ian Fleming began writing the Bond books with Casino Royale in 1953. After Fleming’s death, Anthony Horowitz was invited by the Ian Fleming Estate to write a couple of stories. This one begins before Fleming’s first book and shows us the young secret agent being promoted to the Double-O rank, the one with the licence to kill.
“There was a short pause followed by the words that Bond was hearing for the first time and which he would hear many times again in the years to come. ‘I wonder if you’d mind coming up? M would like to have a word.’”
Would he mind?!!! What a teddibly polite request for such a deadly occupation.
“As Bond stood there he was immediately struck by M’s authority, his quiet confidence. Decisions would be made in this room that might change the world. Lives would be snuffed out without a second thought . . . And it would all have been done in a very English way – with a pipe and a cup of tea and the scratch of a fountain pen signing off on the dotted line.”
He’s told that an agent has been killed while investigating in Marseilles, and Mother England needs a new man on the job. Of course we know what happens. This is a prequel, after all, so we know he will live “forever and a day”, but that’s the extent of it.
It’s been too long since I raced through all the original Bond stories, which I loved when I read them in my youth. They were so popular that my dad said when he was flying somewhere, he was reading a Bond mystery and he looked at his seatmates and across the aisle, and they were all, every one of them, reading a Bond mystery. THAT kind of popular! But I don’t mean to suggest that they are just “airport novels”.
They are a lot of fun, and I think this probably slots into the series pretty well. It’s not really my taste anymore, but I enjoyed it and the sense of history that goes along with it.
“Although it might not appear so, hostilities had not come to an end in 1945. There were a great many people dedicating themselves to the complete destruction of Great Britain and everything it stood for.”
There’s a casino, an enormous, dangerous villain – I mean really enormous and really dangerous – there are hair-raising escapades, and there’s a beautiful woman. Of course there’s a beautiful woman. She is one of the trademarks of the Bond books, and she’s a smart one, older than Bond, and I liked her.
“But if she had lost the perfection of youth, she had gained the carelessness and confidence of later age.”
Good fun and I think it will be interesting to see if and how it leads into Casino Royale when I re-read it, which I’m intending to do.
Read January 2019 - Goodreads shows a different date
“Death was part of the job. And like it or not, there would be times when the service would have to strike first, when a state-sponsored assassination would be the only answer to a particular threat. M could not have his hands tied.”
Post-war England – the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War. If you like action, mysteries and spies, and you’ve never heard of Ian Fleming’s world-famous spy, James Bond, you’ve got some catching up to do!
Ian Fleming began writing the Bond books with Casino Royale in 1953. After Fleming’s death, Anthony Horowitz was invited by the Ian Fleming Estate to write a couple of stories. This one begins before Fleming’s first book and shows us the young secret agent being promoted to the Double-O rank, the one with the licence to kill.
“There was a short pause followed by the words that Bond was hearing for the first time and which he would hear many times again in the years to come. ‘I wonder if you’d mind coming up? M would like to have a word.’”
Would he mind?!!! What a teddibly polite request for such a deadly occupation.
“As Bond stood there he was immediately struck by M’s authority, his quiet confidence. Decisions would be made in this room that might change the world. Lives would be snuffed out without a second thought . . . And it would all have been done in a very English way – with a pipe and a cup of tea and the scratch of a fountain pen signing off on the dotted line.”
He’s told that an agent has been killed while investigating in Marseilles, and Mother England needs a new man on the job. Of course we know what happens. This is a prequel, after all, so we know he will live “forever and a day”, but that’s the extent of it.
It’s been too long since I raced through all the original Bond stories, which I loved when I read them in my youth. They were so popular that my dad said when he was flying somewhere, he was reading a Bond mystery and he looked at his seatmates and across the aisle, and they were all, every one of them, reading a Bond mystery. THAT kind of popular! But I don’t mean to suggest that they are just “airport novels”.
They are a lot of fun, and I think this probably slots into the series pretty well. It’s not really my taste anymore, but I enjoyed it and the sense of history that goes along with it.
“Although it might not appear so, hostilities had not come to an end in 1945. There were a great many people dedicating themselves to the complete destruction of Great Britain and everything it stood for.”
There’s a casino, an enormous, dangerous villain – I mean really enormous and really dangerous – there are hair-raising escapades, and there’s a beautiful woman. Of course there’s a beautiful woman. She is one of the trademarks of the Bond books, and she’s a smart one, older than Bond, and I liked her.
“But if she had lost the perfection of youth, she had gained the carelessness and confidence of later age.”
Good fun and I think it will be interesting to see if and how it leads into Casino Royale when I re-read it, which I’m intending to do.
Read January 2019 - Goodreads shows a different date
November 27, 2018
Are you ready for Agent 007 to begin? I know I was and having Anthony Horowitz pick up the reins from Ian Fleming made me wonder and look forward to how this author would handle the task. Needless to say having read Mr Horowitz before, I knew it was going to be a great story and I am happy to report I wasn't wrong!
We are presented with the beginnings of James Bond, 007, a prequel, and his license to kill. After the first Agent 007 is brutally murdered, James assumes his 007 moniker and is off on an adventure where he enters a world of gambling, of huge riches, of drugs, of murder, death and destruction. Is there a beautiful woman?....... of course! James is charged with tracking down the murderer of the former Agent 007 and in pursuit of said killer, we meet a cast of dastardly villains including one who is enormously fat and vile. There are other bad guys afoot including very wealthy man who has a ghastly plan for America.
The fun and action take us into France, into the casinos, and aboard a luxury vessel where James and his beautiful accomplice Sixtine battle for their lives.
Will James prevail with everything working against him? Will he survive long enough to live another day as well as enjoy his martini shaken not stirred? All will be answered in this quick moving, page turning book. I recommend it most highly and as I read I kept on hearing both the music and the "My name is Bond, James Bond" playing in my head, as well as having Sean Connery parading through the pages. Keep em coming please, Mr Horowitz!
Thanks to my local library for this one!
My reviews can be seen here: http://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpress...
We are presented with the beginnings of James Bond, 007, a prequel, and his license to kill. After the first Agent 007 is brutally murdered, James assumes his 007 moniker and is off on an adventure where he enters a world of gambling, of huge riches, of drugs, of murder, death and destruction. Is there a beautiful woman?....... of course! James is charged with tracking down the murderer of the former Agent 007 and in pursuit of said killer, we meet a cast of dastardly villains including one who is enormously fat and vile. There are other bad guys afoot including very wealthy man who has a ghastly plan for America.
The fun and action take us into France, into the casinos, and aboard a luxury vessel where James and his beautiful accomplice Sixtine battle for their lives.
Will James prevail with everything working against him? Will he survive long enough to live another day as well as enjoy his martini shaken not stirred? All will be answered in this quick moving, page turning book. I recommend it most highly and as I read I kept on hearing both the music and the "My name is Bond, James Bond" playing in my head, as well as having Sean Connery parading through the pages. Keep em coming please, Mr Horowitz!
Thanks to my local library for this one!
My reviews can be seen here: http://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpress...
October 13, 2018
'So.007 is dead'
The opening line of this book with original material by late great Ian Fleming.
Well for me as long as it is Daniel Craig I am happy as he is not my Bond mine is forever Rodger Moore.
This set before Casino Royal so Has to be Sean. AH Knows what he is doing much like his Holmes. This set in the early 50s when spy stories were good not like today.
This almost a classic style if love the Bond books this great but If your movie fan then books are not that Goodness the daft movies.
Here we learn how old Bond is in 1951 he is 30 which would make him 97 today so Is Daniel Craig on monkey glads?
He was born in Kent giving him an Southern English accent not Scottish, Black hair,tall elegant with small facial scar from WWII.
The villain is straight of Maltose Falcon or Casablanca The Fat man so Big he makes it look like exploding Mr .Creasod from Monty Python and his waffer thin mint. The size of three Peter Griffin's from Family Guy stuffed into one.
This book is perfect example of the difference between the books & the movies English,black hair Daniel Craig is blond & does not smoke.
I always think the movies are special effects over substance & after Roger Moore left they moved past the age of Fun & became too believable.
The books are different, my first Bond was The Man with the Golden Gun way back in 1970s just before Christopher Lee played him for me it was race to read it before I sore the movie. But This was my discovery that Fleming new sod all about guns a gun made of soled gold as it was in the book would blown your hand off I remember this because Gun smith friend of the family in 1970s though was funniest comedy he had ever read. That is why In the move it is air gun.
But Get back to this Bond its set in French Riviera looking for sexy Madam 16 a hot killer that no one has new photo of. Bond soon meets Madam 16 & here we learn were the famous shaken not stired Martine come from
I love card game as feel you are sat next to him at card table.
I am not much of a gambler person I have played pocker but Only with exta stong mints as chips which we keeped eating.
Gambling is mugs game an adiction only if can afford to lose the money & end up getting your knees broken a real mugs adiction like over drinking or drugs. I rather get a thrill from sex.
The biggest thing about this 007 & A modern Bond is when find out what the title means. You never do that today. I was surprised as he
could have used a boat. I can hear the oh shit comments that's political incorrect as young readers can read & be influenced by this book.
Well if that fucking stupid sod them. I met young that at 12 have trouble read Three little Pigs & some that thinks about the police.
This an outstanding first Bond story & I hope does another one because as missing adventure this great.
The opening line of this book with original material by late great Ian Fleming.
Well for me as long as it is Daniel Craig I am happy as he is not my Bond mine is forever Rodger Moore.
This set before Casino Royal so Has to be Sean. AH Knows what he is doing much like his Holmes. This set in the early 50s when spy stories were good not like today.
This almost a classic style if love the Bond books this great but If your movie fan then books are not that Goodness the daft movies.
Here we learn how old Bond is in 1951 he is 30 which would make him 97 today so Is Daniel Craig on monkey glads?
He was born in Kent giving him an Southern English accent not Scottish, Black hair,tall elegant with small facial scar from WWII.
The villain is straight of Maltose Falcon or Casablanca The Fat man so Big he makes it look like exploding Mr .Creasod from Monty Python and his waffer thin mint. The size of three Peter Griffin's from Family Guy stuffed into one.
This book is perfect example of the difference between the books & the movies English,black hair Daniel Craig is blond & does not smoke.
I always think the movies are special effects over substance & after Roger Moore left they moved past the age of Fun & became too believable.
