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This is all coming from someone who embraces the continuation books. I am not one of those people who refuses to pick up a non Fleming book or writes off such books just because the style is too different to that of the original creator. I enjoyed Carte Blanch but it’s major demerit is that most of the time I don’t feel like I am reading about Bond. I am open to Deaver returning to write another because he is a talented man but I do feel he needs to get inside the character of Bond more. There’s no denying the fact that he requires greater fleshing out.
Oh, to add something else to my earlier brief, casual collection of sentiments on the book, I loved the scene in and around the motel at the base of the rock face. Most suspenseful. I loved how Bond left his jacket hanging on the cliff face thereby fooling Dunne. The atmosphere in the motel and its decor reminded me of TSWLM.
There was very little down time as someone else on another thread said. I loved reading in the earlier books about Bond sitting in some cafe, nursing an Americano or what have you while reflecting on certain topics to an admirable extent – what’s going on behind the closed doors of the town in which he is presently domiciled, the pedestrians, the contact he is meeting, his assignment... Such passages are unquestionably part of Bond’s literary universe. They allow the reader to really soak up the atmosphere and become more than acquainted with the character. Carte Blanche is just too fast paced in parts and lacks these facets. As I said, it’s a good book but we need to know a great deal more of what is going on in Bond's head.
Charlie Higson, John Pearson, Samantha Weinberg and Christopher Wood (who should come out of retirement :) ) should write an adult Bond book. I think they'd do a splendid job. Especially Wood and Pearson! I suspect IFP wish to recruit authors who are very much in the limelight however which is unfortunate to a point.
B.
Yeah, I would have preferred Bond to have just worked for the SIS/MI6. At the same time however, it is nice that his office is back near Regents Park but I don't think it overlooks it. :)
Again, it's not on the level of Fleming's best work, but it's a damn good book.
On a side-note though, I wonder why so many people here felt like it wasn't Bond they were reading about. Personally, this was the first time I've read a non-Fleming Bond book where I actually felt like it was Bond who I was reading about (granted I haven't read Colonel Sun yet, and never read Devil May Care in its entirety). I mean sure, Deaver's Bond isn't as cynical as Fleming's Bond, but from how I remember feeling about the character as I read the books was that Bond developed into that cynicism over time. Granted, my memory could be totally off, but that was how I remember. If so, then I suspect that should Deaver return to write another Bond book (which would be very welcomed IMO), we would probably see Bond's cynicism develop more as the books progressed. Personally? I saw Bond as that guy from the commercial for the book. And it would seem to me that woman in the commercial was supposed to be Bheka Jordaan.
:-(
In CB, Bond to me was too one dimensional and he was too different to his former self. Deaver's Bond was missing many of his original attributes. Something else that was absent was his occasional flippancy. He just lacks overall personality.
In terms of his cynicism, yes it did increase over time but I think Bond is cynical in Casino Royale too.
And i imagined the bond from Agent under fire visually.
Well, I really loved it. I was expecting a JG style slog but was pleasantly surprised.
Not read Deaver before but now tempted to try out his back catalogue. He has a smooth, efficient and lean style that keeps you zipping along. I found it a pleasure from start to end and probably my fave spin-off 007 with 'Colonel Sun'.
It's certainly a bit more twisty-turny thriller than action adventure. There's a feeling he writes himself into a bit of a corner with the ultimate revelations (the villain's plot certainly seemed larger in the making than it turned out) but the journey there was a great ride so I am not complaining.
The settings and modern period feel very Craig although I didn't imagine him in the part. I think Deaver has nailed his own Bond and retained a little flavour of Fleming.
The women were probably the weakest part...still a little cheesy.
I really like the ODG i.e making Bond part of an even more secret organisation (with his carte blanche/licence to kill) particularly in this more transparent age - I thought that was a great move.
Overall, I'd be more than happy for Deaver to produce a few more in his Bond reboot-universe....just don't rush him though! Keep the quality up.
2013? You mean from Deaver? I mean I hope there's a new book released once per year by different authors. That was the plan but I'm not sure if they intend releasing a book each year. I certainly hope so. They used to but then again that was when just one writer was scribing them. I'd like to read 2 or 3 more books by different authors before Deaver returns to write another, presuming he does actually return. I hope they give Bond alot more personality too than Deaver did! He wrote a good story though.
I don't think Deaver ever intended on returning to write another Bond book immediately after his first. If he does write another I hope the next time I will actually feel like I am reading about the James Bond character!
That's a depressing thought having to wait another three years for a Bond book. Plus, I want to see how another author tackles the project anyway. It seems a bit hard to believe IFP would solely wait for Deaver when he may or may not return to write another unless they only really intended this adult Bond book to be a one off which I don't think nor hope is the case.
I wasn't aware of IFP wanting a different author for each of the following novels. Maybe you're right. Let's see what happens.
"Carte Blanche" - Jeffery Deaver
Lets start this review back in 2008 for Ian Fleming's Centennial and we (Bond fans) were introduced to the first continuation novel since Raymond Benson's "The Man with the Red Tattoo", which would be by Sebastian Faulks. The novel, which was set in the 1960's had Bond being brought back into action in "Devil May Care".
