2121 replies to this topic

[Captain Tightpants]

I dunno. Too obvious, maybe, but perhaps I'm on the right track. Not long before we find out.

I don't think that would be particularly good as the main plot. It's been done to death. I could, however, see it as being a subplot. The new Double-Oh Section operates outside MI5, MI6 and the Ministry of Defence. This may upset someone within one of those organisations, and so they sabotage Bond's mission so that the attack will go ahead. They can then point to this as an example of the Double-Oh Section's failures and convince Parliament to let them absorb the Double-Oh Section. Meanwhile, not everything is what it seems, and Bond finds himself fighting a different foe to the one he expected. Bond would never actually deal with the home front directly; in fact, he'd be completely unaware of it. Instead, it would give M something to do. I think M needs to be a character in his/her own right, more than someone who sits behind a desk and gives Bond a mission. Especially since they had camaderie in the early films; it would be nice to see how that relationship evolved. At the same time, having M go out and chastise Bond for every mistake he makes is a major criticism of the current generation of films - so I think having M portrayed as a master of the political chess game, moving things about to keep Bond active in the field and prevent the Double-Oh Section rom being absorbed into another organisation would make for a good story arc for him/her.

[TheREAL008]

I would like to point out that since the double O section runs independently of MI6, that doesn't really mean that it's still not part of MI6 itself.

[Captain Tightpants]

Uh, how so? For something to be independent, it means it governs itself.

[TheREAL008]

I think it's in the thread: Deaver's OO Portrayal where it said:

The Double O Section is the shadowy assassination division within MI6 that disavows it's agents if they are compromised during a mission.

My guess is that the double O section will still be part of MI6, but only M and possibly Tanner and Moneypenny shall know of it.

[Byron]

Wow very cool!! Can't wait.

They were still holding the old cover btw.

Yeah, that was strange. Holding the old grey cover and the next few seconds the new red cover is displayed.

Also, when they were holding the book, it struck me that this looks like one gigantic sized book. Much larger in dimensions than the first edition Flemings or the UK hardcover of DMC. Wonder if that will be its actual size or if it was just a prop.

[007jamesbond]

only 25 days or so left before the release! HAs there been any review?

[zencat]

Couple bits of Carte Blanche news. That plot teaser that we so dissected here has been replaced. Also, Toby Stephens will read the U.S. audiobook.

[007jamesbond]

what the reason why they taken down the plot teaser? maybe it fake or something?

[zencat]

If it was on the publishers website, it wasn't fake.

They just probably hadn't coordinated with all their publishers to hold back on posting blurbs until publication. Now they have.

[marktmurphy]

And it was very badly written!

[007jamesbond]

the countdown continues 23 days left (22 and counting in the UK)

[Jump James]

This tickled my interest http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item41595da0e1

Edited by Jump James, 07 May 2011 - 09:15 AM.

[Dustin]

16 pages, detailed outline? Wonder what this was intended for. Surely an item for the dedicated collector.

[zencat]

It appears to be a freebie available at WH Smith. I haven't laid my hands on one yet. Two of these have already sold on eBay.

EDIT: I broke down and grabbed that one off eBay. Also posted a story on these here.

[Captain Tightpants]

16 pages, detailed outline? Wonder what this was intended for. Surely an item for the dedicated collector.

It's not really anything much. I saw a scanned copy posted on another site. It doesn't reveal any details of the plot that we don't already know - and we don't know much. Rather, it's a recount by Deaver as to why Ian Fleming was such a significant influence on him as a writer and how he got the job of writing CARTE BLANCHE. It's interesting if you're into that sort of thing, but don't go expecting stunning revelations about the plot, because there's nothing to be had. It's clearly been mis-marketed. Probably the biggest thing we learn from the outline is how Deaver perceives Bond; namely, he actively seeks out and eradicates evil rather than passively and cynically fighting it only when he absolutely has to.

[007jamesbond]

There isnt really anything much ZERO info about the plot obviously....I also saw it but it doesnt tell us anything but what we know already

[Jump James]

Ah, oh, not very exciting then. Cancel that ebay order Zencat

Bond actively looking for evil?

[Dustin]

I'd have been surprised if there really had been a detailed outline. After all CB will be this May's major release, with probably no more than a handful of reviews to be written only the last week of the month immediately before the real thing hits the shelves. Wouldn't make much sense to steal the thunder, and with freebies at that.

