Solo: A James Bond Novel - James Bond 007 (Paperback)

This is well-plotted, exciting stuff and Boyd has a great sense of time and place. His boozy, maturer, more fallible Bond is totally believable. Mission accomplished, Mr Boyd. Boyd was a smart choice for a Bond thriller. The action clips along. There are welcome literary flourishes and a dense plot. Written with aplomb, Boyd’s Bond novel is a terrific twisting thriller. Anyone wishing this autumn to enjoy the Cold War with the assurance of a happy ending should seek out William Boyd’s new James Bond novel, Solo, in which 007 is dispatched to West Africa and the fictitious country of Zanzarim, where he finds himself in the midst of a civil war. A fantastic read, which I ripped through in the time it would take to watch Skyfall, as it happens, and I found it significantly more enjoyable.