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James Bond - Extended Series #49
With a Mind to Kill
It is M's funeral. One man is missing from the graveside: the traitor who pulled the trigger and who is now in custody, accused of M's murder - James Bond.
Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former Smersh agents want to use the British spy in an operation that will change the balance of world power. Bond is smuggled into the lion's den - but whose orders is he following, and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives?
In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.
Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former Smersh agents want to use the British spy in an operation that will change the balance of world power. Bond is smuggled into the lion's den - but whose orders is he following, and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives?
In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 24, 2022
779 people are currently reading
7392 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Horowitz
345 books20.9k 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 556 reviews
June 2, 2022
As usual, Anthony Horowitz writes a book that is thrilling and gives homage to Ian Fleming and James Bond.
June 16, 2022
To infiltrate and uncover the secret diabolical plans of a new Soviet outfit called Stalnaya Ruka, James Bond must pretend to assassinate M and turn traitor. But once back in the Russians’ hands, will Bond remain mentally sound enough to accomplish his mission or will his KGB brainwashing overpower him?
Anthony Horowitz’s third and final Bond novel, With a Mind to Kill, is unfortunately pretty bad. There aren’t many books by Horowitz that I haven’t enjoyed - if I’d finished them, I’m sure I’d have given Trigger Mortis and Moonflower Murders bad reviews too - but, for whatever reason, whenever he ties his Bond story to an Ian Fleming novel, the results are always disappointing (maybe because Fleming was a crap writer, he’s bringing Horowitz down to his level?). Like Trigger Mortis, the sequel to Goldfinger, which seemed to be a book of car descriptions.
It’s because of reading Goldfinger that I probably won’t read any more Ian Fleming novels so I haven’t read the novel that With a Mind to Kill takes its cue from: The Man with the Golden Gun. Apparently Bond was brainwashed in that novel by the KGB to assassinate M but never did it, and With a Mind to Kill picks up the story two weeks after that book ends, and Horowitz has Bond pretend to actually follow through with that scheme so that he can get in close to the Russians and foil whatever plans they’ve got going.
Which is fine as a premise but the end result is really boring. The book is slow to get moving but the first part at least ends with a decent set piece as Bond escapes his captors on Tower Bridge and leaves Blighty behind for Moscow. Once in Russia though, he meets the obvious requisite love interest in the form of Katya Leonova, an ice queen who can only be thawed by Bond’s penus. Yes, really. The story is set in the 1960s and so is the pulpy level of writing apparently.
A significant chunk of the novel is taken up with Bond and Katya on a seemingly never-ending first date that develops predictably and is never once compelling. What’s worse is that Horowitz’s usually strong characterisation seems to regress considerably to portray Katya as the worst kind of stereotypical damsel-in-distress. She goes from being an independent, intelligent woman to a simpering, clingy bimbo in no time, existing only to be used by Bond, and Horowitz too, when the narrative suits.
I’d expect this kind of lazy writing from older books that at least have the excuse of being “of a different time”, but not from a novel published today (although maybe because it’s set in the ‘60s, Horowitz is trying to stay true to the literary conventions of the time?). It’s just embarrassing to read more than anything.
The rest of the novel plays out at an uninteresting, plodding pace with an underwhelming finale. It reads so workmanlike, like Horowitz was fulfilling a contract obligation, not because he was inspired. Which is a shame as he seems to have a good handle on Bond as a character.
The story and characters are unmemorable, with too few moments that were actually entertaining - With a Mind to Kill is tedious rubbish, and a weak end to Horowitz’s Bond run. If you’ve not read it yet, I recommend Forever and a Day instead of this snoozer of a book.
Anthony Horowitz’s third and final Bond novel, With a Mind to Kill, is unfortunately pretty bad. There aren’t many books by Horowitz that I haven’t enjoyed - if I’d finished them, I’m sure I’d have given Trigger Mortis and Moonflower Murders bad reviews too - but, for whatever reason, whenever he ties his Bond story to an Ian Fleming novel, the results are always disappointing (maybe because Fleming was a crap writer, he’s bringing Horowitz down to his level?). Like Trigger Mortis, the sequel to Goldfinger, which seemed to be a book of car descriptions.
It’s because of reading Goldfinger that I probably won’t read any more Ian Fleming novels so I haven’t read the novel that With a Mind to Kill takes its cue from: The Man with the Golden Gun. Apparently Bond was brainwashed in that novel by the KGB to assassinate M but never did it, and With a Mind to Kill picks up the story two weeks after that book ends, and Horowitz has Bond pretend to actually follow through with that scheme so that he can get in close to the Russians and foil whatever plans they’ve got going.
Which is fine as a premise but the end result is really boring. The book is slow to get moving but the first part at least ends with a decent set piece as Bond escapes his captors on Tower Bridge and leaves Blighty behind for Moscow. Once in Russia though, he meets the obvious requisite love interest in the form of Katya Leonova, an ice queen who can only be thawed by Bond’s penus. Yes, really. The story is set in the 1960s and so is the pulpy level of writing apparently.
A significant chunk of the novel is taken up with Bond and Katya on a seemingly never-ending first date that develops predictably and is never once compelling. What’s worse is that Horowitz’s usually strong characterisation seems to regress considerably to portray Katya as the worst kind of stereotypical damsel-in-distress. She goes from being an independent, intelligent woman to a simpering, clingy bimbo in no time, existing only to be used by Bond, and Horowitz too, when the narrative suits.
I’d expect this kind of lazy writing from older books that at least have the excuse of being “of a different time”, but not from a novel published today (although maybe because it’s set in the ‘60s, Horowitz is trying to stay true to the literary conventions of the time?). It’s just embarrassing to read more than anything.
The rest of the novel plays out at an uninteresting, plodding pace with an underwhelming finale. It reads so workmanlike, like Horowitz was fulfilling a contract obligation, not because he was inspired. Which is a shame as he seems to have a good handle on Bond as a character.
The story and characters are unmemorable, with too few moments that were actually entertaining - With a Mind to Kill is tedious rubbish, and a weak end to Horowitz’s Bond run. If you’ve not read it yet, I recommend Forever and a Day instead of this snoozer of a book.
October 8, 2024
Horowitz cleverly follows the pattern of the James Bond novels that I remember reading a long time ago.
The Bond we meet in With a Mind to Kill is a very mature one who is beginning to wonder if it is all worth while and how much longer he can continue. He certainly suffers physically as well as mentally but always manages to bounce back.
The story is action packed, complicated and very much in line with Ian Fleming. This is the last book in the three that Horowitz will write and the ending is left open to interpretation, presumably for another author to continue.
The Bond we meet in With a Mind to Kill is a very mature one who is beginning to wonder if it is all worth while and how much longer he can continue. He certainly suffers physically as well as mentally but always manages to bounce back.
The story is action packed, complicated and very much in line with Ian Fleming. This is the last book in the three that Horowitz will write and the ending is left open to interpretation, presumably for another author to continue.
May 7, 2024
Bond. James Bond.
The estate of Ian Fleming made their decision that Anthony Horowitz would continue the legacy of their hero for a 3-book trilogy, utilizing unpublished material by Fleming. So, Horowitz kept him in the era when Mr. Fleming was writing the character. This is the final book.
