The Man with the Red Tattoo (New James Bond Adventures)

Benson, Raymond

ISBN 10: 1501248456 ISBN 13: 9781501248450

Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2015

Synopsis

When a British businessman and his family are killed in Japan by a virulent form of West Nile disease, James Bond suspects a mass assassination. Investigating with the help of beautiful Japanese agent Reiko Tamura and his old friend, Tiger Tanaka, Bond searches for the killers and the one surviving daughter, Mayumi.

Bond’s discoveries lead him to believe that two powerful factions controlled by the mysterious terrorist Goro Yoshida are playing God. Between them they have created the perfect weapon, one small and seemingly insignificant enough to strike anywhere, unnoticed.

With an emergency G8 summit meeting just days away, Bond has his work cut out for him discovering when—and how—the next attack will occur. It’s a race against time as Bond confronts both man and nature in a desperate bid to stop the release of a deadly virus that could destroy the Western world.

About this title

Review:

The Man With The Red Tatoo is the latest of Raymond Benson's continuation of Fleming's James Bond series. Bond is back in Japan investigating mysterious deaths and elbowing his way into trouble. Like all of Benson's series, and indeed the recent Bond films, it tones down the high-octane sexism and snobbery of the original a little, in the name of making Bond contemporary; it is not just in terms of the actors playing him that Bond is no longer quite the man he once was.

Benson is a more thoughtful writer than Fleming, which leads, on the one hand, to some over-extended clumps of exposition in which he explains the right-wing politics of Japanese organized crime or the life-cycle of genetically-engineered mosquitos, but on the other hand to real conviction in his villains' motivations. Fleming created florid villains who were memorable because mythic; Benson's are credible because he makes us understand them--it's doubtful a Fleming villain would ever have quoted Mishima. Similarly, where the deaths of Fleming's heroines were a routine gesture, the fate of one of the "Bond Girls" here is genuinely upsetting. Where Benson most effectively follows Fleming's lead is in action sequences--Bond tied in the path of a bullet train and Bond dancing his way to safety in a burning lava-field. --Roz Kaveney

Review:

Spectacular chases, gory killings and a spot of sado-masochism . . addicts of the genre will love it. (The Times)

Will have Bond fans cheering. (Publishers Weekly (Doubleshot))

Welcome back, Mr Bond. We've been waiting for you . . . Benson has gone back to Bondian basics in a fast-moving world of bedrooms, firm breasts, betting and bruises. (Independent on Sunday)

Terroism and biological weapons are at the hub at this new Bond novel...The Man with the Red Tattoo has everything yu would expect, such as high-tech gadgets, beautiful women and gripping action (Newbury Weekly News)

This is James Bond as tough and sexy as in his younger days, with Benson's stories reflecting the rejuvenated 007 of the Pierce Brosnan era. (Peterborough Evening Telegraph)

There are all the usual thrills and spills you would expect from a Bond adventure. ... Benson recreates the hustle and bustle of Tokyo superbly with just as much detail given to Japanese customs and traditions. (Nadeem Hanif. Doncaster Free Press)

About this edition

• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1501248456
• ISBN 13: 9781501248450
• Binding: Audio CD