Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories

Bond fans may initially be disappointed to find that the title story has absolutely nothing in common with the recent Daniel Craig movie, save the title. “Quantum” was an experimental piece Fleming wrote for Cosmopolitan in 1959 and has no elements of a secret agent or espionage yarn at all. This complete collection of 007 stories is made especially captivating by the talents of Simon Vance, whose cool, subdued and slightly removed narration is spot on, recalling Sean Connery’s interpretation of the role. So arresting is Vance’s performance that the listener can easily forgive his occasional “accent amnesia” in which a Cuban villain sounds somewhat Transylvanian and a soft-spoken, wife-beating American millionaire who’s described as sounding like Humphrey Bogart sounds like Bogie only to a very forgiving ear. But Vance’s wonderful characters beg our forgiveness, for their dark hearts and his telling of the riveting tales come through as keenly as a well-aimed shot from a Walther PPK. A Penguin paperback. (Nov.)