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Trigger Mortis

(James Bond - Extended Series #47)

Anthony Horowitz (Goodreads Author),

Ian Fleming (with original material by)

3.75 · Rating details · 5,816 ratings · 686 reviews

James Bond is back where he belongs.

Anthony Horowitz’s new novel is a thrilling tour de force, sure to delight fans of the original 007 novels and new readers alike. It also features previously unseen material written by Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming.

The story begins in the lethal world of Grand Prix and an attempt by the Russians to sabotage a race at Nürburgring, the most ...more

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Hardcover, 310 pages

Published September 8th 2015 by Orion

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· 5,816 ratings · 686 reviews

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Oct 06, 2015 Kemper rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: shaken-not-stirred, tv-movies, 2015, spy-vs-spy

Bond. James Bond.

And a very old school James Bond at that.

007 returns to his roots with this story set in the late ‘50s that begins with the spy trying to save the life of a British race car driver who has been targeted by the Soviet’s deadly SMERSH division, and this leads to a plot created by evil Korean millionaire Jason Sin against the American space program. Along the way Bond meets a mysterious and beautiful woman named Jeopardy Lane who also has a keen interest in the activities of Sin.

I’ Bond. James Bond.

And a very old school James Bond at that.

007 returns to his roots with this story set in the late ‘50s that begins with the spy trying to save the life of a British race car driver who has been targeted by the Soviet’s deadly SMERSH division, and this leads to a plot created by evil Korean millionaire Jason Sin against the American space program. Along the way Bond meets a mysterious and beautiful woman named Jeopardy Lane who also has a keen interest in the activities of Sin.

I’ve only read a couple of the original Bond books so I’m much more familiar with the movie version of the character, but this does seem like one of the old Ian Fleming novels. Since Anthony Horowitz credits a unused outline that Fleming wrote as part of a never made TV series as an inspiration for this book it’s no surprise that it’s got a lot of the old Bond flavor to the story.

This creates a bit of a dilemma in that Bond in his original incarnation is kinda horrifying when you apply modern standards to him. At first it seems as if Horowitz was just going to let Bond be the same kind of guy he was as written by Fleming with the book starting shortly after the events of the Goldfinger novel. Bond is shacked up in London with Pussy Galore, a lesbian he *ahem* cured by banging her straight, and now she’s making him breakfast and has a cocktail waiting for him when he gets home after a hard day of spying.

All of that seems pretty cringe worthy at first until you realize that Horowitz is actually showing how their relationship isn’t working, and there’s a pretty hilarious moment when Pussy turns the tables on him. Likewise, there’s a scene in which Bond meets an old acquaintance who is a homosexual, and it’s clear that James has a history of being horrible to this guy because of it. However, the character gets to rip into Bond in a speech that Fleming would never have done.

So Horowitz manages a tricky tightrope walk of presenting Bond as the type of man he was as originally written while pointing out all his failings and still somehow making him heroic despite those flaws. Even the villain Jason Sin gets a backstory that humanizes him, and his portrayal is done without the racism that tarnishes older Bond books.

Overall this is an entertaining retro version of a James Bond story that is kind of bonkers but fun. If you like the Fleming books or the Sean Connery movies like Dr. No and Goldfinger then you’d probably enjoy this. ...more

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Aug 22, 2018 James Tivendale rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, james-bond

3.5/5 - Pretty enjoyable quick read.

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Oct 10, 2014 Mark rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Fans of Fleming and 007

Shelves: spies, continuation-from-original-writer, 2015, james-bond

Well the book has a title, which does not blow me away immediately, and a former Bond lady is involved namely the very PC named Pussy Galore. In both instances I have my doubts, but what the heck Horowitz did such a good job with Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty so he gets the benefit of the doubt.

When i was a wee lad I discovered the works of Messieurs Leslie Charteris & Ian Fleming in my fathers bookcases. What followed was the moving from certain books to my bookcase and 2nd hand shopping buying Well the book has a title, which does not blow me away immediately, and a former Bond lady is involved namely the very PC named Pussy Galore. In both instances I have my doubts, but what the heck Horowitz did such a good job with Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty so he gets the benefit of the doubt.

