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It's also available to down load from the BBC radio player. It's abridged
obviously, but very good, I've down loaded and listened to the first two
Readings. :) ( BBC radio 4)
Thanks for the update, @DrGorner!
I think it runs alongside the track as opposed to being part of the the actual track.
A fellow Torontonian ;)
I'm thinking of giving the book a read.
Another issue I have is with the story telling. Fleming would tell everything Bond does the moment he does it, in a way that made every move dangerous and exciting. Horowitz sometimes hints about 'hopes'Bond has, only to explain later what he actually did. It spoils the tension for me. It's a McGuiveresque way of solving problems.
i.e.
In minor details, Bond would most definately act more gentlemanlike to a lady. He isn't as obvious as he is in this novel.
I do like the references to both the books and films though. That was nicely done. And it reads fairly well. The race-part is very exciting. As I've got the normal version I don't know what part of that was Fleming's, but it's a very intense read.
No, there will never be another Fleming. Like it or not, inheritance authors will never completely get it right, no matter how familiar they are with Fleming's work. It's a bit like a tribute band in many ways -- they can play the original's notes pitch perfect and sounding as close to the original's as possible, but the song will never be exactly the same because there is an indefinable quality to artistic expression that is exactly like a fingerprint and can therefore never be reproduced.
But, for those that like Fleming's books, Trigger Mortis and Colonel Sun are about as close as it gets. Just cut these authors some slack because they are individuals themselves, with their own personalities, and a bit of that is bound to seep through.
I agree with every word of this post.
Fair's fair. But he is slacking at the end of the book. And, as I said, the 'backward going' in which he later explains Bond has done something that helps him now, instead of telling it 'as it happens' is something that truly irritates me. Still, thisw is one way of finding out why Fleming was such a fantastic writer.
I must say, though, that I don't completely agree on your stance that it is impossible. Eoin Culfer got extremely close to Douglas Adams's way of storytelling in '...and another thing', part 6 of the trilogy. (For those who don't know: Douglas wrote five parts of the trilogy himself. And for those who's sense of math is strong: that's the point).
I have to admit that I haven't read any of Eoin Culfer's work, so I have to defer to your superior knowledge here. What I do know is what any ghost-writer will confirm, and that is: you can never really get inside the head of another person, let alone another writer, no matter how close you are to them. I think M made this point in QoS.
I also know that Anthony Horowitz was working to a pretty stiff deadline on this book, so I think he can be forgiven for not polishing as much as he could. I daresay that even if he could have been given the extra time, he probably wouldn't have chosen to change much. I say this because a retrospective narrative style is often used, if nothing else, to give variety to prose. Fleming didn't do this much (one example of when he did was the second chapter of You Only Live Twice, which is a flashback), so maybe if he had done it more often it might have added a bit more pizazz to his books.
My over-riding point is that no one's perfect and maybe that's just as well because I think it's nice to see something that's "Fleming-esque", but it's also nice to see some of the real writer's personality shine through too. But that's just my opinion. Those who expect nothing less than a pitch-perfect replica of Fleming's style may have to wait a very long time indeed.
Me too. Well said, @Darius! :)
Maybe I'm a bit too harsh on him, nad the time limit would explain the finish which, in my view of course, could've been done better. I'll stop complaining...
theguardian.com/books/live/2015/nov/06/anthony-horowitz-webchat-trigger-mortis-dinner-with-saddam#block-563b27c1e4b08eefa4b96fed
He's keen on doing a second Bond book, but has not been asked so far.
They haven't asked him? Damn, not the best sign. I won't be surprised if IFP shoot themselves in the foot and just ask someone else. Well, I suppose it's still early days...
Q: Was it difficult thinking up the title for the Bond novel without resorting to overused words such as “gold”, “die”, “kill”, “never”, etc?
A: You're certainly right about those words - to be avoided! I found a short story that Ian Fleming had written but not published - it was called Trigger Finger. I stole the first word, and then, knowing that IF liked puns, I came up with Mortis. I've always said that actually the title is the most difficult part of a James Bond novel. And for what it's worth, I thought Carte Blanche was the best title yet.
It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its title.
Unfortunately, IFP long ago announced their intention of using a different author for each successive Bond novel, so it's not likely we're going to see Anthony Horowitz making a second or even a third Bond outing, but you never know... never say never...
...where have I heard that before?
You're right - the third rail runs outside the two rails on which the wheels ride, and is covered with wood, held in place by spaced brackets, so even the casual eye can see that it's different. The third rail is electrified, and the train has a contact shoe that rides along the top of it to provide power to the train.
A pity because I can't help but think that we'll just go back to getting lacklustre Bond novels again.
I'm sure they would liked one of their novels filmed or at least a title used.
Consider it done.
Opinions usually come at a price if in the public eye.
Anywhere really, now. Gone are the days when honesty and openness was respected, and in its place publicity suicide and mass apologies on the airwaves, TV and social networks for speaking what was in your heart, no matter how unoffensive it was. Just another fine example as to why all these so-called "advancements in technology" have hampered, not expanded our ability and desire to effectively communicate with each other.
There's also very few authors that have the star-power, cross-over appeal, PR ability (despite Elba etc), knowledge of literary Bond, enthusiasm and to some degree irreverence.