The first book was Trigger Mortis. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Horowitz’ second book was: “Forever and a Day.” My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Each book can be read as a stand-alone.
As readers, we begin this one in absolute shock.
What? James Bond killed M? Our very own favorite, number one secret agent 007 killed the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6?
Why?
What exactly happened to Bond that would have him turn against his employer/mentor?
To tell you more would give away the plot. Because what is always important to know in Intelligence Service, is that nothing is as it seems.
But let us just say, that the one’s behind the assassination, the one’s that led Bond…James Bond to this awful place gladly, warmly welcomed him back. Which makes this one of his most important assignments to date.
An assignment, I say? Of course. And this is where the true suspense begins. Bond will be tasked and tested like never before. He is clearly aging and tired.
In this final story, will this be the end of Bond’s illustrious career? Is this Horowitz’ way of showing his respect to the greatest spy of all time? Casting him off as a murderer? Or is there more to the story that readers need to see?
And, will this be an ending that readers will be ready to accept?
There will be one technique used in the book that Horowitz researched that occurs that was a bit over-the-top for me. I felt a bit queasy, uncomfortable, and had to suspend disbelief. It seemed out-of-character for the Bond we have grown to know and love. But to divulge what it was would be a spoiler.
Other than that…
In true Bond fashion, this one will be an action-packed, fast-paced, page-turner, that will be exciting, in the right places.
3.5 stars rounded up.
The estate of Ian Fleming made their decision that Anthony Horowitz would continue the legacy of their hero for a 3-book trilogy, utilizing unpublished material by Fleming. So, Horowitz kept him in the era when Mr. Fleming was writing the character. This is the final book.
The first book was Trigger Mortis. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Horowitz’ second book was: “Forever and a Day.” My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Each book can be read as a stand-alone.
As readers, we begin this one in absolute shock.
What? James Bond killed M? Our very own favorite, number one secret agent 007 killed the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6?
Why?
What exactly happened to Bond that would have him turn against his employer/mentor?
To tell you more would give away the plot. Because what is always important to know in Intelligence Service, is that nothing is as it seems.
But let us just say, that the one’s behind the assassination, the one’s that led Bond…James Bond to this awful place gladly, warmly welcomed him back. Which makes this one of his most important assignments to date.
An assignment, I say? Of course. And this is where the true suspense begins. Bond will be tasked and tested like never before. He is clearly aging and tired.
In this final story, will this be the end of Bond’s illustrious career? Is this Horowitz’ way of showing his respect to the greatest spy of all time? Casting him off as a murderer? Or is there more to the story that readers need to see?
And, will this be an ending that readers will be ready to accept?
There will be one technique used in the book that Horowitz researched that occurs that was a bit over-the-top for me. I felt a bit queasy, uncomfortable, and had to suspend disbelief. It seemed out-of-character for the Bond we have grown to know and love. But to divulge what it was would be a spoiler.
Other than that…
In true Bond fashion, this one will be an action-packed, fast-paced, page-turner, that will be exciting, in the right places.
3.5 stars rounded up.
May 14, 2024
Reading this for the second time was as good as the first. Probably as close to a Fleming 007 novel as we're ever likey to get.
The third & final James Bond novel from Anthony Horowitz follows on just two weeks after 007 returns from Jamaica in Ian Fleming's The Man With The Golden Gun. Horowitz creates a superb 1960s cold war atmosphere & the story moves seemlessly from London, to Moscow & finally Berlin.
Although Horowitz may not have the detailed descriptive talent of Ian Fleming his characters are spot on. Katya Leonova is a wonderful creation & worthy of any Fleming novel, as are many of the characters throughout this novel.
Whether deliberately or subconsciously there are elements of The Ipcress File here, but as that's a classic 60's spy story I can forgive him.
My only real criticsim is the author's constant references to a huge amount of previous Bond adventures by Ian Fleming. Some of these are essential to the story, but many are unnecessary & somewhat laboured. Other Bond continuation novelist like John Gardner & Raymond Benson had the same problem. These endless references to 007's past did irritate me at times, but the last four chapters of With A Mind To Kill are so sublime that (once again!) I'll forgive him.
When Live & Let Die was published in 1954 The Sunday Times review said: "Speed....tremendous zest....communicated excitement. Brrh! How wincingly well Mr Fleming writes." Well so do you Mr Horowitz. So do you.
The third & final James Bond novel from Anthony Horowitz follows on just two weeks after 007 returns from Jamaica in Ian Fleming's The Man With The Golden Gun. Horowitz creates a superb 1960s cold war atmosphere & the story moves seemlessly from London, to Moscow & finally Berlin.
Although Horowitz may not have the detailed descriptive talent of Ian Fleming his characters are spot on. Katya Leonova is a wonderful creation & worthy of any Fleming novel, as are many of the characters throughout this novel.
Whether deliberately or subconsciously there are elements of The Ipcress File here, but as that's a classic 60's spy story I can forgive him.
My only real criticsim is the author's constant references to a huge amount of previous Bond adventures by Ian Fleming. Some of these are essential to the story, but many are unnecessary & somewhat laboured. Other Bond continuation novelist like John Gardner & Raymond Benson had the same problem. These endless references to 007's past did irritate me at times, but the last four chapters of With A Mind To Kill are so sublime that (once again!) I'll forgive him.
When Live & Let Die was published in 1954 The Sunday Times review said: "Speed....tremendous zest....communicated excitement. Brrh! How wincingly well Mr Fleming writes." Well so do you Mr Horowitz. So do you.
May 29, 2022
Why 4 stars and not 5 stars, that is easy Horowitz is no Ian Fleming.
At the end of the last Fleming book The man with the Golden Gun we get the return of the oldish 007 more or less. The James Bond before he met his wife Teresa.
At the same time, he knew, deep down, that love from Mary Goodnight, or from any other woman, was not enough for him. It would be like taking "a room with a view". For James Bond, the same view would always pall.
And so a few weeks after the events of Flemings last novel Horowitz picks up the chronicles of 007 in which they decide to use the original attempt by a mind washed 007 at killing his boss M and make him successful. The job is an undercover job inside Russia, with James Bond back in the lair of the Russian bear.
So 007 finds himself once again in hands of his tormentors and deep into Russian territory where he is to figure out what certain people are up to. And if anything goes wrong there is no escape but death.
Horowitz stick to the contemplating James Bond who in this journey looks back on his live and possible future and also the women in his live. It feels like the 007 at the end of TMWTGG and he has not figured everything out but comes to realisation who he is and that he is close to the end of his career in the 00 section.
The book is fairly easy to read, probably in one sitting, which I decided to divide in two sittings with some John Barry music in the background. The Horowitz books are nowhere near the excitement that the movie franchise delivers but they have all three been good additions to the book franchise and unlike the Craig years in the movie franchise less forgettable and more entertaining.
I was really looking forward to the books as the movie franchise with Craig after CR went a direction that was not my cup of tea, and not like the books about the mission but it turned into a bloody family soap.
While Horowitz 007 was thinking about his past and who played a role in it towards which extend they played a role. You realise that this Bond is a very good 00 agent and does the job so well because he likes and enjoys the job. Some people are just like that.