The books are different, my first Bond was The Man with the Golden Gun way back in 1970s just before Christopher Lee played him for me it was race to read it before I sore the movie. But This was my discovery that Fleming new sod all about guns a gun made of soled gold as it was in the book would blown your hand off I remember this because Gun smith friend of the family in 1970s though was funniest comedy he had ever read. That is why In the move it is air gun.
But Get back to this Bond its set in French Riviera looking for sexy Madam 16 a hot killer that no one has new photo of. Bond soon meets Madam 16 & here we learn were the famous shaken not stired Martine come from
I love card game as feel you are sat next to him at card table.
I am not much of a gambler person I have played pocker but Only with exta stong mints as chips which we keeped eating.
Gambling is mugs game an adiction only if can afford to lose the money & end up getting your knees broken a real mugs adiction like over drinking or drugs. I rather get a thrill from sex.
The biggest thing about this 007 & A modern Bond is when find out what the title means. You never do that today. I was surprised as he
could have used a boat. I can hear the oh shit comments that's political incorrect as young readers can read & be influenced by this book.
Well if that fucking stupid sod them. I met young that at 12 have trouble read Three little Pigs & some that thinks about the police.
This an outstanding first Bond story & I hope does another one because as missing adventure this great.
November 22, 2021
World War 2 is over for most - but not all. For those in the Secret Service, the war continues in the shadows. It’s the 1950s and secret agent 007 is killed in the Marseilles docks. Head of the 00 unit, M, decides to trial a promising young candidate for 007’s replacement: James Bond. Bond’s mission: find out why the Corsican mob in the south of France have stopped drug trafficking, why notorious double agent Madame 16 is involved, and avenge the fallen agent’s death. Bond has his licence to kill in… Forever and a Day!
This is the official prequel to Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, and, though I’ve never read a Fleming Bond novel before (I know, I know), I think Anthony Horowitz’s novel is a pretty damn good Bond book and probably the equal of any of Fleming’s.
I liked that Horowitz started us off right at the beginning, before Bond became 007 and how he earned the codename and the licence to kill. The story hits the ground running, opening briefly in (where else?) London before, true to expectations of Bond’s signature globe-trotting adventures, taking us to Sweden where Bond is hunting down a former Nazi collaborator.
Horowitz does tick a lot of boxes - martinis, casinos, fast cars, fast women, gunfights, evil villains - but it doesn’t feel too overtly like he’s doing it; he’s wearing another man’s clothes but he’s made them his own. That said, the cover notes that the novel contains original material by Ian Fleming, which is an outline for an unused American TV show and a description of the Monte Carlo casino from Fleming’s travel book Thrilling Cities (so no new Fleming Bond material, if anyone was wondering), all of which is found in the casino scene when Bond meets Sixtine for the first time.
The characters are very striking and memorable. I loved how monstrously Scipio, the grossly overweight Corsican mob boss, is written, and Madame 16 is a fully realised character too - smart, sexy, dangerous, with an air of tragedy about her; she’s the perfect companion to Bond in this story.
A lot of the scenes are enthralling like the casino scene, Bond’s first encounter with Scipio, and especially the entire episode where Bond and Sixtine make a daring break-in and escape of the factory towards the end. I feel that novels as a medium don’t do justice to action scenes but it turns out that I just hadn’t read anybody who knew what they were doing before because the escape scene was genuinely gripping and really took me there - hats off to Anthony Horowitz. I think if a writer can write an actually exciting action scene, they’re something special and Horowitz is certainly that.
I also liked that scene because it highlights how green Bond is. This is his first solo outing as a 00 agent, he’s still young and inexperienced, and it shows in the mistakes he makes and how inelegant his plan was, in conception and execution (though it was effective).
Similarly formulaic in structure is the villain’s monologue of their evil plan to a captive Bond, which is a cliche, but again doesn’t feel like that here. Especially as the villain’s motivations can be seen as sympathetic given what they’ve been through. And the plan itself isn’t that cartoonishly silly either - it’s an inventive and original idea that you could imagine actually working as conceived. I really liked that the villains aren’t written as one-dimensional or moronic.
If there’s one aspect that I didn’t love, it’s the overly descriptive passages that make up the book. Bond isn’t a chatty (chatty bang bang) Cathy and is frequently alone so a lot of the scenes describe everything in them and what Bond’s doing, which is a bit laborious and frustrating to get through when you want the fun plot to keep up a decent pace.
Mostly though this is a superb action thriller with a lot of unpredictable and really great twists, all the way to the bloody end. Forever and a Day is an expertly-written, often compelling, memorable and highly entertaining James Bond story. I was very impressed with yet another Anthony Horowitz novel - this writer is quite brilliant!
This is the official prequel to Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, and, though I’ve never read a Fleming Bond novel before (I know, I know), I think Anthony Horowitz’s novel is a pretty damn good Bond book and probably the equal of any of Fleming’s.
I liked that Horowitz started us off right at the beginning, before Bond became 007 and how he earned the codename and the licence to kill. The story hits the ground running, opening briefly in (where else?) London before, true to expectations of Bond’s signature globe-trotting adventures, taking us to Sweden where Bond is hunting down a former Nazi collaborator.
Horowitz does tick a lot of boxes - martinis, casinos, fast cars, fast women, gunfights, evil villains - but it doesn’t feel too overtly like he’s doing it; he’s wearing another man’s clothes but he’s made them his own. That said, the cover notes that the novel contains original material by Ian Fleming, which is an outline for an unused American TV show and a description of the Monte Carlo casino from Fleming’s travel book Thrilling Cities (so no new Fleming Bond material, if anyone was wondering), all of which is found in the casino scene when Bond meets Sixtine for the first time.
The characters are very striking and memorable. I loved how monstrously Scipio, the grossly overweight Corsican mob boss, is written, and Madame 16 is a fully realised character too - smart, sexy, dangerous, with an air of tragedy about her; she’s the perfect companion to Bond in this story.
A lot of the scenes are enthralling like the casino scene, Bond’s first encounter with Scipio, and especially the entire episode where Bond and Sixtine make a daring break-in and escape of the factory towards the end. I feel that novels as a medium don’t do justice to action scenes but it turns out that I just hadn’t read anybody who knew what they were doing before because the escape scene was genuinely gripping and really took me there - hats off to Anthony Horowitz. I think if a writer can write an actually exciting action scene, they’re something special and Horowitz is certainly that.
I also liked that scene because it highlights how green Bond is. This is his first solo outing as a 00 agent, he’s still young and inexperienced, and it shows in the mistakes he makes and how inelegant his plan was, in conception and execution (though it was effective).
Similarly formulaic in structure is the villain’s monologue of their evil plan to a captive Bond, which is a cliche, but again doesn’t feel like that here. Especially as the villain’s motivations can be seen as sympathetic given what they’ve been through. And the plan itself isn’t that cartoonishly silly either - it’s an inventive and original idea that you could imagine actually working as conceived. I really liked that the villains aren’t written as one-dimensional or moronic.
If there’s one aspect that I didn’t love, it’s the overly descriptive passages that make up the book. Bond isn’t a chatty (chatty bang bang) Cathy and is frequently alone so a lot of the scenes describe everything in them and what Bond’s doing, which is a bit laborious and frustrating to get through when you want the fun plot to keep up a decent pace.
Mostly though this is a superb action thriller with a lot of unpredictable and really great twists, all the way to the bloody end. Forever and a Day is an expertly-written, often compelling, memorable and highly entertaining James Bond story. I was very impressed with yet another Anthony Horowitz novel - this writer is quite brilliant!
November 25, 2018
The late Ian Fleming's James Bond novels are among my all-time favorite books - and have the distinction of being the only books I've read more than once (for the record, the same is true for the Bond motion pictures). So when the first of the "new" Bond books by Anthony Horowitz, Trigger Mortis, was released in 2015, I was more than a little apprehensive. But that one came through with flying British colors, earning a 5-star rating from me. Apparently, Fleming's estate agreed; he was asked to write another - this one - and by golly, I like it even better than the first.
In a different sense, this one is the first; it takes place as Bond has been called up from the ranks to replace the former 007, who's been killed in the line of duty. When asked by chief M what number he preferred, he responded that keeping the 007 would, among other things, send a message to the enemies that the British service might be down, but never out. Bond's first assignment, however, will put that message to the test.
Not knowing exactly what lies ahead, Bond is looking forward to earning his license to kill; he's headed for the south of France, where his predecessor was shot three times (definitely overkill) while investigating the Corsican underworld and super-corpulent bad guy Jean-Paul Scipio. Known for their abundant profits by manufacturing and distributing quality heroin, it's a puzzlement as to why the Corsicans suddenly brought that activity to a screeching halt. Add in the intrigue of a beautiful former agent who seems to have gone rogue, and Bond has his work cut out for him well before he leaves England.
Once in France, Bond meets up with Reade Griffith, a CIA agent with whom he, well, bonds. He also learns that the gorgeous femme fatale is now involved with Irwin Wolfe, a beyond wealthy businessman who's making a killing (no pun intended) in the manufacture of color film for the motion picture industry (as an aside, one of the interesting parts of this novel is the time setting - not long after World War II and long before the Digital Age we've all come to know and love).
It wouldn't be a Bond novel, of course, if Bond himself didn't narrowly escape mortal danger at least once (and since we all know he made it well past the initial license-to-kill stage, it's not a spoiler to say he doesn't get bumped off in this one). He does get roughed up now and again - and again and again - as he pits his many skills against everything from a high-stakes casino blackjack game to the wiles of a clever but possibly deceitful woman to several unscrupulous bad guys. It's all a high-stakes game that Bond is intent on winning - and for readers, a delightful prequel to what's already come. Good job!
In a different sense, this one is the first; it takes place as Bond has been called up from the ranks to replace the former 007, who's been killed in the line of duty. When asked by chief M what number he preferred, he responded that keeping the 007 would, among other things, send a message to the enemies that the British service might be down, but never out. Bond's first assignment, however, will put that message to the test.
Not knowing exactly what lies ahead, Bond is looking forward to earning his license to kill; he's headed for the south of France, where his predecessor was shot three times (definitely overkill) while investigating the Corsican underworld and super-corpulent bad guy Jean-Paul Scipio. Known for their abundant profits by manufacturing and distributing quality heroin, it's a puzzlement as to why the Corsicans suddenly brought that activity to a screeching halt. Add in the intrigue of a beautiful former agent who seems to have gone rogue, and Bond has his work cut out for him well before he leaves England.
