Carte Blanche
The New James Bond Novel
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- ¥1,100
発行者による作品情報
James Bond comes to life as you’ve never seen him before in the explosive spy thriller and international bestseller by Jeffrey Deaver.
The action begins when a Night Action alert cuts short a high-end dinner with a captivating woman. Headquarters has decrypted a whispered threat—plans for a chemical disaster with casualties in the thousands, British interests squarely in its crosshairs.
Now Agent?007, in his early thirties and a veteran of the Afghan War, has been recruited to the newly formed Overseas Development Group (ODG)—a post-9/11 covert operations agency that operates independently from MI5, MI6, and the Ministry of Defense. With ultimate authority and arguably unlimited mandates, Bond has been given carte blanche to stop the attack by any means necessary.
In this modern spy thriller, Bond races across Serbia, Dubai, and South Africa to thwart the lethal villain Severan Hydt and his shadowy network. As bureaucratic obstacles and domestic intelligence clashes test his limits, Bond must rely on cunning, high-tech gadgets, and allies like CIA’s Felix Leiter and South African officer Bheka Jordaan to stay one step ahead.
A rebooted James Bond set firmly in the 21st century, Carte?Blanche blends suspenseful espionage, relentless action, and a morally complex protagonist navigating terrorism in a globalized world—a must-read thriller fiction experience.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The James Bond franchise is thriving, and this terrific new pastiche will amply reward Bond fans and possibly bring new readers into the fold. Deaver (Edge), an avowed fan of the Fleming canon, has set the novel in the post-9/11 present, and Bond, that icon of the 1960s, handles the transition perfectly. The book opens in Serbia with 007 trying to uncover the meaning of "Incident 20," a cryptic reference that suggests an impending terrorist plot. Deaver deftly sketches in Bond's background: a veteran of the Royal Naval Reserve who had served in Afghanistan, he was languishing in naval intelligence until recruited by a new, super-secret team whose mandate is to "protect the Realm by any means necessary," hence the "carte blanche" of the title. Most of the action takes place in South Africa, and the plot is predictable in a purely Bond-ian way (credibly incredible), but also intricate and inventive, surprising and satisfying a testament to Deaver's skill as a storyteller. The plot and setting may be up to the minute, but Bonds aficionados will be comforted by the usual Bond tropes: his love of fast cars, fine drink, and gorgeous women (two of whom sport the traditionally clever and ridiculous names: Ophelia Maidenstone and Felicity Willing); his colleagues M, Moneypenny, and Q (who creates the world's most powerful iPhone dubbed the iQPhone); and an appropriately perverse villain, Severan Hydt, a self-made tycoon with a fetish for decay and death, complete with suitably evil henchman. Fleming purists may balk at the hint of a New Age sensitivity in Deaver's Bond, but they will recognize one of the world's most enduring fictional characters: competent, courageous, charming, and cool.
