Retrospective…

In 1955, James Bond could see the end of the road ahead. Sensing the possibility of death was, in fact, the very reason for his extravagant appetites in life:

“On these things he spent all his money and it was his ambition to have as little as possible in his banking account when he was killed, as, when he was depressed, he knew he would be, before the statutory age of forty-five.

Eight years to go before he was automatically taken off the 00 list and given a staff job at Headquarters. At least eight tough assignments. Probably sixteen. Perhaps twenty-four. Too many.”

This pensive moment for James Bond comes in 1955’s Moonraker, the third of fourteen Ian Fleming Bond novels. But Bond needn’t have been depressed about his future. 56 years, 5 authors and 36 novels later, Jeffery Deaver’s James Bond is just getting started.

Rebirth…

But Deaver’s Bond isn’t the same thirty-something World War II vet that Ian Fleming introduced into the modern mythology of western culture. Unlike previous continuation authors, Jeffery Deaver makes a clean break with the fact of Fleming’s Bond, while keeping alive the spirit of Fleming’s creation in a modern world.

In so doing, Deaver recreates Bond in the 21st century as an Afghanistan veteran in his early thirties. Bond’s “license to kill” is replaced with the fact that he has “carte blanche” to do whatever is necessary to protect British interests on foreign soil. This 007 works in a familiar setting: a fictional British intelligence agency that works closely with its real world counterparts. Bond’s head of section is still code-named M, he gets his gadgets in the form of high-tech phone apps from the Q branch, and he has a familiar support network, from Moneypenny in the home office to Felix Leiter in the field. Deaver also supplies a foe that Fleming might have appreciated, with relatively practical goals but a strange, in this case perverse, twist to his character.

And so with the eye for detail typical of the best thriller writers, Deaver re-establishes the world of James Bond for 2011, appropriately fresh and new while staying comfortably familiar. Thrillers are, of necessity, plot driven, but Deaver gives us at least a glimpse at this Bond’s character through his internal dialogue and the way he handles the typical Bond tropes.

A reader’s reaction…

All of these Bond characteristics are woven into Deaver’s plot, which finds Bond working to discover the mystery behind a cryptic threat of terrorist violence. Deaver melds the sensibilities of a Bond tale and his own style, with Bond in a race against time through exotic locales across the globe, all taking place in mere days and with the reader’s expectations contorted by multiple twists and turns.

These types of novels are often characterized as “page-turners,” but for me the experience may not have been as compelling as the cliché would imply. I enjoyed the novel, but I never found it a difficult book to close at night. I also had trouble with a few moments, such as the stereotypical desperate moment when all is lost and our hero is helpless in the cross-hairs, only to be saved by the arrival of allies at exactly the right moment.

That being said, Deaver brings us a worthy Bond novel measured within the post-Fleming canon, and fans will likely be pleased with this rebirth of the literary Bond for a new generation. Should Ian Fleming productions contract Deaver for further books, there’s certainly space on my bookshelf.

Editorial Notes:

• This review was featured on the September 19, 2011 episode of the “Being James Bond” podcast, available at beingjamesbond.com
• According to thebookbond.com, Jeffrey Deaver turned down a second Bond book due to financial and creative considerations, making this reboot a one-shot in the Bond literary canon. 

Revised October, 2026