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Question about Carte Blanche

brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
in Literary 007 Posts: 1,400
Just started re-reading; I cannot figure out how ODG comes into the picture. It's as if 007 and M never worked for MI6; the book starts with M offering him the ODG gig. Am I missing something? Is this some type of alternate reality the author dreamed up?

Comments

  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    edited September 2021 Posts: 1,351
    You mean as opposed to the very real reality of Bond still being around and active after 60-something years?

    To be less of an asshole: From what I understand it is a complete reboot and at least for that one book, the origin as laid out is Bond's origin. Worked for Defence Intelligence after getting out of the Navy, got bored by it, was recruited by for ODG, where he then became 007. As for M, one would think he would have to have some experience in Intelligence to get an agency like that of the ground, but he certainly was never Head of the Secret Intelligence Service.

    I understand people thinking it is blasphemy, but I personally thought that was handled rather well. It just doesn't make sense anymore that the Head of the Secret Intelligence Service is this shadowy figure who personally sends out agents on missions to kill adversaries. Now that the Government acknowledges the existence of MI6 the real Head of the Service is in fact the only person whose name is publicly known. So you can demote him to just being the Head of the 00 section inside MI6 or all field operations or whatever, but then you are still stuck with Section Q being totally unrealistic in a modern bureaucracy under austerity measures and not under M's purview. So creating an offshoot that can still have all the mystique and strange anachronistic details of 50s MI6, makes a lot of sense to me.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    OK, that works for me!
  • ColonelAdamskiColonelAdamski UK
    Posts: 1,088
    I read this last year and really enjoyed it. I approach all of the none Fleming Bonds as individual tributes, and although some are based in Fleming's world (Horowitz, Colonel Sun. . ), others are 'modern day', and they're jiggled around to suit that. I'm reading the fifth Benson book now, and there's a mention of Cyber-cafes 'where people go to pick up their emails'. That a cyber-cafe even needed an explanation of what it is shows that the book was written at a certain time, and is of that time.
  • BeatlesSansEarmuffsBeatlesSansEarmuffs
    Posts: 3,566
    Carte Blanchet? Isn't she an actress of some sort? ;)
  • CraterGunsCraterGuns
    edited December 2021 Posts: 618
    I thought this novel was just plain awful (although still not as bad as DEVIL MAY CARE).
  • Risico007Risico007
    Posts: 9,860
    CraterGuns wrote: »
    I thought this novel was just plain awful (although still not as bad as DEVIL MAY CARE).

    shrugs I liked it better then a lot of the other stuff since Benson. I personally hated Solo hated Devil May Care the Horrowitz stuff has been bland but I keep buying them because maybe I am a glutton for punishment, maybe I like being apart of the conversation. Maybe I will see what everyone else sees (when people claim its as good as fleming I almost want to ask what drugs are you taking? and can you share?)


    But i learned a long time ago I tend to like things most others dont
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