Bond is back. With a vengeance. Devil May Care is an electrifying new chapter in the life of the most iconic spy of literature and film, written to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth on May 28, 1908. An Algerian drug runner is savagely executed in the desolate outskirts of Paris. This seemingly isolated event leads to the recall of Agent 007 from his sabbatical in Rome and his return to the world of intrigue and danger where he is most at home. The head of MI6, M, assigns him to shadow the mysterious Dr. Julius Gorner, a power-crazed pharmaceutical magnate, whose wealth is exceeded only by his greed. Gorner has lately taken a disquieting interest in opiate derivatives, both legal and illegal, and this urgently bears looking into. Bond finds a willing accomplice in the shape of a glamorous Parisian named Scarlett Papava. He will need her help in a life-and-death struggle with his most dangerous adversary yet, as a chain of events threatens to lead to global catastrophe. A British airliner goes missing over Iraq. The thunder of a coming war echoes in the Middle East. And a tide of lethal narcotics threatens to engulf a Great Britain in the throes of the social upheavals of the late sixties. Picking up where Ian Fleming left off, Sebastian Faulks takes Bond back to the height of the Cold War–but also shows Bond facing dangers with a powerful relevance to our own times.
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"I really appreciated the fact that Faulks wrote in the style of Ian Fleming. I think that I read most of Flemings books before I saw one movie and Gardner and Benson never quite caught the style that Fleming had. This was the best show of it that I have ever seen. If you were a fan of Fleming, then you will thoroughly enjoy this book."
— Derrick (4 out of 5 stars)
" Certainly enjoyed this book, but perhaps I expected and James Bond more inline with the Daniel Craig character insead of realising it was a Bond more true to Ian Flemings writtings. "
— Marco, 2/16/2014" A disappointing book. I like Faulks, and liked Bond in his day, but this came across as a stupid unintentioned parody. "
— Alan, 2/8/2014" I haven't read the BOOK, just an excerpt in Vanity Fair. It's fun! The chapter they shared was one in which Bond play tennis against the villain of the story. I have never read any of Ian Flemmings Bond stories (and I tried to read Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which yes he wrote too), but Sebastian Faulks is trying to keep the Flemming/Bond style and I can just picture how this would play out in a movie version. Speaking of, I can't wait to see the new Bond movie Quantum of Solace with Daniel Craig! "
— Kelly, 2/2/2014" Much closer to the originals than the Gardner books. Bond is still a boyscout, but the author isn't quite as obsequious as Gardner, and the plot is only as preposterous as the originals. "
— Rusty, 1/21/2014" It was nice to dive back into the Cold War era Bond. And I thought Faulks' effort an emulating Fleming was spot on. Similar to some of the older Bond books, it has it's slow spots. But the last half moved at a quick pace toward a nice ending. "
— Chris, 1/10/2014" This is the old James Bond (and that is a good thing, no strange gadgets and he is kind of brutal) liked it. also, some parts of the book seem to have inspired scenes in Quantum Of Solace, specially the airplane one. "
— Mike, 12/28/2013" Hmm, this was an ok Bond book. I loved most of Fleming's work, Faulks captures some of the feeling of the original books & the era (set in the cold war 50's) but for me doesn't quite pull it off. Perhaps it's because Bond isn't quite hard edged enough. There's one scene where he cooly rams two motorbike riders off the road before continuing on his journey, good stuff that was. The bad guy is ok but his end comes in a slightly contrived & a little disappointing fashion considering his behaviour previously. "
— Keith, 12/18/2013" Fun read, very Fleming-like. "
— Guy, 12/14/2013" First Bond book I ever read. Honestly, it was unexpected, and the style and flow of the narrative were surprisingly good. "
— Annie, 8/18/2013" Good Bond, especially set in teh 60's but not as good as Flemming or Benson. "
— Chris, 8/4/2013" A good old fashioned yarn, back to the Fleming days. "
— carl, 4/27/2013Sebastian Faulks’ six previous novels include Birdsong (1993), Charlotte Gray (2000), The Girl at the Lion d’Or (1989), and On Green Dolphin Street (2001). He is also the author of a biographical study, The Fatal Englishman (1996). He lives in London, is married, and has two sons and a daughter.
Tristan Layton has performed in plays in London and New York and has served as a television host. He’s done voice work for documentaries as well as for television and radio commercials. His audiobook credits include reading Ross King’s The Judgment of Paris, Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care, and David Nicholls’ The Understudy. Known as “The Master of Accents,” Tristan currently lives in New York.