.com Exclusive: Olen Steinhauer s Carte Blanche Olen Steinhauer's latest novel, The Nearest Exit features former CIA agent Milo Weaver, whose story began in the New York Times bestselling thriller, The Tourist. His previous work includes a pentalogy of thrillers set during the Cold War, beginning with The Bridge of Sighs and concluding with Victory Square. How do you bring a character created in 1953 into the modern world without disappointing that characters millions of followers in the process? This was the challenge faced by Jeffery Deaver when Ian Fleming Publications handed him the responsibility of writing the next official James Bond novel, Carte Blanche. I dont know how I would have done it, but I do know one thingDeaver, a specialist in the art of crafting nail-biting suspense, has done it better than I ever could have. Its a tightrope walk, balancing the tradition with the requirements of contemporary life, and Deaver handles it with panache. Beautiful women with unlikely but mesmerizing names? Check. (See Ophelia Maidenstone and Felicity Willing.) A top-drawer set of wheels with occasional soliloquies to its grace and power? Check. (The Bentley Continental GT coup, in this case.) M, Moneypenny, Mary Goodnight, Bill Tanner, Felix Leiter? Check on all counts. A drink on hand that requires extra care from a bartender, but has yet to be named? Check. License to kill? Check, but under a different name: carte blanche. How about the subtly and unsubtly perverse villains? Naturally, and they come in two sharply defined forms: Niall Dunne, "The Irishman," a brilliant tactician who brings to mind From Russia With Loves Kronsteen, and his boss, Severan Hydt, the head of a global refuse-collection empire, whose love of decay in all its forms borders on necrophilia. Time spent with Hydt will make you long for a shower. But what the Fleming aficionado will inevitably notice here are the differences, which turn this latest escapade into what feels, and should feel, like one of those things that are very popular these days: a reboot. James Bond, a veteran of Afghanistan, is an ex-smoker. Despite run-ins with an MI5 twit named Percy Osborne-Smith, this Bond is more of a team player than I remember him ever being. But where one really notices the encroachment of the contemporary world is in his relations with women. James Bond has become . . . sensitive? Actually, yes, but never to the point of priggishness. The hard Bond remains, but its a different world than it was in 1953, and the women in Carte Blanchethe Bond girls, if you willare of equal measure to the men. Ophelia Maidenstone, a coworker at ODG (Overseas Development Group, tenuously connected to MI6), besides being ravishingly beautiful, is indispensiblewithout her, Bond would be dead in the water. And when romance begins to bloom between them we find that, even after hes left town, she remains, haunting his thoughts so much that after a night with another woman Bond feels, of all unlikely things, guilt. If this seems very un-Bond, it is, but its a testament to Deavers strength as a storyteller that the reader so easily accepts that this is Flemings world 2.0, and its just as dangerous and exciting as it was when Le Chiffre glared from across a card table. Dont run from this new world, aficionado, for youll be rewarded. Not only with a gripping installment, but with a fascinating subplot concerning Bonds parents, one that not only piques the readers interest but, by the end of the novel, begs for a continuation in the next Bond adventure. This new Bond may be a modern man, but his roots are deep in the past, and if Carte Blanche is any indication, the past will soon catch up with him. I, for one, will gladly be on hand to witness that confrontation. "Deaver, as fans of his Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance thrillers would expect, has clearly done his homework. . . . the most impressive feature of "Carte Blanche" is the ingenuity of the breathless, blood-thirsty plot. A master of misdirection, Deaver manufactures more surprises than anyone flogging an old warhorse can be expected to produce. . . . Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Sebastian Faulks are among those who have tried to bring Bond back to life. Deaver, though, is in a class of his own: nobody's done it better."--"The Evening Standard" (London)"A magnificently manic, impeccably researched and at times gory plot, with Deaver's trademark misdirection and twists flying"."--The Washington Post""His creator may be long gone, but James Bond (with his gadgets, women, and suave lines) lives on in the skillful hands of a suspense superstar.""--Malcolm Jones, Newsweek Magazine, " "10 Must-Read Summer Books"""Carte Blanche" is a fantastic book. . . . Deaver knows psychology and it shines here. Moreover, he knows human relationships . . . as [Ian Fleming's stepdaughter] best summarized it, Jeffery Deaver truly "got it"."--"Ann Arbor News""Ian Fleming's estate tapped American novelist Deaver to pen a new James Bond thriller, and the pairing is as smooth as vodka and vermouth. Yes, the villains are creepy and the women brainy and beautiful, but in a clever reboot, this 007 (who served in Afghanistan) comes armed with a tricked-out cell phone and an appealing sense of empathy."--"Parade""It's a tightrope walk, balancing the tradition with the requirements of contemporary life, and Deaver handles it with panache. . . . But what the Fleming aficionado will inevitably notice here are the differences, which turn this latest escapade into what feels, and should feel, like one of those things that are very popular these days: a reboot.""--Olen Steinhauer, "author of "The Tourist, The Nearest Exit, The Bridge of Sighs, "and" Victory Square""After 28 suspense novels, there is no doubt that Deaver knows his way around a thriller plot, and Bond fans should be satisfied with the rollicking pace of 007's new adventure. . . . Deaver is a master of the twist in the tale and he deploys it here with cinematic verve, keeping the reader biting their nails until the last minute. . . . But the author's affection for Bond and for all the tropes that surround him is abundantly clear, so that Carte Blanche reads like a lovingly crafted homage rather than deliberate pastiche. Deaver's Bond is quite recognisably Bond, but a new, streamlined incarnation for a new generation of global fears.""