Bond actively looking for evil also is perhaps a bit beside the point. Bond is no Van Helsing and doesn't spend his nights sitting in his batman-gear on his hotel bed, sharpening his knives and stakes. Bond is alert and observant and interested in lots of things in general. And of course his curiosity expands to his enemies and their surroundings. But I wouldn't exactly suggest he's actively searching for evil. If that was the case he could find it any day of the week right around the corner.

Edited by Dustin, 08 May 2011 - 10:56 AM.

[David Schofield]

I'd have been surprised if there really had been a detailed outline. After all CB will be this May's major release, with probably no more than a handful of reviews to be written only the last week of the month immediately before the real thing hits the shelves. Wouldn't make much sense to steal the thunder, and with freebies at that.

Bond actively looking for evil also is perhaps a bit beside the point. Bond is no Van Helsing and doesn't spend his nights sitting in his batman-gear on his hotel bed, sharpening his knives and stakes. Bond is alert and observant and interested in lots of things in general. And of course his curiosity expands to his enemies and their surroundings. But I wouldn't exactly suggest he's actively searching for evil. If that was the case he could find it any day of the week right around the corner.

Absolutely not.

Someone with the routine of "an easy-going civil servant" as Bond perceives himself in FLEMING'S Moonraker is not someone who spends his time desperately searching out the world's ne'er-de-wells, is it?

Bond obviously lives for, and thrives on, the exciting missions, but he's hardly seen banging on M's door demanding he be given his instant fix of sorting out evil and bring justice.

Has Deaver read DC Comics as a boy rather than Mr Fleming after all?

We will know soon. Jeff, for you, sir, the bell is about to toll.

I hope is plays a pleasant tune for we fans of lit Bond.

[Dustin]

I'd have been surprised if there really had been a detailed outline. After all CB will be this May's major release, with probably no more than a handful of reviews to be written only the last week of the month immediately before the real thing hits the shelves. Wouldn't make much sense to steal the thunder, and with freebies at that.

Bond actively looking for evil also is perhaps a bit beside the point. Bond is no Van Helsing and doesn't spend his nights sitting in his batman-gear on his hotel bed, sharpening his knives and stakes. Bond is alert and observant and interested in lots of things in general. And of course his curiosity expands to his enemies and their surroundings. But I wouldn't exactly suggest he's actively searching for evil. If that was the case he could find it any day of the week right around the corner.

Absolutely not.

Someone with the routine of "an easy-going civil servant" as Bond perceives himself in FLEMING'S Moonraker is not someone who spends his time desperately searching out the world's ne'er-de-wells, is it?

Bond obviously lives for, and thrives on, the exciting missions, but he's hardly seen banging on M's door demanding he be given his instant fix of sorting out evil and bring justice.

Has Deaver read DC Comics as a boy rather than Mr Fleming after all?

We will know soon. Jeff, for you, sir, the bell is about to toll.

I hope is plays a pleasant tune for we fans of lit Bond.

Well, I hope that refers more to the specific plot of CB than the character in general. Bat-Bond would seem a bit unlikely in my view.

[Loomis]

But I wouldn't exactly suggest he's actively searching for evil. If that was the case he could find it any day of the week right around the corner.

Well, of course, in the world of 007, it is found every day of the week right around the corner.

I know what you mean, though. Bond doesn't badger M for assignments. But perhaps this business of actively seeking out evil is meant to reflect a hotheaded, impatient 28-year-old Bond.

[Dustin]

But I wouldn't exactly suggest he's actively searching for evil. If that was the case he could find it any day of the week right around the corner.

Well, of course, in the world of 007, it is found every day of the week right around the corner.

I know what you mean, though. Bond doesn't badger M for assignments. But perhaps this business of actively seeking out evil is meant to reflect a hotheaded, impatient 28-year-old Bond.

That's what I would think. There have of course also been situations such as GF's, where Bond gets involved privately in Miami and his curiosity is what makes him pursue Goldfinger's trail later in London (before M has a chance to summon Bond and send him after Goldfinger officially). But this snooping is probably what a clever, open-minded and intelligent person would do anyway, if one happens to have access to an intelligence base such as the Secret Service' allows. If Bond had been an agent of the Inland Revenue he'd have probably checked Goldfinger's tax returns and accounts.

[David Schofield]

But I wouldn't exactly suggest he's actively searching for evil. If that was the case he could find it any day of the week right around the corner.

Well, of course, in the world of 007, it is found every day of the week right around the corner.

