Reviews: Quantum of Menace (31)

A Exciting start to a brand new series of mysteries starring none other than the legendary Q himself and easily proving the character's potential outside of the franchise. Quantum Of Menace is a wonderful start to a new series and can be enjoyed singularly or as a fine promise of yet more excellent stories to come and full marks must go to Vaseem Khan for exploring the format and taking it into unexpected and addictive new directions!
Ousted from MI6 and deemed a relic of a bygone age, Q, aka Major Boothroyd has returned to his hometown of Wickstone ready to face the past and bury past mistakes, but the unexplained death of a old childhood friend sends Q straight into a complex mystery with enemies moving in from all sides, family traumas and past sins threatening to take Q right into the heart of trouble and with no sign of everyones favourite British spy, its up to Q to uncover the truth, find the killer and save the day!
Quantum Of Menace works brilliantly in combining the world of Ian Fleming with detective fiction and with stellar writting and a suspense filled plot easily proves this format can hold its own without the need of a certain 007.
Vaseem Khan weaves a clever murder mystery around the character of Q who in turn is given a heartwarming backstory and as a result feels a much more rounded character with hidden depths and secrets worth exploring.
A smart, playful and very cunning new thriller with plenty of promise and perfect reading for fans of both crime and spy fiction.
James Bond may not be around, but this thriller easily proves Q is more than capable of holding his own in this brilliantly conceived new mystery!
Definitely shaken and stirred!

What a fabulous read, filled with dry humour, with little phrases that made me stop and smile, whilst also providing an intriguing mystery / investigation with which to grapple.

This time following the story of Q, (Major Boothroyd) aka the tech whizz from the James Bond series, as he begins his life out of the intelligence service. The death of his old friend Peter Napier takes Q back to his hometown, opening up a can of memories, decisions and regrets.

Learning more about the backstory of Q, a complicated character with an even more complex upbringing, was fascinating. Realising his human weaknesses kept me turning the pages to find out where the story would take me.

Q lives with his dog, Bastard, who he inherited from a neighbour, and through his investigation finds himself reacquainted with his estranged father Mort, who has startlingly similar traits, also with his own dark past.

The investigation takes you down unknown paths, whilst giving an insight into the terrifying world of quantum computers, explained clearly even for amateurs like me!

The plot was paced well, keeping the action moving, but not so fast that I got lost. With a setting that is so quintessentially English , the village is perfect to reflect the quirky personalities.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to further adventures with the major.

The First in a new series to feature Major Boothroyd aka Q

I am a massive Bond geek and when I first heard about this book my excitements levels were raised. Pleased to say this was everything I expected from Vaseem Khan and more. A more than welcome addition to the Bond franchise, it offers a fresh approach.

Whilst a quintisenstial Bond book, it is very much its own book, a Q story set in the modern day, we find Q having been retired out of MI6

Compelling and highly engaging, it has a wonderfully detailed plot line and depth combined with a real quality to the storytelling which were guaranteed to keep my enthralled throughout. Vaseem Khan brings his own take with a stylish thriller, an engaging punchy read

I found the pace of the book spot on and befitting Q’s age, status and demeaner, not fast paced it slowly built up, a read with plenty of wit and dry humour, I loved the way the plot built up in layers as Q searches for the truth

In addition I loved the way that Q was written, at times he almost felt lost and alone, quiet and unasuming, with a vulnerable side, you learn a liitle about his past and his relationship with his parents. whilst a thriller at heart it is not without with its moments of heartfelt emotion

A wonderfully character driven read, the author is very adept at writing chracters that get under your skin, who are fully formed and believeable, you also get just the right level of references to those chracaters who we are familiar with, in someways a reflection on Q’s previous relationship to former collegues. I also loved the sense of place and location all brought vividly to life

Interestingly whilst it is very much set in the present day, I found myself picturing Desmond Llewellyn as I read the book, it just had that feel to me

As the pace of the book built so did the intensity and drama leaving plenty of suspenseful moments, along with twists and turns in the storyline

It was a read which kept me guessing right up to the dramatic ending, the author cleverly brings an air of mystery and intrgue to the fore at the same time as ratcheting up the tension, at times you wonder whether Q is in over his head

Without giving anything away there was one particular scene where i nearly stopped reading and started to applaud

For me this evokes the feeling and essence of Flemings novels but with the authors own fresh approach, you also get a element of Le Carre, to the writing style the perfect blend

Do not be fooled into thinking that you will only love this if you are a lover of the Bond books, this is a story that stands up in it’s own right, clever, gripping narrative, just a fantastic read

This will be one of my top reads of the year, highly recommend

I was over the moon to get this book as I’m a big fan of Q and all his inventions. Whilst there are plenty of references to Bond and how he might act or react, this was still very much a book with Q at the centre of things. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world from Q’s perspective and felt like he had growth in the book, recognising his past foibles and errors in judgement and adapting how he dealt with situations now. Delving into the past that had shaped him was fascinating and I loved getting that background to fill in our mysterious Q.