Now being the naive young man that I was back in 2008 I bought and read it quickly. Even back then I thought of it as crap. Two weeks ago I tried to re-read it and fell asleep. Even with the films I always give a new Bond (film or novel....hey even video game) a chance. So I went in with low expectations, even though it is Deaver!
Verdict: I enjoyed it immensely and was pleased by Deaver's rendition!
SPOILERS to Follow...
The novel is set modern day - modern Bond. Now as I was reading the story I had different Bond's in mind which was nice. I pictured Connery, Craig, Dalton, and the Brozzer. But the review isn't about those guys, its about Deaver's Bond.
No one can come close to what Ian Fleming was able to accomplish, which is a daunting task to sign up and continue this legendary series. Deaver though could have failed like Benson and Faulks but he actually hit this one out of the park.
His ability to set Bond's lineage in modern day and to bring up to speed what happened to his parents, his life in Kent, and his first meeting with M all felt like Fleming had helped Deaver. The locations, the many different set pieces, and globe trotting fit Fleming almost to a tee. Which was very surprising to me and a nice job by Deaver.
The main drawback to this novel is the villains themselves. There are a couple being Dunne, Hydt, and Willing and each of them just didn't feel like Le Chiffre, Dr. No, Blofeld, or Grant...but they were a lot better than the crap we had to read up until this point. This to me is the only drawback...which can be said as a big one but for the story as a whole isn't enough to ruin the book's pace and great storytelling.
In the end we are all brought up to speed with the hero we all know and love in a new modern setting. It is a fantastic read and will keep all of us Bond fan's appetites whet until next year's Bond 23. I say for those of you who haven't read it or are wondering if they should I recommend this book. Go out and buy it but most importantly enjoy it.
And as someone already stated in their review, it feels like CR (reboot, not Connery but better than Brosnan...meaning Flemming is Connery, Deaver is like Craig and Faulks/Benson are compared to Brosnan) which is a good thing because I hope the Ian Fleming Foundation will hire Deaver for another continuation novel.
8/10
Is this novel a reboot?
It looks like Bond just starting out as 007!
I thought I had read it somewhere about multiple authors. Maybe it was just a forum user who said this and not IFP. I would rather we have multiple authors. As I said, I thought Deaver’s book was too fast paced in certain parts ( some sections must be slower for it to feel more like a Bond yarn) and most of the time I didn’t even feel like I was reading about James Bond. Other than that though it was a good read and a nice spy thriller in its own right with a Flemingsque villain but I’m keen to see how others will handle Bond.
Have you read Carte Blanche Samuel? If so, what do you think of it?
Yes, it's a reboot. Initially I supported this but now I am not so sure if I like the idea as much. If another author or Deaver can flesh out Bond's character more in a contemporary setting then I will be happier and will feel like I am reading about the literary chap I love. The chauvinism and xenophobia doesn't have to be present as there are many more facets to Bond's personality. I've been reading Christopher Wood's Moonraker and he really understands the character as does Pearson. Wood doesn't even like Fleming's Bond either apparently! He prefers Roger Moore's take on the character.
remember Gardner?
Bond is wearing Calvin Klein Obsession Cologne, his shirt is from YSL, his suit from Savile Row, his shoes from Gucci, his belt from Foley's, his socks from Foot Locker, his watch from Timex, his hair gel from Vidal Sassoon, he used Gillette Gel Aloe Mint to shave, his underwear from Fruit of the Loom, etc etc
I was like: Oh Enough with that!
A book with 300 pages and 150 pages of it is product placement!!
I'll be sure to post my thoughts here once I'm done.
Fleming had more product placement than Gardner did. Maybe you don't like the Fleming books. I like the product placement in the novels. It gives the reader an insight into Bond's character, in this case, his extravagant tastes. It’s product placement in the films that I’m not keen on. Film is a different beast. When you have an up close shot of a brand name it comes across as cheesy unless it’s for a specific purpose. When Bond glanced at the time on his Rolex in some of the Moore films and we got an up close shot of the watch, this was okay. It gave the audience an idea of Bond’s taste for luxury items. However, when Campbell shot the Sony DVD up close in Casino Royale this wasn’t nice. When Vesper asked Bond about his Omega in CR, this too was the wrong thing to do.
Can't remember if I've said this before but another thing about Deaver's Bond is that he is on the bland side and too perfect. He's too nice aswell.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/bond-author-jeffery-deaver-has-sights-on-melbourne/story-e6frf7jo-1226095928085
Deaver says Guy Pearce would make a good Bond. His photo:
http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nndb.com/people/104/000026026/guy-pearce.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nndb.com/people/104/000026026/&h=262&w=200&sz=20&tbnid=TsU3DRTzsZLdqM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=69&prev=/search?q=Guy+Pearce&tbm=isch&tbo=u&zoom=1&q=Guy+Pearce&hl=en&usg=__aZNUQL73sIIa0yBNYefzGWK18sI=&sa=X&ei=XBkiTqLYB4HLmAWPrsHwAw&ved=0CFkQ9QEwBQ