I know what you mean, though. Bond doesn't badger M for assignments. But perhaps this business of actively seeking out evil is meant to reflect a hotheaded, impatient 28-year-old Bond.

That's what I would think. There have of course also been situations such as GF's, where Bond gets involved privately in Miami and his curiosity is what makes him pursue Goldfinger's trail later in London (before M has a chance to summon Bond and send him after Goldfinger officially). But this snooping is probably what a clever, open-minded and intelligent person would do anyway, if one happens to have access to an intelligence base such as the Secret Service' allows. If Bond had been an agent of the Inland Revenue he'd have probably checked Goldfinger's tax returns and accounts.

These are the points I was emphasing with with my reply at #1928: Bond is not constantly flogging himself at danger.

My take on the Fleming original is that WW2 took a lot out of Bond (as it did out of real soldiers; a mild form of Post Traumatic Traumatic Stress Disororder?), perhaps his younger blood-lust. Essential, young Fleming Bond is the symbol of every fighting British male forced out of their usual world routine by German aggression; they didn't particulary want to fight, their natural resourcefullness, bravery and sense of duty drove them on with a clear purpose, but the end result was that they came back having had those resources dried out.

Fleming Bond is the rich, finiancially independent louche good living version of that who has merely chosen to stay within Civil Service comfort, with brief forays into action to balance his otherwise self-indulgent lifestyle. But he does not lust for, or seek out, danger.

Deaver's Bond, I suspect, will have none of these self-doubts and weaknesses. Afhghanistan will not have weakened him, and he will not be taking comfort in the compensations of every day life. Shame, because I think many many Afhgan and Iraq veterans would share the same feelings about warfare was Fleming's original did after WW2.

I fear Deaver's Bond may be a bit more of a bulletproof modern hero, sadly.

[Loomis]

Deaver's Bond, I suspect, will have none of these self-doubts and weaknesses. Afhghanistan will not have weakened him, and he will not be taking comfort in the compensations of every day life. Shame, because I think many many Afhgan and Iraq veterans would share the same feelings about warfare was Fleming's original did after WW2.

I fear Deaver's Bond may be a bit more of a bulletproof modern hero, sadly.

Excellent points. I also fear that - in spite of Deaver's Fleming fandom - CARTE BLANCHE will be yet another Bond continuation novel aimed squarely at people who know 007 purely through the films (and who really have little or no interest in Bond as a literary character, and probably little or no interest in novels in general).

The dictates of the marketplace will mean a super-fast pace and an emphasis on action scenes at the expense of things like characterisation, atmosphere and travelogue. It'll feel much less like a proper novel than an attempt to be a modern Eon Bond film in book form.

Personally, I don't need or want to see Bond do something incredibly action-packed or dangerous on every other page. I don't require so-called thrills and spills in every single chapter. That wasn't the way Fleming did things. I'd like Bond to spend a couple of chapters just soaking up the atmosphere of Dubai (if indeed such a thing exists), or visiting Blades, or ruminating on airline safety....

But then the Fleming novels wouldn't get past an editor today. They'd be viewed as sluggishly paced, full of redundant travelogue fat ("Why are you spending so much time describing Jamaica, Ian? If people are so damn interested in it they'll either go there themselves or look it up on the net!", "Who cares about the Japanese tea ceremony or the cows that are used for Kobe beef?", etc.) and woefully light on action. Apparently today's thriller readers only want to read about people shooting at each other every two minutes.

[SamuelKevlar]

About this actively looking for evil thing, could it be something along the lines of Bond and MI6 wanting to be on the opposite of the back foot when it comes to threats? Going after terrorist cells, suspicious CEOs, electronic whispers and the like, rather than waiting for the other side to steal a nuclear missile. A pre-emptive strike, if you will.

[Captain Tightpants]

About this actively looking for evil thing, could it be something along the lines of Bond and MI6 wanting to be on the opposite of the back foot when it comes to threats?

No, no, it's referring to Deaver's interpretation of Fleming's Bond. It doesn't have anything to do with the plot of CARTE BLANCHE. He's explaining the appeal of Bond being in the way Bond goes after a threat as soon as he knows about it, unlike many modern heroes who are reluctant to take action and usually only do so when forced to (for example, someone close to them is killed, prompting them to join the fight). Bond doesn't wait until it becomes personal; he goes after it straight away.

[Dustin]

About this actively looking for evil thing, could it be something along the lines of Bond and MI6 wanting to be on the opposite of the back foot when it comes to threats?