Once in France, Bond meets up with Reade Griffith, a CIA agent with whom he, well, bonds. He also learns that the gorgeous femme fatale is now involved with Irwin Wolfe, a beyond wealthy businessman who's making a killing (no pun intended) in the manufacture of color film for the motion picture industry (as an aside, one of the interesting parts of this novel is the time setting - not long after World War II and long before the Digital Age we've all come to know and love).
It wouldn't be a Bond novel, of course, if Bond himself didn't narrowly escape mortal danger at least once (and since we all know he made it well past the initial license-to-kill stage, it's not a spoiler to say he doesn't get bumped off in this one). He does get roughed up now and again - and again and again - as he pits his many skills against everything from a high-stakes casino blackjack game to the wiles of a clever but possibly deceitful woman to several unscrupulous bad guys. It's all a high-stakes game that Bond is intent on winning - and for readers, a delightful prequel to what's already come. Good job!
September 11, 2019
I am a big James Bond fan and have watched all the movies, but this is the first Bond book I have read. It appealed to me as it is a prequel to Casino Royale and I thought it would bring something new to the 007 world, but alas, it did not. The plot is predictable and the villains is a bit boring. The ending was also disappointing and I sincerely hope that other Bond novels are better than this one. Will definitely read Casino Royale in the future and see how the master wrote Bond.
And just a small irritant found in the pages, where he says that the American, Irvin Wolff's two sons were killed storming Omaha Beach on D-Day as Marines. An author of Horowitz's caliber should have known that the Marines were not the ones who stormed Omaha Beach and were busy fighting the Japanese in the Pacific.
And just a small irritant found in the pages, where he says that the American, Irvin Wolff's two sons were killed storming Omaha Beach on D-Day as Marines. An author of Horowitz's caliber should have known that the Marines were not the ones who stormed Omaha Beach and were busy fighting the Japanese in the Pacific.
June 9, 2018
I wasnt overly fond of the previous Bond novel by Horowitz but I love Bond so thought I'd give this a go. It was one of those pretty decent reads. The typical Bond stuff, with good Villains and plotting but not something overly original. The plot at times plodded which didnt help that the novel was short. It really did feel like a novella of sorts. Solid short read with a pretty average plot. Would have helped if it was fleshed out more.
July 30, 2018
** I am doing a re-read of the James Bond books, including the classic Ian Fleming, followed by John Gardner, Raymond Benson, and the other estate approved editions. My goal is to read and review each one in chronological order (as much as possible) with as much honesty and reflection that I can give. **
Background / Notes – This is the second James Bond novel authorized by the Ian Fleming estate and written by Anthony Horowitz. Horowitz was given some original source material by the Fleming estate - an outline for a TV series that was never made – to use in the book. It was published in 2018 as a prequel to Fleming’s first Bond novel, “Casino Royale” and it is where I will begin my re-read.
Plotline – Two words: “Prequel Bond.” The book starts off back in 1950 when James Bond, an agent in the British Secret Service, has not yet earned his double-O (permission to kill) status. This is the story of how James was developing into the Bond that Ian Fleming introduced to the world to in his classic “Casino Royale” novel. The prequel starts off with the current 007 agent turning up dead – shot three times and left floating in the waters of the French Rivera. M, the head of the British Secret service, decides it’s time to promote Commander Bond, and sends the new 007 to the south of France to find out what happened to his predecessor.
Bond’s mission takes him to several exotic locales, including Stockholm, Nice, Monte Carlo, French Riviera, and even Southern California.
Bond is introduced to several new and mysterious characters who interact and challenge him, including Sixtine, a sultry fatal and former British secret agent during the war and now an independent entrepreneur; Scipio, a grotesque Corsican gangster with even more grotesque tastes; Irwin Wolfe, an arrogant American industrialist who has invented a new way to film movies; and Reade Griffith, a CIA agent with his own agenda (and not related to Fleming’s established Felix Leiter).
Favorite Lines – “You make love like a schoolboy. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of girls, James, but you’ve never had a woman and you’ve still got a lot to learn.” Sixtine to James Bond (p.169). “You will not know what I am going to do, whether I will provide you with pleasure… or pain.” Scipio to James Bond (p.227).
Thoughts and Reflections – There are a several reasons I absolutely love about this book. And it seems a bit strange to start off re-reading all of the James Bond books without starting with the master and creator himself, Ian Fleming. Still, in my opinion, Horowitz does a lot of good things well.
First, with this being a prequel, Horowitz presents a younger version of James, where he is physically strong, but still learning and developing into the experienced and savvy agent that he will one day become. This James made mistakes during the mission, some of them costly and deadly. Still, he was an authentic human that was learning to use his brain rather than just rely on instincts. As much as I want my Bond to do things that seem impossible, they still need to be based in a realistic world.
Second, Horowitz creates a cast of characters that as close to the ones in Flemings books that I have seen in a quite a while. They aren’t cartoonish or have silly names. Each of them had a background, uniqueness of character, and especially Sixtine – she captured a special place in my heart. James and she share an evening when she shares the story of her life during the war and the decisions she’s made that really define her strength and resiliency. She is not just pretty woman who falls into James arms because he walks into the room. Rather she challenges and strengthens him.
Third, Horowitz creates a strong plot and pacing to match. Writing a Bond novel must be one of the toughest challenges a writer can face. Stepping into an established world where expectations are high and the ways to fail are many, seems like an unbelievable task to willingly take on. However, I was very surprised at how well Horowitz delivered on this absolutely key element. The setting in is in the early fifties, before the modern-day technology that exists today, but he keeps the plot focused, moving, and tied together throughout the story. Except for a few clichés that spring up through-out the book, the moments of intense action are balanced by interaction and dialogue that take you back to the vision that Fleming created. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are several scenes where Bond is faced with the results of his actions and coming to terms with them were critical to his character development. One scene especially involving heroin was especially well written and presented in such a raw and personal way that the memories will be ingrained in my mind for quite a while.
Overall – First of all, let me be absolutely clear. Ian Fleming is the king when it comes to James Bond and everyone pales in comparison. That’s a given. However, of all the writers stepping into Fleming’s world, Horowitz does a worthy job in his second outing. The good things heavily outweigh the few cliched clunkers. My advice is, if you like your James Bond authentic, gritty, and realistic, give this one a try. It will be worth it.
Next Book – “Casino Royale.”
Background / Notes – This is the second James Bond novel authorized by the Ian Fleming estate and written by Anthony Horowitz. Horowitz was given some original source material by the Fleming estate - an outline for a TV series that was never made – to use in the book. It was published in 2018 as a prequel to Fleming’s first Bond novel, “Casino Royale” and it is where I will begin my re-read.
Plotline – Two words: “Prequel Bond.” The book starts off back in 1950 when James Bond, an agent in the British Secret Service, has not yet earned his double-O (permission to kill) status. This is the story of how James was developing into the Bond that Ian Fleming introduced to the world to in his classic “Casino Royale” novel. The prequel starts off with the current 007 agent turning up dead – shot three times and left floating in the waters of the French Rivera. M, the head of the British Secret service, decides it’s time to promote Commander Bond, and sends the new 007 to the south of France to find out what happened to his predecessor.
Bond’s mission takes him to several exotic locales, including Stockholm, Nice, Monte Carlo, French Riviera, and even Southern California.
Bond is introduced to several new and mysterious characters who interact and challenge him, including Sixtine, a sultry fatal and former British secret agent during the war and now an independent entrepreneur; Scipio, a grotesque Corsican gangster with even more grotesque tastes; Irwin Wolfe, an arrogant American industrialist who has invented a new way to film movies; and Reade Griffith, a CIA agent with his own agenda (and not related to Fleming’s established Felix Leiter).
Favorite Lines – “You make love like a schoolboy. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of girls, James, but you’ve never had a woman and you’ve still got a lot to learn.” Sixtine to James Bond (p.169). “You will not know what I am going to do, whether I will provide you with pleasure… or pain.” Scipio to James Bond (p.227).
Thoughts and Reflections – There are a several reasons I absolutely love about this book. And it seems a bit strange to start off re-reading all of the James Bond books without starting with the master and creator himself, Ian Fleming. Still, in my opinion, Horowitz does a lot of good things well.
First, with this being a prequel, Horowitz presents a younger version of James, where he is physically strong, but still learning and developing into the experienced and savvy agent that he will one day become. This James made mistakes during the mission, some of them costly and deadly. Still, he was an authentic human that was learning to use his brain rather than just rely on instincts. As much as I want my Bond to do things that seem impossible, they still need to be based in a realistic world.
Second, Horowitz creates a cast of characters that as close to the ones in Flemings books that I have seen in a quite a while. They aren’t cartoonish or have silly names. Each of them had a background, uniqueness of character, and especially Sixtine – she captured a special place in my heart. James and she share an evening when she shares the story of her life during the war and the decisions she’s made that really define her strength and resiliency. She is not just pretty woman who falls into James arms because he walks into the room. Rather she challenges and strengthens him.
Third, Horowitz creates a strong plot and pacing to match. Writing a Bond novel must be one of the toughest challenges a writer can face. Stepping into an established world where expectations are high and the ways to fail are many, seems like an unbelievable task to willingly take on. However, I was very surprised at how well Horowitz delivered on this absolutely key element. The setting in is in the early fifties, before the modern-day technology that exists today, but he keeps the plot focused, moving, and tied together throughout the story. Except for a few clichés that spring up through-out the book, the moments of intense action are balanced by interaction and dialogue that take you back to the vision that Fleming created. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are several scenes where Bond is faced with the results of his actions and coming to terms with them were critical to his character development. One scene especially involving heroin was especially well written and presented in such a raw and personal way that the memories will be ingrained in my mind for quite a while.
Overall – First of all, let me be absolutely clear. Ian Fleming is the king when it comes to James Bond and everyone pales in comparison. That’s a given. However, of all the writers stepping into Fleming’s world, Horowitz does a worthy job in his second outing. The good things heavily outweigh the few cliched clunkers. My advice is, if you like your James Bond authentic, gritty, and realistic, give this one a try. It will be worth it.
Next Book – “Casino Royale.”
January 15, 2020
4,5/5 αστεράκια.
