Quantum of Solace

Last night I started reading Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories by Ian Fleming. In the first story, "From a View to a Kill", James Bond is assigned to investigate the murder and robbery of a Secret Service despatch rider in France, and soon finds out that it is more than the simple hold-up it first appears to be. In "For Your Eyes Only", M., the head of the British Secret Service, assigns Bond to find and kill the gangsters who brutally murdered M.'s oldest friends. The third story, "Quantum of Solace" is an unusual Bond story in that there is no action scenes or spy elements and, in fact, Bond himself is only a minor character. The story is set at the end of a dull party at the mansion of a high-ranking official in the Bahamas, who tells Bond a story about marital infidelity and emotional cruelty. It's a very good story, really different to the usual James Bond ones. "Quantum of Solace" is the title of the new James Bond movie that should be out later this year, but I think it will have absolutely nothing to do with the story. Then again, the Bond films have never really been particularly faithful to the original novels or stories.

It was back to work again today, for another dull day. I got home at around six.