Still waiting for my copy to arrive in the States 
Went with the paperback for this round, but will pick up the US hardcover in November.
Yup, I too thoroughly enjoyed Forever and a Day.
I am now rereading Trigger Mortis, the first of all continuation books to be reread since Icebreaker, and will reread Forever before committing something to this page.
Although, I cannot let pass how easily Bond took the CIA agent’s affiliation so easily. Did I miss something?
‘Hi, I’m from the CIA.’
‘Cool, let’s shoot something.’
I most certainly would like a further turn from Mr Horowitz. Well done sir.
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Knowing basically nothing of the book before reading, I was thrilled when I realised Madame 16 was the Bond woman, and another character wouldn’t serve that function. Horowitz made her this steely outsider, so when her walls came down and she bared her soul, it was satisfying.
Yes, that was a really nice touch.
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EDITED: to add sales figures, etc.
More reviews, sales figures and print runs.
Apparently the book hit #1 on the Sunday Times Hardcover fiction bestseller list for the week ending 9 June [6,790 (6,800)]. It dropped to #4 for the weeks ending June 16 [4,655 (11,455)] and June 23 [ 4,420 (15,875)].
UPDATE: Drops to #8 for week ending June 30 [1,690 (17,565)] and then drops off list.
Yikes! If these numbers are correct, FAAD is down 39% from Trigger Mortis’s first UK week. It’s also taken FAAD two week to outsell TM’s first week. Even Boyd’s Solo had a better first week (by 22%.)
The U.S. hardcover will have a 50,000 print run. Source: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/on-sale-calendar/article/77233-the-on-sale-calendar-november-2018.html
Reviews.
Jake Kerridge in the Daily & Sunday Express: " **** (out of four) Now Anthony Horowitz has produced another Bond book that is even better than Trigger Mortis. The novel doesn’t have the same whiff of danger as Ian Fleming’s work. The violence doesn’t have that weird, kinky quality that can make the reader feel rather uncomfortable. But it is tremendous fun. Anthony Horowitz has the discipline and skill of a first-class action writer but one is never in any doubt that he loves the original books and is tackling this job with all the enthusiasm of a teenage boy working on a piece of fan fiction instead of doing his homework."
Malcolm Forbes in The Australian: “[Horowitz] throws in all the expected ingredients — action and seduction, a casino scene and a torture scene, narrow escapes and a climactic showdown — all the time applying that finicky Fleming-esque attention to detail. Horowitz doesn’t deviate from that tried-and-tested formula. What he does do, though, is add little twists to each component. Instead of a Bond bimbo, we get a tough and resourceful Bond woman 10 years his senior. Instead of one memorable villain we get two, although the clinically obese Scipio, who pulverises victims with his colossal weight, steals the show.”
The author of this particular review, Malcolm Forbes, is a Bond fan and briefly comments on the continuation novels: “If any fictional hero has had chequered fortunes in print since the death of their creator, it is James Bond. It didn’t help that the first continuation novel to appear after Ian Fleming’s death in 1964 set the bar high. Kingsley Amis, a self-confessed Bondophile, hid behind a pseudonym and knocked out Colonel Sun (1968), a distinctly Fleming-flavoured caper that took 007 to Greece and served up the requisite sex and cruelty, drama and intrigue. After this peak it was downhill for decades. Hopes were raised in 2008 when Sebastian Faulks was commissioned to add his contribution to the franchise. But Devil May Care came with a meaningless title, a villain who had a monkey paw for a hand and a lacklustre Bond-by-numbers chain of events. Jeffery Deaver took over and drastically misfired three years later with Carte Blanche, but the series was redeemed and Bond reinvigorated in 2013 with William Boyd’s exemplary Solo.”
www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/james-bond-007-back-in-anthony-horowitzs-new-novel/news-story/2e4bc5bebe6c929efdc23e0dcf9a91c3
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That’s a shame, considering how good the book is.
I think people have forgotten how to read. To put the instant gratification iPad away, sit down and actually have the patience to focus on a book. I admit to being guilty of this. It’s also probably a part of other trends, such as declining box-office takes and weaker music sales. There’s so much out there competing for our attention these days and people can be very discerning, especially if they’ve been burned before.
