Review: Devil May Care

I recently read the new James Bond novel Devil May Care, by Sebastian Faulks, who was writing as Ian Fleming. If that sentence is confusing it's because the idea of someone writing as someone else IS confusing. Faulks apparently won over audiences with his prior best-selling novels, 1993's Birdsong and 1999's Charlotte Gray, (made into a 2002 movie starring the divine Cate Blanchett), and was asked by the Ian Fleming estate to pen a the new novel. Obviously it is a strong homage to the late Fleming, creator and author of 12 Bond novels and 2 short stories, and the writing is tersely Fleming, but I am still not sure he had to write "as Ian Fleming."

As for the story, 007 can't shake the Cold War era G-Men and enemies that polluted the early writing of Fleming. Coupled with the film franchise's re-reboot, it's not necessarily a bad thing here. "Devil" starts as Bond is contemplating retirement from MI:6 but of course circumstances dictate that he gets pulled right back in.

Bond's mission seems to be a matter of convenience for MI:6 - - Bond wants to retire but a beautiful and mysterious (of course) professional banker named Scarlett Papova asks him to look into the disappearance of her sister, Poppy, who may or may not be held by one of the best Bond villains ever, Dr. Julius Gorner, a man with a strong affinity for poppies. I say it's convenient for the Ministry because they also want Bond to look into Gorner, who hates all things British, for myriad of reasons.

Soon, Bond is off to Paris to meet with colleague Mathis where he learns all about Gorner while Scarlett has arranged a Bond staple, a competition between hero and villain. Here 007 is matched up against Gorner in a terrific tennis match that puts the physical and mental attributes of both men on display. However, the action really kicks in once Bond heads to Tehran to find out what Gorner is up to. Faulks, as Fleming, does well here to incorporate a lot of real word spy craft that was available at the time, and less of the clever but improbable gadgets of the Q Branch from the movies. Here we see Bond actually struggle with taking down guards, taking his spy pictures, even a great deal of hazard in navigating some of his dives despite his background as a former Navy Diver. The opposition here is not just the bad guys, but real world obstacles that work as antagonists, too.

Inevitably Bond is face to face with his new arch enemy once more at Gorner's secret fortress and factory in the desert. Gorner holds 007 and Scarlett captive while of course divulging every bit of his plan to Bond. The twist here is that Faulks, as Fleming, employs Bond to carry out Gorner's heinous plan rather than just foil the operation that would likely pit Russia at nuclear odds with Britain. And it's because of this detour from the usual Bond stories that we not only get to follow Bond and Scarlett through Communist Russia, but get the added pleasure of seeing the hero and damsel finally get some time to themselves, briefly.

The expected Bond locales are present throughout. Bond holidays in Jamaica and Italy, touches down in Paris a few times, fights through Iran, and evades through Russia and Finland. And he is not alone. Felix Leiter, the former CIA man (recently played by Jeffrey Wright in Casino Royale) is in on the action, despite the fact that he lost an arm and leg to a shark attack. There's the French counterpart, Mathis, and a resourceful and suave colleague named Darius Alizadeh in Persia. But just the one woman this time, the professional banker Scarlett Popava.

All in all it was a good, fun read, and yes, I immediately wished for a film version. However I am not sure if I am totally committed to reading future Bond novels if they take place during the 50's and 60's. I think the reader deserves an updated story for our updated times no matter who is writing these new adventures.