I find that Horowitz has taken it upon himself to really deliver a decent spy/infiltrator novel with 007 starring and the ending was certainly to my liking. I would have liked to see where Fleming would have gone with his creation as the man died way too early. But this addition is certainly worthy and fits the times of the original 007 stories.
So now we have to wait which writer will be the next one to bring us a literary 007 and whom EON find worthy to pick up the role and which direction they want to go.
At the end of the last Fleming book The man with the Golden Gun we get the return of the oldish 007 more or less. The James Bond before he met his wife Teresa.
At the same time, he knew, deep down, that love from Mary Goodnight, or from any other woman, was not enough for him. It would be like taking "a room with a view". For James Bond, the same view would always pall.
And so a few weeks after the events of Flemings last novel Horowitz picks up the chronicles of 007 in which they decide to use the original attempt by a mind washed 007 at killing his boss M and make him successful. The job is an undercover job inside Russia, with James Bond back in the lair of the Russian bear.
So 007 finds himself once again in hands of his tormentors and deep into Russian territory where he is to figure out what certain people are up to. And if anything goes wrong there is no escape but death.
Horowitz stick to the contemplating James Bond who in this journey looks back on his live and possible future and also the women in his live. It feels like the 007 at the end of TMWTGG and he has not figured everything out but comes to realisation who he is and that he is close to the end of his career in the 00 section.
The book is fairly easy to read, probably in one sitting, which I decided to divide in two sittings with some John Barry music in the background. The Horowitz books are nowhere near the excitement that the movie franchise delivers but they have all three been good additions to the book franchise and unlike the Craig years in the movie franchise less forgettable and more entertaining.
I was really looking forward to the books as the movie franchise with Craig after CR went a direction that was not my cup of tea, and not like the books about the mission but it turned into a bloody family soap.
While Horowitz 007 was thinking about his past and who played a role in it towards which extend they played a role. You realise that this Bond is a very good 00 agent and does the job so well because he likes and enjoys the job. Some people are just like that.
I find that Horowitz has taken it upon himself to really deliver a decent spy/infiltrator novel with 007 starring and the ending was certainly to my liking. I would have liked to see where Fleming would have gone with his creation as the man died way too early. But this addition is certainly worthy and fits the times of the original 007 stories.
So now we have to wait which writer will be the next one to bring us a literary 007 and whom EON find worthy to pick up the role and which direction they want to go.
November 14, 2022
3.5 stars. A bit of a psychological thriller that ties in nicely with Fleming's early Bond timeline. Horowitz's writing is top notch as usual though I found the plot and characters all a bit uninspired and predictable. Of Horowitz's three Bond novels Forever and a Day was undoubtedly my favorite.
June 15, 2022
It’s 1964. What is it that former SMERSH agents in Russia want from James Bond?
The Ipcress File meets From Russia, With Love, meets The Spy Who Loved Me, with a touch Hitchcock thrown in for good measure! It’s a thoroughly gripping book of intrigue that I read in double-quick time. It’s an easy and comforting read - flowing smoothly through its narrative and vividly described locales, has a memorable cast of characters, and ends very satisfactorily in much excitement, tension and emotion.
Katya Leonova is a far more rounded Bond lady than the norm for these novels, and Horowitz, I think, does well to make her changes of view and emotions believable. As for the villains? They’re all, quite rightly, thoroughly nasty bastards!
Any criticisms are minute – I can’t put my finger on it after one reading, but, for me, I didn’t quite feel at times that I was in the moment and atmosphere of 1964. A re-reading may change this view, or reveal the answer. Also, a real nit-pick here, would the Russians have chosen the rather not so low-key location of Tower Bridge to carry out such a key manoeuvre in the novel? Perhaps Mr Horowitz wishfully has one eye on a film adaptation? [In my humble, it would indeed make for a much better film than the underwhelming soap operas that has been served out in the official film franchise these last many years!].
With a stronger story than his previous two, this is easily Anthony Horowitz’s best Bond novel; making it, for me, the best of all the non-Fleming Bond’s that I've read. It flows logically and ends terrifically, better in fact than many of Fleming’s originals. I don’t think endings were his thing. One of my favourites, Dr No, was a wonderfully atmospheric book, but I think Fleming was laughing over a gin on the veranda of Goldeneye in coming up with the great Dr’s demise!
With a bit of luck, Horowitz’s statement in the afterword, ‘This book completes my James Bond trilogy…’ is just a bargaining tool for future books. He clearly takes care, respects the character, and doesn’t stray too far from Fleming’s style and approach. In fact, later in the afterword he says, ‘…this is almost certainly the last paragraph which I will ever write in a James Bond novel…’ So who knows?
Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay is that Anthony Horowitz’s three Bond novels are the only ones I will add on the shelf next to my many times read Ian Fleming originals. I hope this isn’t his last.
The Ipcress File meets From Russia, With Love, meets The Spy Who Loved Me, with a touch Hitchcock thrown in for good measure! It’s a thoroughly gripping book of intrigue that I read in double-quick time. It’s an easy and comforting read - flowing smoothly through its narrative and vividly described locales, has a memorable cast of characters, and ends very satisfactorily in much excitement, tension and emotion.
Katya Leonova is a far more rounded Bond lady than the norm for these novels, and Horowitz, I think, does well to make her changes of view and emotions believable. As for the villains? They’re all, quite rightly, thoroughly nasty bastards!
Any criticisms are minute – I can’t put my finger on it after one reading, but, for me, I didn’t quite feel at times that I was in the moment and atmosphere of 1964. A re-reading may change this view, or reveal the answer. Also, a real nit-pick here, would the Russians have chosen the rather not so low-key location of Tower Bridge to carry out such a key manoeuvre in the novel? Perhaps Mr Horowitz wishfully has one eye on a film adaptation? [In my humble, it would indeed make for a much better film than the underwhelming soap operas that has been served out in the official film franchise these last many years!].
With a stronger story than his previous two, this is easily Anthony Horowitz’s best Bond novel; making it, for me, the best of all the non-Fleming Bond’s that I've read. It flows logically and ends terrifically, better in fact than many of Fleming’s originals. I don’t think endings were his thing. One of my favourites, Dr No, was a wonderfully atmospheric book, but I think Fleming was laughing over a gin on the veranda of Goldeneye in coming up with the great Dr’s demise!
With a bit of luck, Horowitz’s statement in the afterword, ‘This book completes my James Bond trilogy…’ is just a bargaining tool for future books. He clearly takes care, respects the character, and doesn’t stray too far from Fleming’s style and approach. In fact, later in the afterword he says, ‘…this is almost certainly the last paragraph which I will ever write in a James Bond novel…’ So who knows?
Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay is that Anthony Horowitz’s three Bond novels are the only ones I will add on the shelf next to my many times read Ian Fleming originals. I hope this isn’t his last.
