PopSyndicate.com

Bond, James Bond is back but in a more mundane version.

I don’t envy Sebastian Faulks.  Re-launching the James Bond book series can’t be easy.  You’re going to be held to a very high standard.  Then add to it he is writing not in his own style but in that of creator Ian Fleming, it’s enough to make one feel sorry for Faulks.  If you’ve never read a Bond novel, I wouldn’t suggest starting with this one.  Pick up one of Flemings original novels first so you understand his style and then pick up Devil May Care.  You’ll have a better appreciation for what Sebastian Faulks is trying to do but your apathy for the novel probably won’t change.

I haven’t read much in the way Ian Fleming before but Faulks captures the spirit of the man behind Bond but doesn’t quite capture he storytelling.  We’ve all the trademarks of a Bond story, 007 captures, villain reveals all, aggressive Bond girl in and out of clothes, needlessly elaborate villainous plan and villain with some odd defect.  Faulks hits all the notes but the ending song seems slightly out of tune.

If you’re looking for the elaborate gadgets and extreme stunts that Bond has become known for over the past 20 years of films, you’re going to a bit disappointed.  This is the Bond of Sean Connery, if Connery had reached his prime and was considering retiring.  When we catch up with Bond in the late 1960’s, he’s been placed on leave so he can decide if he wants to stay a 007 or take a desk job. Due to doctor’s orders, he’s sworn off women and liquor.  Bond seems older, venerable and a little broken here.  He’s more fallible and less superhero here.  This isn’t the Bond we all know and love.  It’s a new take on the character and one that doesn’t entirely mesh with how the public views the Bond character.

The plot involved Bond tracking down Dr. Julius Gorner before he can release a ton of heroin on to the market destabilizing the world and creating a bunch of junkies so he can take over the world.  Maybe not the best plan for global domination but Dr. Gorner has a plan and damn it, he’s going to see it through.  The story takes Bond from Paris to Persia (Iran) and Russia. It’s typical Bond style globetrotting filled with adventure and sexy women. Until the end, when Bond we don’t get 007 ending the novel with his trademark shagging down with the female lead but holding back.  Whaaa…that’s not the Bond I know.

The biggest flaw of Devil May Care is Sebastian Faulks is trying to write as Ian Fleming.  If had just written the story in his own voice and did his own thing instead of aping someone, I think the end results would have been much stronger.  As it stands, Devil May Care is a neutered Bond story that has the super spy being far from super.  I would have to say skip this and read the Fleming novels first then move on to Devil May Care.

2