When i was a wee lad I discovered the works of Messieurs Leslie Charteris & Ian Fleming in my fathers bookcases. What followed was the moving from certain books to my bookcase and 2nd hand shopping buying missing novels by both writers. I did discover the 007 movie series after I had read all Fleming novels and the Colonel Sun one. Ever since then I have read all continuation novels by the various writers of whom of which perhaps surprisingly "The Moneypenny trilogy" was easily the best the universe of 007 had to offer in recent times. And perhaps less surprising those were written by a woman who was able to bring 007 back to life and make him interesting.

That said I was looking forward to the Horowitz vehicle especially since a part of the book was based upon an outline for an abandoned TV script concerning a car race on the Nurburgring racetrack. Not surprisingly Horowitz does manage to write an excellent tale that comes closer to the Fleming era than any continuation writer has managed since Fleming. This is not the James Bond we know from the movies, it is a very clear James Bond from the Fleming novels and that one was clearly missing for quite a while. I cannot believe that any of the previous Celebrity Trilogy (Faulks, Deaver & Boyd) have not read the book and must have felt a great joy with this 007 novel and some regret that they did not come up with something of similar quality.

James Bond is send to racing school in order to prevent an assassination of a British race-car driver. There Bond finds the folks from SMERSH working together with some mysterious multimillionaire. That leads Bond to the USA and the race to space from the early years of the space rockets. An exciting tale of 007 that is welcomed by folks who prefer the Fleming Bond over the movie 007.

A great little thriller which gives us a great 007 novel and leads to the hope that Horowitz does write another. If not him than please one by Charlie Higson whose young James Bond books showed he had a good feeling for the era 007 really belonged in. ...more

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Aug 21, 2015 Karl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-08-books-bought

Ian Fleming wrote 14 Bond books in total beginning with 1953’s “Casino Royale”. “Goldfinger “ appeared in 1959. Now Mr. Horowitz has given us a direct sequel to “Goldfinger” complete with Pussy Galore, the lesbian gangster, who in “Trigger Mortis” he has now moved into James Bonds London apartment. The lust filled relationship does not last long because Bond must take on a new mission. That mission is of protecting the life of a British race car driver.

The racing sequences, which take up about ...more

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Jan 16, 2016 Skip rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, thriller

I think Ian Fleming's estate chose Anthony Horowitz wisely to entrust with some story fragments, perhaps meant for another book or omitted from the final version of Goldfinger. This James Bond story, starts with James together with Pussy Galore, who has escaped to London with him. True to the lifestyle Bond leads, he is selected to save a British car racer from a Russian (SMERSH) sanction by entering into a very challenging professional race. He is quickly embroiled in a case involving the death ...more

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Oct 23, 2015 Bettie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: BBC Radio Listeners

Shelves: autumn-2015, published-2015, adventure, radio-4, spies, fanfic-writeback

BABT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06kbm08

Description: It's 1957 and James Bond, agent 007, has only just survived his showdown with Auric Goldfinger at Fort Knox. By his side is Pussy Galore, who was with him at the end.

Unknown to either of them, the USSR and the West are in a deadly struggle for technological superiority in the Space Race. And SMERSH is back.

The Soviet counter-intelligence agency plans to sabotage a Grand Prix race at the most dangerous track in Europe. But it's Bond who fi ...more

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Aug 27, 2016 Samuel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

DEAD HAND

"I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War, whose boyish charms, though lost on me, obviously appealed to that young girl I sent out to evaluate you."- M.

"I shall not waste my days prolonging them. I shall use my time". - Ian Lancaster Fleming.

Continuation novels. They’re the unloved and neglected stepchild of fiction. Never being able to capture the magic of the original author’s work, even if they’re so well written in their own right, critics and certai ...more

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Sep 14, 2016 BrokenTune rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

‘Don’t say that to me, you bastard! It’s what you want too – don’t think I don’t see it. You know what the big difference is between us? You can’t live with a woman in your life.’

