Devil May Care (Vintage)
by Sebastian Faulks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sebastian FaulksEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-05-19
ISBN: 0307387879
Number of pages: 278
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of Devil May Care (Vintage)
Book Review: Retro Bond
Summary: 5 Stars
After viewing Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond film, I started reading Devil May Care, the latest novel approved by Ian Fleming's estate or whoever holds the massive Bond franchise. In fact, the book was published as "Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming." Of course, Fleming died in 1964. So, it seems that this is some kind of afterlife production. Fine with me.
Faulk's novel is written with great skill. I was drawn into the Bond adventure set in the late sixties. Most of the action takes place in pre-Khomeini Persia (Iran). There's a super villain, Dr. Julius Gorner, who has made a fortune in drugs, both legal and illegal. Gorner has a deformed hairy left hand that resembles a monkey paw. He keeps this hand covered with a white glove. He's very sensitive about his strange hand, but very insensitive when it comes to people who offend him or are unfortunate enough to come under his control.
Gorner absolutely despises the British and designs a "dastardly" plot to destroy them. Bond's mission is to quash that plot.
Early on, Bond encounters the lovely Scarlett Papava. It seems that Scarlett's twin sister, Poppy, has fallen into the clutches of the evil Gorner. So, Scarlett and Bond have a common goal and they work together. Of course, Bond is willing to mix business with pleasure when it comes to Scarlett.
It's all there. The Walther pistol, the scrambled eggs, the whiskey gulping, the penchant for fine food like caviar, the brutal fighting skills, the bold ingenuity. M, Moneypenny, and CIA agent Felix Leiter all appear.
Unlike Quantum, it's all low-tech, because it's set way back in the sixties when all phones were landlines and computers were room-sized. Way back when there was a Soviet Union and an East Germany. When Westerners had no knee-jerk reaction that all Muslims were terrorists.
There's a bit involving Bond and Scarlett in a nose-diving plane, remarkably similar to a segment in Quantum. At one point Bond and Scarlett find themselves on the lam in Russia. Bond resorts to carjacking and armed robbery. Shades of Bonnie and Clyde. There's a clever twist at the end.
It occurred to me that a new movie based on this book might fly. A retro Bond, a throwback to the sixties.
Summary of Devil May Care (Vintage)
Bond is back in this electrifying new novel of intrigue and suspense. A masterful continuation of the James Bond legacy, Devil May Care picks up right where Ian Fleming left off?at the height of the Cold War, with a story of almost unbearable tension. An Algerian drug runner is brutally executed on the desolate outskirts of Paris and Bond is assigned a new task; to shadow the mysterious Dr. Julius Gorner, a power-crazed pharmaceutical magnate. Gorner has lately taken a disquieting interest in opiate derivatives, both legal and illegal. After finding a willing accomplice in the shape of a glamorous Parisian named Scarlett Papava, Bond must stop a chain of events that could lead to global catastrophe. Charged with adrenaline, deception, and Bond's signature wit, Faulks brings us this exhilarating new chapter in the life of the world's most iconic spy.10 THINGS YOU DIDN?T KNOW ABOUT JAMES BOND & IAN FLEMING
A Quiz
Q: Although James Bond is regarded by many as the quintessential English hero, he is actually not English. What is his nationality in the books?A: He is half Scottish and half Swiss. He also hates that most English of drinks, tea--and describes it as 'mud'!
Q: Bond has had many famous incarnations on the big screen but, prior to these, he was first played on the radio by which British actor and game show host?
A: Bob Holness of Blockbusters fame
Q: Which Bond villain shares a birthday with his creator?
A: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. On Her Majesty's Secret Service reveals that Blofeld was born on 28 May 1908. Ian Lancaster Fleming entered the world on the same day at 7 Green Street in London.
Q: Which American President was a big fan of the Fleming novels?
A: President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was known to be a big fan of Fleming and listed From Russia With Love as one of his top 10 favourite books. Bizarrely, both Kennedy and his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald are believed to have been reading Bond novels the night before Kennedy was killed.
Q: Which famed children?s author helped Ian Fleming adapt his children's adventure story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the big screen?
A: Roald Dahl
Q: Where did Fleming write all his Bond books?
A: At Goldeneye, his Jamaican home. Although now part of a luxurious holiday resort, the house was very basic in Fleming's time--so much so that his friend and neighbour Noel Coward referred to it as Goldeneye, Nose and Throat!
Q: Although Ursula Andress wears the most famous bikini in cinema history in her iconic performance in Doctor No, in Fleming's novel of the same name the character Honeychile Rider wears even less. What does she wear?
A: She is naked save for a knife-belt.
Q: The first Bond novel, Casino Royale, originally had a different title when it was published in the US. Under what title was it initially published here?
A: The initial title here was You Asked For It.
Q: What is James Bond?s favorite meal?
A: Breakfast. He has a particular penchant for scrambled eggs, and the short story 007 in New York even includes his own recipe for them.
Q: Who is Miss Moneypenny named for?
A: Miss Moneypenny was named after a character in an unpublished novel written by Ian Fleming's brother, the travel writer Peter Fleming.
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