I am a fan of the James Bond films and certainly enjoyed the most recent installment, Casino Royale, as Daniel Craig showed us a different, darker side to the spy best known as 007. However, I had never read any of Ian Fleming's novels, which inspired the film franchise and will result in the release of the 22nd incarnation this November in the form of Quantum of Solace. With 2008 marking what would have been the late Ian Fleming's 100th birthday Doubleday releases "Devil May Care" with Sebastian Faulks writing as the famed author.

Having never read a Fleming novel and being entirely unfamiliar with Faulks I didn't have any idea of what to expect. I had my assumptions based on the films and assumed Fleming's novels must be just as cheeky, but Fleming's stories are anything like the dark story Faulks tells I may have to give them a chance. This is not to say that the novel Faulks turns in is anything more than poolside reading, but it is a fun diversion that shouldn't take you more than a few hours to chew through.

"Devil May Care" is set during the Cold War. The story references Francisco Scaramanga from Fleming's thirteenth novel "The Man with the Golden Gun" and is said to take place 18 months following Bond's dealings with the Cuban assassin later played in the film adaptation by Christopher Lee. Bond is on sabbatical and seriously considering returning to MI6 not as a double-O, but as a desk jockey pushing papers around and leading something of a quiet life.

His vacation is interrupted by an urgent phone call from M insisting he return to duty as an Algerian drug runner is found dead with his tongue ripped out and attached to his hand. This is just the beginning of the brutality this film has to offer as Bond is sent on the trail of Dr. Julius Gorner, a man we will come to know as quite the pharmaceutical/nuclear terrorist.

Gorner, like so many Bond villains before him, has a trademark deformity and a nasty henchman who feels no pain. Accompanied by the beautiful Scarlett Papava, Bond has his girl and his mission and it is quite fun to picture the world of James Bond in your head rather than have it play out in front of you on the screen.

As for Faulks's ability to tell a story he is quite capable when he isn't trying to impress us with the number of adjectives he can use to describe a person or setting. He also has an annoying habit of pointing out every foreign landmark Bond can actually see, every street name and even takes to tossing in several bits of French into the story with annoying little italics. It takes a chapter or two to get used to his style, but after that you should be able to decide just what you are going to gloss over and what you are going to pay specific attention to.

"Devil May Care" reads almost like a trashy romance novel, but that is part of its charm. Instead of steamy sex scenes you get the down and dirty action and to use a movie metaphor in this case, it's R-rated action and then some. Decapitations and brain matter are common place as this reads more like a bloody sequel to 2006's Casino Royale than any of the Sean Connery or Roger Moore Bond flicks.

At just under $15 over at Amazon it is actually a really good price considering the cover price is $25. This book isn't going to give you more than five or six hours reading time considering it is only 280 pages, but the quick pacing makes for a fun and worthwhile read should you have any interest in James Bond whatsoever. I know I enjoyed taking a break from reading Jon Lee Anderson's "Che" to give this one a once over and I wouldn't be surprised if you do too.

You can buy it from Amazon right here if you like.