Ακόμα κι αν κάποιος δεν είναι φανατικός αναγνώστης του Ian Fleming και οπαδός του πιο διάσημου μυστικού πράκτορα στον κόσμο, ένα βιβλίο με τίτλο «Ο θάνατος του 007» αποκλείεται να μην του τραβήξει το ενδιαφέρον.
Ο συγγραφέας Anthony Horowitz αποδέχεται την πρόσκληση-πρόκληση της Ian Fleming Publications (που έχει τα δικ��ιώματα της δουλειάς του Fleming και είναι επιφορτισμένη με τη διαχείριση του λογοτεχνικού και λοιπού υλικού που τον αφορά) και γράφει ουσιαστικά το prequel της σειράς βιβλίων με ήρωα τον Βρετανό μυστικό πράκτορα.
Ο Τζέιμς Μποντ, έχοντας περάσει με άριστα την εκπαίδευση της Υπηρεσίας κι έχοντας δώσει τα διαπιστευτήριά του, αναμένει την προαγωγή του στον «κλειστό» κύκλο των πρακτόρων 00, που αριθμεί μόλις τρία μέλη. Ο θάνατος ενός εξ αυτών θα επισπεύσει τη διαδικασία. Το πτώμα του πράκτορα 007 βρίσκεται να επιπλέει κάπου στη Γαλλική Ριβιέρα και ο Μποντ αναλαμβάνει να βρει τον δολοφόνο του. Το μόνο που ζητά είναι να διατηρήσει την ταυτότητα του φίλου και προκατόχου του: να γίνει ο επόμενος πράκτορας 007.
Το ταξίδι του Μποντ στη νότια Γαλλία σηματοδοτεί την είσοδό του σε έναν κόσμο που μοιάζει ονειρικός: όμορφες γυναίκες, γρήγορα αυτοκίνητα, ακριβά ποτά, επώνυμα ρούχα, συγχρωτισμός με την καλή κοινωνία. Στον κόσμο αυτόν θα γνωρίσει τη μυστηριώδη Σιξτίν, που φαίνεται να εμπλέκεται με κάποιον τρόπο στην υπόθεση, και θα δημιουργήσει μαζί της μια σχέση που βαδίζει στην κόψη του ξυραφιού. Κάτω από το επιφανειακό λούστρο, όμως, κρύβεται σκοτάδι και βρομιά. Ο Μποντ το ξέρει καλά αυτό, όμως σύντομα θα το βιώσει από πρώτο χέρι. Αν κι είναι προετοιμασμένος να αντιμετωπίσει οποιαδήποτε δύσκολη κατάσταση, δεν θα πιστέψει ούτε και ο ίδιος πόσο βαθιά θα εμπλακεί στα δίχτυα μιας εγκληματικής οργάνωσης, που ετοιμάζει ένα πολύ μεγάλο και επικίνδυνο κόλπο. Η κορσικανική μαφία είναι αποφασισμένη να μην επιτρέψει σε κανέναν να μπει εμπόδιο στο δρόμο της – και το έχει ήδη αποδείξει. Θα καταφέρει άραγε ο Μποντ να ματαιώσει εγκαίρως τα σχέδιά τους, ειδικά όταν όλα δείχνουν πως εκείνος θα είναι το επόμενο θύμα;
Ο Horowitz δεν αποπειράται να γίνει ένας νέος Fleming, ούτε να γράψει σαν εκείνον. Δηλώνει φανατικός θαυμαστής του ίδιου και των έργων του, που τον έχουν επηρεάσει ως συγγραφέα, και προσπαθεί να αποδώσει τον ήρωα και την ιστορία με τέτοιον τρόπο, ώστε να συνάδει με τον «μύθο» που έχει χτίσει ο δημιουργός του γύρω από αυτόν, τη δράση του, τον τρόπο ζωής του... Και το καταφέρνει· κυρίως με το ταλέντο της πένας του και με την προσεκτική, λεπτομερή έρευνα που έχει κάνει γύρω από τον Fleming, αλλά και για τα επιμέρους σημεία του βιβλίου που την απαιτούν.
Στις σελίδες αυτού του βιβλίου γνωρίζουμε «τον Μποντ πριν τον Μποντ», όπως τον συναντούμε στο «Καζίνο Ρουαγιάλ». Εδώ παίρνει το βάπτισμα του πυρός στην… εκλεκτή κάστα των πρακτόρων 007· εδώ έρχεται για πρώτη φορά σε επαφή με μια επικίνδυνη, μοιραία γυναίκα· εδώ πίνει για πρώτη φορά το «χτυπημένο, όχι ανακατεμένο» μαρτίνι του και καπνίζει τα φημισμένα τσιγάρα του· εδώ εντρυφεί σε έναν πολυτελή τρόπο ζωής που χρησιμεύει ως κάλυψη στις εκάστοτε υποθέσεις που αναλαμβάνει, αλλά του επιτρέπει ταυτόχρονα να απολαμβάνει τα όμορφα πράγματα της ζωής χωρίς να σκοτίζεται για το πώς θα τα εξασφαλίσει. Ουσιαστικά, στο βιβλίο αυτό διαμορφώνεται η περσόνα του Μποντ που έχουμε ήδη γνωρίσει στα υπόλοιπα. Και αυτό αποτελούσε διπλό στοίχημα για τον συγγραφέα του, που αντιμετώπιζε το ρίσκο να ξεφύγει, να εξοκείλει, να υπερβάλλει, να θυμίζει ο ήρωάς του καρικατούρα. Το αποτέλεσμα, πάντως, δείχνει πως το συγκεκριμένο στοίχημα το κέρδισε.
Δύο από τα βασικά στοιχεία που διαθέτει κάθε ιστορία του Μποντ που θέλει να σέβεται τον εαυτό της, είναι οι αντίπαλοί του και οι όμορφες γυναίκες. Ο αρχηγός του κορσικανικού υποκόσμου, ο Ζαν-Πολ Σίπιο, μπορεί να φαίνεται κατώτερος και πιο «καρτουνίστικος» από άλλους κακούς σε βιβλία του Μποντ, όμως κερδίζει τον δικό του χώρο στην υπόθεση με το… εκτόπισμά του – κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά! Οι σκηνές του με τον Μποντ δεν είναι καθόλου υποτονικές, αφού η υποβόσκουσα ένταση είναι αρκετή ώστε να προσδώσει δραματικότητα στην αφήγηση. Οπωσδήποτε δεν διεκδικεί καμιά ιδιαίτερη θέση στο πάνθεον των πιο διάσημων αντιπάλων του, όμως μάλλον ο Βρετανός πράκτορας δεν θα τον ξεχάσει ποτέ! Όσο για τη Σιξτίν, σίγουρα είναι μια γυναίκα που καταφέρνει επίσης να αφήσει το σημάδι της στη ζωή του.
Έχοντας χρησιμοποιήσει με τον καλύτερο δυνατό τρόπο όλα τα εφόδια που του δίνονται -πάντα σε συνδυασμό με το συγγραφικό του ταλέντο-, ο Horowitz έχει γράψει ένα βιβλίο που το γενικό ύφος του θυμίζει το αντίστοιχο των πρώτων βιβλίων του Fleming: απολαυστικά παραδοσιακό, κλασικό, ραφινάτο κι απέριττο, χωρίς την παραμικρή υποψία άχρηστων λούστρων ή άσκοπων νεοτερισμών που θα χαλούσαν την ατμόσφαιρα. Νιώθεις πως από κάπου θα πεταχτεί ο Σον Κόνερι και θα πει, με τη χαρακτηριστική χροιά της φωνής του, «My name is Bond. James Bond».
Αν ο Ian Fleming διάβαζε αυτό το βιβλίο, σίγουρα θα ήταν υπερήφανος από τον τρόπο που το χειρίστηκε ο Horowitz. Τολμώ να υποθέσω, λοιπόν, πως την ίδια αντίδραση θα έχει και από την πλειοψηφία των αναγνωστών που αγαπούν τον 007, αλλά και τα καλογραμμένα κατασκοπευτικά θρίλερ γενικότερα.
Η κριτική μου για το βιβλίο και στο site "Book City" και τον παρακάτω σύνδεσμο: Ο θάνατος του 007
Ακόμα κι αν κάποιος δεν είναι φανατικός αναγνώστης του Ian Fleming και οπαδός του πιο διάσημου μυστικού πράκτορα στον κόσμο, ένα βιβλίο με τίτλο «Ο θάνατος του 007» αποκλείεται να μην του τραβήξει το ενδιαφέρον.
Ο συγγραφέας Anthony Horowitz αποδέχεται την πρόσκληση-πρόκληση της Ian Fleming Publications (που έχει τα δικ��ιώματα της δουλειάς του Fleming και είναι επιφορτισμένη με τη διαχείριση του λογοτεχνικού και λοιπού υλικού που τον αφορά) και γράφει ουσιαστικά το prequel της σειράς βιβλίων με ήρωα τον Βρετανό μυστικό πράκτορα.
Ο Τζέιμς Μποντ, έχοντας περάσει με άριστα την εκπαίδευση της Υπηρεσίας κι έχοντας δώσει τα διαπιστευτήριά του, αναμένει την προαγωγή του στον «κλειστό» κύκλο των πρακτόρων 00, που αριθμεί μόλις τρία μέλη. Ο θάνατος ενός εξ αυτών θα επισπεύσει τη διαδικασία. Το πτώμα του πράκτορα 007 βρίσκεται να επιπλέει κάπου στη Γαλλική Ριβιέρα και ο Μποντ αναλαμβάνει να βρει τον δολοφόνο του. Το μόνο που ζητά είναι να διατηρήσει την ταυτότητα του φίλου και προκατόχου του: να γίνει ο επόμενος πράκτορας 007.
