Bond tale just like real thing
Forever and a Day By Anthony Horowitz, Penguin, $37
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Forever and a Day is the second James Bond novel that Anthony Horowitz was commissioned to write for the Ian Fleming family. It’s a prequel to the first 007 story that Fleming wrote, Casino Royale. Once again Horowitz has pulled off what is a miracle really, because it can’t be easy to create a credible new book that feels true to the incredible legacy that Ian Fleming delivered from Casino Royale forward, until his death in 1964. Through the movie franchise that grew into an industry all on its own, James Bond is a character that still endures.
After the brutal death of one of the 00 licensed to kill operatives, the rookie Bond not only accepts the challenge of taking over the investigation that brought about his colleague’s demise, he also decides to take on the position of 007 his predecessor was operating under.
His Chief of Staff sees James Bond as being light on experience but high in confidence.
Bond arrives in the French Riviera ready to prove his worthiness for the assumption of the 007 role. We get to share some of the attributes that will become part of the James Bond legend. Can his lack of experience allow him to close down a high level drugs operation, or will he join the previous 007’s dastardly end?
Horowitz has done an excellent job, immersing himself, partly thanks to material that Ian Fleming’s family provided. I found it easy to believe that this was a “real” James Bond 007 story, worthy of being added to the 12 novels and two sets of short stories that Fleming had delivered between 1953 and 1964. Horowitz deserves an A-plus for Forever and a Day, which is high praise indeed. —