Quantum of Menace
ISBN: 9781804188651
Description
After Major Boothroyd (aka Q) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's 00 agents, he finds himself back in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a cryptic note. The police seem uninterested, but Q feels compelled to investigate and soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces... Can Q decode the truth behind Napier's death, even as danger closes in?
Reviewed on 30th November 2025
In this James Bond spin-off, a recently redundant Q finds himself back in the town where he grew up, surrounded by memories and ruined relationships, and investigating the recent death of an old friend.
As a Bond spin-off, it's filled with great references to both books and films, and features various guest spots from the wider canon. Q does seem rather obsessed with Bond, referencing him seemingly more often than maybe normal for a former colleague.
The narrative is fast paced, but with really short chapters - many of them feeling like, if not actually, just three pages long. As a reader, this briefness always feels distracting to me - like it's giving me too many dropping off points to put the book down, and not hooking me into the developing story.
I found it slow to read, and had to really commit myself to finishing, although the final third did feel like it picked up a bit. There's a second book coming, and I think based on the end of this one, I'll likely pick it up.