The action kicks off with Bond and his old friend 006 on a mission to destroy a Soviet Biochemical Processing Plant, heavily guarded by the KGB. This is his first encounter with General Ourumov and when the action moves to post-Soviet Russia some years later, he finds himself up against him again, this time working for the Janus Crime Syndicate who have stolen the Goldeneye, a powerful piece of Russian space weaponry, with the help of the eccentric computer boffin, Boris Grishenko. The plot, not a classic in itself, is greatly enhanced by the mystery surrounding Janus and the two Russian female characters, the brilliantly named Xenia Onatop, complet ewith killer thighs, and the rather more amenable and attractive, Natalya Simonova.

There is a distinctive Russian flavour to Goldeneye which is interesting to compare to the early Fleming novels involving Smersh and the KGB. As with other John Gardner Bond stories, Goldeneye is an accessible and enjoyable read in its own right, though for die-hard Bond purists, if it's not Fleming, it's 007- lite. --Julian BrosterEND