CommanderBond.net
  1. 'Devil May Care' UK Paperback Cover Revealed

    By Devin Zydel on 2008-10-12

    Following up the recent news that the US paperback editions of Devil May Care, the James Bond novel written by Sebastian Faulks to mark the centenary of Ian Fleming, were slated for release next year, we now have the very first look at the cover of the UK paperback:

    'Devil May Care' UK paperback edition

    Devil May Care UK paperback edition

    Also slated for release in May 2009, this paperback edition Devil May Care will be published by Penguin.

    The Bond novel will retail for £7.99. A link to pre-order a copy is forthcoming.

    In the meantime, 007 fans in the US can pre-order one of the upcoming paperback editions of the book as well:

    As always, stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for complete coverage of Devil May Care and all the latest literary James Bond news.

  2. Two 'Devil May Care' Paperbacks Coming In May '09

    By Devin Zydel on 2008-10-10

    Last month, CommanderBond.net reported that literary 007 fans could look forward to the US paperback release of Devil May Care in May 2009.

    A trade paperback edition of Sebastian Faulk’s centenary James Bond novel was announced, retailng for $14.95 and scheduled for publication on 12 May 2009.

    Today, we learned of yet another edition of Devil May Care hitting bookshelves that same month. A cheaper mass market paperback will also be available to collectors, retailing for $7.99 and released one week later on the 19th.

    Both editions are published by Vintage and available to pre-order online:

    Cover art for these editions of the centenary Bond novel is yet to be revealed.

    Keep your eyes glued to the CommanderBond.net main page for complete coverage of Devil May Care and all the latest literary James Bond news.

  3. 'Devil May Care' US Paperback Coming In May 2009

    By Devin Zydel on 2008-09-12
    Sebastian Faulks' 'Devil May Care'

    Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care

    UPDATE: Now available for pre-order.

    May 2009 is shaping up to be a month filled with literary 007 releases.

    Following the recent news that Charlie Higson’s By Royal Command would be hitting paperback on the 28th of the month, we now have details regarding the paperback edition for this year’s adult James Bond release–Devil May Care.

    Sebastian Faulk’s centenary 007 novel will be published as an Anchor Books paperback on 12 May 2009 in the US, according to this listing on the Random House website.

    The 304-page long trade paperback will retail for $14.95. While not yet available for pre-order, listing is also available at Amazon.com.

    Details on the cover artwork are yet to be announced.

    Keep your eyes glued to the CommanderBond.net main page for complete coverage of Devil May Care and all the latest literary James Bond news.

  4. Broccoli And Faulks Talk 'Devil' Film Rights Snub

    By Matt Weston on 2008-08-21

    Earlier this week, CommmanderBond.net reported that Eon Productions had passed on the movie rights to Sebastian Faulks’ one-off James Bond novel, Devil May Care.

    Eon reportedly decided against picking up the option to film the novel due to its period setting. The production company has not adapted over 20 continuation novels, opting instead to work solely with Ian Fleming material (and their own).

    “We love the book, but because it is set in the 1960s, we haven’t considered making it in the near future,” 007 producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson told Variety.

    The Independent today carries a few more quotes from the parties concerned.

    Devil May Care is a period book which is set in the 1960s, and it really wouldn’t fit as one of the films that Eon has been making recently,” Broccoli told the British newspaper.

    An Eon spokesperson added that a movie adaptation of Faulks’ book was “not in discussion”.

    Faulks, meanwhile, raised a valid point: “I would have thought that if you could move Casino Royale from the 1950s you could move Devil May Care from the Sixties.”

    “But Eon know what they are doing,” the novelist added.

    Faulks also told the paper that if Eon changed their mind, he would support the idea of a film version of his bestselling novel.

    An Eon spokesperson told BBC News that the company had not ruled out an adaptation of Devil May Care in the future.

    Keep your web browsers locked on CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond news.

  5. Eon Productions Pass On 'Devil May Care' Film Rights

    By Matt Weston on 2008-08-20

    James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have not picked up an option to the film Sebastian Faulks’ 007 novel, Devil May Care, Variety reports.