Trigger Mortis is Anthony Horowitz's continuation of the Bond series. The story sets in after Goldfinger and begins with the description of what happens after Bond gets the girl(view spoiler).

I thought it was an interesting concept ...more

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Sep 18, 2015 Monnie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book had my name on it right from the git-go. First, I'm a diehard fan of the late Ian Fleming's James Bond books - and of the motion pictures as well, though for the most part they have little in common with the books. Second, Anthony Horowitz also authored Moriarty, to which I happily awarded 5 stars (yes, I love Sherlock Holmes as well).

For the first few chapters, though, I began to wonder if this one was destined to be not much more than name-dropping of people and places from other Bon This book had my name on it right from the git-go. First, I'm a diehard fan of the late Ian Fleming's James Bond books - and of the motion pictures as well, though for the most part they have little in common with the books. Second, Anthony Horowitz also authored Moriarty, to which I happily awarded 5 stars (yes, I love Sherlock Holmes as well).

For the first few chapters, though, I began to wonder if this one was destined to be not much more than name-dropping of people and places from other Bond books (it begins as Pussy Galore is ensconced in Bond's flat as a protective measure after the Goldfinger affair). Okay, I expected some of that - this one marks Bond's return after an electrifying exchange with Oddjob at Fort Knox. But would there be a real plot here with enough substance to stand on its own?

So, I consulted my Bond expert husband, who had just passed the book on to me, and his answer was a resolute yes. Even more impressive, he said, is the authenticity of writing style compared with that of Fleming. Now that I've finished, I totally agree; especially when the action began to heat up as the end was near, I really felt as if I were immersed in the pages of From Russia with Love or You Only Live Twice.

Interestingly, author Horowitz says in the acknowledgements that the concept for this book came from outlines Fleming had created for a possible TV series that was being discussed in America prior to the success of the film, Dr. No. Once that took off, the series idea was scrapped, and a couple of those outlines were used as the basis for subsequent movies. But five remained and were given to Horowitz; he picked one that piqued his writing interest and actually used about 500 words of Fleming's own dialogue in one chapter of this book.

The story here, set about a dozen years after the end of World War II, is that Bond learns his old nemesis, SMERSH, wants to kill the chances that a leading racecar driver will win an international Grand Prix in West Germany, thus allowing a Russian driver to win and demonstrating the power of the Soviets. Bond's boss, M, sends him in to prevent that from happening (yep, that means he'll have to impersonate a real driver and do laps around the track himself). But prior to the race, he spots a meeting between a top SMERSH official and a shady Korean millionaire dubbed Jason Sin, and suddenly Bond is convinced there's much more afoot than winning a road race.

Needless to say, Bond is right on the money, and the chase begins to find out what the secretive Mr. Sin really is up to (and, that accomplished, convincing the U.S. and British powers-that-be of the need to stop him). As Bond fans should expect, the whole thing comes down to resolution by the very capable secret agent, who must pull out all the stops to keep the world safe for democracy. Again.

I've missed you, Mr. Bond - great to have you back!
...more

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Dec 16, 2017 Bill Lynas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Last time I read this novel in book form, so this time I've gone for the audio version!
Actor David Oyelowo is a fine choice to read the best James Bond novel since Fleming. This unabridged audio version (with an epic running time of 9 hours & 32 minutes) is as good to listen to as the book was to read.
2018 should see the publication of Horowitz's second 007 adventure. I can hardly wait. ...more

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Jan 22, 2018 { U n s o l v e d M y s t e r y } rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, suspense, 2018-favorite-reads, i-m-in-love-with-a-book-cover, 5-stars, books-i-own, favorite-authors, favorites, mystery, secrets

Well, I finished this one.
I'm gonna be honest and admit that I REALLY enjoyed reading this book.

Hubby says he is turning me into a James Bond fan and he may be right!

I give five 🌟 to Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz.

I plan on reading another James Bond book later this year. 🔫💸💣 ...more

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Jul 18, 2016 F.R. rated it liked it · review of another edition

In his Sherlock Holmes novel, Anthony Horowitz gave us an interesting and thoughtful book that could never been published in Conan-Doyle’s time, however when it comes to his James Bond novel we get little sign of similar revisionism. Instead we get probably the most James Bond novel you could possibly imagine. The racing car plot is ludicrous – did anyone else think of Mr Burns and Mr Smithers in ‘Speedway Squad’? – but it’s so on a par with other later James Bond novels that it’s astounding no ...more

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Oct 27, 2019 Tony rated it liked it · review of another edition

I can’t make up my mind if the obvious or stereotypical situations, scenes and plays in this make for a better read or a worse one.

I think I was expecting a little more from this than just the obvious. It’s a decent enough read and I would think that any big bond fan would be grateful for the opportunity of reading new material. However, it all just seemed a little hackneyed.

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Dec 15, 2020 Nigel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, action, spy, imagined-sequel

3.5 stars, or 7/10

Entertaining addition to the Bond canon, could easily imagine this as a Bond film.
Set in the 1950's, it has Bond masquerading as a race-car driver to foil an assassination plot, before stumbling on to another, bigger plot involving the Space race.

Fans of Horowitz's Alex Rider series (a sort of teenage James Bond) will not find this outing much of a departure, with the action and obligatory seduction (tacked on at the end of the book almost as an afterthought) all being reasonab ...more

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Oct 06, 2015 James III rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ian, is that you?

Since the departure of Raymond Benson as the official author of James Bond, the franchise has been less than stable. There were two ‘Fleming’ Era novels, Devil May Care’ and ‘Solo’ and the modern tale, ‘Carte Blanche’; none of which set the world on fire. ‘Solo’ was ok and ‘Carte Blanche’ was, well, politically correct. It’s taken awhile for the Ian Fleming estate to find the right voice.

The search is over.

For the first few chapters, it was easy for me to believe that ‘Trigger M Ian, is that you?

Since the departure of Raymond Benson as the official author of James Bond, the franchise has been less than stable. There were two ‘Fleming’ Era novels, Devil May Care’ and ‘Solo’ and the modern tale, ‘Carte Blanche’; none of which set the world on fire. ‘Solo’ was ok and ‘Carte Blanche’ was, well, politically correct. It’s taken awhile for the Ian Fleming estate to find the right voice.

The search is over.

For the first few chapters, it was easy for me to believe that ‘Trigger Mortis’ was some long lost manuscript dug up from the Fleming’s cellar or something. True, it doesn’t hurt that Anthony Horowitz had access to an original script for a proposed James Bond TV show. That aside, Horowitz gets the style of Fleming right, including the liberal use of exclamation points! It’s hard to believe that a guy whose claim to fame is writing Alex Rider could capture the grittiness of James Bond.
This book skips the modern convention of ‘political correctness’. Bond is hard drinking, hard driving, racist and sexist. For those not familiar with the original books, this may bruise your delicate sensibilities. For the rest of us, it’s like welcoming back an old friend. For clarity, let me reveal that I am an African American male and I fully realize that if you’re going to copy the style of the 1950s, Bond’s view of different races won’t be as…enlighten as we’d like.
The novel finds Bond a week or so after the Goldfinger affair. He and Pussy Galore (if I have to remind you who she is, this is definitely not the novel for you) are enjoying each other’s company…or are they? Before Bond can get too bored with playing house, M calls him in for an assignment. SMERSH is at it again. They’re targeting a British race car driver and only Bond, the best driver in the Service, can get close enough to save him. What starts off as a simple mission to keep SMERSH from launching an attack just to embarrass the British (because, you know…Russians…) turns into a plot that will decide the fate of one of the biggest battlefields of the Cold War: The Space Race.
Jason Sin is the villain this time and he would be at home with the rest of Bond’s Rogue’s Gallery. A Korean with a host of mental unbalances, Sin is also the victim of one of the most terrible yet forgotten tragedies of the 20th Century. It hard to hate him until you remember just what diabolical scheme he’s got hatched up for New York City.
Trigger Mortis is a fun read and in the end that’s all that’s really important. There are some slow spots with Bond playing detective and some moments that seem a bit too modern. The biggest let down was the use of Pussy Galore. Without giving away too much, simply put, her role in the novel and the ‘shocking’ scene that’s gotten much play in the media is overhyped. In fact, if she were removed from the book all together the impact would been minimum.
For the Bond fan, it’s a must read, a love letter from a devoted fan and author across the decades to the man who gave us the greatest spy in fiction.

...more

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Mar 22, 2020 Andrew rated it really liked it

So now on to one of the "new" James Bond books in a continuation of the original Ian Fleming stories - this this case set a matter of weeks after Gold Finger.

I will say now that I have read a number of Anthony Horowitz books and enjoyed them all he has a style which suits me and as a result I find his books easy to read once I get in to the storyline. I will also add that in that list I have read his two Sherlock Holmes books and found them very entertaining so I was very interested in reading ...more

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Apr 11, 2015 Nathan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

While trying hard to remain true to the Ian Fleming classic Bond, I found Horowitz's Bond to be boring. Perhaps it was the endless description of the cars and everything related to the Grand Prix or the rather unimpressive and anti-climaxic end of the main villain. Whereas other authors have taken Bond and restyled him in their own way with their own tone, I felt that Horowitz tried too hard to keep it 'pure' and ended up with something that was extremely formulaic - even for Bond. On the other ...more

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Aug 09, 2018 Jesse A rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-it-up, audiobook

Strong, violent Bond adventure. The villain here was odd as in the middle point of the book you had some serious sympathy for him but otherwise he was just stock.

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May 30, 2016 Ken rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Set during the backdrop of the space race in 1957 and two weeks after the events of Goldfinger, Bond must foil a Soviet counter-intelligence agency plans to sabotage a Grand Prix race in Nurburgring.

It has a real classic Bond feel especially after the author set the story after the events of Fort Knox, this novel fits in seamlessly.
Great characterisation and the villain had plausible motivations, highly recommend.

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Jun 03, 2018 Benjamin Thomas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller-spy

James Bond, fresh off his adventure against Auric Goldfinger, is assigned to protect a prominent British race car driver from sabotage by SMERSH at the International Grand Prix event at Nurburgring. After infiltrating the racing circuit as a driver, 007 stumbles across some photos of rockets, which points him at a mysterious Korean millionaire named Jason Sin who seems intent on a terrorist attack against the US space program. Accompanied by American Bond babe, Jeopardy Lane, the plot unfolds am ...more

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Sep 24, 2018 Will rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Aside from having a compelling story, Horowitz has succeeded in creating a Bond tale that seems much more current than the timeline suggests. I read this book with the idea that I would be going back in time with a dated story. However, the author managed to make the book feel current and never did I feel as though I was living in the past with Bond.

The subplot involving Pussy Galore was pretty interesting as she comes across as not quite as important as we all had believed. Instead, Horowitz tr ...more

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Sep 30, 2015 Carson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Updated 9/23/2019

"Trigger Mortis" is vintage 1950's James Bond lightly retouched for a modern reader, a direct sequel to "Goldfinger" and an action-packing, suspenseful, thrilling adventure all its own.

With the upcoming release of "No Time To Die" I have re-read all Fleming novels and am now sifting through greatest hits of the continuation books. "Trigger Mortis" was certainly worth the re-read. It begins (after showing us some opening plot points that will tie in later) with Bond fresh off the Updated 9/23/2019

"Trigger Mortis" is vintage 1950's James Bond lightly retouched for a modern reader, a direct sequel to "Goldfinger" and an action-packing, suspenseful, thrilling adventure all its own.

