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moiram's review against another edition
2.0
James Bond is not dead, but he's not terribly lively either. John Gardner, taking over from Ian Fleming, writes a solid, well-researched thriller, but it lacks the zing, wit and kinkiness of true Bond. The enemies are more realistic, the plot more believable, but the edge is gone.
jmgustaf's review against another edition
3.0
The overall plot was my favorite part of this novel. Although, it was drawn out and overplayed. There was little action to spruce it up and the surprises were not very surprising. We get a chapter where we are supposed to believe that Bond is dead, which we know he isn’t and long before the reveal of how he survived, you figure it out for yourself. There is a convoluted plot that you are believing for most of the book about bringing to justice a Nazi war criminal that a terrorist group has kidnapped and demands be put on trial. If he is not put on trial than Russian officers will be assassinated daily. That is just a red herring to the real plot, which is a coup of the Russian government and installment of a Russian General as dictator. He wants it to look like the French and the British aided in his coup.
The villain is ok, bland and absent a lot of the book. There’s no real threat or menace with him. There isn’t really a henchman either.
There are a lot of supporting characters, as Bond is part of a team and that doesn’t feel Bondian to me. The leading lady is bland an just there to be the daughter of some old, presumed dead, spies that pop up. There reoccurrence isn’t anything to the reader because they’re introduced to us in a way that had me thinking they’re still alive and coming up later in the story.
I didn’t hate reading it, there were parts that I enjoyed, but there were more parts that I struggled to get through. I give this book a 6 out of 10.
The villain is ok, bland and absent a lot of the book. There’s no real threat or menace with him. There isn’t really a henchman either.
There are a lot of supporting characters, as Bond is part of a team and that doesn’t feel Bondian to me. The leading lady is bland an just there to be the daughter of some old, presumed dead, spies that pop up. There reoccurrence isn’t anything to the reader because they’re introduced to us in a way that had me thinking they’re still alive and coming up later in the story.
I didn’t hate reading it, there were parts that I enjoyed, but there were more parts that I struggled to get through. I give this book a 6 out of 10.
glowe2's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fairly standard James Bond thriller with no real surprises. James Bond fans may enjoy it but nothing special.
jmoore65655's review against another edition
3.0
I read that this was John Gardner's favorite Bond book. I had a hard time trying to figure out what was going on in this one. It seemed to be that more time was needed for character development and the overall story.
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