    The pair told the trade paper that the novel’s 1960s setting made it less desirable as a Bond film property.

    “We love the book, but because it is set in the 1960s, we haven’t considered making it in the near future,” Broccoli and Wilson.

    Devil May Care‘s film rights are shared between the Ian Fleming Estate and Faulks, who penned the novel on the centenary of the James Bond creator’s birth.

    Neither the Ian Fleming Estate, nor Faulks have given up on a film adaptation of the novel, claims Variety. However, both issued the following statement to the paper: “There have been no discussions about the film rights whatsoever.”

    The novel’s movie rights cannot fall into a rival movie studio’s hands as Danjaq, Eon Productions’ parent company, has had ownership over the series’ copyrights and trademarks since the 1950s. As a result, even if a film company managed to snag the rights, Variety notes that they couldn’t use the James Bond name, music, the 007 alias and trademark gunbarrel opening among the other staples of Eon’s 22-strong film series.

    Released in May, Devil May Care arrived on an epic wave of publicity and instantly shot to the top of bestseller lists worldwide. Set in 1967, Faulks’ book places Bond on the trail of the sinister Dr Julius Gorner.

    Broccoli was among the first to have read the novel. When Faulks was announced as the Centenary author in July last year, Corinne Turner, IFP’s managing director, commented, “We gave a sneak preview of the manuscript to Barbara Broccoli, who said if I had told her the family had found an old manuscript of Ian’s in the basement she would have believed me.”

    The news continues Eon’s commitment to not adapt continuation James Bond novels (despite the occasional reference to them, such as Die Another Day‘s Colonel Moon as a nod to Kingsley Amis’ Colonel Sun).

    Variety speculates that Charlie Higson’s Young Bond novels “appear ripe for cinematic adaptation”.

    Keep your web browsers locked on CommanderBond.net for all the latest James Bond news.

  6. Critics Pick Faulks As This Summer's Choice Author

    By Matt Weston on 2008-08-06

    Centenary novelist Sebastian Faulks has been chosen by critics as this Summer’s choice author, reports booktrust.info.

    Sebastian Faulks penned the commercial smash, Devil May Care

    Faulks was the most recommended author in the list, compiled by UK books charity Booktrust, which consisted of over 600 recommendations from 11 publications. The bestselling author was recommended – rather fittingly – a total of (00)7 times for his James Bond novel, Devil May Care as well as his older works, such as Birdsong and Engleby.

    Patrick French’s biography of Nobel prize winner VS Naipaul, The World Is What It Is, was the most recommended title, fetching four votes. Naipaul himself had several novels recommended as summer reads.

    Books published by James Bond publisher Penguin were recommended more than those of any other publisher.

    Booktrust’s James Smith said, “The editors of the literary pages are to be congratulated for choosing old favourites as well as new titles this year. Not everyone has the money in their pocket, or space in their luggage, for a hardback these days.”

    Check out CommanderBond.net’s two-part wrap-up of the critical reaction to the much-hyped Devil May Care: Part I and Part II.

    Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date literary James Bond news on the web.

  7. Critics May Care – Part II

    By Matt Weston on 2008-07-13

    Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care achieved precisely what it set out to do: place James Bond back on the bestseller lists.

    Matt Weston

    In Critics May Care – Part I, CBn presented extracts from the UK press reaction to the return of the literary 007: the good (“Among the now 33 post-Fleming Bonds, this must surely compete with Kingsley Amis’s for the title of the best.” – The Guardian), the bad (“Just plain dull, unless you’re a buff.” – The Daily Mail) and the ugly (“36 novels into the Bond story, the formula is stale. Perhaps it’s time to retire Bond.” – The Scotsman).

    In the second article of this two-part debrief, CommanderBond.net’s Matt Weston cherry-picks a selection of Devil May Care reviews from outside the UK.

    “Bond had not quite spent three months on the wagon, but if in M’s eyes he was fit to return to work, then … He poured himself a conservative two fingers of whisky into the glass, added a lump of ice and the same amount of soda.
    ‘Your good health,’ he said, then tossed the whole lot down in a single gulp.”

