|
Home
¦ Reviews ¦ Nikolai
Dante - Honour Be Damned
Nikolai
Dante - Honour Be Damned
David Bishop
Buy
this book from Amazon.co.uk
What to Expect:
Dante out of his depth as usual, some of the raciest scenes you’ll get
in a comic book novel, and loads of fighting.
Review by Richmond
Clements
21st
February 06
David Bishop is
probably the best writer Black Flame have working on these 2000AD novels at the
moment. And he’s back again, with this, his third outing for the Russian
Rogue.
This time, Bishop
takes Dante, along with his cohorts Spatchcock and Flintlock, on a trip to Merry
Olde England. On hearing this, I, no doubt like you, thought I knew what was going
to be in store for me in this book. I was prepared for an amusing romp through
the world of the Carry On movies, with the ghost of Sid James cackling over Dante’s
shoulder.
Not so. Oh sure,
there are the requisite single entendres and a fair amount of amusing nudity,
with clothes being ripped off in embarrassingly public situations. But I’m
delighted to say that the plot itself owes more to John Buchan than it does to
Kenneth Williams. Buchan and Bond. Just check out the names of the Secret Agents...
is there anything below a single entendre? Because if there is, I think Bishop
might have discovered it.
Things start with
a bang, as the reader is launched straight into the middle of a protracted action
sequence, with no real clue as to what’s going on, before Bishop backtracks
for a while so we can catch up with the plot. In the plot we enter a world of
bluff and double bluff as we are dragged into the murk of the British Secret Service,
and the... peculiar operating methods of its head.
So, as my mention
of Buchan, it’s a story of Dante framed for a crime, and on the run from
the law while trying to prove his innocence. There are a number of action set
pieces on the way, and Bishop deals with them admirably. Also, keep your eye out
for a couple of brilliant passages, where he does great nods towards The Empire
Strikes Back, and in a laugh out loud sequence, Silence of the Lambs.
If the book has
a fault it’s that it’s over too soon. That is, the first couple of
acts are brilliantly paced, and build the tension and plot beautifully. When it
gets to the final act though, things seem to move far too quickly. The story could
have, I feel, benefited from a few more chapters to help decompress the action
in the back end of the book. Here it feels like Bishop has had to curtail his
writing somewhat to fit into the 250 pages.
I said that Bishop’s
first Dante novel was the best in the Black Flame range. This one is just as good.
Bishop knows Dante, he can write his to a ‘T’.
One more thing.
On his blog, Mr Bishop has made mention of the number of books he has use to research
his forthcoming Fiends of the Eastern Front series. He’s got a couple of
shelves worth of books, he says.
This book has
Dante having another encounter with the Cadre Infernale. I just wonder where Bishop
keeps the books he used to research this particular scene (and a truly bizarre
fetish that it features, one I had never heard of before, but it’s true!
Yes, I checked!)... On top of the wardrobe, perhaps?
Bojemoi!
Buy
this book from Amazon.co.uk
|
