Published in 1968, Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis (using the pen name Robert Markham) is the first non-Fleming Bond novel, and continues the story of the intrepid agent quite well. As mentioned before, I had no idea this book existed before I happened upon it in a used book store, despite hunting down all the 007 books I could. (That may seem odd, but was easy to be missing key information like that in those pre-internet days-- the internet existed, sure, but it wasn't ubiquitous, and I certainly wasn't able to access it whenever I wanted.) I devoured it, blazing through the entire book in an evening. I liked it quite a bit, and deemed it a worthy follow-up to the work of Ian Fleming himself. That was more than two decades ago. When I revisited it a few days ago, I remembered almost nothing from the story, and had no idea how well it would hold up. (That will certainly be an ongoing theme as these re-reads proceed!) Fair warning, while I always endeavor not to blow the whole plot in my reviews, there are SPOILERS AHEAD!
The novel follows Bond as he pursues a group of mysterious kidnappers into Greece, seeking to recover his boss, the head of MI6, M. The opening is one of the best and most memorable from any Bond novel, Fleming's included. After that, the story does sag a bit. There are some nice bits of action in the middle portion, but that section of the novel is rather slow overall. Fleming had a way of imbuing his stories with a sense of headlong energy that propels the reader forward, affectionately referred to by fans as "the Fleming Sweep." Amis does a good job with this novel overall, but it is definitely lacking that crucial trademark of Fleming's. Fleming had a way of delivering numerous details without it seeming like an infodump, a skill that is very difficult to duplicate, and Amis doesn't really pull it off here. That said, there are some pretty strong characters, and as the scope of the conspiracy Bond is trying to unravel widens, they serve to keep the story centered. Ariadne is a much better-developed heroine than we get in most of the Fleming stories, and Litsas serves more than adequately in the "sidekick" role. Both prove to be crucial to the plot, which is always nice to see, as such supporting characters are often little more than window dressing.
Any lingering gripes about the story's slowness in the middle portion of the novel are easy to overlook once the final section is reached. In the titular villain, Amis has delivered a fiend worthy of standing alongside some of Fleming's best. His odd admiration, almost affection, for Bond even as he sets about destroying him in the most sadistic manner he can conceive of is extremely unsettling. The torture scene is quite possibly the worst Bond has ever been subjected to; only the infamous carpet beater scene in Casino Royale is even in the same league. The 2015 film Spectre drew from this novel for its torture scene. Witness this passage, and its similarity to the monologue delivered by Blofeld in the film:
"So, then. Where? Where does a man live? Where's the inmost part of a man, his soul, his being, his identity? One can do very unpleasant things to a man's fingernails, for example. Or to his genitals... but all this happens, so to speak, somewhere else. A man can watch himself being disemboweled and derive great horror, as well as pain, from the experience. But it's going on at a distance. It isn't taking place... where he is."
Sun came over and knelt beside Bond's chair. He spoke in a half-whisper. His throat was trembling. "A man lives inside his head. That's where the seat of his soul is. And this is true objectively as well as subjectively. I was present once-- I wasn't directly concerned-- when an American prisoner in Korea was deprived of his eyes. And the most astonishing thing happened. He wasn't there anymore. He'd gone, though he was still alive. There was nobody inside his skull. Most odd, I promise you.
"So James, I am going to penetrate to where you are, to the inside of your head."
When first watching that movie several years ago, I had no memory of the events of Colonel Sun, so I didn't immediately get the reference. The scene, specifically the dialogue, seemed dimly familiar, but I had no idea where I'd heard it, or something similar, before. My jaw dropped when I reached this scene on my re-read! It's utterly chilling, and it made for one of the strongest scenes in the film, as well. I'm sure it's old news to anyone who'd read this book more recently than I had at the time, but I was pleased to see that the filmmakers had actually drawn from one of the continuation novels!
After Bond manages to escape from the absolutely brutal torture, he and his allies manage to unravel the enemy plot, as well as the enemies' lives, naturally. Sun himself gets an epic sendoff worthy of a villain of his stature. The final scene is a scream, as a high-ranking member of the Russian government thanks Bond for his assistance, with veiled references to the countless times Bond has run afoul of them (often totally screwing up their plans) over the years. This is all in the subtext, but given the epic clashes they've had over the course of his career, it's a very amusing undercurrent to their conversation. This scene also signals that their governments are acknowledging that they are no longer enemies as they once were, and Bond is even offered an award for his service to the Russian government! It's a fascinating scene, and Amis handles it very well.
Notable quotes:
Bond looked round the unpretentious room with its comfortable benches in dark-blue leather, its decorous little groups of business and professional men - quiet men, decent men, men who had never behaved violently or treacherously in their lives. Admirable men: but the though of becoming indistinguishable from them was suddenly repugnant.
Bond was hiding a grin at the memory of having read somewhere that hatred of tobacco was a common psychopathic symptom, from which Hitler among others had been a notable sufferer. (Yikes! I don't know where Bond [or Amis] read that it was a psychopathic symptom, but I certainly couldn't find anything about it anywhere! It is true that Hitler hated tobacco, though.)
From the air, [the island] Vrakonisi looks like the blade of a sickle drawn by a very drunk man.
There was an interval just long enough for the thought that the cessation of pain was an infinitely more exquisite sensual thrill than the wildest spasms of love.
Even with a middle section that often drags, Colonel Sun is a very good novel. Its riveting opening, well-developed characters, fantastic finale, and fascinating villain make it a strong read. It's generally regarded as one of the very best, if not the best, of all the non-Fleming Bonds, and revisiting it has reminded me why. Recommended.
The Bond book bonanza barrels, uh, forward next Monday! Be here!
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