But instead of the expected, something entirely unexpected is fleshed out. From the readers’ perspective, Boyd has the deft ability to slowly breath life into the dry bones of his narrative. Once in Zanzarim events mysteriously unfold. (Its a nice continuation of Fleming’s You Only Live Twice and The Man With The Golden Gun where Bond is a spent force, prodded and conjouled by M to prove himself worthy of the rank he boasts.)

The Bond we are introduced to here is tired and ill, plagued with nightmares. In this case Boyd revisits the past in an attempt to bring something new to the table but also adds depth through a solidification of his historical origins. What is very interesting about Solo is that Boyd tries to authenticate Bond’s identity as a weather worn and battle-born soldier, an aspect of his character previously unexplored by any of the Bond authors. The plot then takes our hero from London to the fictional war torn African republic of Zanzarim, the object of his mission – to stop a civil war that threatens to erupt into a full blown international conflict.

Solo’s opening sequence finds Bond nursing a sore throat following a solitary evening spent morbidly celebrating his 45th Birthday in the extravagant surroundings of the Dorchester hotel in London. Interestingly Boyd has decided to write a period piece set in 1969 returning to a tac previously adopted by Faulk in Devil May Care. The third Bond book to be written in five years, Solo follows in the wake of Jeffery Deaver’s Carte Blanche and Sebastian Faulk’s Devil May Care. Cue the latest chapter in the story of a decidedly 21st Century 007 William Boyd’s new novel, Solo. Yet in the aftermath 2013 has been a relatively quiet year for all things Bond. Once seen, Skyfall was dubbed a blockbusting triumph fit to mark 50 years of Bond on our screens by critics and fans across the globe. To quote Skyfall, ‘sometimes the old ways are best’. In 2012, Sam Mendes’ latest cinematic effort, Skyfall seemed to suggest that Daniel Craig et al were just getting started with a stylistically re-imagined and brutally contemporary reboot of a character born from the Allied struggle against first the Nazi’s and then the Communist Russians.įrom this writer’s perspective, since Casino Royale, there has been a discernible shift towards a more retrofitted, hyper-real version of Bond, tapping into the dark, violent character portrayed in Fleming’s 50‘s novels and ditching the corny humour and the cartoonish bad guys that the latter films were infamous for in the process. After all, many have tried to take on the heavy yoke of expectation that surrounds anything even loosely associated with Britain’s cold war master spy, James Bond, 007. Writing a Bond novel must be pretty tough.

William boyd solo review