Trigger Mortis
A James Bond Novel
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4.1 • 30 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Literary legend James Bond returns to his 1950s heyday in this exhilarating thriller by Sunday Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.
It's 1957 and James Bond (agent 007) has only just survived his showdown with Auric Goldfinger at Fort Knox. By his side is P***y Galore, who was with him at the end. Unknown to either of them, the USSR and the West are in a deadly struggle for technological superiority. And SMERSH is back.
The Soviet counter-intelligence agency plans to sabotage a Grand Prix race at the most dangerous track in Europe. But it's Bond who finds himself in the driving seat and events take an unexpected turn when he observes a suspicious meeting between SMERSH's driver and a sinister Korean millionaire, Jai Seong Sin.
Soon Bond is pitched into an entirely different race uncovering a plan that could bring the West to its knees.
Welcoming back familiar faces, including M and Miss Moneypenny, international bestselling author Anthony Horowitz ticks all the boxes: speed, danger, strong women and fiendish villains, to reinvent the golden age of Bond in this brilliantly gripping adventure. Trigger Mortis is also the first James Bond novel to feature previously unseen Ian Fleming material.
This is James Bond as Fleming imagined him.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of this impressive James Bond pastiche from bestseller Horowitz (Moriarty) set in 1957 soon after the action of Goldfinger, a German rocket scientist working for the U.S. sells secrets about a forthcoming American launch. Meanwhile, Bond, who's living in London with Pussy Galore, of Goldfinger fame, travels to Germany to participate in an auto race, during which the Soviet SMERSH agency is planning to kill a British driver. (This section is based on original unpublished material written by Ian Fleming.) At the race, Bond encounters evil genius Sin Jai-Seong, a Korean multimillionaire; meets Jeopardy Lane, who has her own reasons for pursuing Jai-Seong; and discovers photos of an American rocket (the title refers to a "panic button" that can explode a malfunctioning rocket before it crashes). The sturdy plot involves a suitably diabolical and grandiose scheme. An excellent mimic of Fleming's prose, Horowitz delivers an entertainment sure to please James Bond fans.
Customer Reviews
Mr.
Anthony Horowitz comes into the Bond writers' fold with superb credentials. He can do period pieces, having reimagined Poirot for the screen, and having invented Foyle. He can do audacious espionage and adventure as in Alex Rider. And he had access to some of Fleming's own unpublished material. Beyond that, Horowitz can really turn a phrase, create atmosphere, crack a joke and deliver a thrill ride with very few flat spots.
Bond makes more sense in 1957. The true Bond, that is. And Horowitz seems to have captured him faithfully, with all the paradoxes and conflicts such as faithfulness and desire and loneliness and stubborn independence. He is sometimes puritanical and yet indulgent, bigoted yet compassionate, sensual and brutal, cunning and yet spontaneous. This ultimately makes the story much more engaging, because the persona of Bond has to be just as well drawn as the action set-pieces. When Bond is slightly anti-hero, he is so much more than the gadget-equipped, Brit-quipping playboy of certain films that have been endlessly parodied.
When we find ourselves interested in how Bond likes his eggs cooked, it's because we savour the humanising of the most iconic, genre-defying agent in book and film history. Maybe we also want to cook our eggs just like Bond. At least we can do that much! But it takes the right author to make us feel that way.
Ultimately our journey in the company of Bond is much more engaging than SMERSH's meddling with Team America's rocket program. But even if the Space Race premise is dubious, The Grand Prix racing action is superb, and actually overshadows the more familiar climax in New York's subways.
The Korean villain has a compelling back-story, but if Horowitz has erred in this rendition it is that he has stuck too closely to the template. When the villain proudly informs Bond of his dastardly plan then leaves him in escapable circumstances, it is so familiar as to be laughable. Anyone who colours by numbers with the Bond formula opens himself to scoffs and snorts.
Perhaps the immense success of Skyfall was that it placed a more authentic Bond in a different plot, that was substantially character-driven.
Furthermore, there are some moments when Horowitz requires us to suspend reality or forget certain facts (wouldn't a trail of bodies in a hotel near the rocket base prompt some investigation? No, only Bond and Bond-girl Jeopardy Lane can do anything to stop SMERSH). Part of the joy in getting back to 1957's Bond is finding a quantum of realism.
So, Horowitz has superbly captured Bond, but he's quite literally driving the very same vehicle. Nevertheless, we seem to keep coming back for more, enjoying the ride as though that literary vehicle were a 4 1/2 litre Bentley...
Loved it!
What a great read. This book drew me in and held me enthralled. I can see myself reading it over and over. More please!
Very enjoyable!
This is a smashing good read. I hope Horowitz writes more!