January 6, 2023
Horowitz is a fantastic writer. His 'House of Silk' is the only worthy Sherlock Holmes novel written post-Conan-Doyle. This book is a continuation of the James Bond story, but it fell flat for me. I'm not sure if that's because Horowitz has been meticulous in channeling Ian Fleming (set in the 1960s, Bond on a secret mission in the USSR, extricating himself from tight spots with quick thinking and violence, knowledgeable about weapons, wine, food, politics, art, and everything else, facing a super-villain with huge resources and a diabolical plot, and of course, seducing the sexy young Russian agent pitted against him.) I haven't read the original Bond novels since the 1970s, and it's possible that they haven't aged well--action novels were a porn substitute before porn became broadly legal. If this is the case, then a good imitation might seem wrong. The other possibility is the general rule (it ought to be a law) that the copy never lives up to the original. Ian Fleming's prose is evocative, sparse, and efficient. But authors have voices, and Horowitz can't be Fleming, no matter what he does, and no matter how good a writer he is in his own right. The James Bond movie franchise moved on with changing times, making successive Bonds relevant in their own time. Horowitz should do the same.
October 19, 2022
With A View to a Mind to a Kill*
Review of the Harper hardcover edition (May 24, 2022)
With a Mind to Kill (WaMtK) is Anthony Horowitz's final book in his James Bond trilogy which was commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate. It follows a mid-career Bond in Trigger Mortis (2015) and a pre-007 Bond in Forever and a Day (2018). In terms of chronology, the latter is a prequel to Fleming's original Casino Royale (James Bond #1 - 1953) and the former follows after Goldfinger (James Bond #7 - 1959).
WaMtK is a sequel to Fleming's final original novel The Man With the Golden Gun (James Bond #13 - 1965) and can also be read as an imagined end to the canon. That is the reason for my Ambiguous Ending Alert™, about which it would be a spoiler to say anything more.
I have mostly enjoyed the other Horowitz novels that I've read, especially the meta-fictions in the Hawthorne/Horowitz series and the Sherlock Holmes pastiches. WaMtK was underwhelming though and it felt very patched together. The plot has Bond returned from his duel with Scaramanga and immediately sent on to Russia pretending to still be brainwashed. He is meant to uncover the current plot of a SMERSH successor group: Стальная рука (Russian: Stalnaya Ruka [Steel Hand]). It logically continued the brainwashing theme of The Man With the Gold Gun, but that became pretty tiresome when the only 'action' for half the book consists of torture, both mental and physical.
When the plot gets going it consists of steals from From Russia With Love (James Bond #5 - 1957) (including SMERSH type thugs & assassins, the conflicted Russian femme fatale and a train ride) and then even from other authors such as Len Deighton's The Ipcress File (1962) (the Russian brainwashing techniques), Richard Condon's The Manchurian Candidate (1959) (the unknowing, brainwashed assassin) and Le Carre's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1963) (the doomed and cynical spy). After the final reveal, it pretty much fizzles out.
So it was a downbeat end for the Horowitz Bond trilogy, maybe even qualifying for an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™. I am rather more hopeful for the new Kim Sherwood Double-00 trilogy which started off with Double or Nothing (September 2022) [4 **** stars] even if it is set up as an intentional icon-breaker.
Trivia and Links
* My title lede is a muddled joke due to my constant difficulty in remembering the title of this book. I kept mixing it up with the Roger Moore as James Bond 007 movie A View to a Kill (1985). Although that movie borrowed its title from Ian Fleming's From a View to a Kill - a James Bond Short Story (1960), the movie screenplay had a completely different plot.
Review of the Harper hardcover edition (May 24, 2022)
With a Mind to Kill (WaMtK) is Anthony Horowitz's final book in his James Bond trilogy which was commissioned by the Ian Fleming Estate. It follows a mid-career Bond in Trigger Mortis (2015) and a pre-007 Bond in Forever and a Day (2018). In terms of chronology, the latter is a prequel to Fleming's original Casino Royale (James Bond #1 - 1953) and the former follows after Goldfinger (James Bond #7 - 1959).
WaMtK is a sequel to Fleming's final original novel The Man With the Golden Gun (James Bond #13 - 1965) and can also be read as an imagined end to the canon. That is the reason for my Ambiguous Ending Alert™, about which it would be a spoiler to say anything more.
I have mostly enjoyed the other Horowitz novels that I've read, especially the meta-fictions in the Hawthorne/Horowitz series and the Sherlock Holmes pastiches. WaMtK was underwhelming though and it felt very patched together. The plot has Bond returned from his duel with Scaramanga and immediately sent on to Russia pretending to still be brainwashed. He is meant to uncover the current plot of a SMERSH successor group: Стальная рука (Russian: Stalnaya Ruka [Steel Hand]). It logically continued the brainwashing theme of The Man With the Gold Gun, but that became pretty tiresome when the only 'action' for half the book consists of torture, both mental and physical.
When the plot gets going it consists of steals from From Russia With Love (James Bond #5 - 1957) (including SMERSH type thugs & assassins, the conflicted Russian femme fatale and a train ride) and then even from other authors such as Len Deighton's The Ipcress File (1962) (the Russian brainwashing techniques), Richard Condon's The Manchurian Candidate (1959) (the unknowing, brainwashed assassin) and Le Carre's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1963) (the doomed and cynical spy). After the final reveal, it pretty much fizzles out.
So it was a downbeat end for the Horowitz Bond trilogy, maybe even qualifying for an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™. I am rather more hopeful for the new Kim Sherwood Double-00 trilogy which started off with Double or Nothing (September 2022) [4 **** stars] even if it is set up as an intentional icon-breaker.
Trivia and Links
* My title lede is a muddled joke due to my constant difficulty in remembering the title of this book. I kept mixing it up with the Roger Moore as James Bond 007 movie A View to a Kill (1985). Although that movie borrowed its title from Ian Fleming's From a View to a Kill - a James Bond Short Story (1960), the movie screenplay had a completely different plot.
June 3, 2022
The final book in Horowitz's Bond trilogy, picking up after Fleming's final novel, The Man with the Golden Gun. As with his previous Bond books, this reads and feels like a Fleming book, Horowitz perfectly mimicking the style of the originals, with plenty of back references to earlier books too. Most impressive, particularly as the style is so different from Horowitz's other writing. Grounded in the Cold War and in Russia and East Berlin, it lacks a little of the glamour of some of the other books, but feels like a classic 60s spy novel. A shame Horowitz has decided to pass on the Bond novels for the foreseeable future.
May 28, 2022
The challenge for me whenever I read a James Bond novel is, in my mind’s eye, which version of James Bond do I see? Once I understood the timeline of when WITH A MIND TO KILL, the final novel in Anthony ‘Tony’ Horowitz’s James Bond trilogy was set, I had my answer.
In YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE by Ian Fleming, James Bond received a traumatic head injury at the hands of arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the Garden of Death and spent the next year in a Japanese fishing village not knowing who he was. Back in his homeland of the UK, he was presumed dead and his obituary was published in The Times. The following novel, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, also the final full-length Bond novel written by Ian Fleming, Bond returned to London having fallen into the hands of the KGB. They had brainwashed 007 and pointed him in the direction of MI6 with explicit instructions to assassinate its leader known as ‘M’. Unbeknownst to the KGB, Bond is intercepted and deprogrammed. He is then sent to Jamaica to take down the Cuban assassin known as ‘Pistols’ Scaramanga. He is successful in this endeavor and it is at this point where WITH A MIND TO KILL picks up. Now, I had the answer to the initial question I posed at the top of this review --- Roger Moore.