    Sebastian Faulks, Devil May Care

    In Devil May Care, James Bond endures a time of change; a rebirth. No 007 novel in recent memory had made much of a splash – neither critically nor commercially – and the literary series had long since been overshadowed by the colossal beast that is the cinematic Bond, itself reborn with the arrival of Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. This fact reverberated throughout many reviews for the novel.

    In light of an extensive promotional campaign (especially in the UK), the literary James Bond – Ian Fleming’s James Bond, as the Centenary marketing opportunity implied – was born anew.

    How, then, did the press outside the UK, react to arguably the most-hyped 007 novel of all time?

    Sebastian Faulks' 'Devil May Care'

    Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care

    The New York Times‘ Janet Maslin believes Faulks did an adequate job, but failed to truly seize the opportunity. “Mr. Faulks-writing-as-Fleming does not fall short of the rest of Fleming’s posthumous output. Nor does he tinker with the series’s surefire recipe for success. What he delivers is a serviceable madeleine for Bond nostalgists and a decent replica of past Bond escapades. But if you didn’t pick up Devil May Care convinced that Bond was an enduring pop-cultural landmark, you would not come away with that conclusion.”

    Maslin concludes: “If Mr. Faulks is less adventurous than his hero, and if he is mostly content to stick to the basic Bond blueprint, he may be doing precisely what was asked of him.”

    Elsewhere in The New York Times, Alex Berenson takes issue with the book’s lack of sex (“No, thank you? No, Bond, no! What’s next? ‘It’s not you, it’s me’?”) and argues “the villains are a B-movie writer’s dream […] Gorner does everything but laugh ‘Bwah-hah-hah!’ as he explains to Bond his plan to destroy England.” Yet Berenson concludes that the “scene-chewing villains” are often the highlights in a book where 007 is strangely underwritten.

    In particular, Berenson took issue with Gorner’s demise, arguing the book peters out three chapters from the end.

    Eric Felten (The Wall Stret Journal) provided an fascinating review, describing Devil May Care as “well written, entertaining, passably authentic – and ultimately unsatisfying”.

    Felten takes mixed views of the book’s villains: “Dr. Julius Gorner, is at first blush a pretty solid Bond adversary.” However, Felton writes, Gorner falls apart later in the novel: “Once he has Bond in his clutches, he delivers the obligatory dissertation on the aesthetics of power. But unlike Dr. No – who explains Clausewitz to Bond while serving a meal that begins with Caviar Double de Beluga and ends with Sorbet à la Champagne – Gorner fails to give his adversary a handsome dinner first.”

    “Without a leisurely meal, Gorner never has the chance to grow expansive. He blurts out his megalomaniacal agenda in a forced and perfunctory manner that is implausible even by the apsychological standards of Fleming’s originals.”

    Surprisingly, he does praise the controversial tennis sequence (“The pacing and the detailed description of the unfolding match are superb […] As a strategic battle of wills between the protagonists, the scene is a worthy rival to Fleming’s card-table contests between Bond and Drax and Bond and Le Chiffre.”), but argued it felt tacked on in the overall scope of the novel: “Unlike the Drax and Le Chiffre contests, the tennis match serves no narrative purpose. Gorner has already been identified as a villain before the contest on the clay court, so we don’t learn anything about him from his game, as we do about Goldfinger or Drax from theirs. Nor does the match decide anything of importance, unlike the climactic baccarat game in Casino Royale, by which Bond bankrupts a terrorist financier.

    “The villain’s cheating in Devil May Care, then, seems to be little more than a way for Mr. Faulks to put down a marker documenting his thorough study of Flemingisms.”

    Sidin Vadukut of The Wall Street Journal’s livemint.com scathingly writes: “Faulks has delivered a book unworthy of the hype and anticipation. He famously announced that Devil May Care took him just six weeks to write. It will take you less than 6 hours to read and remain with you for less than 6 minutes.”

