Book Review - Trigger Mortis

As good as the original bond novels are they undoubtedly a symptom of the time. Were they to be published today they would undoubtedly provoke more outrage than Jeremy Clarkson holding a cold steak.  

So it is an interesting decision for Anthony Horrowitz, to build a new bond story around pre-existing Ian Fleming writing. As you star the novel what makes it even more remarkable is that he goes to great lengths to tie this new novel in to the original series, quoting recent events and continues to make James Bond a misogynist dinosaur. The theme continues as he picks up the relationship with Pussy Galore  and continues the Myth that bond is so irresistible to women that he can even convert lesbians to the alter of men.    For me the author pursued this angle right up to, but not beyond my tipping point, then it dropped and the realization dawned that he was almost apologizing for some of the Fleming Crassness, whilst at the same time re-writing history to allow a more acceptable Bond.   

Once you get over the, not –inconsiderable introduction and scene setting, the story finally begins. When it does its worth the wait, It continues at the pace you’d expect from the franchise and the story unwinds in a plot of catastrophic proportions. Of course we all know bond will save the day and we’re pretty clear that he’ll do so by charging in, girl in hand, avoiding death by the skin of his teeth. This leaves the suspense of the story a little flat, but what there is focused on the villainous characters and the unknown plot itself.

The book is set in the context of the burgeoning space race and does provide some interesting insights in to the events of the times, as well as the global political dynamic. One of the main villains builds a story based on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Gun_Ri_Massacre which was new to me as was a lot of the Korean war.   However , despite being about a British secret agent, there was very little British interest in the story instead, it was Bond saving America from the Russians

All in all an enjoyable book but no-where near the best in the franchise. Somehow it loses out on originality and frankness when compared to the Fleming novels and loses out to more contempory characters when compared to novels such as Jeffery Deavers, Carte Blanche.