Once Bond is brought back in after taking down Scaramanga he is filled in on a much larger and far more dangerous mission. MI6 recognizes that may be some benefit to making the KGB believe that the brainwashed 007 was successful in his attempt on the life of M. Thus, they stage a fake state funeral for the head of His Majesty’s Secret Service and that is how this novel officially opens. Following that widely publicized event, the brain trust of MI6 meets in M’s office, along with Bond, to fill him in on what is transpiring in Russia and what they need him to do next.
The KGB, GRU, Smersh, and from East Germany, Stasi --- if you’re unfamiliar with these acronyms you need to brush up on your Bond --- are forming a deadly foursome and seeking to crush any incursion that might rise up to end the Cold War. MI6 needs these groups and, specifically, those in the KGB who brainwashed 007, to believe he is still their operative as they send him back to mother Russia to infiltrate them and attempt to learn what their plans on and hope to bring them down from the inside. In the meantime, MI6 is working to build up Bond’s mind to strengthen it from what they know will be attempts from the KGB scientists to mess with it again in attempts to prove his loyalty to their cause. As I said, the deadliest and most important assignment of Bond’s career and coming towards the very end of his time with MI6 following decades of mental and physical abuse. The biggest question is whether he will be able to withstand this mission.
Once the KGB has learned of the ‘death’ of M, they gladly welcome their Comrade James Bond back into the fold and Colonel Boris, the primary man behind his brainwashing, has other plans for him. Of course, not before he throws James into the deadly and mind-ripping Magic Room to prove that his mind belonged to them. First, there is a staged capture of Bond from the Secret Service where he is ‘allegedly’ in custody for the murder of M. It works perfectly and keeps up the ruse of Bond being a Russian operative and he is whisked off back to Russia.
The time Bond spends in the Magic Room is indeed trippy and he has Alice In Wonderland moments where he interacts with former adversaries like Le Chiffre and Scaramanga. After a week inside there, he is considered clean and turned over to the young and beautiful Russian loyalist, Katya Leonova. He is immediately placed on the Orient Express with Katya as his handler and guide for a trip to Moscow. At one point on the ride, he actually saves her from two attackers, something he will later realize was a ruse to test his loyalty. Once in Moscow he tours museums and historical sites as Katya schools him on all things Russian, all the while each of them are getting to know the other a little bit better. Bond, of course, is being incredibly careful not sure what he can trust and knowing not to ever let his ‘Comrade’ Bond persona slip.
Meanwhile, Colonel Boris and other leaders he is working with are still not 100% behind Bond and have one more test. They came across a boorish American named Garfinkel who will swear that Bond is actually an agent he knows by another name who he recently saw several times in Jamaica working closely with Scaramanga. Colonel Boris knows this could not be possible if Bond was still their brainwashed operative in London on mission to assassinate M. Of course, MI6 is still helping out where they can and Garfinkel’s run-in with Bond proves to be nothing more than mistaken identity, allowing our favorite spy to dodge a deadly bullet.
During this time, Bond and Katya are growing closer as she is confessing her disdain for Mother Russia especially once she confesses her morose over the treatment of her late lover. Bond also finds out, surprisingly, that Colonel Boris is her father. Bond promises to help Katya escape to the West but his obligation will end there, having felt used by the secret she kept about her relationship with the KGB leadership group that made his life a living hell. After Bond survives yet another test of faith, he is finally given his big mission from the KGB and it involves a visit to Berlin, Germany, where he is to assassinate a figure that threatens the very future of Russia and the Cold War --- a famous figure who will be familiar to readers. WITH A MIND TO KILL has everything Bond fans have come to expect and may very well be the finest James Bond novel NOT written by Sir Ian Fleming. The last third is so utterly suspenseful, with the aging and somewhat disillusioned Bond such and island unto himself, that his escape from enemy territory will find even the staunchest believer biting their fingernails with each passing page. Horowitz’s Bond trilogy, now concluded, nicely spanned the beginning, middle, and end of Bond’s career and really played brilliant homage to the greatest spy of all time. And for the record, my favorite Bond will always be Sir Sean Connery,
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
In YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE by Ian Fleming, James Bond received a traumatic head injury at the hands of arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the Garden of Death and spent the next year in a Japanese fishing village not knowing who he was. Back in his homeland of the UK, he was presumed dead and his obituary was published in The Times. The following novel, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, also the final full-length Bond novel written by Ian Fleming, Bond returned to London having fallen into the hands of the KGB. They had brainwashed 007 and pointed him in the direction of MI6 with explicit instructions to assassinate its leader known as ‘M’. Unbeknownst to the KGB, Bond is intercepted and deprogrammed. He is then sent to Jamaica to take down the Cuban assassin known as ‘Pistols’ Scaramanga. He is successful in this endeavor and it is at this point where WITH A MIND TO KILL picks up. Now, I had the answer to the initial question I posed at the top of this review --- Roger Moore.
Once Bond is brought back in after taking down Scaramanga he is filled in on a much larger and far more dangerous mission. MI6 recognizes that may be some benefit to making the KGB believe that the brainwashed 007 was successful in his attempt on the life of M. Thus, they stage a fake state funeral for the head of His Majesty’s Secret Service and that is how this novel officially opens. Following that widely publicized event, the brain trust of MI6 meets in M’s office, along with Bond, to fill him in on what is transpiring in Russia and what they need him to do next.
The KGB, GRU, Smersh, and from East Germany, Stasi --- if you’re unfamiliar with these acronyms you need to brush up on your Bond --- are forming a deadly foursome and seeking to crush any incursion that might rise up to end the Cold War. MI6 needs these groups and, specifically, those in the KGB who brainwashed 007, to believe he is still their operative as they send him back to mother Russia to infiltrate them and attempt to learn what their plans on and hope to bring them down from the inside. In the meantime, MI6 is working to build up Bond’s mind to strengthen it from what they know will be attempts from the KGB scientists to mess with it again in attempts to prove his loyalty to their cause. As I said, the deadliest and most important assignment of Bond’s career and coming towards the very end of his time with MI6 following decades of mental and physical abuse. The biggest question is whether he will be able to withstand this mission.
Once the KGB has learned of the ‘death’ of M, they gladly welcome their Comrade James Bond back into the fold and Colonel Boris, the primary man behind his brainwashing, has other plans for him. Of course, not before he throws James into the deadly and mind-ripping Magic Room to prove that his mind belonged to them. First, there is a staged capture of Bond from the Secret Service where he is ‘allegedly’ in custody for the murder of M. It works perfectly and keeps up the ruse of Bond being a Russian operative and he is whisked off back to Russia.
The time Bond spends in the Magic Room is indeed trippy and he has Alice In Wonderland moments where he interacts with former adversaries like Le Chiffre and Scaramanga. After a week inside there, he is considered clean and turned over to the young and beautiful Russian loyalist, Katya Leonova. He is immediately placed on the Orient Express with Katya as his handler and guide for a trip to Moscow. At one point on the ride, he actually saves her from two attackers, something he will later realize was a ruse to test his loyalty. Once in Moscow he tours museums and historical sites as Katya schools him on all things Russian, all the while each of them are getting to know the other a little bit better. Bond, of course, is being incredibly careful not sure what he can trust and knowing not to ever let his ‘Comrade’ Bond persona slip.