The story begins with Q being unceremoniously retired from his post at MI6 when the new M takes over pushing a different agenda. Forced to look introspectively at his life he returns to his home town where his old friend has just died. Although the coroner's report and police investigation are in agreement that it was death by misadventure, Q is not convinced and a letter from beyond the grave pulls him in to begin his own investigations.

The more he investigates the more it becomes evident he is on to something as someone is trying to stop him.

Being back in his home town is proving to be a haunting experience of lost opportunities and past hurts. Q must face his past demons if he will ever be able to move forward.

The book cleverly weaves in modern crime and warfare and links it to the story with a crime family and quantum computing. Using all his expertise and wiles Q refuses to be sidelined and doggedly keeps pursuing the answers, even when it puts him in grave danger.

I enjoyed getting to know the side characters both young and old in the book, including some familiar faces such as Moneypenny, they added the right amount of life into Q bringing him into being. They helped to shape him and showed his complexities. I found his relationship and treatment of Zak particularly heartwarming.

The ending tied everything up but left it open ended enough that I hope there will be more in this series as I would definitely want to dive back into this world. More please!

I have been a fan of Vaseem's writing for years but a Q book, from bond - well I'm not sure about that...
So I bought it for the husband for Christmas because he is a bond fan.
His verdict, excellent and confirmed that he felt I would love it too.

So I obviously pinched back the Christmas gift and LOVED IT!
Q in this book is a brilliant character and we certainly need to read more from him.

I am now awaiting the follow up later this year - The Man with the Golden Compass!

If you've not read Vaseem before - please do check out the backlist - excellent writer.

What a cracking read. I really wasn’t sure what to expect with this new Q Mysteries Series featuring Q (Major Boothroyd) following his rather unseemly departure from MI6. Don’t expect a James Bond style spy thriller or a carbon copy of the Q you see in the films, this is more of a crime drama, and a very entertaining one at that. Easy reading, apart from some of the quantum physics, which even though explained for a layman still went over my science adverse head! What I love is that we are now finding out so much more about this important and unique character in James Bond world than just “now pay attention 007”.

Briefly, when Q hears that his friend Peter Napier has died and he then receives a cryptic note from him Q is convinced that, despite the verdict of misadventure, his friend was murdered. Returning to his home town of Wickstone-on-Water, where Napier had been working at Napier Labs developing next generation quantum computing, Q begins to investigate and soon runs head first into his past!

There’s plenty going on to keep you on your toes from Albanian crime gangs to long lost loves and an estranged parent, the latter who has inherited a depressed dog called Bastard! Q has a few of his MI6 inventions to fall back on and it’s great to see James Bond himself in action. A good entertaining thriller with plenty for die hard Bond fans as well as well as crime aficionados. Very enjoyable read. Bring on book 2.

This new foray into the world of James Bond, approved by Ian Fleming Publications, focuses not on the iconic spy but on his gadget provider, Q. Forced to leave MI6 due to office politics, Q is somewhat at a loss. He then receives a letter from an old friend who has recently died, with a mysterious encryption in it. As he investigates his friend's death and discovers more about rhe dangers of quantum computing, he finds himself forced to confront his past.

This was a fun read. I loved the style of writing, full of dry wit. Although Bond is not the hero of the story, there are many flashbacks to his interactions with Q and we also meet familiar characters such as Moneypenny.

A recommended read for fans of James Bond, digital threats and murder mysteries.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A continuation of the legend that is James Bond sees Q, made redundant by the new M, return to his home town to investigate the death of a childhood friend. In the process he has to face an old sweetheart, now a local police inspector, reunite with his estranged father and adopt a dog called Bastard. Imbued with gentle humour and a sense of nostalgia for the old days the first part of the book was quite slow going. As new characters are introduced the story goes off at a tangent to fill in back stories which makes the main thread lose impetus and I felt there was a tendency to repeat key facts just in case the reader has lost track of what is going on. This is set in present times, the story revolving around quantum computing and Q is aged at around 50 at the start of the book but at times seems much older.

