AGENT BIGGLESBY: Not Dead Yet begins with an escape worthy of James Bond. However, when the mysterious black-clad figure is an octogenarian with a penchant for drink, cigars, classical music, and soft-core pornography, it is not hard to guess at the outcome. James P. Rochester’s titular protagonist is a former spy who now finds himself ensconced in an East Coast nursing home, and about to embark on a series of picaresque adventures.
One is irresistibly put in mind of David Mitchell’s "The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish" in Cloud Atlas. Some of the same narrative beats are present, such as the overweening confidence of one’s own waning abilities and the affronts to dignity that come with old age. At other times, the novel feels like pastiche, though it is hard to know of what exactly. Rochester writes in a slick, almost louche style, bending language in a P. G. Wodehouse sort of way.
This doesn’t necessarily sit well with the nods in the direction of Fleming’s spy fiction, which is clearly the archetype for Bigglesby. The villains with silly names (Vilefinger, Mr. Super Pants, and so on) and the sidelong references to an undiminished, Bond-esque sex drive (it is speculated that Bigglesby suffers from “post-nomadic sex disorder”) push hard at a broader approach to the humor that militates against the drollness on display elsewhere. The presentation is very good, though there is the occasional greengrocer’s apostrophe, and the insertion of in-line citations when referencing song lyrics and movies is peculiar (while seeming to bear no relation to the plot or narrative).
The plot, like Bigglesby in many ways, is dissolute: a vehicle for an explanation of his predicament rather than an end unto itself. There is perhaps too much of a tendency here to indulge the parenthetical comment, to pursue the quarry down the rabbit hole. A tighter, more focused story would have rewarded the reader without compromising the comic element or the emphasis on Bigglesby’s passions and battle with the indignities of his position. But in its wit, charm, and multiple absurdities, AGENT BIGGLESBY: Not Dead Yet delivers much enjoyment.
Though there are certain issues with tone, James P. Rochester's AGENT BIGGLESBY: Not Dead Yet delivers absurd humor in this peculiar and entertaining brand of adventure.
~ Craig Jones for IndieReader