No, no, it's referring to Deaver's interpretation of Fleming's Bond. It doesn't have anything to do with the plot of CARTE BLANCHE. He's explaining the appeal of Bond being in the way Bond goes after a threat as soon as he knows about it, unlike many modern heroes who are reluctant to take action and usually only do so when forced to (for example, someone close to them is killed, prompting them to join the fight). Bond doesn't wait until it becomes personal; he goes after it straight away.

Now, that interpretation would make more sense indeed.

Deaver's Bond, I suspect, will have none of these self-doubts and weaknesses. Afhghanistan will not have weakened him, and he will not be taking comfort in the compensations of every day life. Shame, because I think many many Afhgan and Iraq veterans would share the same feelings about warfare was Fleming's original did after WW2.

I fear Deaver's Bond may be a bit more of a bulletproof modern hero, sadly.

Excellent points. I also fear that - in spite of Deaver's Fleming fandom - CARTE BLANCHE will be yet another Bond continuation novel aimed squarely at people who know 007 purely through the films (and who really have little or no interest in Bond as a literary character, and probably little or no interest in novels in general).

The dictates of the marketplace will mean a super-fast pace and an emphasis on action scenes at the expense of things like characterisation, atmosphere and travelogue. It'll feel much less like a proper novel than an attempt to be a modern Eon Bond film in book form.

Personally, I don't need or want to see Bond do something incredibly action-packed or dangerous on every other page. I don't require so-called thrills and spills in every single chapter. That wasn't the way Fleming did things. I'd like Bond to spend a couple of chapters just soaking up the atmosphere of Dubai (if indeed such a thing exists), or visiting Blades, or ruminating on airline safety....

But then the Fleming novels wouldn't get past an editor today. They'd be viewed as sluggishly paced, full of redundant travelogue fat ("Why are you spending so much time describing Jamaica, Ian? If people are so damn interested in it they'll either go there themselves or look it up on the net!", "Who cares about the Japanese tea ceremony or the cows that are used for Kobe beef?", etc.) and woefully light on action. Apparently today's thriller readers only want to read about people shooting at each other every two minutes.

Hm, the announcement of a new series, together with Deaver as delivering the first entry, of course means the product is meant to hold itself on the common thriller market, with all that includes: action, pace and explosions galore. And I think that's indeed what is expected by most fans too. Just look at the thread suggesting Bond's armament for Carte Blanche, plenty of high capacity firepower for James Rambond there. Marksmanship doesn't seem to be a subject any more, as long as Bond can fire 30+ rounds with a service gun and a single extra mag. So I take it expectations run towards Bond single-handedly killing some 300 enemy combatants. I hope I'm wrong there, but if Deaver delivers this he'd actually just satisfy the current demand for it. Bond really has become to a large extent an action hero, with all that entails.

The opportunity, perhaps the last one, to go the more literary road with James Bond has been the one entry written by Faulks. Sadly, this has not turned out to be the expected resurrection of the literary 007, at least not in the way many have hoped for. I would have loved to see a serious writer really accept the challenge instead of wimping out with a farce-entry. Now I doubt we'll see anything like it anytime soon, if at all again.

[Jump James]

Loomis has hit it on the head in the above post. Fleming wrote some wonderful "down-time" moments for Bond. I really enjoyed these moments and felt that it gave Bond so much more of a heartbeat. The pinch of pepper in his vodka at Blades in Moonraker or just Bond eying up the Casino. Wonderful moments.

[terminus]

Was in Manchester CC earlier and asked the lady in WHSmith when I popped in for a bottle of coke - and was presented with a copy of one of the booklets. That's Manchester Arndale for anyone in the area.

[OmarB]

I have no problem with thew new novel has any of those trappings of contemporary thrillers. There are many good contemporary action and thriller series and reading them often I think how cool it would be to have Bond in a more modern story that still retains Bond. I like the Jack Reacher series, Ludlum's posthumous Covert One Series, Barry Eisler, Brad Thor, Charles Cumming, Chris Reich, Daniel Silva, Gayle Lynds, Vince Flynn are all producing contemporary spy fiction/action/thrillers that for the most part rule. Sure much of it won't break into the illustrious reaches like Fleming, LeCarre, Follet, and so forth, but what they are doing is trying to make the series viable. They tried for literary with DMC and it the fans didn't react to it well, sold well, but people were not happy. That book was a lot of things, but it was not fun.