CommanderBond.net

Please use this thread to discuss Shirin Shahbazi’s (aka al) ‘The Death of a Shadow’

Shirin! You are a daring soul. Very well written and very satisfying.

Mr Shahbazi will have the unfortunate, and dubious, reputation as the man that killed Bond. But, without a doubt, this was one of the most thought-provoking pieces of fan fiction I've read. Short true, but this only serves to heighten the shock and aids the story immeasurably. Since it is only two and a bit pages long, really the main area on which to comment is the writing itself, which is certainly accomplished. The sentences move and flow with ease, each phrase is used to convey a particular atmosphere, and through the author's talent the description of Bond in heaven isn't cheesy at all, which it easily could have been.

The very gritty description of the torture scenes capture the mood perfectly, and it is good to see an author willing to deal with the brutality of Bond's world (although many other fan fiction writers have done this also). In addition, I also appreciate the insight into Bond's mentality staring at his death, remaining calm and thinking, "Honey, I'll be home soon." Not too much, but just an effective glimse into Bond's character.

A very good piece of work.

This post has been edited by Lazenby: 10 July 2004 - 23:52

Lazenby, I agree with all your points, but what makes it even more impressive is that Shirin appeared to be rather young and female when she wrote back to me. I know that sounds sexist on my part, but the first thing I thought after reading this gritty story on fanfiction.net was, "Wow, this guy can write!" She simply writes like a thirty year old man, and a talented one at that. Her letters didn't identify her as female, and I was careful not to go either way in my queries, but I believe the name Shirin is traditionally female. I could be, and often am, wrong.

This is probably the story of the collection I know the least about. Looking forward quite a bit to getting to knowing this one more.

Yes i thought Shirin was a woman too - i couldn't be certain about the name but it just seemed it when i read it. I also wasn't sure if Bond was actually meant to have died at the end of the story - i thought maybe it was a dream where he was dreaming of his own death and waking to find his life with tracey was his idea of heaven. But looking at the details mentioned, eg the ring, and remembering she dies on her wedding day, I guess it really is Bond's death. Thought provoking. Still not sure how to feel about this ending, but i think it is a great end piece to the book.
H