With the upcoming release of "No Time To Die" I have re-read all Fleming novels and am now sifting through greatest hits of the continuation books. "Trigger Mortis" was certainly worth the re-read. It begins (after showing us some opening plot points that will tie in later) with Bond fresh off the Fort Knox Goldfinger takedown, "hosting" Pussy Galore in his Chelsea flat. He's quickly called back into duty; Miss Galore gets a very interesting and fitting plotline here. Bond is also taken into the world of Grand Prix, which is exciting (perhaps not explored as much as one would hope) but this is important because it utilizes actual writing and dialogue penned by Ian Fleming for "Murder on Wheels" - a TV pilot.

So, the Fleming work is a hook, but Horowitz delivers; I am a fan of his Sherlock Holmes work as well, and "Trigger Mortis" feels a lot like Fleming with the description, some of the words and phrases used ("God! What a girl!") and the high stakes with Bond up against a vengeful villain with backstory and paired with a girl who adds a ton of value. Horowitz manages to put a fresh spin on James Bond while taking him back to an era he was born from and delivering a tremendous story across numerous geographies and perils. 4 stars.

**************************************
So, let's review. "Trigger Mortis" is essentially a direct sequel to "Goldfinger," certainly the most legendary 007 film and definitely an essential entry in the Fleming series. It brings back Pussy Galore and takes place literally two weeks after the end of the Fort Knox caper. Not only that, but its second chapter is lifted from an original Ian Fleming work. That sets it off in a fantastic direction.

Having read Horowitz's two Sherlock Holmes novels and marveling at the way he adapted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's style, I expected something similar with that of Fleming's and was not disappointed.

Furthermore, being set in 1957, up against Bond's old adversary SMERSH and bringing back classic settings and characters and vehicles, this one felt really familiar already.

While some of the connect-the-dots-of-the-plot is perhaps a stretch (Bond poses as a playboy racecar driver who happens upon the baddies and almost stumbles upon their mission), the stakes are high, the formula is very much adhered to, the characters are well developed and written and it is a satisfying story.

Personally, I feel that Raymond Benson has authored the best post-Fleming Bond work. That said, this is certainly a worthy entry in the canon. 4 stars. ...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Jack Lugo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: recently-read, favorites

Having spent a good part of last year reading all the Fleming Bond novels, I could honestly say that Anthony Horowitz has given us something quite special with Trigger Mortis. Not only has Horowitz given us a thrilling original entry in this Bond continuation novel, he's also provided the readers with the closest experience I believe we will ever have to reading an actual new Bond book by Ian Fleming. Horowitz had been given unprecedented access to story treatments by Ian Fleming which have not Having spent a good part of last year reading all the Fleming Bond novels, I could honestly say that Anthony Horowitz has given us something quite special with Trigger Mortis. Not only has Horowitz given us a thrilling original entry in this Bond continuation novel, he's also provided the readers with the closest experience I believe we will ever have to reading an actual new Bond book by Ian Fleming. Horowitz had been given unprecedented access to story treatments by Ian Fleming which have not yet been made public. Before the success of the film franchise, Fleming had dabbled with the potential of letting Bond exist as a television series. When this prospect fell through, he used some of the outlines and treatments he'd written for the short story collection, For Your Eyes Only. Among the treatments that Fleming left unused was one called "Murder on Wheels" about Bond entering the Grand Prix racing circuit to protect a well known British racecar driver. Horowitz decided to use this idea as the launching pad for his own original story and so we have Trigger Mortis.

Taking place 2 weeks after the events of Fleming's Goldfinger novel, Trigger Mortis finds Bond dealing with the aftermath of that adventure and specifically dealing with the prospect of a long term relationship with that novel's Bond Girl, Pussy Galore. While this wouldn't be the first time that Bond had extended his relationship with a woman beyond his adventures (Bond had fallen in love with Tiffany Case in Diamonds Are Forever where she had even moved into Bond's flat by the end of the novel but the relationship had ended prior to the events of the subsequent novel From Russia With Love), it's the first time we get to see how a woman's relationship with Bond might disintegrate after the thrill of their adventure together has concluded.

