| Publisher | HarperCollins |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 01 September 2022 |
| ISBN-10 | 0008495386 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0008495381 |
| Format | hardcover |
| Pages | 432 |
| Price | £ 20.00 |
Double Or Nothing
by
James Bond is missing, presumed dead or in enemy hands, so it falls to a new generation of Double O operatives to save the world.
Review
Many authors have re-imagined the world’s most famous spy since the death of his creator in 1964, including Kingsley Amis and Anthony Horowitz, there’s even been Young Bond books and three novels based on the supposed diaries of the iconic Miss Moneypenny. Now Ian Fleming Publications Ltd has licensed a series of three books expanding the canon universe of Bond and the Double O section of MI6 and Kim Sherwood has taken on the tasking of brining these operatives to life.
Double Or Nothing features 003, otherwise known as Johanna Harwood, 004, Joseph Dryden and 009, Sid Bashir. They’re all young, stylish, and deadly. And they’re all living under the shadow of the day 003 limped back from a mission minus their friend and mentor, the Double O section’s most famous asset, James Bond, the legendary 007. Bashir and Harwood’s romantic entanglement didn’t survive that loss, and Bond is still missing, presumed either dead or in enemy hands. Moneypenny is now running the Double O section based in Regent’s Park, with M – Sir Emery Ware – spending most of his time in the ostentatious white building resembling an out of place Aztec temple on the banks of the Thames that houses the rest of MI6. Sadly, unlike in the film Skyfall, no one gets to blow this up. She’s backed up by Bill Tanner, still Chief of Staff. An almost familiar cast with very some unfamiliar faces now taking centre stage.
Harwood, Dryden and Bashir are tasked with an investigation into the flamboyant tech billionaire, Sir Bertram Paradise, whose claims to be able to reverse the climate change crisis have been hitting the headlines around the world. After all, no Bond book – original or spin off – would be complete without an absurdly rich, morally challenged, over-the-top antagonist, with a strange taste in household pets.
Sherwood gave enough background detail on her three new spies to help fix them in my mind without turning their introductions into an exercise in tell not show. Bashir is introduced in an action-packed opening sequence as he attempts to extract a female scientist from the hands of a shadowy organisation, Rattenfänger Private Military Company, a posh description for a bunch of ruthless mercenaries who come complete with full bureaucracy and death benefits. Harwood’s introduction comes as she pulls his arse out of the fire with style and deadly competency, reminding me of Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow in the Marvel movies. By contrast, the first meeting with Dryden, the most experienced of the current crop of Double Os takes place in Moneypenny’s office. Dryden is a black, gay former soldier who relies on a sophisticated brain-computer interface to bypass damage to his mental language centre caused by a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty in Afghanistan. Naturally, this is the work of Q, MI6’s iconic quartermaster, only in this case Q – unlike any of its counterparts in the books or films – is an even more sophisticated computer.
Double Or Nothing felt like something of a fanfic mash up of book and film canon so far as the background characters were concerned and trust me when I say that remark isn’t meant to be derogatory. Sherwood is a self-professed fan of Fleming’s books and succeeds in making her original characters matter, which is the hallmark of all good fan fiction. I liked the deadly trio and felt she did a good job of bringing a new generation of spies to life, succeeding in shaking off some of the more unsavoury shadows cast by the actions and character of Fleming’s most famous creation. Double or Nothing has plenty of feints and misdirection and at times I was anything but certain who was on the side of the angels and who had done a deal with the devil.
The only person who was utterly superfluous to requirements was 007 himself, there in name only, as presumably a Bond spin-off still needs him in some form, even if he’s off-stage for the entirety of the story, with no certainly of his return. As a plot device, it’s one I could have done without. He felt like a distraction from the real action, and there was certainly no shortage of that.
Double Or Nothing features 003, otherwise known as Johanna Harwood, 004, Joseph Dryden and 009, Sid Bashir. They’re all young, stylish, and deadly. And they’re all living under the shadow of the day 003 limped back from a mission minus their friend and mentor, the Double O section’s most famous asset, James Bond, the legendary 007. Bashir and Harwood’s romantic entanglement didn’t survive that loss, and Bond is still missing, presumed either dead or in enemy hands. Moneypenny is now running the Double O section based in Regent’s Park, with M – Sir Emery Ware – spending most of his time in the ostentatious white building resembling an out of place Aztec temple on the banks of the Thames that houses the rest of MI6. Sadly, unlike in the film Skyfall, no one gets to blow this up. She’s backed up by Bill Tanner, still Chief of Staff. An almost familiar cast with very some unfamiliar faces now taking centre stage.
Harwood, Dryden and Bashir are tasked with an investigation into the flamboyant tech billionaire, Sir Bertram Paradise, whose claims to be able to reverse the climate change crisis have been hitting the headlines around the world. After all, no Bond book – original or spin off – would be complete without an absurdly rich, morally challenged, over-the-top antagonist, with a strange taste in household pets.
Sherwood gave enough background detail on her three new spies to help fix them in my mind without turning their introductions into an exercise in tell not show. Bashir is introduced in an action-packed opening sequence as he attempts to extract a female scientist from the hands of a shadowy organisation, Rattenfänger Private Military Company, a posh description for a bunch of ruthless mercenaries who come complete with full bureaucracy and death benefits. Harwood’s introduction comes as she pulls his arse out of the fire with style and deadly competency, reminding me of Natasha Romanoff, Black Widow in the Marvel movies. By contrast, the first meeting with Dryden, the most experienced of the current crop of Double Os takes place in Moneypenny’s office. Dryden is a black, gay former soldier who relies on a sophisticated brain-computer interface to bypass damage to his mental language centre caused by a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty in Afghanistan. Naturally, this is the work of Q, MI6’s iconic quartermaster, only in this case Q – unlike any of its counterparts in the books or films – is an even more sophisticated computer.
Double Or Nothing felt like something of a fanfic mash up of book and film canon so far as the background characters were concerned and trust me when I say that remark isn’t meant to be derogatory. Sherwood is a self-professed fan of Fleming’s books and succeeds in making her original characters matter, which is the hallmark of all good fan fiction. I liked the deadly trio and felt she did a good job of bringing a new generation of spies to life, succeeding in shaking off some of the more unsavoury shadows cast by the actions and character of Fleming’s most famous creation. Double or Nothing has plenty of feints and misdirection and at times I was anything but certain who was on the side of the angels and who had done a deal with the devil.
The only person who was utterly superfluous to requirements was 007 himself, there in name only, as presumably a Bond spin-off still needs him in some form, even if he’s off-stage for the entirety of the story, with no certainly of his return. As a plot device, it’s one I could have done without. He felt like a distraction from the real action, and there was certainly no shortage of that.
Reviewed 30 September 2022 by Linda Wilson
