Anónimo

Turned Me Into an Elric Fan

Revisado: 03-25-25

My first encounter with Elric, and I’m HOOKED.
Moorcock’s prose is great, and Elric is a hugely compelling anti-hero. A very appealing mixture of macabre, brooding, whimsical, and adventurous elements. I can easily see why these are considered classics. Also pretty wild that you can just grab this collection for free. Of the four books included, Fortress of the Pearl lacked the intensity and brisk pace of the other three and felt a little overlong but was still worth it; you can tell it comes from a different phase of the author’s career.

Samuel Roukin’s reading is hands-down the best audiobook performance I’ve ever heard, full stop. His flow is great and always clear, voice work just beautiful, every line read for maximum impact.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Another Complex, Engaging Installment in Kim Sherwood’s Ambitious Spinoff

Revisado: 05-23-24

Sherwood’s second book in her 00 trilogy is another expertly written, densely plotted thriller that takes the Bond “brand” well beyond its usual formula. It’s rich with well-researched setting details, psychologically well-realized characters, humane perspectives on the dirty business of espionage and organized crime, elaborately intersecting narratives, heinous villains, and memorable set pieces, culminating in a bold cliffhanger ending. There are a few elements that didn’t work for me—a couple of moments that demanded suspension of disbelief well beyond my capabilities, one or two too many internal monologues about heroism, a traitor who’s a little too easy to spot. Still, there were enough compelling passages—both in terms of poignant character beats and spasms of intense action—to carry me through my moments of doubt. One sequence involving a maze-like environment was especially well set-up, with an exciting and fun payoff. Pippa Bennett-Warner gives another excellent reading, with deftly handled character voices. All in all, I’m continuing to enjoy what Sherwood is doing with this series and can’t wait to read the final installment.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Not a serious horror novel (-__- )

Revisado: 12-25-23

This is a competently written but ultimately mediocre story, not a true horror novel but rather a tropey YA trifle that’s quite self-consciously gunning for a film adaptation. There’s an interesting premise here and a few moments of welcome humor, but the narrative is thin and the overarching political message is simplistic and heavy-handed. The “big twist” is way too obvious, and the central mystery is never used effectively to build suspense. The characters’ backstories feel generic, and the clown itself is instantly forgettable. The reader does a fine job, although her performance is marred by some weird choices, namely (a) reading the more horrific passages as if on the verge of tears (trust me, it’s distracting) and (b) doing cartoonish, exaggerated voices for all the adult characters—it’s honestly not a bad fit for the book’s tone but still took me out of the story during some key moments. The book itself is a lazy, undercooked piece of easily salable content, and I think both teen and adult readers deserve better. Overhyped and not recommended, especially not for serious fans of horror fiction.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A genuinely fresh take on classic Bondian themes

Revisado: 09-20-23

Wow! I am bowled over by what Sherwood has achieved here. It’s not perfect, but it *is* exceptional and, for me, a totally gripping read from start to finish. Folks who like to complain about “wokeness” may find it hard to stomach, but I enjoyed the diverse cast and the thoughtful attention to the character’s interior lives. Plus the intrigue and action are stellar, weaving parallel narratives that build together toward a spectacular series of nested climaxes.

There were moments where I could have done with slightly less in-depth backstories, but this is a minor quibble, easily overshadowed by Sherwood’s impactful prose and excellent storytelling instincts. “Q” as a near-omniscient supercomputer was a little hard for me to swallow, as well, but I can live with it.

The new crop of 00s are engaging and easy to root for, and their stories are full of recognizable Bond-isms while still showing a willingness to break with tradition. The depiction of 007—mostly absent from the story—strikes a nice balance between being reverent and humanizing.

There’s a lot to like here, and I think the folks at EON could do a lot worse than letting Sherwood script the next entry in the film series. More importantly, I absolutely can’t wait for her next two 00 books!

I should also shout out Pippa Bennett-Warner, whose performance is world-class, no surprise I guess given her strong acting pedigree. Her narration is clear, pacey, and unfussily stylish, and her character voices are perfectly modulated and always easy to distinguish. She does male and female voices equally well, including a Felix Leiter to rival Jack Lord. Please offer the opportunity to read the next two and pay her double!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

James Bond and Twitter now exist in the same universe, that much has been made very clear.

Revisado: 05-27-23

The story is a little simple (although suitably so for a fairly short book), and Higson tries a little harder than necessary to prove that Bond can exist in the TikTok era (the line about Bond’s “situationship” with his on-and-off girlfriend is going to age like milk, and the villain’s chapter-length grandstanding speech about “wokeness” being the inevitable consequence of the Norman conquest of England may skew towards hilarity in ways the author didn’t fully intend), but it’s a lithe and undeniably fun spy story (with actual spying, no less!) and frankly just nice to see something other than the now overfamiliar “back-to-the-Cold-War” strategy of other recent Bond novels.

The author reads his own work with confidence and gusto, as one would hope (I’m not qualified to say whether his South African accent is accurate, but it’s a delight to hear, and I can tell he enjoys doing it).

The villain isn’t one for the hall of fame, but he’s got a strong enough presence to sustain interest for the duration of this brief story. As far as political tone (there’s more talk of politics than in any other Bond novel I can think of), Higson conveniently splits the difference between offering an essentially approving depiction of Royalism and a straightforward willingness to single out the far right as the natural enemies of… basically everybody.