--The Guardian (UK)""Crucially, the novel proves itself worthy of the 007 logo on its spine by presenting us with one of the most bone-chillingly creepy bad guys in history. . . . Deaver's immaculate sense of pace comes into its own. While giving Bond fans enough of the trinkets they deserve in an official novel, he also keeps the narrative pacey throughout and still allows our hero a few crucial moments of modern self-reflection. . . . It's hard to imagine anyone not being impressed by this novel. ""--The Independent (UK)""Fleming was a master of succinct plotting and deft characterization, his books deceptively slim but containing so much. Deaver too is a genius and this publishing marriage was truly made in heaven. Bond fans will enjoy Deaver's slightly mischievous take on Ian Fleming. Deaver fans will enjoy the taut plotting and the action scenes and, by the way, it is going to make a great movie."--"The Sunday Express" (London)"There have been other Fleming impersonators, including Kingsley Amis and Sebastian Faulks, but the author of "The Bone Collector" is the biggest international name to take the job. He is also one of the world's smoothest, most devious, thriller writers - a far better craftsman than Fleming, in fact. So could he assume Fleming's identity rather than write another Jeffery Deaver novel only with a hero called Bond? And could he, for that matter, resist thriller publishing's current obsession with relentless action inspired by the success of the Bourne movie franchise - and indeed "Quantum Of Solace"? The answers are emphatically "Yes." Deaver preserves his book's timeless feel by largely ignoring modern geopolitics and pitting Bond against a traditionally barking villain . . . [and] adds a series of twists that reveal a Bond with more Sherlockian intelligence than Fleming's."--"The Telegraph" (London)"Jeffery Deaver accepted one of the greatest literary challenges of the new millennium when he agreed to write a new James Bond novel. . . . With "Carte Blanche", [he] somehow manages to spin a top-notch 21st-century spy thriller while both respecting Bond and reinventing him."--"Washington Independent of Books""Ian Fleming's estate made a superb choice when it turned to thriller writer Jeffery Deaver for this summer's James Bond reboot "Carte Blanche". . . . Familiar touches about, from M and Moneypenny to exotic locales. Then, too, Deaver adds a knowing wink . . . A spry spy bash not to be missed."--"Christian Science Monitor""This terrific new pastiche will amply reward Bond fans and possibly bring new readers into the fold. Deaver ("Edge"), an avowed fan of the Fleming canon, has set the novel in the post-9/11 present, and Bond, that icon of the 1960s, handles the transition perfectly. . . . The plot is predictable in a purely Bond-ian way (credibly incredible), but also intricate and inventive, surprising and satisfying--a testament to Deaver's skill as a storyteller. . . . Fleming purists may balk at the hint of a New Age sensitivity in Deaver's Bond, but they will recognize one of the world's most enduring fictional characters: competent, courageous, charming, and cool."--"Publishers Weekly""A page-turning, action packed rip-roaring novel with plenty of twists and surprises."--"Durham Herald-Sun""Deaver, if anything, has written a 007 thriller that is superior to the best of Fleming."--"San Jose Mercury News"About the AuthorJeffery Deaver is the bestselling author of Edge, The Burning Wire, The Broken Window, The Bone Collector, The Blue Nowhere, The Empty Chair, and many other novels of suspense. A former lawyer, he lives in North Carolina. what is the #1 best selling book on Carte Blanche: The New James Bond Novel (007 James Bond)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Carte Blanche Is the Real Deal.By Ruth L. EdenbaumI have been reading James Bond since Ian Flemming started writing about him. It was with some trepidation that I read the works of his successors, andI never felt anyone matched the original; They seemed to be writing book versions of the movie JamesBond. When I saw Jeffrey Deaver had written one of this new series, I decided to give it a go since I always enjoy Mr. Deaver's works, and I was glad I had done so. I got a kick out of reading about these younger characters, and felt for the first time in a long time I was reading about Bond -James Bond. There was a satisfying mix of suspense, story telling, sex and humor, and terrific end of chapter hooks so I always wanted to read just one more. I have not yet read the other books by different authors in this new series, but if you are going to read only one Carte Blanche is a good place to start.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An up to date character and department that the movies should pay attention toBy Joe WoodI've read just about all the James Bond novels - Flemming and post Flemming. They're great, easy reads. However, many of them have parts that make you wince with embarrassment - the objectifying of women, the sweeping generalization of countrymen, the chain smoking, heavy drinking etc... And from books written in the middle of the 20th century it was OK.The problem was keeping that character in the 21st century. What Jeffery Deaver did with the character is probably the real accomplishment of this book. Bond's real problems in this story are red tape, incompetent competing co-workers and budget constraints. He doesn't smoke and sometimes decides to restrain from himself. In some ways this is more like "Son of Bond" and it works well.So, why not 5 stars? I didn't like the pop culture references - they felt a little forced. Plus, some of the action scenes could have been a little more descriptive.I did like the parent back story (is that now cannon?). It's a pity there wasn't any more in this timeline.14 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Is Modern Bond Still Bond?By H.C. TrapperI thought that this was a very good novel. Kept me up late reading, had enough action to keep my heart rate up, I cared about the characters, and the ending had some good twists. Now, as the matter of this being a Bond novel, it's only so-so. However, realize that this is not Fleming's Bond, but James Bond in the modern world. If you want to Sean Connery Bond, go read the original books. If you want a believable, grittier, more modern 007, buy this book.