But for what it’s worth, I think FAAD is the best continuation novel. Even beating out Colonel Sun.
I didn’t think I’d be saying that, but here we are.
I guess reading a Bond novel just is not attractive enough for a mainstream audience anymore.
I enjoyed FAAD (although not as much as I hoped I would) but I do understand the feeling: oh, another one trying to emulate Fleming and the movies and never really offering the same excitement? One has to be a hardcore fan to rush out and buy these. Others will stick to the more prominent thrillers, such as the Bill Clinton-James Patterson book leading the bestseller list.
Let me start by saying that I’m not a fan of Trigger Mortis. I wasn’t thrilled by the announcement that Horowitz would pen the next Bond novel set in '50. But when I got my hands on it and started reading it I was more and more amazed by it. As for the plot, it’s good though predictable. Characters are okay, the main villain motivation is quite solid. However there are some points where Forever and a Day truly shines. First of all, Sixteen. She’s definitely one of the best female characters in the series. Her relationship with Bond is solid, well written and believable. I did like the overall mood of the novel. It’s a bit slow paced, which I didn’t mind but I do understand some readers might find it, well, boring. Horowitz doesn’t jump from one action scene to the other.
There is one particularly great scene where Bond spends night at Sixteen’s. Very moody, beautifully written, where the cherish champagne, bread with cheese and each other. The best chapter, in my opinion.
Overall I wouldn’t say the novel is perfect, but it’s definitely the best post-Benson book. One of the better continuation novel. One only hope we won’t have to wait another three years for the next one.
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I agree on this: it is one of the better continuation novels.
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Read it this week.
Better than TM, that book had a great first half, but the rest was not very original (the burried alive chapter was clearly stolen/loaned from Kill Bill vol.2 and how many times have we seen in movies the hero hangin on the roof of a train? Mission Impossible, The Wolverine etc…).
This new book is a lot better, well writen and a great Bondgirl, only the ending was a dissapointing: Bond not
Summary
killing himself the mainvillian
is a big led down.
Might not want to read Casino Royale…
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That of course is a whole other ballgame and ofcourse have read that book more than once the last fourty years.
Didn’t you find it dissapointing that in the end Bond didn’t realy have a real end confrontation with the villian, although it looked like the last pages of that chapter were written to a climax like that? And than he was already… spoiler…
I thought it was a huge anticlimax.
I also think that was a wasted opportunity - but after everything Bond had to endure it would have been hardly credible if he had been fit enough for more.
Great Bond girl though, and the writing is aces!
When Bond goes to the V.S. to meet the villian again (forgot his name) at least a number of days have past, maybe even a week. Bond looked fit enough again to me.
Not really, to be honest.
Summary
Mainly because I thought the obese villain’s demise was both funny and brutal, kind of like Dr No getting buried alive in guano. It was a fitting end. The ship being destroyed was a huge victory too.
I understand what you mean, but I thought it was a bit too easy for Bond, because it
Summary
happened twice in a row that both (main)villians got killed without Bond had realy something to do with it. First on the ship and later in America.
It really depends on who you consider to be the main villain. Each antagonist plays their role.
Summary
If you like Bond meting out justice himself, the last chapter has Bond shooting the crooked CIA agent in the head. He did a lot to screw Bond around, as well as the original 007.
I’ve updated my sales figure post.
“Boyd’s Solo sold 25,000 hardbacks in the UK in its first four weeks, according to data from Nielsen BookScan.”
Whereas FAAD has only sold 17,565 copies.
If these numbers are correct, FAAD is the worst-selling of the recent (2008 onward) Bond novels.
That’s because there really isn’t a movie or US release to help more people buy it.
A true shame. Further proof that box office/sales are no indication whatsoever of quality.
Cross-promotion with the films probably helps a lot. Would perhaps have been an idea to hold this book until BOND 25 premiers - or to have another one to publish then. But I doubt that’s in the cards on short notice.