Jeffery Deaver’s Carte Blanche remains, for me, the definitive millennial update of the literary 007, but this really ain’t half bad, either. Higson knows how to make a knife fight exciting and what it feels like to be captivated by a weird, beautiful, possibly dangerous lady, and that’s what counts. He doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but he has a grand old time playing with the wheel we’ve got.

The final pages aren’t all that remarkable on their own (I wish Bond’s introspection about the indignities of the spying life were a couple paragraphs shorter, to be honest) but is pretty damn cheeky when you read it—as was surely intended—as an indictment of the narrative trajectory of the recent Bond films. I don’t totally share his disapproval, but this bit of candor is a welcome touch all the same.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Hell yeah lol

Revisado: 05-27-23

My second Bond novel by Gardner. I just can’t help but enjoy these. I totally lost track of what was happening in the chaotic final scenes (starting to suspect a confusing climax is something of a Gardner-ism) but I had a blast anyway. Narration is quite solid, as I recall, although it’s been a few months since I listened, so apologies for being light on detail. Bonus points for a scene where Bond plays Warhammer with the villain lol.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A very solid Bond continuation novel

Revisado: 05-27-23

A well-written and frequently entertaining prequel story detailing Bond’s first mission as a 00. Severine is an appealing heroine, there are a number of really well-rendered set pieces, and Horowitz keeps up the pace admirably. A lot to like about Matthew Goode’s performance, too, which suits the material perfectly. Not necessarily one of my all-time favorite Bond novels, but easy to recommend and in my opinion relatively more satisfying than With a Mind to Kill. I’d read it again & probably will one of these days.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Pretty good, I guess?

Revisado: 05-27-23

“Bond vs. evil psychiatrist” is a tantalizing premise, but not much about this one stuck with me aside from a particularly inventive and harrowing torture sequence, one spectacularly written “villains convening to hatch their scheme” scene, and the very strong, deliberately ambiguous final pages. The dynamic between Bond and the leading lady is a bit muted, which fits the characters well enough but doesn’t make for especially pleasurable interactions. The drabness of the Soviet setting rubs off on the story somewhat, and the middle section meanders a little too much for my taste. But I won’t deny that Gardner sticks the landing. This (SPOILER INCOMING) is the story of Bond’s final mission, and it provides an appealing (and, I think, rather pointed) alternative to the end of his arc as depicted in No Time to Die. I’d probably only recommend this one to a diehard fan, but I don’t think that’s much of a dig as this seems to be Horowitz’s intended audience.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Inconsistent & a bit silly, but undeniably fun

Revisado: 05-27-23

An overcomplicated plot, occasionally baffling depiction of Bond, almost too many characters, but it clips along at a delightful pace & is ultimately more than the sum of its disjointed parts. In some moments, Gardner writes the hyper-competent 007 we generally expect, at others our man misses some startlingly obvious clues and makes a number of (narratively convenient) mistakes that become increasingly hilarious as they compound. In a story stuffed with secret agents, Bond at times feels like the least savvy of the bunch—his main power seems to be that women can’t help but throw themselves at him no matter what he does or says. But the story is a zany treat, with twist piled on (occasionally confusing or improbable) twist. It’s a whole different animal than Fleming, but in a way I found totally refreshing. Don’t expect a masterpiece, but I’ll say that this was my first Gardner novel & instantly made me want to read more. It’s just plain fun, in a way that I’m not sure a more realistic spy novel could manage.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Glad I Finished It

Revisado: 05-27-23

I previously left a less-than-favorable “halfway point” review, now having finished Devil May Care I’m leaving this one to say I’ve warmed up to the book, and John Lee’s reading of it. Lee does particularly well with character voices (the standouts being Felix Leiter and this story’s Iranian Kerim Bey equivalent), and he reads with real intensity when the material calls for it. What I previously mistook for lack of enthusiasm was more likely the combination of a restrained reading style with the numbingly regular rhythm of Faulks’ prose.

Faulks manages to work in a big twist and some pretty spectacular action sequences in the final act, and all are well-handled. That said, his commitment to emulating the blunt & punchy mode of Fleming’s prose feels simplistic—there are moments when the short, clear sentences lend the scenes a kind of brutal poetry, but just as many others where they feel dry & uninspired.

The villain has not one but two grand schemes, the first completely abandoned for no other reason than he (and the author, I guess) thought of something more interesting. The villains feel a bit like parodies of Bond nemeses, but they’re so grotesquely evil it’s hard not to find them compelling. However, in order to keep Bond alive and involved in the story, the villain has to repeatedly, knowingly choose to employ his worst enemy in key positions. Faulks probably thinks this silliness is the best Bond fans deserve.

The author introduces some rich locales and very cool, real-but-forgotten tech but then can’t be bothered to figure out how to use them to full effect (I doubt Fleming would have struggled with this).

The pacing really leaves a lot to be desired—Fleming knew how to end a chapter in a way that made you want to start the next one right away, and Faulks barely ever manages it. If the stories are true that Faulks felt this project was beneath him, well… it shows, and it’s a shame it wasn’t given to someone with more enthusiasm for the material. It’s that much more frustrating because there are moments when Faulks shows a real flair for clever plotting and visceral action — there’s probably a great Bond novel in him somewhere, but here we get only fragments of it.

Still, at the time it was published this book was presented as a rebirth of the literary 007, coming off of 6 years with no “main series” entries, and before that the tenure of the decidedly lowbrow Raymond Benson. Faulks’ book (which often *does* feel something like a lost Fleming novel) must have felt like a revelation at the time. It’s worth a read, but best if taken in its proper context. Bond has been done better since.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña