Customer Reviews

Scorpius

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Back in the late 1950's, author Ian Fleming created a unique character, one that would have all the style and charisma to live on through different storytellers. This character, James Bond, is most known for being the quintessential `spy' or `secret agent', and even considering the character's dangerous occupation and sometimes-questionable lifestyle, has become a sort of fictional role model for many people. But even though Mr. Bond originated from the world of literature, in a way, he is most known for his flamboyant and action-packed films, which are both light on the intellectual stimuli, and heavy on the one-liners.

Throughout the years, though, Bond's adventures have not only been continued on the silver screen. His outings also lived on through the literature world, being passed on to new authors, who each portray Bond in various ways, while still retaining all the charm and sophistication of Mr. Fleming's original Bond. But, as is usually commonplace, the novel adaptations of Mr. Bond's exploits have been much more detailed and thorough in describing the art of a covert spy, than just showing off by killing as many people and sleeping with as many women as possible like many of the films, particularly the most recent ones, have been doing. This is not to say that the films are essentially no-brainers, it's just that imagining what is happening in a particular scene through very descriptive and detailed words, is much more enjoyable than seeing it being played out in front of you on a screen.

This particular author, James Gardner, has written over eleven books based on the character in the last two decades, and by past examples of previous authors, he would have had a lot to live up to when he wrote his first bond novel. His seventh, Scorpius, is very true to both the novel-style Bond and the movie-style Bond. Landing somewhere in between, Gardner's Scorpius has all the detail and description of the books set out against the interesting plot and outrageous scenarios and villains of the films. It's an interesting mixture, and combined with his articulate use of words, makes for an enjoyable experience.

The story sees Bond start off partway through an intense training weekend at a British army base and receiving orders from his chief `M' to return to the headquarters of MI6, a British intelligence outfit. The pace of the story is greatly increased when he learns he is being followed on his journey back. Gardner's use of this method to heighten the suspense and pace of the story is accomplished very well, and makes the reader want to keep reading on. Bond is then thrown into a mission to investigate a religious cult called the Meek Ones, founded by a mysterious man called Father Valentine. The Meek Ones are also believed to be behind a multitude of terrorist bombings on numerous British politicians. Further down the track, in typical Bond style, Father Valentine turns out to be none other than exiled arms dealer Vladimir Scorpius. This, although told very early in the text, is quite an interesting story device that Gardner uses, as Bond has to pretend he doesn't know Valentine's real identity, adding another layer of suspense to an already twist-ridden storyline.

Gardner's use of words goes even beyond being able to capture the attention of his readers. It is easy to see through the author's enthusiastic representation of the character of Bond, that he enjoyed writing this novel as much as if he was reading it. This is even portrayed through his attention to detail when it comes to how Bond does his job, showing a true appreciation for the art of espionage. Maybe this can be attributed to the fact that Gardner, before becoming a writer, was actually a Royal Marine and a stage magician, and this somehow influenced his storytelling ability, as his descriptive nature highlights not only the honour, but also the trickery that is required to survive in the covert spy world.

The character of Scorpius is very well portrayed, but somewhat flawed. On one side of the scales, we see an extremely intimidating character with "eyes of pure evil", and is described as "the Devil personified", and on the other, it is hard to take Scorpius seriously, as he seems quite comical in the sense that he sounds too unreal, and too unbelievable. In my opinion, this is the only blemish on an otherwise clean sheet. But this aside, Scorpius is your typical Bond villain (minus the physical characteristics), and he is actually quite convincing if he is believed to be the psychotic madman Gardner, through Bond, describes him to be.

Even without the exotic locations of usual Bond adventures, Gardner's Scorpius is a fantastic insight into the fictional world of James Bond and his work with MI6. Easily comparable to the films and even Ian Flemming's original tales, Scorpius' tale of fanatical cults, terrorist bombings and the world of espionage is filled with enough plot-twists and suspenseful action to keep you interested from the moment you first open the book.

Two words came to mind after finishing this book: Juvenile and pedestrian. It's not among the worst of its ilk, but Gardner does himself no favors with some of the cheeky side references to Bond's favorite actor (Sean Connery, naturally) and the marathon "honeymoon".

Given the nature of Scorpius, a megalomaniacal cult leader commanding a legion of former drug addict suicide bombers, and his strange quirks, I would have to wonder whether or not this was originally conceived as a Conan novel that Gardner shoe-horned into the Bond mythos.

The whole thing just feels rather shallow and weak, especially when one expects a thrill a chapter in a rollicking adventure. It wasn't the worst novel I've read in a while, but it's nothing particularly memorable neither. I'd recommend readers skip it unless one is a true Bond completist.

John Gardner turns in a solid Bond thriller that manages to be a little different than usual but still solid. This time, he goes up against the head of a fanatical cult bent on destroying England's political system. The book works well because the threat feels very real and imminent throughout the book. Bond does a little more detecting than usual, and despite what could be done with the premise, Gardner reigns it in and keeps it mostly down to earth. Not one to start with, but another underrated Gardner entry.

If you enjoyed Dr. No or Goldfinger, you will probably enjoy this novel. Bond versus meglomaniacs is a given in this series. Although not as memorable as some of the other Bond novels, Scorpius is classic Bond fare.