Solo

By: William Boyd

Narrated by: Dominic West

Bond. Is. Back.

It’s 1969, and, having just celebrated his forty-fifth birthday, James Bond—British special agent 007—is summoned to headquarters to receive an unusual assignment. Zanzarim, a troubled West African nation, is being ravaged by a bitter civil war, and M directs Bond to quash the rebels threatening the established regime.

Bond’s arrival in Africa marks the start of a feverish mission to discover the forces behind this brutal war—and he soon realizes the situation is far from straightforward. Piece by piece, Bond uncovers the real cause of the violence in Zanzarim, revealing a twisting conspiracy that extends further than he ever imagined.

Moving from rebel battlefields in West Africa to the closed doors of intelligence offices in London and Washington, this novel is at once a gripping thriller, a tensely plotted story full of memorable characters and breathtaking twists, and a masterful study of power and how it’s wielded—a brilliant addition to the James Bond canon.

Excellent

This was a tremendous Bond novel very well read!! highly recommend to any Bond fan

Very good!

I had this in my wish list for over a year before pulling the trigger due to so many bad reviews. Am glad to have given it a go as I enjoyed it quite a lot. This Bond is a little more subtle, the characters are rich, the story complex and it reminded me very much of the Bond in Skyfall. Give it a try. The narration is exceptional and I wish the actor would do Audible full time as he did a bang up job.

Poor research

Decent story but poorly researched, especially regarding firearms. A pistol has a magazine for feeding cartridges into the barrel. It does not use clips. Misnomer. Also, it is much more difficult to acquire a firearm in the United States as opposed to “how easy” the wither made it seem to be. This is very dishonest, and shoddy writing.

Ian Fleming's Bond is Back

I grew up reading and falling in love with Ian Fleming's books and signature character. Of course I loved the Bond films and variant novels by other authors but the original works were my foundation. William Boyd has done his homework and SOLO is a great continuation of the Fleming legacy.

The character and novel are well developed and I could not put this down. Plausible, violent, salacious. Great stuff.

I had read that some criticism of the work is that the plot wasn't exciting enough. I disagree. Perhaps those critics are comparing the book to the implausible caricature that appears in many films and novels. This book is for Bond fundamentalists.

This book was my booster shot until SPECTRE comes out in November.

Suspense and surprise. Great narrating

The old James is back. His nemesis is particularly brutal and creepy. It is a well written story and fits well into the Bond series.