    On the other hand, Forbes‘ Michael Maiello is glowing in his praise for the book: “If James Bond’s creator and the author of 14 Bond books were alive to read Devil May Care, he might well believe that he had written it.”

    Maiello takes issue with CIA Agent JD Silver’s character arc (“The story is set 40 years ago, but to a reader in 2008 it seems a pretty thin rationale that’s unintentionally offensive.”), but otherwise describes the novel “a delight. The over-the-top villain, the massive weapons, the grandiose plans and schemes, Bond’s ability to bounce back from the most savage beatings, and the collisions and explosions are all on display.”

    Patrick Anderson, a self-confessed non-fan of the Bond novels, is expectedly unimpressed. His Washington Post review concludes: “All this social and culinary guidance seemed more urgent to me in my youth than it does today. For me at least, the Bond fantasy has not aged well. Faulks has said he intended to write a ‘lighthearted’ novel, and Devil May Care has its amusing and entertaining moments, but there were other moments when I thought it would never end. My advice is to invest your $25 in a good bottle of wine and wait for the movie.”

    The Dallas Morning News‘ Edward Nawotka regards Devil May Care as “no literary landmark [though] it comes commendably close to the original and, provided you know what to expect, provides some real, retro pleasure.”

    Devil May Care cover

    Devil May Care cover

    Bloomberg‘s Matthew Lynn shares his opinion, stating: “If you want a Bond book, pick up From Russia, With Love. If you want to sample Faulks, read Birdsong. And if you want a modern hardware-and-babes thriller, try Andy McNab or Chris Ryan. Stranded somewhere between these three genres, Devil May Care will fail to satisfy avid readers of any of them.”

    Gregory Kirschling of Entertainment Weekly claims the novel “reads more like a novelization of a super-progressive old-school Bond film than a long-lost original by Fleming, whose books were generally tougher and more literary than Faulks’ more cinematic re-creation. That said, the new book is a near-effortless read, and considerable fun.”

    Kirschling recognises that “it’s probably impossible to write a 007 thriller today without being influenced by 45 years of franchise movies”, which is both a blessing and a curse.

    Sebastian Faulks

    Paul Davis (The Philadelphia Inquirer) describes Faulks as “a literary gun-for-hire who does not write thrillers” and thus “a poor choice”.

    “Faulks’ workmanlike effort will entertain the casual Bond fan and the first-time Bond reader, but Fleming aficionados won’t like the book,” writes Davis. “Devil May Care lacks Fleming’s pacing and punch, and Faulks lacks Fleming’s ability to spark the reader’s interest and imagination in new and exotic places, people and things.”

    Jeffrey Westhoff of the Chicago Sun-Times is merciless in his criticisms of the book, arguing Devil May Care “disappoints on nearly every level”, particularly in light of comparisons to Kingsley Amis’ Colonel Sun.

    “Faulks’ greatest failure is the plot’s randomness,” Westhoff writes, citing Gorner’s heroin scheme as pointless. “It’s as if Goldfinger announced that instead of robbing Fort Knox, he would use radio signals to knock American rockets out of the sky.”

    “Worst of all,” he concludes, “Devil May Care is dull most of the time. Nothing much happens until the midpoint. The plot picks up after that, but the action sequences are confusingly written and inert.”

    In the Los Angeles Times, Tim Rutten unfavourably compares the opening and closing paragraphs of Devil May Care with those of Fleming’s Casino Royale. Of the former, Rutten writes: “One of those is postcard exposition; the other is an MRI of the spirit.”

    “Most of all,” Rutten writes, “what one misses in the work of the Fleming impersonators is the unsentimental confidence of a writer willing to describe his one and only protagonist.” He summarises: “[Devil May Care] belongs more to the cinematic Bond tradition than to the one Fleming tapped out on his Remington.”