Το ταξίδι του Μποντ στη νότια Γαλλία σηματοδοτεί την είσοδό του σε έναν κόσμο που μοιάζει ονειρικός: όμορφες γυναίκες, γρήγορα αυτοκίνητα, ακριβά ποτά, επώνυμα ρούχα, συγχρωτισμός με την καλή κοινωνία. Στον κόσμο αυτόν θα γνωρίσει τη μυστηριώδη Σιξτίν, που φαίνεται να εμπλέκεται με κάποιον τρόπο στην υπόθεση, και θα δημιουργήσει μαζί της μια σχέση που βαδίζει στην κόψη του ξυραφιού. Κάτω από το επιφανειακό λούστρο, όμως, κρύβεται σκοτάδι και βρομιά. Ο Μποντ το ξέρει καλά αυτό, όμως σύντομα θα το βιώσει από πρώτο χέρι. Αν κι είναι προετοιμασμένος να αντιμετωπίσει οποιαδήποτε δύσκολη κατάσταση, δεν θα πιστέψει ούτε και ο ίδιος πόσο βαθιά θα εμπλακεί στα δίχτυα μιας εγκληματικής οργάνωσης, που ετοιμάζει ένα πολύ μεγάλο και επικίνδυνο κόλπο. Η κορσικανική μαφία είναι αποφασισμένη να μην επιτρέψει σε κανέναν να μπει εμπόδιο στο δρόμο της – και το έχει ήδη αποδείξει. Θα καταφέρει άραγε ο Μποντ να ματαιώσει εγκαίρως τα σχέδιά τους, ειδικά όταν όλα δείχνουν πως εκείνος θα είναι το επόμενο θύμα;
Ο Horowitz δεν αποπειράται να γίνει ένας νέος Fleming, ούτε να γράψει σαν εκείνον. Δηλώνει φανατικός θαυμαστής του ίδιου και των έργων του, που τον έχουν επηρεάσει ως συγγραφέα, και προσπαθεί να αποδώσει τον ήρωα και την ιστορία με τέτοιον τρόπο, ώστε να συνάδει με τον «μύθο» που έχει χτίσει ο δημιουργός του γύρω από αυτόν, τη δράση του, τον τρόπο ζωής του... Και το καταφέρνει· κυρίως με το ταλέντο της πένας του και με την προσεκτική, λεπτομερή έρευνα που έχει κάνει γύρω από τον Fleming, αλλά και για τα επιμέρους σημεία του βιβλίου που την απαιτούν.
Στις σελίδες αυτού του βιβλίου γνωρίζουμε «τον Μποντ πριν τον Μποντ», όπως τον συναντούμε στο «Καζίνο Ρουαγιάλ». Εδώ παίρνει το βάπτισμα του πυρός στην… εκλεκτή κάστα των πρακτόρων 007· εδώ έρχεται για πρώτη φορά σε επαφή με μια επικίνδυνη, μοιραία γυναίκα· εδώ πίνει για πρώτη φορά το «χτυπημένο, όχι ανακατεμένο» μαρτίνι του και καπνίζει τα φημισμένα τσιγάρα του· εδώ εντρυφεί σε έναν πολυτελή τρόπο ζωής που χρησιμεύει ως κάλυψη στις εκάστοτε υποθέσεις που αναλαμβάνει, αλλά του επιτρέπει ταυτόχρονα να απολαμβάνει τα όμορφα πράγματα της ζωής χωρίς να σκοτίζεται για το πώς θα τα εξασφαλίσει. Ουσιαστικά, στο βιβλίο αυτό διαμορφώνεται η περσόνα του Μποντ που έχουμε ήδη γνωρίσει στα υπόλοιπα. Και αυτό αποτελούσε διπλό στοίχημα για τον συγγραφέα του, που αντιμετώπιζε το ρίσκο να ξεφύγει, να εξοκείλει, να υπερβάλλει, να θυμίζει ο ήρωάς του καρικατούρα. Το αποτέλεσμα, πάντως, δείχνει πως το συγκεκριμένο στοίχημα το κέρδισε.
Δύο από τα βασικά στοιχεία που διαθέτει κάθε ιστορία του Μποντ που θέλει να σέβεται τον εαυτό της, είναι οι αντίπαλοί του και οι όμορφες γυναίκες. Ο αρχηγός του κορσικανικού υποκόσμου, ο Ζαν-Πολ Σίπιο, μπορεί να φαίνεται κατώτερος και πιο «καρτουνίστικος» από άλλους κακούς σε βιβλία του Μποντ, όμως κερδίζει τον δικό του χώρο στην υπόθεση με το… εκτόπισμά του – κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά! Οι σκηνές του με τον Μποντ δεν είναι καθόλου υποτονικές, αφού η υποβόσκουσα ένταση είναι αρκετή ώστε να προσδώσει δραματικότητα στην αφήγηση. Οπωσδήποτε δεν διεκδικεί καμιά ιδιαίτερη θέση στο πάνθεον των πιο διάσημων αντιπάλων του, όμως μάλλον ο Βρετανός πράκτορας δεν θα τον ξεχάσει ποτέ! Όσο για τη Σιξτίν, σίγουρα είναι μια γυναίκα που καταφέρνει επίσης να αφήσει το σημάδι της στη ζωή του.
Έχοντας χρησιμοποιήσει με τον καλύτερο δυνατό τρόπο όλα τα εφόδια που του δίνονται -πάντα σε συνδυασμό με το συγγραφικό του ταλέντο-, ο Horowitz έχει γράψει ένα βιβλίο που το γενικό ύφος του θυμίζει το αντίστοιχο των πρώτων βιβλίων του Fleming: απολαυστικά παραδοσιακό, κλασικό, ραφινάτο κι απέριττο, χωρίς την παραμικρή υποψία άχρηστων λούστρων ή άσκοπων νεοτερισμών που θα χαλούσαν την ατμόσφαιρα. Νιώθεις πως από κάπου θα πεταχτεί ο Σον Κόνερι και θα πει, με τη χαρακτηριστική χροιά της φωνής του, «My name is Bond. James Bond».
Αν ο Ian Fleming διάβαζε αυτό το βιβλίο, σίγουρα θα ήταν υπερήφανος από τον τρόπο που το χειρίστηκε ο Horowitz. Τολμώ να υποθέσω, λοιπόν, πως την ίδια αντίδραση θα έχει και από την πλειοψηφία των αναγνωστών που αγαπούν τον 007, αλλά και τα καλογραμμένα κατασκοπευτικά θρίλερ γενικότερα.
Η κριτική μου για το βιβλίο και στο site "Book City" και τον παρακάτω σύνδεσμο: Ο θάνατος του 007
July 16, 2018
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Forever and a Day
by Anthony Horowitz
3.75/5 Stars!
One of the main reasons I started reading James Bond novels besides the films was because of my brother, which I'm greatful for. Since I'm more into Young Adult and he's more into mature novels I somehow always found pleasure in reading James Bond novels despite them being more vague, mature and much complicated than the books I ususally prefer to read.
"There is one more thing." M reached for his pipe, although he didn’t light it. "You’re going to need a number. You’ll be working with 008 and 0011. I don’t know why, but 009 sprung to mind. What do you think?"
Bond had been getting to his feet but he sat down again. "If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d like to take over the 007 designation."
M raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"
"Well, I suppose there are two reasons. The first is that I knew Richard Blakeney. The man who used to carry that Double-0 number." Bond named the man who had died. "I’d go so far as to say we were friends and I’d like to keep his memory alive, flying the flag, so to speak."
"And the second?"
"I think it sends out a message. You can take one of us down but it changes nothing. We’ll come back the same and as strong as ever."
'Forever and a Day' takes place before the events that happened in 'Casino Royale'. Before there was the famous James Bond 007 that we all know and love, in the beginning of this book there was just James Bond, a field agent who was groomed to take up on a 00-status, for which the initiation to the prefix is two perform to official assassinations - Both of his victims were enemies of the Great Britain. Commander James Bond has completed his second "official" kill and is now planning revenge on behalf of Her Majesty's government - but this time with a knife at close range. His target? A double agent who worked for the Nazis. Only after completing this mission he is promoted to the Double-0 Division as an agent with a license to kill. He's now given the mission to find out and possibly kill whoever murdered the former 007.
As the story begins the man who used to formerly hold the 007 codenumber is killed and Her Majesty's Secret Service is looking for someone who can replace him. Just as Bond succeeds in delivering his objectives to the finishing point, he was seen as the eligible man to take over the position of his deceased colleague and be assigned to the case the latter was working on.
This was my first James Bond novel by Anthony Horowitz, while I merely enjoyed this book I can never compare this to Ian Fleming's books, Ian's books have a very unique style of writing. Compared to Fleming's efforts, Anthony's narrative felt very simplistic and easygoing. However the author tried to stay as true as possible to Ian's novels. The story itself isn't too action-heavy, nor it relies on the suspense to narrate itself, rather being calmer and quieter than the general Fleming-crafted James Bond thriller. The dialogues were well written; the background information is described in detail, without delving deep into the blueprint.
An exciting narrative, rich with all sorts of not so easy-to-anticipate surprises. For the original Bond fans this is certainly an interesting book and for newcomers a very good start, because chronologically this is the "first" Bond novel (if you discount the Young Bond books, of course). The story has the classic ingredients for a 007 adventure: exotic locations, the casinos, the conversation with 'M', the villains and so on.
In conclusion I can't say I loved this book or it was a perfection due to a few existing dull moments prolonging the endgame here and there, but then again this had been Bond's very first mission as a double-O agent so I can't really blame them for not being as exciting or epic as the others, since that would undo the message it's supposed to deliver and act inconsistently to the plot of 'Casino Royale'.
Forever and a Day
by Anthony Horowitz
3.75/5 Stars!
One of the main reasons I started reading James Bond novels besides the films was because of my brother, which I'm greatful for. Since I'm more into Young Adult and he's more into mature novels I somehow always found pleasure in reading James Bond novels despite them being more vague, mature and much complicated than the books I ususally prefer to read.
"There is one more thing." M reached for his pipe, although he didn’t light it. "You’re going to need a number. You’ll be working with 008 and 0011. I don’t know why, but 009 sprung to mind. What do you think?"
Bond had been getting to his feet but he sat down again. "If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d like to take over the 007 designation."
M raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"
"Well, I suppose there are two reasons. The first is that I knew Richard Blakeney. The man who used to carry that Double-0 number." Bond named the man who had died. "I’d go so far as to say we were friends and I’d like to keep his memory alive, flying the flag, so to speak."
"And the second?"
"I think it sends out a message. You can take one of us down but it changes nothing. We’ll come back the same and as strong as ever."
