Welcome to what has become the James Bond universe. If you think you’ve seen a lot of the characters over the years, brace yourself because it’s going to get more intense. Amazon is gearing up for the next movie and who knows a spin off or two. But that’s not all, Ian Fleming Publications are ramping up the book publishing. Familiar supporting characters coming out of the shadows and taking centre stage.
The first was Raymond Benson’s The Hook and the Eye, featuring Bond’s CIA contact Felix Leiter. Now, in Vaseem Khan’s Quantum of Menace, Major Boothroyd – AKA the gadget man Q – investigates a murder mystery. This is the first in the proposed Q Mystery Series.
There’s a new M, and the head of the secret service doesn’t like the cut of Q’s jib, so he is put out to pasture. This despite a lifetime of service to the nation, armourer to the 00s, helping them in their dangerous field operations for decades. Still only in his 50s, Q has to contemplate his future. He moves back to the little town he grew up in, leafy Wickstone-on-Water, but can’t countenance retirement with his feet up.
Like anyone newly redundant Q is depressed until faced with the tragic loss of his best friend from childhood. It hurts but, ironically, it gives him renewed purpose. Peter Napier died in what seem to be suspicious circumstances and yet the police don’t think there’s any reason to look into it – a simple misadventure. However, Peter left a cryptic note for Q and immediately he’s intrigued by the puzzle. He was a world leading quantum mechanics scientist with his own business working on cutting-edge technology that could revolutionise the future of humanity. Mastering quantum physics has become the holy grail of science. Q decides to conduct his own investigation realising that the research Peter was doing might have made him a target for rivals and criminals.
Q is no detective and his branch was always in the background, not in the heat of the action. So Q asks himself a question: what would James Bond do? There is a fun part of the novel, the brief appearance of Bond, who otherwise hovers in the background anyway. The first step for Q is to go to Napier Labs and chat to the people in charge since Peter died and that’s enough to heat up his suspicions.
This is very much a crime novel, in that cosier vein, with clues and red herrings to delight readers who love puzzles. It is not a spy story, so Ian Fleming purists will not be enamoured. However, that was never the intention, though Khan does love a riddle and ciphers are part of the bigger conundrum of the novel so it has certain spy connections beyond the appearance of Bond himself.
The Q we meet here is clever and resourceful. He’s fun to be with, discombobulated by retirement, stretched by the case. He also has friends at the service, though admittedly M isn’t one of them so that’s a hurdle to overcome, which adds to the fun. As the opener for a new series with an engaging proto detective, Quantum of Menace is appealing. Look out for Mort, that’s Mortimer Boothroyd, Q’s curmudgeonly father, who is another challenge for Q. There is also his former lover, Kathy Burnham, who happens to be the DCI in charge of the official investigation once Q stirs things up.
As for the handling of technology, Khan has said that quantum computing – Peter Napier’s line of work – could make the AI revolution look as dated as the discovery of fire. This might be stretching it but once achieved at scale it will be another huge step forward. As seen with AI, it could be one to fear. However, he does a great job of explaining what it means and does that without interfering with the flow of the story, in fact mirroring it in ways you’ll discover help to understand the concepts and add to the plot. If you purchase a copy, there is also a cryptic riddle competition inside – you’ll have until 31 March 2026 to solve it and enter.
If you’re a fan of the Vaseem Khan’s very different Baby Ganesh or Persis Wadia novels, you’ll recognise the wit and charm that the brings to a story. The clever metaphor, the dive into history – this time the Romans get a run out. It’s a delight to read. If you want a clever mystery puzzle that has the best elements of the Golden Age woven in this is for you. For the fact that this leaves you feeling better when you finish than when you started it’s a solid winner. However, if you want an out and out spy novel this is not for you.
Next year MW Craven will bring us a James Bond origin story with the Secret Academy.
Zaffre
Print/Kindle/iBook
£8.99
CFL Rating: 5 Stars
