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The Ian Fleming Files: Operation Armada (2000)

by Damian Stevenson(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 3

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review 1: I read Operation Parsifal first, which is the second book in the series, and it was a great read. I’m pleased to say Operation Armada, book one, was just as enjoyable. It appears that The Ian Fleming Files work well as standalone books, so it doesn’t really matter what order they are read in, and that’s a good thing. Damien Stevenson has a real talent for balancing just the right amount of detail and description so none of it gets in the way of the plot. The end result is a compelling story, rich in the imagery of the World War Two period, complete with all the technology and gadgetry of the time as well as the thrills and spills one would expect from a spy novel about the man behind the one and only James Bond. Highly recommended, especially if you like to curl up ... morein bed on a cold, dreary night and be transported to exotic locations on an adventure! An excellent book.
review 2: Damian Stevenson is an expert on Ian Fleming. I have read his screenplays and articles and I was thrilled to learn that he had decided to write an e-book genre book that utilized his knowledge of Fleming’s life to tell an old fashioned World War 2 thriller yarn that reads like a cross between a Jason Bourne movie and a BBC costume drama. The combination is interesting. Lots of scenes of characters in tuxedoes sipping cocktails and talking about ‘Jerry’ and ‘the Bosch’ with ‘old boy’ and ‘I say’ sprinkled about liberally – terrific stuff. A bit too much time is devoted to cataloguing who wore what and who ate what but I think it’s because this is a first novel. I actually enjoyed all this ephemera because I am a history buff but I can see why some reviewers thought the descriptions were overkill. By far the best parts of this book are the action sequences: the amazing opening flyover surveillance of the French fleet, the parachute drop that goes wrong, the thrilling helicopter attack, the ski chase that nods to ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ but takes it further and of course the obligatory last hurrah climax at the villain’s lair – all were first-rate passages, superbly done. In the next book I would like to see more character development, especially with regards Ian Fleming’s relationship to Ann O’Neill whom he married in 1953. There were cameos of Peter Fleming, Celia Johnson, Lady Fleming and Noel Coward, who was alluded to. I hope we see these characters take more of a role in future books. This story is set in 1940, which gives author Stevenson a lot of time to play with. One wonders where the series will go from here. The research must have taken forever. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next installment which the liner notes in this book tells us is called ‘The Ian Fleming Files: Operation Trinity.” less

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