'Forever and a Day' takes place before the events that happened in 'Casino Royale'. Before there was the famous James Bond 007 that we all know and love, in the beginning of this book there was just James Bond, a field agent who was groomed to take up on a 00-status, for which the initiation to the prefix is two perform to official assassinations - Both of his victims were enemies of the Great Britain. Commander James Bond has completed his second "official" kill and is now planning revenge on behalf of Her Majesty's government - but this time with a knife at close range. His target? A double agent who worked for the Nazis. Only after completing this mission he is promoted to the Double-0 Division as an agent with a license to kill. He's now given the mission to find out and possibly kill whoever murdered the former 007.
As the story begins the man who used to formerly hold the 007 codenumber is killed and Her Majesty's Secret Service is looking for someone who can replace him. Just as Bond succeeds in delivering his objectives to the finishing point, he was seen as the eligible man to take over the position of his deceased colleague and be assigned to the case the latter was working on.
This was my first James Bond novel by Anthony Horowitz, while I merely enjoyed this book I can never compare this to Ian Fleming's books, Ian's books have a very unique style of writing. Compared to Fleming's efforts, Anthony's narrative felt very simplistic and easygoing. However the author tried to stay as true as possible to Ian's novels. The story itself isn't too action-heavy, nor it relies on the suspense to narrate itself, rather being calmer and quieter than the general Fleming-crafted James Bond thriller. The dialogues were well written; the background information is described in detail, without delving deep into the blueprint.
An exciting narrative, rich with all sorts of not so easy-to-anticipate surprises. For the original Bond fans this is certainly an interesting book and for newcomers a very good start, because chronologically this is the "first" Bond novel (if you discount the Young Bond books, of course). The story has the classic ingredients for a 007 adventure: exotic locations, the casinos, the conversation with 'M', the villains and so on.
In conclusion I can't say I loved this book or it was a perfection due to a few existing dull moments prolonging the endgame here and there, but then again this had been Bond's very first mission as a double-O agent so I can't really blame them for not being as exciting or epic as the others, since that would undo the message it's supposed to deliver and act inconsistently to the plot of 'Casino Royale'.
December 23, 2023
This is a genuine candy entertainment read. Horowitz is a master at them. It was 3.5 stars but I can't round it up. Not for lack of plot or onus to the characterizations at all! Just because the originality factor is quite murky at times. If you've seen 007 movies in any of the 2 or 3 main eras of their actor streams, you still have the nuggets of the whole here without much alterations. From M to Moneypenny to the "shaken not stirred" source- much is explained, but nevertheless- it isn't original copy.
But the quips, the intersects, the "eyes" to a new double agent ARE.
Lots and lots of actions, chasing, tie ups, etc. Some gadgets too, but not as many as will appear later in his career. Monte Carlo is 4 star in appearance.
Fun read. Love the period it’s in too. James in his rookie year- done with the screen writer snap of Anthony Horowitz. He must be richer than Midas of any age by now.
Sixtine was an excellent compadre.
Those of you who are looking for literature of erudite depth- this isn't it. This is body count license to kill before he gets to the Sean Connery veteran stage.
But the quips, the intersects, the "eyes" to a new double agent ARE.
Lots and lots of actions, chasing, tie ups, etc. Some gadgets too, but not as many as will appear later in his career. Monte Carlo is 4 star in appearance.
Fun read. Love the period it’s in too. James in his rookie year- done with the screen writer snap of Anthony Horowitz. He must be richer than Midas of any age by now.
Sixtine was an excellent compadre.
Those of you who are looking for literature of erudite depth- this isn't it. This is body count license to kill before he gets to the Sean Connery veteran stage.
November 20, 2018
Horowitz makes no bones about it - Bond is a cold-blooded murderer and a psychopath.
The glamour that skimmed over this nasty, central fact in the films especially, appears tacky here, adopted as part of the packaging for the central characters - Bond himself and Sixtine, the ruthless female lead, inevitably seduced (some might say raped) by Bond.
The plot was interesting enough to hold me without skipping, but I think this is the last time I will visit Bond territory, which I loved in my teens and 20s.
The glamour that skimmed over this nasty, central fact in the films especially, appears tacky here, adopted as part of the packaging for the central characters - Bond himself and Sixtine, the ruthless female lead, inevitably seduced (some might say raped) by Bond.
The plot was interesting enough to hold me without skipping, but I think this is the last time I will visit Bond territory, which I loved in my teens and 20s.
November 23, 2021
FOREVER AND A DAY is very faithful to both the style and the spirit of Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories. That is both a plus (exciting, action filled encounters) and a detriment (occasional character motivations and behaviors that can cause the Reader a bit of head-scratching). Yet, by the time I was finished, I felt that I had read a “legitimate” James Bond novel.
The opening is quite nicely done, and brought to mind a moment from the film version of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. The story itself details how the post-War James Bond receives his double O status, and sends him on his first mission with his official “license to kill.” Along the way, there is plenty of elegance and deception, iconic references (such as how he developed his preference for “shaken, not stirred,” and his favorite brand of cigarette), undeserved death, a particularly grotesque criminal paired with a suave villain, and an unexpected partnership with the CIA. With the exception of a backstory chapter, the novel never failed to move briskly.
One item to note is the period in which the story is set. If the Reader assigns “modern” motivations to the post-WW2 environment, there will be plenty of character attitudes that don’t make sense. The writer tries to help things along by familiarizing us with some of the “back room politics” that occurred and probably aren’t known to those of us who relied on public school education for our knowledge.
The James Bond pastiches have strongly varied in quality, often sending me scurrying back to the original works for a re-read to clear the palate. Anthony Horowitz has studied his Bond and has produced one of the better ones. Incorporating Fleming into his writing style both helps and hinders, but it also produces a work that feels like “pure Bond.”
The opening is quite nicely done, and brought to mind a moment from the film version of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. The story itself details how the post-War James Bond receives his double O status, and sends him on his first mission with his official “license to kill.” Along the way, there is plenty of elegance and deception, iconic references (such as how he developed his preference for “shaken, not stirred,” and his favorite brand of cigarette), undeserved death, a particularly grotesque criminal paired with a suave villain, and an unexpected partnership with the CIA. With the exception of a backstory chapter, the novel never failed to move briskly.
One item to note is the period in which the story is set. If the Reader assigns “modern” motivations to the post-WW2 environment, there will be plenty of character attitudes that don’t make sense. The writer tries to help things along by familiarizing us with some of the “back room politics” that occurred and probably aren’t known to those of us who relied on public school education for our knowledge.
The James Bond pastiches have strongly varied in quality, often sending me scurrying back to the original works for a re-read to clear the palate. Anthony Horowitz has studied his Bond and has produced one of the better ones. Incorporating Fleming into his writing style both helps and hinders, but it also produces a work that feels like “pure Bond.”
April 12, 2021
Forever and a Day is a prequel to Casino Royale, Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, and gives a magnificent look at how Bond becomes a 00 agent, as well as his exhilarating first mission to exact revenge for the murder of his predecessor and friend, the previous 007. Bond joins the 00 service as an experienced war and post war operative. Even at the tender age of thirty he's fairly suave, with a taste for the finer things. In fact, it's here that he first picks up his predilection for shaken, rather than stirred cocktails, which Horowitz provides some interesting backstory for. It's also here that he learns to accept the necessity of the "dirty" parts of his job.
The best part of any Bond story is the villain, and here we get a truly memorable one in the form of Scipio, a morbidly obese Corsican crime lord that seems to parallel Jabba the Hut in more ways than one. Joanne "Sixtine / Madame 16" Brochet, an undercover agent turned independent rogue/information broker quickly becomes the object of Bond's desires and makes for a fantastic femme fatale type figure. Older, enigmatic and downright ruthless, Bond can't be sure if she's friend or foe, or maybe a bit of both. The plot is perhaps a bit tame by Bond standards, but there's a good mystery at the heart of it and it makes for an excellent ride.
The best part of any Bond story is the villain, and here we get a truly memorable one in the form of Scipio, a morbidly obese Corsican crime lord that seems to parallel Jabba the Hut in more ways than one. Joanne "Sixtine / Madame 16" Brochet, an undercover agent turned independent rogue/information broker quickly becomes the object of Bond's desires and makes for a fantastic femme fatale type figure. Older, enigmatic and downright ruthless, Bond can't be sure if she's friend or foe, or maybe a bit of both. The plot is perhaps a bit tame by Bond standards, but there's a good mystery at the heart of it and it makes for an excellent ride.
February 28, 2021
Кто бы мог подумать, что персиковый голос Мэттью Гуда убьет мне всего Джеймса Бонда?
Ну, не всего, а только один роман, но тем не менее!
Дочитала лишь до середины, убаюканная нежными переливами, ВООБЩЕ ничего не запомнила, кажется, какого-то чувака Бонд зарезал в Стокгольме в его собственной постели, потом отправился играть в карты с красивой девушкой, всё.
Негусто!
Ну, не всего, а только один роман, но тем не менее!
Дочитала лишь до середины, убаюканная нежными переливами, ВООБЩЕ ничего не запомнила, кажется, какого-то чувака Бонд зарезал в Стокгольме в его собственной постели, потом отправился играть в карты с красивой девушкой, всё.
Негусто!
May 21, 2020
I was in the mood for a James Bond book and so what better way than to read one by Anthony Horowitz? He has never disappointed me and with this novel, his streak remains intact. Bond novels by those other than Fleming have been problematical for me but both Horowitz efforts have been spot on.
This one describes Bond's first assignment as a member of the 00 section. It's written in the Fleming mold. i.e. not gadget-oriented like the movies. The plot builds slowly with well-rounded supporting characters while the ending contains some terrific action scenes that really kept me turning the pages. It was nice to see the origin of some of the Bond tropes including the "shaken, not stirred" bit.
I hope this author is granted the opportunity to do at least one more Bond book, and hopefully, many more.
This one describes Bond's first assignment as a member of the 00 section. It's written in the Fleming mold. i.e. not gadget-oriented like the movies. The plot builds slowly with well-rounded supporting characters while the ending contains some terrific action scenes that really kept me turning the pages. It was nice to see the origin of some of the Bond tropes including the "shaken, not stirred" bit.
I hope this author is granted the opportunity to do at least one more Bond book, and hopefully, many more.
