Sebastian Faulks, Devil May Care (James Bond)

After much publicity to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth on 28 May, 1908 we have this adventure which picks up after his last effort. Forget what followed, Gardner, Benson etc it was a dream! So set in the 60s, we have old friend Rene Mathis who opens proceedings with a Paris murder. Meanwhile Bond travels around recovering from the last mission until summoned by boss M. So as expected we have elements & characters from past Fleming which are integrated like May, Bond's Scottish 'treasure' house-keeper, old pal Felix Leiter re-surfaces to help new aide Darius in Tehran and 007 arrives as David Somerset (remember from FRWL). In Persia he is helped by resourceful driver Hamid. After a slow start, Bond is now a tennis ace (yes at his age!) in order to encounter the villain of the story Julius Gorner - the man with "The Monkey's Hand" - shades of Dr No and first meeting with Goldfinger on the golf course. His side-kicks are "trusted lieutenant" Chagrin & the earlier Paris killer Mr Haslin. So who is the mysterious and beautiful Scarlett Papova, love interest, twin sister or more? More excitement in the second half with a VC10 plane crash and an escape form Russia. Spread over 20 right starting[?] chapters, this one just makes 295 pages and not sure if author is influenced by screen 007 as it contains elements from the movies, like drugs (LALD/LTK), Casper Sea (TWINE), vulcan planes (TB) and Afghanistan (TLD) - where hasn't Bond been? With a colorful lady front cover we have a simple black back cover with quoted words of 'Come in, 007' said M 'It good to see you back.' He sounds like Argy/Q in Connery's NSNA.

A fairly easy read - not particularly taxing and easy to flow through the book. Odd typo here and there identify a rush to get the book onto the shelves. Can't help but think that Mr Faulks was ticking a few boxes along the way. The criminal is certainly evil, and there's plenty of baddy-bashing, but there's something missing though. Faulks' Bond is suave, but Faulks' books have been much richer in content and narrative - Birdsong and Charlotte Grey - and I bought this Bond hoping that Faulks would apply the same richness of a reading experience to our hero. A good bash Mr Faulks, but I think it could have been developed a little further, and I hope you find a flow or a groove for your next 007 offering. Just feel as though you've sold yourself a little short on this occasion, as though you had a time target to work to.