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The 'Carte Blanche' discussion thread

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  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    ^
    Best I've seen yet!
  • SharkBaitSharkBait
    Posts: 2,107
    It was okay reading, I guess. The whole time I was expecting Bond to get caught, like in every Book before ( :p ) , so I kind of find it refreshing that he already expected all the hits and blows before they happened. So no complaints there. Maybe, for me, the part where Bond gets caught and tortured by the villain in the books had worn thin. For me at least.

    The book Bond too seem to had gone through a make-over. It was quite ultra modern and reminded me from the current cinema Bond. The twists though, most of them I saw coming from miles away. Just finished reading it and I can only think that it was a good book.
  • tommychameleontommychameleon
    Posts: 132
    For me CB, was cheap, nasty and written without any real appreciation for what the literary Bond is, was and should be. The very fact that...
    He makes Bond's mother a spy

    Actually infuriates me. That is the cheapest of cheap shots, right there. Deaver just doesn't get it.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    tommychameleon wrote:
    For me CB, was cheap, nasty and written without any real appreciation for what the literary Bond is, was and should be. The very fact that...
    He makes Bond's mother a spy

    Actually infuriates me. That is the cheapest of cheap shots, right there. Deaver just doesn't get it.
    That was left up in the air. If I remember correctly it was still a mystery, where Bond could only think about the mystery. It might've been Andrew, maybe Monique, maybe both, maybe neither. We, or Bond, don't know for certain.

    I enjoyed it at the time, and was a part of my summer reading. The problem was that Deaver isn't Fleming, and I have gotten to the point where I'll only read Fleming's Bond novels, as many do on this forum. The major issue aside of that is that you could actually replace Bond with any other name, and the name wouldn't affect a thing. It would be all the same without any changes needed. There was no Bond essence, no real Bond elements or mannerisms that we all know from him.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,356
    UK Paperback:

    Carte+Blanche+PB+100_wm.jpg

    Released 24th May.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I still prefer the last cover, with the apple and woman.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,356
    Awful tagline too.
  • BounineBounine
    edited March 2012 Posts: 2,599
    I like the first two sentences in the tagline but the last one should read: "Same Bond". Well, I'd like this. :) We know it's a new Bond book as it says this at the top. I wonder if QOS had any influence on this UK book cover what with the desert.

    "There was no Bond essence, no real Bond elements or mannerisms that we all know from him."

    Exactly. Couldn't agree more. I enjoyed the story though but it did lack a bit of a punch.
  • ChevronChevron Northern Ireland
    Posts: 370
    Yeah, I was just going to say it reminded me of QOS. In this age of photoshop it might be the best we can hope for.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    That cover isn't to bad, the problem lies in what's between the covers.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    The cover is Dubai, so there really isn't any QoS coping going on...
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    That cover isn't to bad, the problem lies in what's between the covers.

    Exactly. I did not enjoy this book; I know others did. I tried some of Deaver's other books, but was really unsatisfied.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    I enjoy Deavers' other novels more, but honestly have had a hard time to get through his latest Lincoln Rhyme.
  • FromCanadaWithLoveFromCanadaWithLove Canada
    edited April 2012 Posts: 612
    CB didn't feel like a Bond book. The part that got me was when...
    ...Bond referred to the main girl being sort of pretty. I forget the exact words, but the main girl in Africa is said to not be overly pretty, but still bed-able. If it's a Bond book, the girls should be 11/10. I'm awful with the names of the characters (because, frankly, they weren't memorable), but I wasn't crazy about any of the sections with that older woman who is with Severin. There was that chapter when Bond was driving her back to her house, and she just started crying. Sure, Deaver's writing definitely made me feel like she was crying and ugly and all, but I just felt awkward reading it. Bond books shouldn't be about awkwardly caring for someone while they cry. It felt like the Bond and Bibi scene in FYEO. "Get dressed, I'll buy you an ice cream..." Awkward.

    Also, WHY WAS BOND DRIVING A SUBARU? Come on, it's James Bond, not some mountain-back granola beardy tree-hugging wildlife man. He's a spy! A british spy, who should be driving british cars (or at least european). No Japanese rice-burners, please.

    I finished the book last November. And I'm still this angry about it.
    DMC was better.

    Don't read CB if you haven't already. You'll cry.
  • MrSpyMrSpy
    Posts: 116
    I can imagine a lot of these "that's not Bond!!" people back in the day, when the Fleming series was new, and he kept trying new things, changing & adapting the character etc. crying out with each new volume "that's not Bond!!" LOL.

    Fleming had fun with the series, why shouldn't the continuation authors?

    I remember when Benson was Public Enemy #1. He seems to have been forgotten, even forgiven, and I see the same effect with Faulks. I imagine that Deaver will be looking pretty good when they hire some espionage writer no one's ever heard of to do a yearly Bond book etc.

    All together now..."that's not Bond!!!"
  • ChevronChevron Northern Ireland
    Posts: 370
    Alan Partridge voice: 'Stop getting Bond WRONG!'
  • BounineBounine
    Posts: 2,599
    "Fleming had fun with the series, why shouldn't the continuation authors?"

    It's one thing to have fun, it's another thing to almost completely change the character of James Bond..and for the worst, as Deaver did. Shameless.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,356
    Bounine wrote:
    "Fleming had fun with the series, why shouldn't the continuation authors?"