November 22, 2018
The book predates James Bond being given his double-O (permission to kill) status. Strong beginning with the death of previous 007 turning up dead in the French Riviera (but we don't know that right away), shot three times and left floating in the water. M wants retribution, promoting then Commander Bond, and sending him off to find the guilty party or parties. He immediately tangles with the local CIA man, gets involved with Madame Sixtine (a free agent, entrepreneur), and a great villain, Corsican drug king, Jean-Paul Scipio, an enormously obese sadist. Bond narrowly escapes an acid bath, and ends up being injected with heroin on the maiden voyage of a transatlantic voyage with a boat full of contraband. Interesting to see a younger, less self-certain Bond character.
June 19, 2018
Actual rating: 4.00
A vintage Bond novel. Just as the great Ian Fleming wrote them.
A vintage Bond novel. Just as the great Ian Fleming wrote them.
November 14, 2019
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα βιβλίο με ήρωα τον Τζέιμς Μποντ, ήταν τον Ιούλιο του 2014, όταν απόλαυσα το "Ο χρυσοδάκτυλος". Βέβαια, στις αρχές του χρόνου έτυχε να δω τρεις-τέσσερις ταινίες με πρωταγωνιστή τον φοβερό Σον Κόνερι, αλλά όπως και να το κάνουμε, άλλο το βιβλίο και άλλο η ταινία. Ο μπαγάσας σίγουρα μου έλειψε! Φυσικά, περιττό να πω ότι είναι η πρώτη φορά που διαβάζω ιστορία του Τζέιμς Μποντ που δεν είναι γραμμένη από τον Ίαν Φλέμινγκ.
Λοιπόν, μπορώ να πω ότι είμαι κατενθουσιασμένος: Ο Χόροβιτς έκανε πραγματικά πολύ καλή δουλειά σε πολλά διαφορετικά επίπεδα, αλλά πάνω απ'όλα σεβάστηκε τη σειρά και έπιασε στον απόλυτο βαθμό την ατμόσφαιρα και το ύφος των βιβλίων του Φλέμινγκ. Η ιστορία περιέχει όλα αυτά τα καλούδια που θα συναντήσει κανείς τόσο στα αυθεντικά βιβλία, όσο και στις πρώτες ταινίες με πρωταγωνιστή τον Σον Κόνερι: Μπόλικη δράση, μυστήριο, τρελά σκηνικά, μοιραίες γυναίκες, κακούργους με εξωτερική εμφάνιση που ξεχωρίζει (αλλά και με μια δόσης γραφικότητας), ωραία αμάξια και φοβερά τοπία. Και, βέβαια, ο Τζέιμς Μποντ είναι πολύ καλά σκιαγραφημένος και ακριβώς όπως τον θυμόμουν από τα βιβλία του Φλέμινγκ (έστω και με μικρότερη πείρα). Όσον αφορά τη γραφή, είναι πάρα μα πάρα πολύ καλή, ευκολοδιάβαστη και άκρως εθιστική, με γλαφυρές περιγραφές και ζωντανούς διαλόγους.
Η αλήθεια είναι ότι κρατούσα σχετικά μεγάλο καλάθι πριν το ξεκινήσω, μιας και το "Η λέξη είναι φόνος" του ίδιου συγγραφέα που διάβασα φέτος τον Απρίλιο μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ, όμως σίγουρα δεν περίμενα ότι θα ήταν τόσο καλό και τόσο απολαυστικό, που θα του έβαζα δίχως δεύτερη σκέψη πέντε αστεράκια (τεσσεράμισι για την ακρίβεια). Τώρα, όσον αφορά τη σειρά ανάγνωσης για όσους δεν έχουν διαβάσει Τζέιμς Μποντ, το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο αποτελεί τις απαρχές του Βρετανού υπερκατασκόπου στην ομάδα των "00", οπότε κάλλιστα θα μπορούσε να διαβαστεί και πρώτο, πριν το εξαιρετικό "Casino Royale".
Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα βιβλίο με ήρωα τον Τζέιμς Μποντ, ήταν τον Ιούλιο του 2014, όταν απόλαυσα το "Ο χρυσοδάκτυλος". Βέβαια, στις αρχές του χρόνου έτυχε να δω τρεις-τέσσερις ταινίες με πρωταγωνιστή τον φοβερό Σον Κόνερι, αλλά όπως και να το κάνουμε, άλλο το βιβλίο και άλλο η ταινία. Ο μπαγάσας σίγουρα μου έλειψε! Φυσικά, περιττό να πω ότι είναι η πρώτη φορά που διαβάζω ιστορία του Τζέιμς Μποντ που δεν είναι γραμμένη από τον Ίαν Φλέμινγκ.
Λοιπόν, μπορώ να πω ότι είμαι κατενθουσιασμένος: Ο Χόροβιτς έκανε πραγματικά πολύ καλή δουλειά σε πολλά διαφορετικά επίπεδα, αλλά πάνω απ'όλα σεβάστηκε τη σειρά και έπιασε στον απόλυτο βαθμό την ατμόσφαιρα και το ύφος των βιβλίων του Φλέμινγκ. Η ιστορία περιέχει όλα αυτά τα καλούδια που θα συναντήσει κανείς τόσο στα αυθεντικά βιβλία, όσο και στις πρώτες ταινίες με πρωταγωνιστή τον Σον Κόνερι: Μπόλικη δράση, μυστήριο, τρελά σκηνικά, μοιραίες γυναίκες, κακούργους με εξωτερική εμφάνιση που ξεχωρίζει (αλλά και με μια δόσης γραφικότητας), ωραία αμάξια και φοβερά τοπία. Και, βέβαια, ο Τζέιμς Μποντ είναι πολύ καλά σκιαγραφημένος και ακριβώς όπως τον θυμόμουν από τα βιβλία του Φλέμινγκ (έστω και με μικρότερη πείρα). Όσον αφορά τη γραφή, είναι πάρα μα πάρα πολύ καλή, ευκολοδιάβαστη και άκρως εθιστική, με γλαφυρές περιγραφές και ζωντανούς διαλόγους.
Η αλήθεια είναι ότι κρατούσα σχετικά μεγάλο καλάθι πριν το ξεκινήσω, μιας και το "Η λέξη είναι φόνος" του ίδιου συγγραφέα που διάβασα φέτος τον Απρίλιο μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ, όμως σίγουρα δεν περίμενα ότι θα ήταν τόσο καλό και τόσο απολαυστικό, που θα του έβαζα δίχως δεύτερη σκέψη πέντε αστεράκια (τεσσεράμισι για την ακρίβεια). Τώρα, όσον αφορά τη σειρά ανάγνωσης για όσους δεν έχουν διαβάσει Τζέιμς Μποντ, το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο αποτελεί τις απαρχές του Βρετανού υπερκατασκόπου στην ομάδα των "00", οπότε κάλλιστα θα μπορούσε να διαβαστεί και πρώτο, πριν το εξαιρετικό "Casino Royale".
June 5, 2018
007 has been killed in Marseille.
Long live 007, Bond, James Bond.
This is the prequel to Casino Royale, at least that is one of the selling points. But mostly it means that is is set before the Ian Fleming novel called "Casino Royale".
We meet Bond earning his 00-status and then being send into the similar situation the original 007 has been send to solve his death and deliver death to the responsible. We get Bond in his beloved south of France where he will find happiness and death in the future.
Like the previous Horowitz 007 novel Trigger Mortis this book also contains a bit of Fleming which was left after a TV show failed to appear. Do not expect a full script it is more a wee bit and can be found in the chapter "Russian Roulette". Fans of Ian Fleming will probably notice for others it will be a nice bit of marketing.
Horowitz seems to be far more comfortable with 007 in his second book and it shows, the story is very lean and well written. The main plot device seems to be familiar, but then again with over 40 literary books and 24 movies in the EON series something is bound to double. The leading lady is a classic and this young 007 already shows the signs of his Ian Fleming character.
This book was very much anticipated by me far more than the Next Craig emo-Bond outing. And based upon the book I would say that Ian Fleming estate should ask hem for a next entry as soon as possible. Because Horowitz seems to enjoy the character and does write a bloody good yarn.
James Bond will clearly deserve his 00-status in this book and it a tale well worth reading and not just to hardcore 007 fans. It is a nice thriller but be warned this is the Fleming character far more than the movie character. You might want to read Fleming after this book or at least Trigger Mortis the first Horowitz 007 novel.
I would not mind if Horowitz would take a stab at another classic character named the Saint and have him in his best era pre WWII.
Long live 007, Bond, James Bond.
This is the prequel to Casino Royale, at least that is one of the selling points. But mostly it means that is is set before the Ian Fleming novel called "Casino Royale".
We meet Bond earning his 00-status and then being send into the similar situation the original 007 has been send to solve his death and deliver death to the responsible. We get Bond in his beloved south of France where he will find happiness and death in the future.
Like the previous Horowitz 007 novel Trigger Mortis this book also contains a bit of Fleming which was left after a TV show failed to appear. Do not expect a full script it is more a wee bit and can be found in the chapter "Russian Roulette". Fans of Ian Fleming will probably notice for others it will be a nice bit of marketing.
Horowitz seems to be far more comfortable with 007 in his second book and it shows, the story is very lean and well written. The main plot device seems to be familiar, but then again with over 40 literary books and 24 movies in the EON series something is bound to double. The leading lady is a classic and this young 007 already shows the signs of his Ian Fleming character.
This book was very much anticipated by me far more than the Next Craig emo-Bond outing. And based upon the book I would say that Ian Fleming estate should ask hem for a next entry as soon as possible. Because Horowitz seems to enjoy the character and does write a bloody good yarn.
James Bond will clearly deserve his 00-status in this book and it a tale well worth reading and not just to hardcore 007 fans. It is a nice thriller but be warned this is the Fleming character far more than the movie character. You might want to read Fleming after this book or at least Trigger Mortis the first Horowitz 007 novel.
I would not mind if Horowitz would take a stab at another classic character named the Saint and have him in his best era pre WWII.
June 23, 2019
Her dark hair had tumbled across her eyes, which glinted with anger but also amusement. ‘Well, well, well,’ she exclaimed. ‘The British spy can’t get what he wants by consent so he has to try force.’ She touched her hand to her lip. ‘Is this how you treat your women? Given a choice, I think I prefer Irwin Wolfe.’
This is Bond's first mission as 007. Which would explain why he was so green, naive, kept doing so many stupid things (while constantly thinking about how stupid women are or whatever that was (every main character, but for 16 (lead womans name), of course, thinks that way about women)). Except. ..... this is Bond's first mission as 007, not his first mission. He has had several missions already for the spy organization he works for - plus all of those covert missions during WWII. He is 30 something Commander Bond, not some young punk on his first mission.
