Jeffrey Deaver is well known for his bestselling thriller novels and I had recently enjoyed reading his book The Burning Wire. So when I heard that Jeffrey Deaver is writing the next Bond novel I was super excited since both made for an exciting combination. But sadly I was to be disappointed.The 21st century Bond is a pale shadow of 20th century Bond that Ian Fleming created. The portrayal of Bond does not inspire the same aura and mystique that the earlier one did.
The story goes thus 007after returning from Afghanistan has been recruited to a new agency. The aim of the agency is to protect the Realm, by any means necessary. And to fulfill this mission Bond has been given Carte Blanche to do whatever it takes to succeed.
The story is flat and does not rise above being an average thriller. There is no real build up to a climax leaving us with an empty feeling. Even the villains in the book are neither menacing nor ruthless. You really can’t associate a garbage collector as a Bond villain. As a standalone Bond book, without going into comparisons of Ian Fleming’s Bond, it turns out to be a decent weekend read, that is only if you have nothing better planned. If you are really looking at reading a bond novel might I suggest that you stick to Fleming’s Bond. At the hand of a good scriptwriter the book might turn out to be a good movie but as a book not worth the money spent.
About the Author:
A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times of London, Italy's Corriere della Serra, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. The author of twenty-seven novels, two collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, he's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world. His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window was also nominated for that prize. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. The Cold Moon was recently named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded the book their annual Grand Prix award.
Deaver has been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author.
No comments:
Post a Comment