KEY POINTS:
DEVIL MAY CARE
By Sebastian Faulks, writing as Ian Fleming
Penguin, $37
Devil May Care finds superspy James Bond tired, battle-weary and contemplating retirement. But, as is bound to happen, he is drawn into a dastardly plot thought up by the requisite psychopath.
Sebastian Faulks, who already earned his stripes writing Bond in last year's tongue-in-cheek Pistache, does an admirable job breathing new life into what could easily be a dated hero.
This is a labour of love and Faulks is clearly full of admiration and affection for writer Ian Fleming and his creation. Consequently he has produced an entertaining, rollercoaster novel, full of all the twists, turns and death defiance fans came to expect from Fleming, as well as Bond's screen incarnation.
Faulks updates the books with a sophisticated heroine and drug trafficking as the evil du jour. But it's still very much a Bond novel; and a fitting tribute to Fleming on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
