BOOK REPORT

We're all spies like Coldplay this week as we take it from Bond to Bourne with a secret service of thrilling reads.

THE BOURNE IMPERATIVE: So far we've had four brilliant Jason Bourne films as this spy looks to take over Bond for the modern age (good luck...have you seen 'Skyfall'), but there's around 10 thrilling books for readers and moviemakers to get around to and this one should be 'Imperative'. With an amnesic like beginning reminiscent of the original 'Identity' of Bourne, this is the perfect homage and story in it's own right. From snow soaked tension in a murderous wilderness to a blizzard of worldwide chases and undercover twists revealed to the light at the end of this book spine this is one taught and tense read. What else could you expect from a spy thiller that requires a Sherlock Holmes magnify glass of concetration and composure to get through? 007 may have owned the last century of secret services, but this spy hard work of Jason Bourne looks set to create a legacy that could last over the decades of this new milleniuum. One day they'll be talking about who will play the new Bourne like they do Bond.

CASINO ROYALE: Still, like the front of this book says, 'there is only one Bond'...and only one spy who out smarts them all with a suit and tie and pistol cocked with a license to kill. Plus as great as Daniel Craig and his new 'Casino Royale' beginnings are(certainly an upgrade from the original, unofficial 'Royale' offering), when it comes to Bond nobody tops Fleming, Ian Fleming. That's right Sean Connery and Roger Moore, when you look at Bond you see the man who wrote and created him. Fleming's first novel was a real find and scoop thanks to a free coupon from a newspaper (you know we've been on the hunt for great, bargain books and this is one of the best...ever) and reading this book on a park bench with a man playing an accordian nearby really set the European scene for a novel, quick, perfect Autumn afternoon read(the classic chapter names including 'Pink Lights and Champagne' even inspired me to write a song). Still, nobody lays it out like Fleming who just like Shelock's, Arthur Conan Doyle is a classic, creative writer aswell as a great story and character creator. The man who wrote President JFK's favourite book (the other (oh, there's more than one) Bond classic 'From Russia With Love') and 'Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang' gets deep, dark and descriptive from the subplots of murder and romance that make the ladies and gentelman's favourite Bond so compelling. From Bentley chases to the tension of torture, nothing is more gripping in this thriller than the gamble of cards and money itself. You have to hand it to Fleming, he plays it perfectly. No matter how great the Bond films are, nothing is more exciting and entertaining than the words that inspired it. The book always comes first...shaken and stirred. TIM DAVID HARVEY.