Meanwhile, Colonel Boris and other leaders he is working with are still not 100% behind Bond and have one more test. They came across a boorish American named Garfinkel who will swear that Bond is actually an agent he knows by another name who he recently saw several times in Jamaica working closely with Scaramanga. Colonel Boris knows this could not be possible if Bond was still their brainwashed operative in London on mission to assassinate M. Of course, MI6 is still helping out where they can and Garfinkel’s run-in with Bond proves to be nothing more than mistaken identity, allowing our favorite spy to dodge a deadly bullet.
During this time, Bond and Katya are growing closer as she is confessing her disdain for Mother Russia especially once she confesses her morose over the treatment of her late lover. Bond also finds out, surprisingly, that Colonel Boris is her father. Bond promises to help Katya escape to the West but his obligation will end there, having felt used by the secret she kept about her relationship with the KGB leadership group that made his life a living hell. After Bond survives yet another test of faith, he is finally given his big mission from the KGB and it involves a visit to Berlin, Germany, where he is to assassinate a figure that threatens the very future of Russia and the Cold War --- a famous figure who will be familiar to readers. WITH A MIND TO KILL has everything Bond fans have come to expect and may very well be the finest James Bond novel NOT written by Sir Ian Fleming. The last third is so utterly suspenseful, with the aging and somewhat disillusioned Bond such and island unto himself, that his escape from enemy territory will find even the staunchest believer biting their fingernails with each passing page. Horowitz’s Bond trilogy, now concluded, nicely spanned the beginning, middle, and end of Bond’s career and really played brilliant homage to the greatest spy of all time. And for the record, my favorite Bond will always be Sir Sean Connery,
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
May 30, 2022
Whenever I read a James Bond novel, I always wonder which version of 007 I will see. Once I understood the timeline of WITH A MIND TO KILL, which wraps up Anthony Horowitz’s Bond trilogy, I had my answer.
In Ian Fleming’s YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, James Bond receives a traumatic head injury at the hands of archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the Garden of Death and spends the next year in a Japanese fishing village not knowing who he is. Back in the UK, he is presumed dead, and his obituary is published in The Times. In THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, Bond returns to London having fallen into the hands of the KGB. They have brainwashed him and pointed him in the direction of MI6 with explicit instructions to assassinate its leader, M. Unbeknownst to the KGB, Bond is intercepted and deprogrammed. He is then sent to Jamaica to take down the Cuban assassin known as “Pistols” Scaramanga, which he manages to pull off.
"The last third of the book is so utterly suspenseful, with the aging and somewhat disillusioned Bond an island unto himself, that his escape from enemy territory will find even the staunchest believer biting his or her fingernails with each passing page."
WITH A MIND TO KILL picks up the action from this point. I now had the answer to my initial question: Roger Moore.
Once he is brought back in after taking down Scaramanga, Bond is informed of a much larger and far more dangerous mission. MI6 recognizes that there may be some benefit in making the KGB believe that the brainwashed 007 was successful in his attempt on M’s life. To this end, they stage a fake state funeral for the head of His Majesty’s Secret Service, and this is how the book opens. Following that widely publicized event, the brain trust of MI6 meets in M’s office, along with Bond, to get him up to speed on what is transpiring in Russia and what they need him to do next.
The KGB, GRU, Smersh and Stasi are forming a deadly foursome, seeking to crush any incursion that might rise up to end the Cold War. MI6 needs these groups to believe that Bond is still a KGB operative as they send him back to Russia to infiltrate them and attempt to learn their plans in the hopes of bringing them down from the inside. In the meantime, MI6 is working to strengthen Bond’s mind from what they know will be attempts made by the KGB scientists to mess with it again in order to prove his loyalty to their cause. This is the deadliest and most important assignment of Bond’s career.
Once the KGB learns of M’s death, they gladly welcome Bond back into the fold. Colonel Boris, the man primarily responsible for his brainwashing, has other plans for him --- but, of course, not before he throws him into the deadly Magic Room to prove that his mind belongs to them. First, there is a staged capture of Bond from the Secret Service where he is in custody for the murder of M. It works perfectly and keeps up the ruse of Bond being a Russian operative. The time he spends there is indeed trippy, and he has ALICE IN WONDERLAND moments as he interacts with former adversaries like Le Chiffre and Scaramanga.
After a week inside the Magic Room, Bond is considered clean and turned over to the young and beautiful Russian loyalist, Katya Leonova. He is immediately placed on the Orient Express with Katya as his handler and guide for a trip to Moscow. At one point, he actually saves her from two attackers, which he later realizes was a ruse to test his loyalty. He tours museums and historical sites as Katya schools him on all things Russian, and they get to know each other a little better.
After Bond survives yet another test of faith, he is given his big mission from the KGB. It involves a visit to Berlin, where he is to assassinate a well-known figure who threatens the very future of Russia and the Cold War.
WITH A MIND TO KILL has everything 007 fans have come to expect, and it may be the finest James Bond novel not written by Ian Fleming. The last third of the book is so utterly suspenseful, with the aging and somewhat disillusioned Bond an island unto himself, that his escape from enemy territory will find even the staunchest believer biting his or her fingernails with each passing page. Horowitz’s trilogy nicely spans the beginning, middle and end of Bond’s career, paying brilliant homage to the greatest spy of all time. For the record, my favorite James Bond will always be Sean Connery.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
In Ian Fleming’s YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, James Bond receives a traumatic head injury at the hands of archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the Garden of Death and spends the next year in a Japanese fishing village not knowing who he is. Back in the UK, he is presumed dead, and his obituary is published in The Times. In THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, Bond returns to London having fallen into the hands of the KGB. They have brainwashed him and pointed him in the direction of MI6 with explicit instructions to assassinate its leader, M. Unbeknownst to the KGB, Bond is intercepted and deprogrammed. He is then sent to Jamaica to take down the Cuban assassin known as “Pistols” Scaramanga, which he manages to pull off.
"The last third of the book is so utterly suspenseful, with the aging and somewhat disillusioned Bond an island unto himself, that his escape from enemy territory will find even the staunchest believer biting his or her fingernails with each passing page."
WITH A MIND TO KILL picks up the action from this point. I now had the answer to my initial question: Roger Moore.
Once he is brought back in after taking down Scaramanga, Bond is informed of a much larger and far more dangerous mission. MI6 recognizes that there may be some benefit in making the KGB believe that the brainwashed 007 was successful in his attempt on M’s life. To this end, they stage a fake state funeral for the head of His Majesty’s Secret Service, and this is how the book opens. Following that widely publicized event, the brain trust of MI6 meets in M’s office, along with Bond, to get him up to speed on what is transpiring in Russia and what they need him to do next.
The KGB, GRU, Smersh and Stasi are forming a deadly foursome, seeking to crush any incursion that might rise up to end the Cold War. MI6 needs these groups to believe that Bond is still a KGB operative as they send him back to Russia to infiltrate them and attempt to learn their plans in the hopes of bringing them down from the inside. In the meantime, MI6 is working to strengthen Bond’s mind from what they know will be attempts made by the KGB scientists to mess with it again in order to prove his loyalty to their cause. This is the deadliest and most important assignment of Bond’s career.
