67 replies to this topic

[terminus]

I like our introduction to our lead heroine - there's something deliciously masculine about Sylvia at the same time as she exudes femininity, there's something very Carrie Ann Moss c. The Matrix (albeit a few inches shorter) meets Audrey Tautou about the description of her and their tension plays on the same frostiness we initially saw between Vesper and Bond in Casino Royale. I like that we're getting to the meat and bones of the plotline, with the promise of our return trip to the Chateau Sceaux in the next chapter a tantalising lure to come back for more.

[chrisno1]

Robert Fisk, writing in the Independent newspaper 20/8/2010:

"When you invade someone else's country, there has to be a first soldier, just as there has to be a last...
They all said the war wold be over soon. They didn't consult the Iraqis about this pleasant notion. The first suicide bombers - a police man in a car and then two women in a car - had already hit the Americans on the long highway to Baghdad. There would be hundreds more. There will be hundreds more in Iraq in the future...
We should not be taken in by the tomfoolery on the Kuwaiti border in the last few hours, the departure of the last "combat" troops from Iraq two weeks ahead of schedule. Nor by the infantile cries of "We Won" from teenage soldiers, some of whome must have been 12-years old when George W. Bush sent his army off on this catastrophic Iraqi adventure. They are leaving behind 50,000 men and women - a third of the entire U.S. occupation force - who will be attacked and who will still have to fight against insurgency...
Officially they are there to train the militiamen who have joined the new Iraqi Army, whose own commander does not believe they will be ready to defend their country until 2020. But the Americans will still be in occupation, along with the thousands of armed and indisciplined mercenaries, western and eastern, who are shooting their way around Iraq safegurading our precious diplomats and businessmen...
Instead, the American soldiers who have passed through Iraq have brought another plague - they have brought the infection of Al Quaida. They have brought the disease of civil war. They injected Iraq with corruption on a grand scale. They sectarianised a country that, for all the brutality of Saddam, had held the Sunnis and the Shias together..."

Those Who The Gods Love Die Young is a FanFiction novel which focuses on this very issue.

Yes, I'll be dramatic, perhaps melodramtic about it, and some of my theories and plot strands are pure invention, but I wrote the novel because I seriously believe there is the huge threat of civil war hanging over Iraq. The country is unstable, it's an instability caused by the Second Gulf War, an illegal invasion at best, and the perpetrators of such a war have left the battlefield.

I whole heartedly agree with Mr Fisk. As he writes in his summary:

"They [the victors] are busy re-writing the narrative now. Up to one million Iraqis are dead. Blair cares nothing for them - they do not feature in his royalties generosity. And nor do most of the American soldiers. They came. They saw. They lost. And now they say they've won. How the Arabs must be hoping for no more victories like this one."

But what is their alternative?

Read Those Who The Gods Love Die Young and judge for yourself....

Edited by chrisno1, 21 August 2010 - 01:08 PM.

[terminus]

Apologies for the delay in my thoughts, had to deal with some RL stuff in the past few days. I settled down to read the latest installment tonight and was pleasantly rewarded, the scene with the furnaces and the intrigue in the warehouse was perfectly written - the scenes with Chivry emphasising how slimy the guy is (and, is anyone picturing Ian McNeice in the role, or is that just me?) and the revelation about this mysterious Sargon. Can't wait to see where this goes next, chrisno1.

[chrisno1]

+++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++

I have just submitted a tiny edit to Chapter 8. It clears up a few specifics and occurs during Bond's conversation with Andreas Chivry.

+++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++

I will be submitting 3 chapters a week as of tomorrow. My chapters are quite short anyway and I don't want to lose any pace by only submitting at weekends.

+++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++

Coming this weekend in Those Who The Gods Love Die Young...

"Bond got out of the LTZ. Straight away he knew it was the wrong move. Bond had gone no more than two paces when a new man appeared, a big figure with something in his hand. Then a second person scurried from behind the boot of the rusty wreck, and a third came from around the hill of ash...

"Bond swerved to the right and lunged at the closest thug. The point of the baton thudded into the man’s face. Bond felt the blunt tip snag as it pierced the cheekbone. The man yelped in pain, twisting away, his hands reaching for his injured cheek...

"The first man, the biggest one, was launching himself at Bond, a shaft of metal in his hand. It was coming down fast. Bond twisted aside and swung the steel baton. It smacked into the man’s thigh and he tumbled over. The man tried to rise, but Bond ruthlessly slashed down onto his head. There was a crack of steel on skull..."

