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bghatter's review against another edition
Very good story, in keeping with Bond feeling and pace
colbyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
duparker's review against another edition
3.0
Fun Sunday read. Nothing too original, we're talking James Bond here, but the story and pace we're very movie like, and the tone felt like the Flemming books/movies. Not very dry or over done, I'd read more by Horowitz.
pewterwolf's review against another edition
2.0
Can’t decide between 2 or 3 stars. It was ok, but slow at the start & not what I was expecting. Need to have a think about it.
Review taken from The Pewter Wolf
007 is dead. He was shot in the French Rivera and MI5 wants to find out who and why he was killed. They promote a new recruit to the number and send him out to find out the truth. The new recruit's name? James Bond.
That's right, this is a "prequel" of Bond's first mission. And oooh... ooooh, I had problems. So many problems.
Ok, before I sink my teeth into the problems and issues I had, let's get into the positives. There are a few that I can talk about. Now, I have never read a Bond book, so bear with me, but the second half of the story had really good pacing. It moved faster. Plus, some of you guys will like reading this as this is Bond's first mission so you get to see what happened to make him tick.
My biggest positive is the "Bond Girl" (I loathe that term!) - the character of Sixteen. I found her fascinating, and she was, possibly, the only character I felt was fleshed out. She had a history, motivations, character traits and flaws. I wanted to read more about her. Possible spinoff prequel, anyone?
Now, onto the problems and issues. I have a long list! I didn't like the narrator for a good chunk of the audiobook (sorry!) , the first half of the story was slow in pace and it was a struggle to get to the heart of the story, not much was fleshed out, the idea of another prequel story coming out (I'm intrigued over Solo: A Star Wars Story but I know a lot of you don't want it). But the main thing that happened was, for the good amount of the audiobook, I frankly didn't care.
I know I am going through a bit of a reading slump, but I didn't care for the story. I never felt any true moment of danger for Bond and, because of that, I didn't care what happened because I thought "He'll be fine...". I just didn't really care about the story until the very end.
Now, I'm not sure if I feel like this because I'm in a weird reading slump, and I've only begun to crawl out of my reading slump but... yeah... this wasn't for me. I wonder if I had read a collection of James Bond stories, each story written by a different author, if my opinion was have been more favourable.
Review taken from The Pewter Wolf
007 is dead. He was shot in the French Rivera and MI5 wants to find out who and why he was killed. They promote a new recruit to the number and send him out to find out the truth. The new recruit's name? James Bond.
That's right, this is a "prequel" of Bond's first mission. And oooh... ooooh, I had problems. So many problems.
Ok, before I sink my teeth into the problems and issues I had, let's get into the positives. There are a few that I can talk about. Now, I have never read a Bond book, so bear with me, but the second half of the story had really good pacing. It moved faster. Plus, some of you guys will like reading this as this is Bond's first mission so you get to see what happened to make him tick.
My biggest positive is the "Bond Girl" (I loathe that term!) - the character of Sixteen. I found her fascinating, and she was, possibly, the only character I felt was fleshed out. She had a history, motivations, character traits and flaws. I wanted to read more about her. Possible spinoff prequel, anyone?
Now, onto the problems and issues. I have a long list! I didn't like the narrator for a good chunk of the audiobook (sorry!) , the first half of the story was slow in pace and it was a struggle to get to the heart of the story, not much was fleshed out, the idea of another prequel story coming out (I'm intrigued over Solo: A Star Wars Story but I know a lot of you don't want it). But the main thing that happened was, for the good amount of the audiobook, I frankly didn't care.
I know I am going through a bit of a reading slump, but I didn't care for the story. I never felt any true moment of danger for Bond and, because of that, I didn't care what happened because I thought "He'll be fine...". I just didn't really care about the story until the very end.
Now, I'm not sure if I feel like this because I'm in a weird reading slump, and I've only begun to crawl out of my reading slump but... yeah... this wasn't for me. I wonder if I had read a collection of James Bond stories, each story written by a different author, if my opinion was have been more favourable.
max538's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
narzack's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know, it just didn't do it for me. No real reason why, it just felt kind of passionless. There wasn't a hell of a lot of insight into Bond as a character, which was what I was hoping for. It's not offensively bad, just kind of sparkless.
zare_i's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book on Bond's career start in 00 section. Great pacing and characters - both Bond's allies and enemies - entire environment (south of France) is very vividly presented to the reader ... everything is just perfect.
Also, it is very interesting to get into the head of James Bond and "hear" his thoughts on his job and his aims in life.
Highly recommended to all aficionados of thrillers, crime, James Bond and spy novels in general.
Also, it is very interesting to get into the head of James Bond and "hear" his thoughts on his job and his aims in life.
Highly recommended to all aficionados of thrillers, crime, James Bond and spy novels in general.
nayles's review against another edition
4.0
Stylish and sexy. And oh my goodness the narrator! Definitely made the book more enjoyable
clarkgw's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
saintreagan's review against another edition
3.0
not very good lol
the first 50 pages were so promising and then the rest of the book was just cliche after overused cliche.
the first 50 pages were so promising and then the rest of the book was just cliche after overused cliche.