Latest 007 book - Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood
Discussion
Bit of a Bond fan so have read all the books. This one isn't directly about Bond, but about his world, he's gone missing and the story is about the other Double O agents (with 007 getting referenced occasionally).
About a third of the way in and it's somehow very well written but plodding at the same time. It's almost like everything is so over-described that it slows the story down. I'll persevere though.
About a third of the way in and it's somehow very well written but plodding at the same time. It's almost like everything is so over-described that it slows the story down. I'll persevere though.
Ozzie Dave said:
It seems to jump heavily and the things that annoying me is the details she goes into on some items and brands- its almost like a whos who of brand placement for expensive brands that no-one has any interest in.
Ian Fleming frequently dropped brand details into his books, but he did it with more a sense that it was attention to detail. It feels like she's attempting to 'write like Fleming', and missing the point. Mezzanine said:
I’ve got to Chapter 9 and put it down.
There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
Agreed. And this from a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Remarkable. There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
The other failing of the book was in the utter implausibility of some of it. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate that the limits of credibility are frequently stretched in Bond books and films, but I'm talking about stuff that simply didn't make sense.
A perfect example is a person being passed from one car to another at 70mph+ on a dual carriageway to fox pursuers. The way it was described, the cars were virtually touching, but the doors were open to facilitate the pass across. It was a bit like the author had never seen, let alone been in, a car.
Mind you, John Gardner was no stranger to such nonsense. I remember him describing how Bond made a standard speedboat go underwater or some such thing just by the way the throttle was manipulated. (Yes I know, the jet boat in TWINE, but that was a Q invention that had been fitted with the facility to dive).
A perfect example is a person being passed from one car to another at 70mph+ on a dual carriageway to fox pursuers. The way it was described, the cars were virtually touching, but the doors were open to facilitate the pass across. It was a bit like the author had never seen, let alone been in, a car.
Mind you, John Gardner was no stranger to such nonsense. I remember him describing how Bond made a standard speedboat go underwater or some such thing just by the way the throttle was manipulated. (Yes I know, the jet boat in TWINE, but that was a Q invention that had been fitted with the facility to dive).
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