Horowitz does a fatastic job bringing the characters and setting to life. His literary style is quite reminiscent of Fleming, the dialogue appears to be spot on, and the narration that Fleming had often relied upon to get readers inside of Bond's psyche is also quite faithfully recreated here. In every practical sense, this novel feels like you're reading a Fleming Bond novel.

I believe anyone who has enjoyed reading the Fleming novels will instantly take a liking to Horowitz's book, and I highly recommend it. ...more

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Sep 17, 2015 Gerald rated it it was ok

Shelves: james-bond

For the first quarter of this book, I felt it was one of the best Bond continuation novels ever. That is largely because it was the most Fleming-esque. The brilliant concept of setting it immediately after Goldfinger - a bored Pussy Galore installed in Bond's London flat; a James Bond who feels resentful of her prescence, interfering with his routine, while simultaneously desiring her - is the sort of stuff Fleming would have written.

Because James Bond being Ian Fleming's creation, he didn't hav ...more

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Sep 21, 2015 Dave rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2015

A pitch-perfect Bond. Possibly the closest to Fleming's Bond in any of the Bond stories I've read. Once I got past the seemingly-daft title (which does make sense as played out in the story), we get to a cracking tale of classic Bond adventure. Trigger Mortis follows immediately on the heels of Goldfinger, with Bond and Pussy Galore back in London. It's not long before Bond is off on another mission, this time to race the Nürburgring and foil an assassination attempt against a British driver. Bu ...more

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Dec 10, 2017 Campbell added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, thriller

I'm not particularly a fan of James Bond. It's impossible, though, to reach my age (43 at time of writing) and not be have one's own milieu somewhat saturated by cultural Bond references. I am, however, very much a fan of Anthony Horowitz. To my mind, he's the most inventive writer of detective (and related) fiction a
ctive today. I'm looking forward to this one.
-o0o-
As much as I'm a fan of the author, this one utterly failed to engage my interest so I'm going to have to pass. A real shame, I'll ...more

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Oct 14, 2017 Kathrina rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: oakdale-prison

Not a bond fan, never read a Fleming novel. My least favorite things come together -- race cars, rockets, racist stereotypes, and sexism. Still, I finished it.

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Jun 25, 2020 Maine Colonial rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, british, novel, thriller, cold-war

I used a Kobo audiobook credit on this title, more because I really enjoy Horowitz’s writing than because it’s a James Bond carry-on novel. To me, Bond is like a superhero in an action/adventure comic, over the top and not to be taken too seriously. Ian Fleming’s Bond, though, takes himself very seriously. If you ask me, he’s kind of a jerk; smug, a male chauvinist, and with a cruel streak.

Horowitz writes true to the Ian Fleming Bond, so that made for a lot of eye-rolling from me. The story take ...more

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Nov 02, 2018 Sebastian rated it really liked it

I've been a fan of Anthony Horowitz since his fantastic Sherlock Holmes novels and was excited to see that he would now also continue the work of Ian Fleming and his James Bond stories – and "Trigger Mortis" didn't disappoint. It had all the things you would expect from a Bond novel: fast-paced and often ridiculous action, an almost invincible protagonist that easily solves every crisis while seducing beautiful woman (which led to lots of eye-rolling on my part but well, I guess a Bond story wou ...more

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Oct 03, 2015 Andrew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: given-from-book-publishers, audiobooks

Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf

Set after the events of Goldfinger, Bond is on his next mission. He is asked to go to the Grand Prix, driving on one of the most dangerous tracks in Europe, trying to stop the Russians from sabotaging the race. But when he sees an agent of SMERSH with a rich Korean - Jin Seung Sin - who people dub as Jason Sin (because they either can't pronounce his name or are too lazy to learn it), Bond's mission turns a turn that will see him racing against the clock because Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf

Set after the events of Goldfinger, Bond is on his next mission. He is asked to go to the Grand Prix, driving on one of the most dangerous tracks in Europe, trying to stop the Russians from sabotaging the race. But when he sees an agent of SMERSH with a rich Korean - Jin Seung Sin - who people dub as Jason Sin (because they either can't pronounce his name or are too lazy to learn it), Bond's mission turns a turn that will see him racing against the clock because what started as a car race could actually be the biggest race of them all...

