#BookReview :: Solo by William Boyd

Spanning three continents, Bond’s new mission takes an unexpected turn whilst in Africa, forcing him to go ‘solo’ on a trip to America. Boyd comments on his choice of title: ‘In my novel, events conspire to make Bond go off on a self-appointed mission of his own, unannounced and without any authorization - and he’s fully prepared to take the consequences of his audacity.’

In Solo, Boyd returns to classic, literary Bond: James Bond the human being, not James Bond the superagent. Whilst naturally there will be cocktails, cars and women, Boyd will reveal the man behind the icon, from his emotions, quirks and flaws, to his sartorial taste.

Combining all the glamour and excitement of Ian Fleming’s original novels with the masterful storytelling of William Boyd, Solo is a stylish, period novel featuring 007 as a veteran agent at 45. In true Bond style the plot remains under wraps until publication on 26 September 2013.

William Boyd’s James bond takes on a case on his own. It takes him from London to Africa to USA. Bond is on his own on this particular unofficial and unauthorized business and thus the title Solo…

The plot itself is nothing great and revealing even a little bit of it may tell you the whole story. It was rather disappointing to read a Bond novel with such a weak plotline where coincidences are just that and there is no unexpected twists waiting to take the readers by surprise. Unless of course you count the lack of twist in a thriller novel as a twist! The pace doesn’t help the plot either. It drags on at places, making you want to skip pages at a time. And the character of James Bond – My GOD! – Where is the charisma, the charm the scintillating personality? I am so used to the larger than life persona of Ian Fleming’s James Bond that I could not relate to this character as the same. William Boyd’s James Bond seems too ordinary beside the original characters.

I sincerely feel that this Novel would be better accepted if it wasn’t a James Bond Novel. A new character introduced, would not feel as lacking. And frankly I would have rated this book as a three star then. But no matter how I try, I cannot help comparing this with Ian Fleming, aside from the cars and the girls, this is seriously lacking a lot of the grit, strength and character.