Solo
ISBN: 978-0-224-09747-5
William Boyd read all of the former James Bond narratives chronologically, reportedly, to write Solo–his own James Bond novel set in the year of 1969. A cursory perusal of the sales of the book seems to suggest that though the publicity and hype were high around it, the sales did not meet the expectation. It is difficult to know precisely why this is as the book is a solid entry into the Bond universe. Perhaps the readership of Bond is now sophisticated enough within the spy universe to want a kind of Jason-Bourne-superhuman-version instead of a novel that plausibly is more akin to being the genuine article. You are not going to find Bond leaping tall buildings here or surviving incredible wounds and somehow climbing a moving train while expertly jumping up an excavator bucket to the next car. No, this book is more ‘back to the roots’ of being a spy.
As the title implies, Bond is called into a kerfuffle in a tiny region of Africa that concerns the discovery and potential of crude oil reserves. Unfortunately, this discovery has set long-simmering power differentials into motion and the region where the oil field is reputed to be is right in the middle of the conflict. Through the auspices of M, Bond is dispatched to stop this conflict before it escalates further. He does this in the guise of a journalist even though once he arrives almost everyone who is anyone suspects him to be a spy. He arrives with a partner who is a type of CEO of a major company, who has several secrets of her own.
After understanding the political dynamic, Bond makes his move and discovers a way to upset the balance of the political and military forces involved. The fallout does not go as expected, and further complications arise that put Bond on a course back toward England and ultimately toward the status the book title indicates–that is going Solo. Eponymously, going solo means breaking off from the auspices of the agencies of M and Q Branch, and going on one’s own mission by one’s own impetus. The difficulties Bond faces concern, in no small way, a lack of resources that those connections typically supply. Bond will simply have to work around these problems, and it does create an interesting twist to the typical Bond methodology of having gadgets and everything one needs supplied by the British government.
By the end of the novel, we discover, not surprisingly that not everything is as it seems, and the greed that runs the world plays one hand off of another in myriad ways all aimed ultimately and who will, or in some cases who will not, control the freshly found crude in Africa. A weaker character does appear within this narrative who has a ‘weeping eye’ which is reminiscent of Casino Royale. This was easily the most aggravating part of the novel if only because one finds this literary touch as unoriginal and therefore recycled. Everything else, however, is quite good in terms of plot development and believability and we can forgive Boyd for indulgences such as having Bond make his own salad dressing. (Hey, it’s his chance to add something to the mythology of the Bond universe!)
It is possible this book simply came out at the ‘wrong time’ when the palates of Bond fans wanted something else other than a hearkening back to believable spy narratives. Boyd says that he thought Bond should be an excessive alcoholic, and while he certainly drinks often in this book, he certainly is not approaching the levels of alcohol imbibed by the likes of Jackson Lamb in the series Slow Horses. Evidently, these and other issues were enough to make the estate of Ian Fleming take notice and cause a dispute to arise about how Boyd went about the portrayal. Too many cooks in the proverbial spy novel kitchen might make for some sour salad. Just so you are not left wanting, though, here is Bond’s salad vinegarette, which, in all fairness, he also took pains to make during Moonraker:
James Bond’s Salad Dressing in the book Solo: Mix five parts of red-wine vinegar with one part extra-virgin olive oil. The vinegar overload is essential. Add a halved clove of garlic, half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a good grind of black pepper and a teaspoon of white granulated sugar. Mix well, remove the garlic and dress the salad.
Perhaps future novels will feature James Bond becoming a genuine ‘foodie’.!
