Call Me Indestructible...

Sorry I'm late! I finished listening to 'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming, read by Bill Nighy, last weekend and completely forgot to blog about it. Suspect I've been thinking too much about my Christmas shopping. Well, there are so many fabulous books out there it takes a lot of brainpower to decide which to give to people!

'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming
Read by Bill Nighy
(AudioGo, 2012)

At the beginning of 'Moonraker', James Bond seems a bit bored.  He's back at his desk in London, teasing his secretary, worrying about his colleagues and desperate for a diversion. It isn't much, but when M asks for his help with a possible cards cheat at his exclusive club, Bond jumps at the chance.  After all, why would Sir Hugo Drax, multi-millionaire, commodities tycoon and national hero need to cheat at cards? Drax's bad habit must be stopped before a scandal breaks, something which would threaten his latest project, the superatomic Moonraker rocket, jewel in the British defence crown.  Suitably beaten, it looks like the end of it, until events take an unexpected turn and Bond finds himself at the Moonraker construction site. Working with undercover Special Branch officer Garla Brand, he soon realises something isn't quite right. But can he work out what it is in time to save the world once more?

Who'd have thought that a Bond set in Britain rather than some exotic location would be this good? Seriously, if you'd said the next movie was going to be filmed in Kent, I would have laughed.  But, like so many of the other 007 Reloaded audiobooks I've listened to this year, this is deceptively brilliant.

The plot is well paced and the story filled with so much mystery that I couldn't wait to hear what happened next. Bond and Brand puzzle over clues that are like odd shaped jigsaw pieces and the tension increases with the arrival of each new tidbit.

And the peril! It looks like it's far more dangerous for Bond at home than it ever could be abroad! The one unsolved mystery is how he manages to make it through the book without breaking anything. But then, he wouldn't be much of a hero if he wasn't indestructible.

'Moonraker' by Ian Fleming
(Penguin Modern Classics,2004)

By contrast, Drax is a man destroyed then reassembled, reborn from a murky past but scarred mentally and physically.  The physical descriptions of him are raw and often repulsive, but they bring the character to life in all his skin crawling glory.

I often worry about the way women are portrayed in Fleming's books, but I rather liked Carla Brand. Although not my favourite Bond girl, she was tough and clever and added a twist to the book's ending which I rather liked.

I must also mention Bill Nighy, who read this particular audiobook. He was absolutely fantastic and I hope to hear more by him in the future.

Overall, if you enjoy action, adventure and thrills, then you'll enjoy 'Moonraker'. I'm getting used to this Bond now and am enjoying finding out more about his world.  I can't wait to start 'From Russia with Love'.

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