I realised the audio narration was contributing to the slow pace of the story and after speeding up to 1.25 x normal speed I began to enjoy the book more as this eliminated the frequent pauses and rarely sounded hurried. The narration was clear and concise, the foreign accents quite effective but was let down a bit by the female voices, the men were characterised very well although once or twice in dialogues it wasn’t always clear who was speaking - as though he got the voices mixed up!

As things started to happen and the pace (literally) picked up the elements of the plot came together to a logical and satisfying conclusion - although for me there were no surprises.
Bond is often in Q’s mind and it appears that he has secreted a few gadgets away from MI6 but there is also a very human side to the story, I liked Mort, Q’s father especially, but it is never overly sentimental and doesn’t drift too far from being believable and realistic. A good balance and good story telling, I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

You may leave the spy business, however the business never really leaves you! Q is about to find out that pulling on the loose threads of a closed investigation is about to bring his enforced retirement to an abrupt end. This may not be the type of hobby he was on the lookout for!

Continuing the adventures of a supporting, but beloved character in the 007 legend was a master-stroke for the Fleming estate. Vaseem Khan is the perfect choice as the caretaker of this literary adventure. His writing is enthralling as he pulls the reader right into the action with a wink at Bond’s history while enhancing the unknown life for our favourite quartermaster.

I received an early copy from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

As soon as I heard the premise for this story, I was excited!
An extension of the Bond universe, this book sees 007's faithful Quartermaster, "Q" (aka Major Boothroyd) unceremoniously let go from MI6 and plunged straight into an investigation of his childhood best friend's mysterious death. Written off as 'death by misadventure', by the local police, Q is nevertheless troubled by the untimely passing of Peter Napier, his best friend and the world's leading quantum computing scientist. Not least because Napier sent a letter addressed to Q days before he died, telling him he felt his death was imminent, setting Q a cipher to break in order to get to the bottom of the mystery, thereby drawing him back to the village he grew up in (where Napier had set up his world-leading lab).
Already reeling from the loss of his job, and the loss of his friend, Q has yet more demons to contend with: the tranquil village of his childhood is where his abrasive, severe father still lives - not to mention the fiancée he jilted - who, as it turns out, is the detective who was assigned to Napier's case.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read; what a great idea to cast a man of Q's intelligence, inquisitiveness and resourcefulness in the role of detective.
The set-up is big enough to be worthy of the James Bond world (the implications of Napier's death pose potential security risks to every nation on earth!) and this extension of the Bond universe has the blessing of Ian Fleming's estate.
There is just enough mention of the characters we're familiar with, as well as introducing us to a host of new ones - but make no mistake: this is definitely Q's moment.

Vaseem Khan does a brilliant job of terra-forming Q into the protagonist role; here we find a man who is by turns brilliant, vulnerable, angry, apologetic and funny.
There is some great banter in this book, as well moments of real pathos. I was quite pleased with myself for working out, ahead of time, one of the twists in the tale. But there is another one that completely caught me off guard: so much so, that (after my initial shock) I found myself applauding Khan's story-telling even more.
Book 2 is already in the works - and I am READY!

This is a fun and refreshing read. I genuinely liked it, do give it a look.

What a delightful time I had reading this. Q is such a brilliant character to explore Bond through. There are all the gadgets and twisty plots that you’d expect and yet Q is still a genuinely 3D figure with emotions, a complicated life story, and a special affinity to a particular 00 agent (who featured to my absolute delight!). Quantum of Menace’s plot twists weren’t linear, keeping me guessing right up until the last moment and Q’s tech was suitably nerdy without being unnecessarily jargon filled. I really respected that the author’s writing style kept true to Q’s academic character, avoiding watering down some of his more floral language for the benefit of an ‘easy’ read. It really brought it all together for me. Roll on The Man with the Golden Compass! Thank you to Bonnier for the reading copy.

Major Boothroyd aka Q has been 'let go' by MI6. Whilst contemplating his future he is drawn back to his hometown by a posthumous letter from his childhood friend. Q then finds himself investigating a murder involving cutting edge technology and the Albanian mafia whilst trying to confront his childhood demons. Can a man who was always a backroom player survive out in the action?
I really do not like JamesBond - there I've said it! I find the films gratuitous and the books politically concerning but I loved this. Khan is a wonderful writer who has taken the best elements of his crime writing, intelligence and wit, and applied them to a new character in a stale setting. This fizzes with excitement. Q is a character with flaws, there's a lot of political and workplace points made, the plot is suitably complex, the ending satisfyingly simple. A great read.