    Outside of the United States, reviewers were equally split regarding Faulks’ stab at James Bond. In Canada’s National Post, Randy Boyagoda heaped praise on Devil May Care: “Faulks’s novel is over-stuffed with the sort of things you get to enjoy guilt-free only when they come under cover of the Bond brand: dry puns, mostly about killing or sex; an eccentric-genius bad guy who is helpfully detailed about his plans for large-scale destruction; a bruising, soulless henchman sidekick; a beautiful, secretive woman in distress; lots of double- and triple-crossing agents; peripatetic country-hopping; fine wine, punch-ups, gunplay; elaborate killings and chase sequences and ridiculous vehicles and weapons of the sort that schoolboys like to dream up when they’re supposed to be reading Anne of Green Gables; a loud, convoluted climax; and all of it presided over by an unflappable, unbeatable hero.”

    Mark McGuinness in Australia’s Courier-Mail argues that “Faulks has been remarkably faithful to Fleming” and describes Devil May Care as “a fitting homage to Bond’s creator”.

    Devil May Care poster

    Over 1,000 Devil May Care posters were displayed at London Underground and National Rail stations

    India’s Daily News & Analysis also felt Faulks missed the mark. Sidharth Bhatia writes, “Faulks, who is no mean writer, has chosen to play it extremely safe. Everyone – from the villain to the girl to the plot – is a pastiche of characters and stories of time past. The villain cheats at sport (Goldfinger), he has a rare deformity (Le Chiffre, Scaramanga) his sidekick is an expressionless Oriental (Oddjob), and so on. The villain’s lair is the usual large hangar with an amphibious craft and lots of platforms (untold number of films) and Bond has to swim underwater (Thunderball, et al) to get there.”

    “It is an enjoyable book, make no mistake and the formula is down pat; but that’s about it. But this reviewer for one couldn’t picture Connery or Craig in the lead role and that can only mean this is a lifeless, soulless Bond. This one is best left to Brosnan. The rest of us diehard Bond lovers will wait for Quantum Of Solace which will once again bring back the genuine article.”

    Finally, website RopeOfSilicon.com draws a similar comparison to the filmic James Bond, albeit the opposite one. Brad Brevet writes, “Devil May Care reads almost like a trashy romance novel, but that is part of its charm. Instead of steamy sex scenes you get the down and dirty action and to use a movie metaphor in this case, it’s R-rated action and then some. Decapitations and brain matter are common place as this reads more like a bloody sequel to 2006’s Casino Royale than any of the Sean Connery or Roger Moore Bond flicks.”

    Brevet, a self-confessed fan of the films who has never read one of Ian Fleming’s original novels, succinctly summarises what seems to be the true appeal of Devil May Care: “This book isn’t going to give you more than five or six hours reading time considering it is only 280 pages, but the quick pacing makes for a fun and worthwhile read should you have any interest in James Bond whatsoever.”

  8. Critics May Care – Part I

    By Matt Weston on 2008-06-28

    Exactly one month ago, Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care surfed into bookstores the world over, riding a massive wave of centenary publicity: extravagant launches, lavish publication parties, theme songs, posters, media appearances and special editions upon special editions upon special editions.

    Matt Weston

    The result? An unadulterated success. Devil May Care has become Penguin’s fastest selling hardback fiction title ever and has made its mark on bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic. As of last week, it was still topping the UK charts.

    In this two-part debrief, CommanderBond.net’s Matt Weston looks at the critical reaction to Sebastian Faulks’ one-off James Bond novel. Firstly, the UK press.

    “Bond turned the car into the right-hand bend on the racing line and just missed the apex he was aiming for as he came out of the left-hander. He was out of practice, but it was nothing serious. This is more like it, he thought, an early-summer day in London, the wind in his face and an urgent meeting with his boss.”

    Sebastian Faulks, Devil May Care

    Devil May Care cover

    Devil May Care cover

    It’s been a while since the literary 007 last had an “urgent meeting with the boss”. Not since Raymond Benson’s one-two punch of The Man With The Red Tattoo and Die Another Day, in fact. In the six years since, Bond’s early years have been explored in Charlie Higson’s hugely popular Young Bond series, while Samantha Weinberg has given fans her unique (and sadly overlooked) take on the 007 saga with The Moneypenny Diaries. But it’s been six long years since Bond fans have been treated to a true adult James Bond novel.