Once the KGB learns of M’s death, they gladly welcome Bond back into the fold. Colonel Boris, the man primarily responsible for his brainwashing, has other plans for him --- but, of course, not before he throws him into the deadly Magic Room to prove that his mind belongs to them. First, there is a staged capture of Bond from the Secret Service where he is in custody for the murder of M. It works perfectly and keeps up the ruse of Bond being a Russian operative. The time he spends there is indeed trippy, and he has ALICE IN WONDERLAND moments as he interacts with former adversaries like Le Chiffre and Scaramanga.
After a week inside the Magic Room, Bond is considered clean and turned over to the young and beautiful Russian loyalist, Katya Leonova. He is immediately placed on the Orient Express with Katya as his handler and guide for a trip to Moscow. At one point, he actually saves her from two attackers, which he later realizes was a ruse to test his loyalty. He tours museums and historical sites as Katya schools him on all things Russian, and they get to know each other a little better.
After Bond survives yet another test of faith, he is given his big mission from the KGB. It involves a visit to Berlin, where he is to assassinate a well-known figure who threatens the very future of Russia and the Cold War.
WITH A MIND TO KILL has everything 007 fans have come to expect, and it may be the finest James Bond novel not written by Ian Fleming. The last third of the book is so utterly suspenseful, with the aging and somewhat disillusioned Bond an island unto himself, that his escape from enemy territory will find even the staunchest believer biting his or her fingernails with each passing page. Horowitz’s trilogy nicely spans the beginning, middle and end of Bond’s career, paying brilliant homage to the greatest spy of all time. For the record, my favorite James Bond will always be Sean Connery.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
September 5, 2022
The third Bond book from Anthony Horowitz and, sadly, it looks like it might be his last. I say sadly because the publishers finally found an author who “gets” the character of James Bond and the appropriate plots.
This is set a couple of weeks after Fleming’s “Man with the Golder Gun”, Bond is recovering from brainwashing and an intense ordeal, and he is very much a damaged man. But a mission arises that may be vital to the safety of the Western world and, despite not being ready, Bond volunteers to put himself in the hands of the Russians, acting if the brainwashing is still in place.
This is very “cold war”, a bleak and controlled Russia with an anti—West attitude. Having Bond back under their control may enable the very thing Bond is trying to prevent.
Bond is still very Bond, but he is older and jaded and, maybe for the first time, overconfident. There are plenty of typical Bond moments to enjoy but there is a definite theme of a man out of his depth and at the end of his career. Can he pull it together in time to not only survive intact but complete his mission, or is this the end of the line for 007?
So well written and has the depth that sometimes Fleming didn’t bother with. The 60s Cold War setting works perfectly and there is that sense that Bond is struggling with the idea that his career may be coming to an end and wants to prove himself. But there also an understanding that it is his 00 status that defines him and he can’t imagine a different future.
I desperately hope they convince Mr Horowitz to write more in the series.
This is set a couple of weeks after Fleming’s “Man with the Golder Gun”, Bond is recovering from brainwashing and an intense ordeal, and he is very much a damaged man. But a mission arises that may be vital to the safety of the Western world and, despite not being ready, Bond volunteers to put himself in the hands of the Russians, acting if the brainwashing is still in place.
This is very “cold war”, a bleak and controlled Russia with an anti—West attitude. Having Bond back under their control may enable the very thing Bond is trying to prevent.
Bond is still very Bond, but he is older and jaded and, maybe for the first time, overconfident. There are plenty of typical Bond moments to enjoy but there is a definite theme of a man out of his depth and at the end of his career. Can he pull it together in time to not only survive intact but complete his mission, or is this the end of the line for 007?
So well written and has the depth that sometimes Fleming didn’t bother with. The 60s Cold War setting works perfectly and there is that sense that Bond is struggling with the idea that his career may be coming to an end and wants to prove himself. But there also an understanding that it is his 00 status that defines him and he can’t imagine a different future.
I desperately hope they convince Mr Horowitz to write more in the series.
October 5, 2022
It took me back to the spy thrillers set in the 1960s and was a real page turner. The villains were truly nasty and the love interest intriguing.
This will be the last of the three James Bond novels that Anthony Horowitz was intending to write after Trigger Mortis and Forever and a Day.
The ending was left open for another writer to take up the mantle...
This will be the last of the three James Bond novels that Anthony Horowitz was intending to write after Trigger Mortis and Forever and a Day.
The ending was left open for another writer to take up the mantle...
June 3, 2023
A third outing for Anthony Horowitz taking on the mantle of Ian Fleming and delivering a credible and all immersing Cold War thriller.
Set after Bond returns from Jamaica and his adventures in The Man With A Golden Gun, 007 seemingly has to prove himself again.
All the elements here of a classic spy thriller. Facing up to the enemy in their own back yard. Great tension in the Moscow descriptions and the unfolding drama of Bond keeping his cover in place.
I thoroughly loved the short end game set in a desolate and unfriendly East Berlin. The attempt to cross the border into the American sector was tense and completely riveting.
The only sad realisation in finishing the book was that this was the final instalment by Horowitz in his 007 trilogy. They all scored highly in my opinion and demonstrate why this iconic character lives on!
Set after Bond returns from Jamaica and his adventures in The Man With A Golden Gun, 007 seemingly has to prove himself again.
All the elements here of a classic spy thriller. Facing up to the enemy in their own back yard. Great tension in the Moscow descriptions and the unfolding drama of Bond keeping his cover in place.
I thoroughly loved the short end game set in a desolate and unfriendly East Berlin. The attempt to cross the border into the American sector was tense and completely riveting.
The only sad realisation in finishing the book was that this was the final instalment by Horowitz in his 007 trilogy. They all scored highly in my opinion and demonstrate why this iconic character lives on!
May 31, 2022
Bestseller author Anthony Horowitz’s third and final James Bond novel picks up after the final Ian Fleming novel, The Man with the Golden Gun, in which the Russians captured Bond, brainwashed him, and programmed him to kill M, the head of the British secret service. The British stage M’s funeral and imprison Bond to fool the Russians into believing Bond succeeded in the assassination as part of a plot to get 007 into Russia to discover what its intelligence organizations are planning. The Russians oblige by snatching Bond from police custody and sending him to Leningrad, where he falls under the “care” of Colonel Boris, a mind control expert, and Katya Leonova, an icy, Communist technocrat. The Russians have a high-profile mission for Bond, which leads to a genuinely thrilling climax, though the plot is somewhat predictable and the ending is abrupt. Horowitz displays a thorough knowledge of Bondean tropes, captures the dreariness of Khrushchev-era Russia, and deepens 007 by allowing him a certain ambiguity about his profession. This heartfelt homage is sure to please fans of the original Bond books.
June 11, 2022
Simply okay.
June 26, 2022
4.25 stars
Anthony Horowitz is an extraordinary writer and this book was extremely well written.
One of the most impressive things about this book is how well he portraits the Russian country, the people, the atmosphere in the city. It is uncanny how accurate it's all described and for those who lived through a communist regime in eastern Europe, know how well explained it is.
My favourite part of the book is Katya's story at the dinner table. It was emotional, devastating, real, sweet, heartbreaking and everything in between.
An excellent book! I really enjoyed it!
Anthony Horowitz is an extraordinary writer and this book was extremely well written.
