Brokenclaw

Brokenclaw is about the eighth or ninth James Bond book by John Gardner, who took over the series from the late Ian Fleming. For those (such as myself) who are fans of the James Bond movies, know that the majority of these movies, up through the Timothy Dalton era, were somewhat loosely based on Fleming's novels and short stories that he wrote from 1957 up until his death in 1964. The books were immensely popular in their day, and whereas time hasn't been as kind since the writing style is somewhat dated, they have become a source of fascination due to the longevity of the films.

Although there was one lone novel in 1968 (Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis), John Gardner was the first author who resurrected the literary spy in a series of novels beginning in 1981 through 1995. These books were released in a timespan that usually resulted in one book per year, and although they don't have the same rich literary sweep as the Fleming novels, they were overall well received as somewhat of a "B" novel. Meaning other than the James Bond fan, they never received much attention.
The James Bond of the books, both Gardner's and Fleming's, was a bit more dry and a bit more serious. Humor is almost non-existent, yet the stories are all quite fantastic as to the fact that they can never be taken quite seriously. There isn't nearly the same amount of action as there is in the films - especially the latter day ones. You won't read about extensive boat chases on the Thames river, exploding warehouses, or people being pushed out of airplanes without parachutes, but then again, those scenarios don't translate that well to the written word anyway.

As matter of fact, with Gardner's books anyway, there really isn't that much action at all. The stories have a lot of introspection and, to be fair, kind of all blend after awhile. Maybe it's my impatience, but I don't have much luck recalling much of the details of these books. I couldn't really say "That's the James Bond book that ____________". At the risk of sounding a bit OCD, I almost find myself reading these books out of obligation. Once I've read everything by an author, I have a hard time stopping. Fortunately, these books by John Gardner aren't too detailed nor too long and can be easily polished off in a weekend.

Having said all of the above, I confess that although I'm reviewing a book I read less than two months ago, I have a hard time remembering much of the details. It's hard when so many of the stories are the same. Usually, the trend in the books revolve around a "thriller" of an introduction setting up the plot, then an obligatory meeting with M, the chief (who has a much larger role, it seems, in the John Gardner books), a "good guy" (or girl) that will double-cross him somewhere in the plot, and there's always a Bond girl. At least that is similar to the films. In this novel, the villain is of Native American descent, wanting to bring some sort of destruction somehow, somewhere, and Bond outwits him near the end in a very sadistic, tribal ritual where he "competes" against Brokenclaw - complete with piercings, burnings, and other nastiness to the flesh. It's quite sickening.

Still, the book does what it sets out to do, and whereas reading all of the Gardner books probably aren't necessary, it's probably worth it to pick up one or two at a used bookshop. This one is par for the course.

I stopped at chapter 10, then skimmed/skipped around the book.

'Brokenclaw' has a confusing plot: James Bond is initially followed by a man, who is killed for no reason other than being in the back of a club, and Bond is blamed for the murder; he is then shipped off to a navel carrier where he is given his assignment to infiltrate Brokenclaw's courier system....which also involves a device called a LORDS and LORDS DAY....

The pacing is choppy and slow; characters are going from one place to another, and it's not entirely clear why they are doing so. (This mainly refers to Bond himself, as well as his companion 'Chi-chi'..

There is technobabble that even Tom Clancy would say 'What?' to...[that technobabble adds to the even confusing plot]. As the reader is already trying to keep up with the plot, he or she then has to keep up with unfamiliar terms...

With certain character(s) that show up, then disappear for the rest of the story (or at least until the very end)...i.e. an Chinese-American agent named Wanda who is sleeping with the main villain to pay her father's debt; she relates the story to M, Bond, and an American agent. She actually turns up later on in the story, but it is not stated why the government just stood by why she did her duty, which wasn't for the country, but for herself and her father.

On page. 161, the character 'Chi-chi' is a young Chinese-American agent uses the term 'splendid' in a conversation. Now, the story is set in the 1990s, and as aforementioned she is American, yet she speaks like an older white Englishwoman from the early 20th century...[I think Gardner does this with other young characters as well]. She is also not written as a very strong character; she makes a point to be treated like the males, and later on in the novel she is screaming and asking not be left alone when in danger, etc. Bond has to eventually save her from the main villian.

Furthermore, there is a big deal made about the Chinese intelligence and Brokenclaw's people using Caucasians to infiltrate Europe and the US. Now, as there are many agents who are of non-white background at this time in the US and Europe, the question is why are they--Chinese and Brokenclaw's people--focusing on and using only whites when not using Chinese? What is the significance? (Interestingly, there is a black man--who shows up very briefly--named Andrew who works for Brokenclaw as an equipment man).

This book didn't seem to have much quality control in terms of plot and characterization.