This book shows how consistently cliche, weak, and predictable Benson's Bond series remains. Ian Fleming could describe masterfully yet stay brief. Benson imitates this by describing every detail of a hotel lobby, thinking this makes it descriptive writing. It doesn't.

The plot itself is predictable and formulated with all the usual characters to drag it along.

Don't waste your money on this pap, even if you're looking for a light beach read. There are countless others to choose from, starting with Fleming's original work, soon to be reissued.


Another Benson Book Full Of Bugs !!!   July 25, 2002
 6 out of 11 found this review helpful

Unfortunately Raymond Benson continues to prove it was a mistake for him to be appointed the official "James Bond" author as he delivers yet another novel that starts well but turns out to be a lacklustre adventure. The old problems come home to roost - too many weak characters, too many plot flaws, and not nearly enough exciting action to keep the story moving. Also this time Benson, who is usually as faithful to the cinematic version of Bond as he is to the literary one, makes some odd errors. Bond is once more armed with his Walther PPK, which from professional experience I personally think is a good thing, but of course 007 was rearmed with a Walther P99 in "Tomorrow Never Dies" and has carried one ever since - so why the sudden change back now ?!! And the character of "Q" (aka "Major Boothroyd") was clearly written out in the last movie, "The World Is Not Enough" 1999, yet he is still in charge of his department here. Surely it makes sense for Benson to get in step and retire this character as well ?!! Another curious flaw is that Benson, who prides himself on knowing Fleming's Bond inside out, has 007 ending up in bed with a prostitute. Now according to the back story of Bond he had an affair with a prostitute in his teenage years which ended badly. Ever since he has had a loathing for those in the profession, so the idea of him romancing one seems highly unlikely. As with his previous novel Benson also brings back another character from Fleming's day - "Tiger Tanaka" from "You Only Live Twice" - but typically ages the man while Bond of course remains ageless. Again I have to say that for me this weakens the credibility of the plot, but at least he didn't ruin or arbitrarily kill off the character as he did with "Draco" in "Never Dream Of Dying". As for the overall story it is surprisingly lightweight and unoriginal. Genetically engineered viruses have almost become the 21st century equivalent of the nuclear bomb threats of the 20th century - oh how times have changed !!! - but even in the old days Fleming dealt with this topic in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and Alistair Maclean also did a great job with this theme in his novel "Satan Bug". Somehow pitting James Bond, the world's greatest secret agent, against a killer dwarf (*shades of the film "The Man With The Golden Gun" 1974) and deadly mosquitoes, seems to be pushing things just a bit. So another somewhat disappointing effort from Mr. Benson, reasonably well written but clearly full of bugs !!!


a comp vacation and tourist tripe   October 21, 2002
 6 out of 10 found this review helpful

This book is more Nihon merchanise description and expensive vacation video than a story. I can see this author comp milking his way around Tokyo and collecting free gifts/meals/limos. I`m shocked that the author didn`t walk though the middle of the narrative and do a cameo like the last Clive Cussler book I read.


A disppointment...   June 25, 2002
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is not one of Benson's best, neither is it among his worst. I find all of his Bond's far superior to John Gardner's and so inferior to Ian Fleming's that no comparison is just. Mistakes like having someone major in business at Oxford bother me alot. I do not enjoy reading tour guide excerpts much either. It moved quickly enough not to be boring, but the ending was truncated and very disappointing. Some of the scenes were interesting. I do not blame Benson per se, Bond is not a plausible figure out of his necessary historical period.

I confess to being a purist. I suggest reading, or rereading, the Fleming books if one wants the authentic Bond. The first four films are good too.


You Only Live Thrice, Mr. Bond   June 9, 2002
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

The mini review prehaps says it best "a plot of such monstrous proportions that it could only have been hatched in the mind of a madman."
Not that I'm calling Raymond a madman, mind you! But the villians plot is one of the best ever in a Bond book. The location descriptions I felt at first were a bit padded, but I realized how much they make Japan part of the plot. It IS a different culture that Bond is experiencing and Benson explores that part of it really well. There is a reference to the events
(very, very briefly) of 9/11, and I can't help feeling that was a last minute addition.
There is also reference and people from the Fleming book "You Only Live Twice", Bonds' last foray into Japan. As usual, Raymond has to carefully dance around the time issue - Time has past and characters are older, but Bond is still around 42.
While it's not the best that Benson has written (I still think his last book is better than this one), it's damn close. Buy it, read it.
Now, if only Putnum would do something about the boring US covers!