    It's one thing to have fun, it's another thing to almost completely change the character of James Bond..and for the worst, as Deaver did. Shameless.

    What did you think of Sebastian Faulks' Bond compared to Deaver's, @Bounine?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I need to reread DMC. I read it once a long while back, and didn't really have a reaction to it. Now I have a better grip on the character after reading Fleming, and how he should be portrayed, so another read of it will finally let me decide how I feel about it.
  • BounineBounine
    edited June 2012 Posts: 2,599
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Bounine wrote:
    "Fleming had fun with the series, why shouldn't the continuation authors?"

    It's one thing to have fun, it's another thing to almost completely change the character of James Bond..and for the worst, as Deaver did. Shameless.

    What did you think of Sebastian Faulks' Bond compared to Deaver's, @Bounine?

    Much better if I remember correctly. I've only read the book once, back in 2008. I need to read this again but I'm pretty sure I thought to myself at the time that he's certainly not as three dimensional as Fleming's Bond which is the case in most of the continuation novels, but that it does feels like James Bond I'm reading about. It's the story that falls flat. It's always pretty much felt like Bond in every book by every continuation author except for Deaver.

    What about you?
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,356
    Bounine wrote:
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Bounine wrote:
    "Fleming had fun with the series, why shouldn't the continuation authors?"

    It's one thing to have fun, it's another thing to almost completely change the character of James Bond..and for the worst, as Deaver did. Shameless.

    What did you think of Sebastian Faulks' Bond compared to Deaver's, @Bounine?

    Much better if I remember correctly. I've only read the book once, back in 2008. I need to read this again but I'm pretty sure I thought to myself at the time that he's certainly not as three dimensional as Fleming's Bond which is the case in most of the continuation novels, but that it does feels like James Bond I'm reading about. It's the story that falls flat. It's always pretty much felt like Bond in every book by every continuation author except for Deaver.

    What about you?

    You've nailed my main concern, Bond was not as three dimensional, not by a long shot. I suppose the story and lack of level of description didn't help. I've only read Devil May Care and Carte Blanche so my opinion on post-Fleming Bond may be slanted but so far, I don't think much of their work.
  • BounineBounine
    edited June 2012 Posts: 2,599
    It's a shame about DMC. I really believed this would be a great book as Faulks is an outstanding writer. I've read several of his novels and they don't fall short on description. 'On Green Dolphin Street' for example, just made New York seem so colourful which I'm sure it actually is. Never been there. That's a point actually. Can't believe I've never bothered to visit NY! Alright, back on topic... :)

    Forgot to mention, the exception in terms of Bond being less three dimensional in the continuation novels is John Pearson’s biography of Bond. This is fantastic. I highly recommend it. I think it’s the closest to Fleming out of all the continuation novels except for possibly Christopher Wood’s TSWLM which is the only one I haven’t read yet. I have it but I’m holding off reading it in order to savour the excitement. I'll read it soon.

    Maybe "much better" in terms of Faulks's Bond is a bit of an exaggeration but you did feel like you were reading about the James Bond character unlike in CB.
  • MrBondMrBond Station S
    Posts: 2,044
    I am 40 pages into the book and i'm just wonder which Bond is easiest to relate to thru the book? Is it Craig? And if this book is set in present time, why is it a male M? Or is it just meant to be set in another universe?
  • marketto007marketto007 Brazil
    Posts: 3,277
    Well, for those who haven't seen it, the book was released in Brazil last June 30th, yep...more then a year later.



    xxx
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    MrBond wrote:
    I am 40 pages into the book and i'm just wonder which Bond is easiest to relate to thru the book? Is it Craig? And if this book is set in present time, why is it a male M? Or is it just meant to be set in another universe?

    The character isn't "James Bond" (he has no Flemingesque qualities and doesn't act like the Bond we know), so you might as well just picture a clown in parachute pants.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    MrBond wrote:
    I am 40 pages into the book and i'm just wonder which Bond is easiest to relate to thru the book? Is it Craig? And if this book is set in present time, why is it a male M? Or is it just meant to be set in another universe?

    The character isn't "James Bond" (he has no Flemingesque qualities and doesn't act like the Bond we know), so you might as well just picture a clown in parachute pants.

    Read the book must have missed that chapter. Damn you now I have too read it again. ;)
  • thamesiderthamesider
    Posts: 44
    Loved it. That may be down as much to my love of Deaver's writing as it is to what actually happens, but this is still one damn fine book.
  • prometheusprometheus
    Posts: 11
    Personally a big Deaver fan.
    Al my immediate/close male family are big Bond fans.
    All agree with me.This is not James Bond.
    If you changed the name of the main character it would be a typical Deaver book.
    Very disappointing.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Indeed a typical Deaver book, I think. Not Bond.
    I really didn't enjoy this one; Devil May Care was warmer, closer to being Bond, and while not great definitely a good sight better than this effort. I really hope Deaver does not do another Bond story.
  • chrisMchrisM
    Posts: 59
    Though Carte Blanche was excellent one of the finest non-fleming Bond books yet, up there with Colonel Sun and Devil May Care, and far superior to any of Gardner or Benson's attempts
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