Like I said earlier, I haven't read Ian Fleming's books (only the movies - don't judge me), but I enjoyed myself listening to this. It had the essence of Bond from the books (I'm not sure if this would work if it was movie Bond) where he smokes too much, drinks too much and enjoys women (I am going to talk about this a little later). It was exciting, fun thriller, which made me remember that Anthony is good at writing thrillers.

Also, Anthony wrote a villain - Jin Seung Sin - that creeped the heck out of me, then made me feel sorry for because of his back story (how ironic that his backstory is reflected with the recent events happening in Syria and refugees in general) then back to "This guy is nuts and doesn't care who he hurts!". I, weirdly, found him a fascinating character.

There is some problems with this book. But I can't decide if they are big problems that would ruin the book for me or problems with Bond as a whole. With two of them, I have a feeling it's Bond that's the problem.

The first is David Oyelowo's reading of Trigger Mortis. Now, I liked it. I could tell the characters apart, David gave the characters depth. But I can understand some write-ups that I have read where they aren't not happy with the pacing of David's reading. At some point, he does reading very slowly and then, in high action scenes, his reading gets faster so the listener has to change how they listen to the story.

Another thing that true Bond fans might have issue is that Trigger Mortis does try once or twice to make Bond more human - a product of our time rather than a product of Ian Fleming's time. Bond has conversations with people about homosexuality (which at the time was illegal - Pussy Galore was a lesbian in Goldfinger but Bond "turned her" straight by the end of the book) and he is still racist at times. But then, there are moments Bond does act a tiny bit out of character. There is a moment when Bond, about to nearly kill someone, decide to let him live after the man pleads for his life, telling Bond about his family. Now, Bond is a killing mission - nothing matters but the mission - so showing mercy is hugely out of character for him.

But my main issue - which is a huge thing I have with James Bond in general - is the way he treats women. We see him treating women badly time and time again in both the books and in the movies. He enjoys the chase, sleeps with them and then discards them without a moment's thought. And in any form of adventure (movie, book, etc), do we see him decide to be safe and use a condom? Of course, this is Bond!

But in Trigger Mortis, we have three "Bond Girls" (I am trying not to use that term. It's a bit degrading, isn't it?). We have Pussy Galore from Goldfinger, who Bond "turned" straight. She came back with him because she was in danger in New York. But the thrill was gone and, after she was in danger, she ends things with Bond after a few chapters. He wanted her gone for a while but she ends it, basically calling him out on being a coward when it comes to relationships. But, barring this, what exactly was the point of her being in this story? Was her appearance a nod to fans of the book series or was it to show us that Bond is a bit of a sexist pig? Whatever it was, her appearance was lacking and it would have been nice if she was more involved in the story as a whole because of the location of where the book ends. I thought she was going to be in the whole story, not for a few chapters... And with the other two, Logan Fairfax and, the main "Bond girl", Jeopardy Lane, Bond uses them and then dismisses them once their use is over. Logan leaves after she teaches him how to drive a Grand Prix car and Jeopardy... ok, that's spoiler territory but you can guess.

Bond treats these women badly - actually, he treats all women badly - and yet, here we are, kinda celebrating it.

Sorry, that is a rant for a later date, me thinks.

But yes, Trigger Mortis. It was a love letter from a fan to the author and it was a lot of fun. I do hope Anthony Horowitz is asked to write another Bond novel. ...more

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About Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz

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Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recent ...more

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Quotes from Trigger Mortis

“Fangio had once said: ‘You should never think of a car as a piece of metal. It’s a living being with a heart that beats. It can feel happy or sad. It all depends on how you treat it.” — 2 likes

“And you know what they say. Choose yer wife with her nightcap on! You should take heed of that . .” — 0 likes

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Trigger Mortis

(James Bond - Extended Series #47)

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