One of the most impressive things about this book is how well he portraits the Russian country, the people, the atmosphere in the city. It is uncanny how accurate it's all described and for those who lived through a communist regime in eastern Europe, know how well explained it is.
My favourite part of the book is Katya's story at the dinner table. It was emotional, devastating, real, sweet, heartbreaking and everything in between.
An excellent book! I really enjoyed it!
July 21, 2022
I don't know why I'm reading so many James Bond books lately. I'm blaming it on seeing them at my local library. This one is mature James Bond set in the 50‘s where he had tried to assassinate M while under Russian mind control. He was successfully de-programmed but sent back to Russia pretending to still be under their influence. The story is okay. It reads like a Bond film actually. One thing is that I found some of the writing to be quite chauvinistic. Not sure if that's because Bond as a character is like that and this author is staying true to that. But for our day and age, it's not very appealing. If you're a fan of James Bond, you might like thia book. But, I think there's better spy novels out there.
July 18, 2025
There are some fine books written by authors carrying on the Fleming legacy and this is certainly one of them. I don't understand why Hollywood hasn't turned to these authors to carry on the films.
That being said, this is the best of the Fleming followers. Set in Moscow during the Cold War of the 60's, Horowitz incorporates history and uses the past to create a bleak world under an oppressive regime. Bond is hardly a superman here. He's a tired, insecure agent who has lost his appreciation for the fine life and developed a loathing for the bleakness of his job.
That being said, this is the best of the Fleming followers. Set in Moscow during the Cold War of the 60's, Horowitz incorporates history and uses the past to create a bleak world under an oppressive regime. Bond is hardly a superman here. He's a tired, insecure agent who has lost his appreciation for the fine life and developed a loathing for the bleakness of his job.
May 24, 2024
The Bond in this story is a damaged one who is filled with more self doubt and angst than ever. The suspense is limited with Bond being only in three tight spots which he gets out of all too quickly and easily. The mystery of what Colonel Boris wants with Bond is quickly resolved and the denouement and resolution is relatively anti climactic.
A decent addition to the Bond story, but marred by an error of geography and history in Katya's backstory of being evacuated to a village south of Leningrad during WW2. That's a goof because the Germans occupied most of the Soviet Union south of Lennigrad for much of the war.
The period flavor of the early 60s is done well for the most part, but relies too heavily on common tropes and there are no shades of gray. The villains are villainous and even Katya says they deserve opponents like Bond because they are so evil.
If you are nostalgic for a Fleming Bond continuation, With a Mind To Kill is an adequate story with some thrills, but could have done with more.
A decent addition to the Bond story, but marred by an error of geography and history in Katya's backstory of being evacuated to a village south of Leningrad during WW2. That's a goof because the Germans occupied most of the Soviet Union south of Lennigrad for much of the war.
The period flavor of the early 60s is done well for the most part, but relies too heavily on common tropes and there are no shades of gray. The villains are villainous and even Katya says they deserve opponents like Bond because they are so evil.
If you are nostalgic for a Fleming Bond continuation, With a Mind To Kill is an adequate story with some thrills, but could have done with more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2022
LICENCE TO SNOOZE
With a Mind to Kill is a direct sequel to The Man with the Golden Gun. Horowitz sends Bond back to the Soviet Union in a perilous mission as a triple agent. The Russians believe he is on their side and have a job for him.
While the author captures the style of the Fleming originals, I considered the tale to be downbeat. It takes a considerable while to get going and then descends into a never ending first date. Even worse his love interest starts off as an intelligent and self-confident woman. She then becomes completely dependent on Bond after making love. Really?! The balance of the book is plodding, a bit tedious and workmanlike. Try his other books before this one.
With a Mind to Kill is a direct sequel to The Man with the Golden Gun. Horowitz sends Bond back to the Soviet Union in a perilous mission as a triple agent. The Russians believe he is on their side and have a job for him.
While the author captures the style of the Fleming originals, I considered the tale to be downbeat. It takes a considerable while to get going and then descends into a never ending first date. Even worse his love interest starts off as an intelligent and self-confident woman. She then becomes completely dependent on Bond after making love. Really?! The balance of the book is plodding, a bit tedious and workmanlike. Try his other books before this one.
August 16, 2024
From one of England's best active authors comes this final installment of the Bond trilogy. In the novel, James Bond is assigned a task he doesn't really want, but is brainwashed by the Russians into doing it anyway. Behind the scenes, he's working as a double agent against the Russians but they don't know it yet. I had the privilege of reading all three Bond books Mr. Horowitz wrote and can say with confidence: this trilogy would make Ian Fleming proud.
May 26, 2022
M is dead and James Bond killed him and flees to Russia
Set two weeks after the man with the golden gun this is a classic Bond which will please readers old and new
I listened to this book in one sitting highly recommended
Set two weeks after the man with the golden gun this is a classic Bond which will please readers old and new
I listened to this book in one sitting highly recommended
November 9, 2022
Horowitz is so good! He writes a Bond that maintains everything we love about him, without bringing a modern sensibility to it. Impossible escapes, dilemmas, girls and his martini. I hope there will be another one after this.
November 10, 2022
Good, not great. I did read a few reviews of this book, and I agree with most. We all like Horowitz in all of his many forms, I, probably more than most, like the Bond trilogy. The James Bond movies were dreadful until Daniel Craig came along, then they got much better. I have read the John Gardner books, and for the 80's and 90's they were all pretty good, I read all the Ian Fleming books, and for the 50's and 60's they were all pretty good. I do like that Horowitz keeps James Bond firmly rooted in the 60's and the USSR is still the supreme bad guy.
In the end, I hope Horowitz will write, or will be allowed to write, several more Bond books.
In the end, I hope Horowitz will write, or will be allowed to write, several more Bond books.
June 29, 2022
This was the book I was most hyped for this year and I have to say it surprised me but in a good way!
I think this was the most high stakes mission Bond has ever been on and at some points I was genuinely frightened. But that goes to show how thrilling Horowitz’s writing is!!
And yet again the classic essence of Bond was captured which I thoroughly enjoyed! I’m sad to see the end of Horowitz writing Bond, it’s been one hell of a ride!
Shoutout to the cover designer. The cover is beautiful and perfect!
I think this was the most high stakes mission Bond has ever been on and at some points I was genuinely frightened. But that goes to show how thrilling Horowitz’s writing is!!
And yet again the classic essence of Bond was captured which I thoroughly enjoyed! I’m sad to see the end of Horowitz writing Bond, it’s been one hell of a ride!
Shoutout to the cover designer. The cover is beautiful and perfect!
April 4, 2023
Anthony Horowitz has written another solid Bond novel. This is more of a 2 1/2 star book. Horowitz's writing is as griping as it usually is and I loved the way all his Bond books are set within the Fleming universe. But this one coming straight after The Man with the Golden Gun was a little hard to get into due to the plot being a little preposterous. Most Bond plots are a little preposterous but this one really pushed the envelope. It was a good read and a nice end to Horowitz's trilogy.
Being a Bond fan I am interested in seeing what comes next in the book franchise but I do wonder if there are anymore interesting tales to tell.
Being a Bond fan I am interested in seeing what comes next in the book franchise but I do wonder if there are anymore interesting tales to tell.
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