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So rather than
Faulks writing as Faulks, it's instead Faulks
writing as Fleming undermining his style for the
sake of emulating Fleming, which is all sorts of
contradicting, and a bit of a let down. You're
never really sure if Faulks is writing as
himself, or as Fleming, thus you're never really
certain who you should be paying respect to when
the book is over. Such irksome literary caveats
aside, "Devil Maycare" is a bit much to take in.
Firstly, it seems more intent on paving the way
for the next movie, than really telling a story.
And secondly, it
takes a while to get over the rather smug
storytelling since Faulks (or Fleming) is often
interested in explaining every single detail of
sophisticated wine, and names of streets rather
than get the story moving forward. Bond doesn't
really appear until the end of the first
chapter, but the build up is well explored with
some interesting tension. Why did this young man
die in the first place? And how does it connect
to the new mission Bond's been sent on.
Once we get
forward progression in check, the story of Bond
and his inevitable deletion from the
organization he's devoted his life to, is quite
fascinating and complex. This Bond is thoughtful
and thorough and explores every scar on his body
like a picture from the past. Faulks pays lip
service to past endeavors and tussles, with Bond
unfolding as the aged seasoned agent, even for
folks like me who aren't real fans of the
Fleming secret agent. I've never had anything
against James Bond, I've just personally never
found anything entertaining about the man. His
movies are goofy, his personality is dull, and
the series is spread pretty thin.
However (pay
attention to this however, Bond fans), this is a
novel that anyone who is generally a fan of spy
fiction and action novels will enjoy. I found
myself impossibly attracted to this world, and
Bond is such an interesting character with
actual depth and human flaws, it makes me
rethink the movie series altogether. Faulks
writes him as a man and his relationships with
people are true to form Bond as he romances
women, battles deadly villains with unusual
mechanical hands, and even flirts with Ms.
Moneypenny in one of my favorite examples of
interplay, in the novel. While I do tend to
fault Faulks for being too pedantic in his
establishing his decadent set pieces, the man's
writing is awfully immaculate to read, with some
well placed and concise dialogue.
"Devil Maycare"
takes a little time to get moving, but when it
does, it's a great literary sequel to Bond with
some fantastic action sequences, and beautiful
build-up to the villain, with Bond being Bond.
Accept no substitutes. |
