Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz Narrator: Matthew Goode
Series: James Bond - Extended Series #48, Horowitz Bond #2
Published by Harper Audio on November 6, 2018
Source: Library
Genres: Adventure, Spy Thriller
Length: 7 hrs 36 mins
Pages: 290
Format: Audiobook
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A spy is dead. A legend is born.
A British agent floats in the waters of the French Riviera, murdered by an unknown hand.
Determined to uncover the truth, James Bond enters a world of fast cars, grand casinos and luxury yachts. But beneath the glamour, he soon encounters a dangerous network of organised crime.
It’s time for Bond to earn his licence to kill. He must find those responsible and unravel their devastating plan – before he becomes their next victim…
The exhilarating prequel to Casino Royale
I like Horowitz. I enjoy James Bond. Apparently the two put together are annoying. It’s the early ‘50s and British intelligence is worried about unusual activity in Marseille’s underworld so they send one of their elite agents to check it out, but 007 is murdered. His replacement? A young man named Bond. James Bond.
And it is a stereotypical Bond story. We have a beautiful, intelligent woman and the bad guy is appropriately evil and easy to describe. We have food, drinks, cars, gambling, and plenty of violence. Maybe that’s what had me rolling my eyes. It was predictable. The plot does move along quickly and if you’re looking for a James Bond story, it is definitely that. Maybe that’s just not what I was in the mood for.
About Anthony Horowitz
Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the Alex Rider series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spies for MI6, The Power of Five series (known as The Gatekeepers in the US), and The Diamond Brothers series.
Horowitz’s works for adults include: the play Mindgame; two Sherlock Holmes novels; three novels featuring his own detective Susan Ryeland, Magpie Murders, Moonflower Murders, and Marble Hall Murders; five novels featuring a fictionalised version of himself as a companion and chronicler to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne: The Word Is Murder, The Sentence Is Death, A Line to Kill, The Twist of a Knife, and Close to Death.
The estate of James Bond creator Ian Fleming chose Horowitz to write Bond novels utilising unpublished material by Fleming, starting with Trigger Mortis in 2015, followed by Forever and a Day in 2018, and a third and final novel With a Mind to Kill in May 2022.
Horowitz has also written for television, contributing scripts to ITV’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot and adapting six early episodes of Midsomer Murders from the novels of Caroline Graham, including the first three episodes. He was the creator and writer of the ITV series Foyle’s War, Collision and Injustice, and the BBC series Crime Traveller and New Blood.
In 2019 Anthony became a Patron to Home-Start in Suffolk, a small local family support charity working with families across the Suffolk county, as they navigate through challenging circumstances such as mental health issues, bereavement, long term or terminal illness, isolation, domestic abuse, poverty and so much more.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
I am not a James Bond fan but I do like Anthony Horowitz (I have seen a few interviews and he seems very charming, in addition to his clever books and television).
However, I like Matthew Goode more than either of them! How was the narration? I didn’t know he had done any audiobooks. I do not think I have ever picked a book on its narrator but I did once look up Scott Brick to see what else he had done, so I guess I came close.
His narration was fine – it fit the tone of the book well. He didn’t strike me as outstanding though. Of course, I didn’t actually know who he was and had to look him up after you commented.
Interesting. I will bear this in mind. So far I’m enjoying the Horowitz and Hawthorne books.
I like the Hawthorne books a lot.