Story wasn't much. The prior 007 has been killed in the south France, and Bond's first mission as the new 007 is to investigate the matter. Which he does. And, of course, there's a woman for Bond to play with (with several twists), and some distinctive looking villains to act all evil like.
Interesting enough story, despite the words I use, though it could have been a lot better.
(writting reviews on phone quite annoying)
Rating: -3.38
June 17 2019
November 24, 2021
What I loved
Fat gay bad guy!
Sixteen - the strong, intelligent, violent female spy.
The most vicious, effective, and soul-sucking potential Bond death. Any man, hell any person, would have gladly jumped in a shark tank.
What I appreciated
Anthony Horowitz did a good job balancing classic 50s Bond with modern readers’ taste.
What I disliked
The crazy evil genius... was crazy. Yes, hate to spoil that for you. The grand plan made no sense. Very disappointing.
3.75 Stars rounded up to 4
Goldsboro Books offered a limited edition: I received 207/750, with sprayed edgings, signed by the author.
*Audible note: Matthew Goode’s voice is a believable James Bond, his American accents humorously jovial, but his female characters are wanting whispers lacking depth.
November 19, 2018
These Horowitz Bond books are so impressive. They are so much like Fleming's original novels. This one is terrific, with a particularly chilling finish.
November 24, 2018
The book is successful in achieving its goal but I am taking the ride no further. Stepping out at the intersection of cheesy seduction methods and my own demand and preference for reality.
I actually never read any of the original Bond books and never got through one of the old movies. Hated them. However...the newer movie versions with Daniel Craig had great action that I did enjoy.
So...this starts off well as a prequel to the Bond saga and his first assignment is to find who killed the 007 agent (a friend) he is now replacing - taking him to France, casino wins, martinis shaken not stirred, etc. It seems a bit odd for him to hit it off with a CIA agent he catches casing the apartment of the dead agent, but his presence serves as rescue later on when they decide to join forces.
I have a big pile of very appealing books I know I will like cover to cover, so thanks to Horowitz for being faithful to the original vision of agent 007. But that version is not a man I want to know any more of, with the grabbing and pulling and pressing of his female prey. That's at 52% if you wish to bookmark, eh?
Circling back to confess that I read the final chapter to see if it all ended as I suspected it would. Good ending...have to bump it up to 3 stars.
I actually never read any of the original Bond books and never got through one of the old movies. Hated them. However...the newer movie versions with Daniel Craig had great action that I did enjoy.
So...this starts off well as a prequel to the Bond saga and his first assignment is to find who killed the 007 agent (a friend) he is now replacing - taking him to France, casino wins, martinis shaken not stirred, etc. It seems a bit odd for him to hit it off with a CIA agent he catches casing the apartment of the dead agent, but his presence serves as rescue later on when they decide to join forces.
I have a big pile of very appealing books I know I will like cover to cover, so thanks to Horowitz for being faithful to the original vision of agent 007. But that version is not a man I want to know any more of, with the grabbing and pulling and pressing of his female prey. That's at 52% if you wish to bookmark, eh?
Circling back to confess that I read the final chapter to see if it all ended as I suspected it would. Good ending...have to bump it up to 3 stars.
January 7, 2019
BOND PAYS BUSINESS VISIT TO COTERIE OF CORSICANS
“He didn’t need to make any movement. Bond had already seen what he needed in the man’s eyes; the acknowledgement of guilt. So be it. Without a second thought, he drove the knife forward, into the neck muscle, slanting it towards ____ brain.
[…]
Suddenly there was only one person breathing in the room.”
Reporting back to London after coldly executing his latest target, James Bond is appointed as MI6’s new Double-O agent. Bond insist on adopting the number of his predecessor and good friend, who met his brusque and brutal end while investigating Marseille’s underworld.
His next mission is twofold: to find out what happened to 007 on that fateful day and look into the unusual activity of the heroin trafficking Corsican syndicates operating there. Licence to kill is now in full effect, and to be used at Bond’s own discretion. He relishes this opportunity to show his mettle and - if possible - get some personal revenge out of the bargain.
This origin story of sorts makes for an interesting entry point in the Bond literary canon. Being unfamiliar with any of the novels (either by Fleming or others), as a devotee of the various silver screen incarnations I however was made to feel right at home. Horrowitz - who also penned the Bond adventure Trigger Mortis – here illustrates a deep knowledge of the universe he is playing in.
Furthermore, he is doing his damnedest to re-create the feel of the early Connery films and the later interpretation by Craig of the character: a decidedly gritty, ruthless Bond with more overtly psychopathic traits. Since it is intended to be a prequel to Fleming’s original Casino Royale, thematically at least he appears to be hitting the bullseye. The retro fifties touch makes it all the sweeter: no gadgets, no gimmicks in sight. All Bond has at his disposal are his feral instincts, rigorous training, easy charm and of course a trusty Beretta.
As it stands, this is a well-crafted piece of Bond fare, and fans surely won’t find a lot here to be disappointed about. All the elements you’d want are there, with a couple of surprises thrown in. It didn’t manage to completely whelm me though. Some parts (even one entire chapter) seemed to be rather clumsily put together and could have benefited from a re-write, to flesh it out. But these are minor criticisms, as it did manage to sustain my interest throughout.
With the as of now yet untitled Bond 25 (directed by True Detective’s Cary Joji Fukunaga) scheduled for a February 2020 release, now seems the opportune time to get immersed in Fleming’s oeuvre. To be shaken or stirred by it, either is more than welcomed.
“He didn’t need to make any movement. Bond had already seen what he needed in the man’s eyes; the acknowledgement of guilt. So be it. Without a second thought, he drove the knife forward, into the neck muscle, slanting it towards ____ brain.
[…]
Suddenly there was only one person breathing in the room.”
Reporting back to London after coldly executing his latest target, James Bond is appointed as MI6’s new Double-O agent. Bond insist on adopting the number of his predecessor and good friend, who met his brusque and brutal end while investigating Marseille’s underworld.
His next mission is twofold: to find out what happened to 007 on that fateful day and look into the unusual activity of the heroin trafficking Corsican syndicates operating there. Licence to kill is now in full effect, and to be used at Bond’s own discretion. He relishes this opportunity to show his mettle and - if possible - get some personal revenge out of the bargain.
This origin story of sorts makes for an interesting entry point in the Bond literary canon. Being unfamiliar with any of the novels (either by Fleming or others), as a devotee of the various silver screen incarnations I however was made to feel right at home. Horrowitz - who also penned the Bond adventure Trigger Mortis – here illustrates a deep knowledge of the universe he is playing in.
Furthermore, he is doing his damnedest to re-create the feel of the early Connery films and the later interpretation by Craig of the character: a decidedly gritty, ruthless Bond with more overtly psychopathic traits. Since it is intended to be a prequel to Fleming’s original Casino Royale, thematically at least he appears to be hitting the bullseye. The retro fifties touch makes it all the sweeter: no gadgets, no gimmicks in sight. All Bond has at his disposal are his feral instincts, rigorous training, easy charm and of course a trusty Beretta.
As it stands, this is a well-crafted piece of Bond fare, and fans surely won’t find a lot here to be disappointed about. All the elements you’d want are there, with a couple of surprises thrown in. It didn’t manage to completely whelm me though. Some parts (even one entire chapter) seemed to be rather clumsily put together and could have benefited from a re-write, to flesh it out. But these are minor criticisms, as it did manage to sustain my interest throughout.
With the as of now yet untitled Bond 25 (directed by True Detective’s Cary Joji Fukunaga) scheduled for a February 2020 release, now seems the opportune time to get immersed in Fleming’s oeuvre. To be shaken or stirred by it, either is more than welcomed.
April 29, 2022
Ugh...I'm afraid my decades-long bromance with James Bond has finally come to an end; like a sad marriage where no one is really to blame, but where one party has grown and moved on while the other is perfectly content to stay the same as he's always been.
And sure, as a nominal prequel to all the Fleming books I knew going in that this would probably be "Bond as he's always been." It's just that his "as always" behavior - forcing himself on initially-unwilling and goofily-named women; haunting the casinos of the French Riviera (could there be a less interesting settling); getting all-too-easily captured and then all-too-easily escaping - is just no longer as charming as it once was. (Although I have to admit that it was kind of fun learning that two of his more identifying traits - smoking his custom-made, frou-frou cigarettes, and drinking his silly "shaken not stirred" martinis - were in fact picked up from an older and more worldly-wise woman.)
It's not like I haven't tried. I've read Kingsley Amis' 2-star Colonel Sun and John Gardner's 1-star License Renewed; but now with Horowitz's only-slightly-better version, I'm that close to pulling the plug for good...only delaying the final divorce papers because I already own a copy of Jeffrey Deaver's Carte Blanche, which reimagines Jimbo as a 30ish, post-9/11 Afghan war veteran, so...maybe?
But then that's IT - to paraphrase the immortal Pete Townshend, if this turns out to be yet another example of "meet the new Bond, same as the old Bond," I promise - I won't get fooled again!
And sure, as a nominal prequel to all the Fleming books I knew going in that this would probably be "Bond as he's always been." It's just that his "as always" behavior - forcing himself on initially-unwilling and goofily-named women; haunting the casinos of the French Riviera (could there be a less interesting settling); getting all-too-easily captured and then all-too-easily escaping - is just no longer as charming as it once was. (Although I have to admit that it was kind of fun learning that two of his more identifying traits - smoking his custom-made, frou-frou cigarettes, and drinking his silly "shaken not stirred" martinis - were in fact picked up from an older and more worldly-wise woman.)
It's not like I haven't tried. I've read Kingsley Amis' 2-star Colonel Sun and John Gardner's 1-star License Renewed; but now with Horowitz's only-slightly-better version, I'm that close to pulling the plug for good...only delaying the final divorce papers because I already own a copy of Jeffrey Deaver's Carte Blanche, which reimagines Jimbo as a 30ish, post-9/11 Afghan war veteran, so...maybe?
But then that's IT - to paraphrase the immortal Pete Townshend, if this turns out to be yet another example of "meet the new Bond, same as the old Bond," I promise - I won't get fooled again!
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