    Released to coincide with the Ian Fleming Centenary, Devil May Care became one of the most publicised and most reviewed 007 continuation novels of all time. While the sales figures spoke for the novel’s commercial success, critics were largely divided when it came to Sebastian Faulks’ stab at James Bond – particularly in light of the hype.

    The Times, which published the first world exclusive extracts from the novel, offered a series of mixed reviews, which were indicative of the critical reaction to the book. Peter Millar, whose review is published on Times Online, gave the novel a middling three stars (out of five), concluding that “[Devil May Care is] a ripping yarn, but don’t take it seriously”. Millar notes the awkward compromise Faulks makes between Ian Fleming’s original creation and his filmic counterpart: “Blending the tradition of the hard-nosed original novels with the blockbuster movies leads Faulks to push the plot to Dr Strangelove proportions that would stretch credibility even without some lamentable lapses in Cold War geography.”

    In a separate review on Times Online, Millar concedes that while the tail run of Fleming’s novels deserve higher critical acclaim than they get (he cites the events of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and You Only Live Twice as examples), “the franchise … is about making money”.

    “The trouble with writing post-Fleming Bond,” Millar writes, “is that the ersatz author has to choose how he falls between the two stools of the original books and the self-perpetuating movie franchise.

    John Dugdale’s Sunday Times review (also available on Times Online) concludes that Devil May Care “is a novel of teasing proponents” insofar as the James Bond staples of sex and violence are absent for much of the book. Dugdale argues Faulks “deftly if rather dutifully” spends the novel’s first half checking off a list of recurring characters and mandatory scenes. “Although not flawless,” Dugdale writes, “Devil May Care is intelligent, expertly plotted and engagingly playful … and eventually finds a way to be at once a homage to Fleming and a Faulks novel.”

    A number of critics commented on Faulks’ decision to write Devil May Care in six weeks, as Fleming himself did with each Bond novel. Most reacted negatively, yet the Daily Telegraph‘s Sam Leith argues Devil May Care “is all the livelier for it”.

    Devil May Care poster

    Over 1,000 Devil May Care posters were displayed at London Underground and National Rail stations

    Leith believes Devil May Care takes some time to get moving. He writes that several of the book’s earliest events, including a dog being flattened by a car and Bond and M’s conversation about Julius Gorner’s “monkey paw” were evidence of Faulks “allowing himself [a] pantomime wave at the cheap seats”. Leith’s ultimate verdict was similar: “Faulks clatters Bond enjoyably through the mechanical absurdities of the plot, and – in the best tradition of trying to have your cake and eat it – makes fun of him too.”

    Elsewhere in the Daily Telegraph, John Preston writes that Devil May Care “is infinitely better than any of the previous attempts to resurrect Bond. Apart from anything else, Faulks plainly sees Bond’s contradictions.”

    Like Bond fans, reviewers have also been critical of the move to market Devil May Care as “Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming”. The Guardian‘s Toby Litt writes, “The author of Devil May Care, it says, is ‘Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming’. But Sebastian Faulks can’t write as Ian Fleming because he doesn’t write anything like as well as Ian Fleming – not as elegantly, vividly, wittily, excitingly. It’s a bad mistake because, if it weren’t for this act of hubris, you’d probably say he’d pulled it off. Just.”

    Mark Lawson, also in The Guardian, argues that “the very unconventional author credit … suggests the contemporary novelist is somehow channelling the writing of his dead predecessor. This hint of spiritualism proves to be appropriate to the plot, which persistently picks up whispers from the books Fleming left behind.” Lawson ultimately reaches the glowing conclusion that Devil May Care ranks alongside Kingsley Amis’ Colonel Sun as one of the best 007 continuation novels.

    Faulks also came under fire from some reviewers for seemingly looking down on the centenary project. The Observer‘s Euan Ferguson says writing for Bond must be every forty-something novelist’s dream: “Full backing of the Bond estate, to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, and the biggest marketing push since the last Harry Potter; yet Faulks says he wrote it in six weeks. Had to be persuaded to do it, had to be begged. Over long lunches. And now can’t wait to get back to ‘real’ writing. Goodness, how some jealous souls must have wanted him to fail with a clatter.”

