|
| Devil May Care | 
 enlarge | Author: Sebastian Faulks
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
Buy Used: £1,644.12
Avg. Customer Rating:  81 reviews
Media: Leather Bound
Edition: Limited
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7.7
Dimensions (in): 17.5 x 12 x 6.3
ISBN: 0385528671
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780385528672
ASIN: 0385528671
Publication Date: May 28, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, DISPATCHED FROM ENGLAND, USUALLY JUST 4-5 DAYS FOR DELIVERY.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Good guy, Faulkes August 4, 2008
I love the Bond books and films. And I admit that I started this book cynically expecting to pull Faulkes' work apart, to be able to spot gaping anachronisms or true evidence that this was written with 40 years' hindsight of the 1960's.
But I must say that SF has largely captured the spirit of the Swinging decade. I was not around then but even espionage all those years ago was so much simpler, the rules so less blurred, the people of a more elegant breed. The Bond films of today, whilst enjoyable, never have that stunning visual feast provided by Fleming, a man who himself did not live beyond 1964. As far as I'm concerned, Fleming leaned down from his heavenly cloud and guided the hand of Faulkes and together they have created a novel worthy of the Bond affiliation.
My one gripe is minor. The Westernised Persia of the 1960's would become, in 1979, the theocracy of Iran. This was no doubt in SF's mind and I don't think he was quite able to prevent little hints of foreboding via short lessons in Persian history and contemporary politics. But then, there isn't a reader of this book who will have read it before 2007/2008 - we are all encumbered with historical hindsight.
Enjoy the book.
 Very poorly written and weak story August 3, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I read this book with high expectations but was very disapointed. The writing was very poor and when you get 10 pages written just about the progress of a tennis game, you know the author has badly structured the book, i.e. going on so much about parts which do not have a relative important to the story.
Throughout the book I severly struggled to keep reading and I would not recommend buying this book. There are so many books of fiction which are 10 times better. Very poor effort and poor writing.
 Very Enjoyable July 28, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a Real Boys Own tale that is written with style and panache which captures the mood of the sixties as expressed by Ian Fleming. What you get is the sinister deformed villain and his psychotic sidekick, some superhuman Bond stunts, a beautiful heroine, some lovely cultural references and all during the backdrop of the Cold War. A great experiment that really works
A Very Good Bond Novel! July 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I enjoyed this novel a great deal. I'd got a bit tired of the contrived Bond stories (particlarly Gardner's later efforts) but this was a refreshing tale. It had both a memorable villain and Bond Girl and the plot was not too shabby. I thought Faulks catured the character of Bond perfectly. If you enjoy James Bond and fancy reading a good adventure story then look no further than this book. A very good tribute!
Anyone for Monkey Tennis? July 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's the late 60s and after the tragic death of his new wife Bond has been forced on a 3 month sabbatical. M has informed Bond that he must decide whether to give his 00 status up or not. However, after only a few weeks R and R Bond's musings on aging and grief are put to one side as M needs his best man to look into a man called Dr Julius Gorner. Gorner is an extremely rich Russian who seems too involved in the illegal drugs market for Britain's liking. He is distinguishable by a genetic defect that makes one of his hands appear like a monkeys. With a young woman to protect Bond must set out to discover what Gorner's true motives are.
`Devil May Cry' is a joy to read as long as you appreciate it as a Fleming style Bond novel. Some of the action is ridiculous, the men chauvinistic and the attitudes archaic - but this is classic Bond after all. Scenes of a monkey handed man playing combative tennis would not work anywhere outside a Bond book. Sebastian Faulks has done an outstanding job of recreating Fleming's style and for that he should be congratulated. I did feel that the book took a little too long to really get going, but when it did the ride was great fun. Switch your brain to Bond and enjoy.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