[George88]

Isn't it Those Whom?

[chrisno1]

To be absolutely 100% grammatically correct, yes it should. But it's a word hardly heard in normal conversation any more, so I simply didn't use it.

[terminus]

Another excellent chapter. This Sargon fellow sounds intriguing - will be interesting to see where you go with this once we arrive in the United Arab Emirates.

[chrisno1]

I'm afraid Chapter 10 is a bit of a "filler" episode, but without it, I couldn't bridge the gap between Paris & Abu Dhabi nearly so well.
Things start rocking a bit more from Chapter 11...

[terminus]

I could be wrong - but I get the feeling that Sylvia's father is either going to turn out to be Sargon, or be involved with him somewhere. There was simply a smidgeon too much information for me to believe that was just background information for Sylvia's character. But, then again, I could be wrong.

[chrisno1]

No comment

[terminus]

Huzzah. And the mystery deepends. However, now I'm not convinced about Sylvia's true allegiances.

[terminus]

Another excellent chapter, chrisno1. I spent several of my formative years in the middle east so I had a perfect picture in my head whilst you were describing the landscape and the passage to The Empty Quarter. Very well written, not boring in the least as some extended descriptions in novels could be.

I'm intrigued as to where this is going.

[chrisno1]

Thanks. I had to rely on discussions with my friend Martin who lives in the UAE. He offered me some photos and a few choice guide books. But most of what I garnered is from the tit-bits of information he and his wife drop into conversation. I wanted to visit before I finalised this, but alas the funds did not stretch....
Chapter 13 due on Friday....

[terminus]

And an excellent chapter it is! I get the feeling that things are really going to start kicking off now - with the presumed debut of Sargon in two chapters time. I'm still putting money on Sargon being Sylvia's father.

[chrisno1]

+++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++

Bond clambered into the front seat. It was awash with blood.....

Bond cast his gaze approvingly down the girl's bodies. Under the thin garments, tied loosely at the waist with a single silk band, he could see they were completely naked.....

Bond felt a chill descend across the room, as if danger had entered and was offering a familiar warning.....

As the boat rounded the tip of land, Bond saw what was behind it: about half a mile away, built out of the sea was a massive ziggurat, stepped sixteen stories high and bestriding majestically a natural harbour created by two encircling arms of rock.....

The whole expression reminded Bond of the mandrill, the hideous hairy baboon. He saw a keen human intelligence resting alongside an animal ferocity.....

READ IT ALL NEXT WEEK in

THOSE WHO THE GODS LOVE DIE YOUNG

Edited by chrisno1, 04 September 2010 - 04:01 PM.

[terminus]

Just had a marathon of the three most recent chapters - and very good they are too. The car chase was excellently written and the aftermath and subsequent encounter with Sargon was brilliant - still got my sneaking suspicion about Sargon being Sylvia's father.

The arrival at 'Babylon' had a certain TSWLM-ness about it, the speedboats arrival at 'Atlantis' was quite evocative in my mind, I don't know if this was intentional. The bathing sequence struck images of the bathing sequence in YOLT - but a bit more sensual, can picture Daniel Craig in the scene in my minds eyes.

I've got a feeling this Yasmin girl might proove to be a beneficial ally in Bond's escape from Babylon or in his quest in the future.

[chrisno1]

Glad you liked the car chase. I had real doubts about it. It was probably the piece I re-wrote the most.
Yes, there is more than a passing reference to TSWLM in that 'Babylon' approach. It was entirely intentional!
I enjoyed writing the bathing sequence too; trying to make it sensual without being pørnographic was quite a challenge. The next chapter should be up some time today & I think I succeed with the eroticism in that one also...

[terminus]

I suspect my suspicions about Sylvia and her father are about to be either thrown out the window or revealed as true.

[chrisno1]

+++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++

“And so, gentlemen, Gilgamesh will begin five days from today. I wish to ensure that we are all aware of the exact time table of events...

“The place was bare. There was nothing in the arena, only the scent of the devil. Bond rolled over. At the far end a metal apparatus was erected and there, perched on the top two levels, rested three huge black shapes. They were birds, scavengers, vultures. Scattered on the ground below them were stray feathers and the odd chunk of putrid meat...