    However, he doesn’t, Ferguson concludes. “It’s good. Which is to say it’s better than it could have been. It is not, however, that good. Faulks has done in some ways an absolutely sterling job. He has resisted pastiche.”

    Sebastian Faulks

    London’s Evening Standard, whose news stands around the city proudly boasted reviews of the novel on the evening of its release, was similarly enthusiastic, giving the novel four stars. “Mostly the book’s a proficient compendium of everything Bond,” David Sexton writes.

    London’s business freebie, City A.M. was also positive: “Devil May Care never goes beyond poking gentle fun at Bond. At heart, it is a romp, a beautifully put together page-turner that is destined to be read on many beaches over the summer. Rollicking fun.”

    Joseph Connolly of The Daily Mail, and other critics, criticised the book’s tennis sequence. “Just plain dull, unless you’re a buff,” he writes. “It’s a page-turner, though, and – despite a lack of frisson – the voice is largely authentic.”

    The Scotsman‘s David Robinson is similarly unimpressed: “If you forget the hype, there’s not the slightest thing special about this book … 36 novels into the Bond story, the formula is stale. Perhaps it’s time to retire Bond.”

    The Scotsman’s Sunday edition, published an equally negative review. Stuart Kelly of Scotland on Sunday writes, “Fleming may have created the icon, but his skills as a novelist were more scrambled egg on toast than omelette fines herbes, to use a Bond analogy. To his credit, Faulks has imitated the haphazard plotting, sloppy characterisation, Colonel Blimp politics, sexist guff and basic incredulity of Ian Fleming to a tee. It’s a Nuremberg Defence of a novel: Faulks was only following orders.”

    The Financial Times‘ Christopher Hitchens – who, in compiling a list of nods to Fleming, argued the novel’s torture scene was lifted from Amis – sensed Faulks was bored by the project: “A recurring phrase, employed by a Persian version of Darko Kerim, is that the true hero is ‘a citizen of eternity’. Even those who might withhold that noble title from James Bond can object to his being cheapened as he has been here.”

    The Spectator‘s Charles Cumming, on the other hand, offered one of the most glowing reviews of all: “Devil May Care [is] an almost faultless replica of Fleming’s Bond, right down to the Arnott supercharger in 007’s customised Bentley and the three gold rings on his Morland Specials. With an unnervingly accurate ear for Fleming’s bracing dialogue and taut, energetic prose, Faulks has given Bond fans a hugely enjoyable entertainment, expertly paced and cleverly imagined.”

    How did the press react elsewhere in the world? Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net to find out.

  9. SAL's 'Devil May Care' Music Video Online

    By Matt Weston on 2008-06-28
    SAL

    SAL

    CommanderBond.net Forum member “quantumofsolace” has discovered the music video to Cardiff band SAL’s competition-winning theme song to Sebastian Faulks’ James Bond novel, Devil May Care.

    SAL was selected from over 500 entries to the contest, which was held on the official Devil May Care MySpace page.

    The song can be found on the audiobook edition of Devil May Care.

    Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date James Bond news on the web.

  10. 'Devil May Care' Still Topping The UK Charts

    By Devin Zydel on 2008-06-24
    The literary 007 returns in 'Devil May Care'

    The literary 007 returns in Devil May Care

    Almost a full month after its release on 28 May and Sebastian Faulks centenary James Bond novel, Devil May Care is still topping the charts.

    For the third week in a row (sales ending on 21 June), Devil May Care remained at the #1 spot. The title is currently the overall top bestseller in all categories in the UK.

    Faulk’s 007 novel became publisher Penguin’s bestselling hardback fiction title of all time after it’s astonishing first-week sale total of 44,093 copies.

    The title is currently in eighth place on Amazon.co.uk‘s book bestseller listing.

    Keep your eyes glued to the CommanderBond.net main page for complete coverage of Devil May Care and all the latest literary James Bond news.