“Bond didn’t have time to fret. On impulse he aimed and fired. The flare careered through the mist and struck the gun man a glancing blow on the shoulder. Instantly his clothes exploded into flame and the force of impact catapulted him backwards..."

READ IT THIS WEEK IN CHRIS STACEY'S

THOSE WHO THE GODS LOVE DIE YOUNG

Edited by chrisno1, 12 September 2010 - 11:46 PM.

[terminus]

Well - my suspicions weren't revealed as true, but they weren't shown to be false either. I may still yet be right. Nice chapter, chrisno1, a military coup in Iraq. Perfectly fitting with a Craig Era Bond.

[terminus]

Another excellent installment, chrisno - could feel my stomach turn during your descriptions of the initial assesment of Bond's situation.

[terminus]

Am very sad to see the departure of Yasmin - it was certainly a bit of a shocker. Still suspicious about Sylvia's father being Sargon - and looking forward to an explosive final eight chapters.

[chrisno1]

Ahhh, but didn't Yasmin die beautifully....
Explosive? Well, I won't promise, but I can offer plenty of suspense and intrigue...
Stick with it - the resolution is near at hand.

[terminus]

Well - how did I miss the posting of TWO chapters?! How !?! And what chapters they are. Nice to see my suspicions were paid off - sort of, I was half right, I think.

And yes, Yasmin's death was beautifully written.

[chrisno1]

+++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++ UPDATE +++++

COMING THIS WEEK IN THOSE WHO THE GODS LOVE DIE YOUNG....

"Bond watched the tall, impassive man as he walked past. The red welts streaked down his impassionate portrait, the lips puckered and curled, the full oblong face with its large nose and straight thick brows stayed resolutely bland. There was no emotion. Not a trickle. It was only in his hot, burning eyes. The two muzzles slid towards Bond as Scar passed. Yes, that was it. The eyes betrayed his Bedu blood. They searched the horizon for that speck of life, the tell-tale sign of rising dust, or a soaring eagle high in the sky, a movement however tiny, however far away, however close, on a dune or a mountain, in a doorway, a car or a hotel lobby. They waited for the kill....

“They ascended to the roof of the tower. The bare stone was hot even under Bond’s shoes. The sun still beat down: the last arc of a sweltering afternoon before daylight turned to dusk. There were sentries positioned around the ramparts. Bond weighed the odds: submachine guns versus hands and feet. The odds were bad....

“His right hand tensed, keeping the fingers locked together, remembering that the strength of the blade was in the tautness of the palm. Bond took one deep breath, ran up the stairs and shot through the door....

"Bond forced himself to move. Keep active, damn you! Stay alert! Stay alive! Looking down through the thin veneer of blood, Bond saw the needle sharp bone of metal sticking out of his thigh. When the gun had shattered part of the stock had jammed there. Much higher and it would have been his belly. Christ All Bloody Mighty!...."

READ IT ON CBN....

Edited by chrisno1, 28 September 2010 - 08:13 AM.

[chrisno1]

++++ UPDATE ++++ UPDATE ++++ UPDATE ++++

THE CONCLUDING CHAPTERS OF THOSE WHO THE GODS LOVE DIE YOUNG WILL BE SUBMITTED ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY

James Bond finally confronts Sargon in the ruined monastery of Mart Mariam...
But where is Scar?
Where is Khadimi?
Where is Gold Tooth?
And will James Bond ever see Sylvia Lavoilette again?

Read it very soon on CBN...

Edited by chrisno1, 04 October 2010 - 02:12 AM.

[terminus]

Hopefully going to get round to getting the last few chapters read tomorow night.

[chrisno1]

THOSE WHO THE GODS LOVE DIE YOUNG
has reached its conclusion....

I'd like to thank everyone who has read the novel, and anybody who intends to read it in the future, for their interest.
I had a lot of fun writing the adventure and hope readers will appreciate the character development and the very topical contemporary plot.
Feedback is always welcome.
I'd like to thank Terminus for his running commentary.

I am currently working on a Christmas project, which I will reveal in late November 2010; it is not an original work, but may be of interest to FanFiction devotees and Bond Movie Buffs.

Many thanks once again, and please keep reading!

Chris

[Jim]

Time for a read, then. Looks interesting.

[terminus]

Yes - I need to finish this off! Some stuff happened on Monday that delayed my plans to catch up!