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| 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
Showing posts with label fleming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fleming. Show all posts
01 January 2017
Bond Meets his Matches
So, the day has finally come. For nearly two years, I've been working my way through the 007 Reloaded audiobooks, recordings of Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels read by a variety of great actors. I've finally finished my last one. I say 'my' last one because I've not actually listened to them in order, but, in a strange way, I'm glad that 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' by Ian Fleming and read by David Tennant was my last.
09 October 2016
Two for the Price of Bond!
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.
As the regular readers among you will know, I've been working my way through the AudioGo 007 Reloaded series of James Bond audiobooks over the past few years. I've now listened to 13 of the 14 unabridged recordings of Ian Fleming's original novels read by different actors. At time of typing, I'm just two CDs away from finishing the whole series, so watch this space!
Back to back, I recently (ahem) finished 'You Only Live Twice' (read by Martin Jarvis) and 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (read by Kenneth Branagh).
In 'You Only Live Twice', Bond is a broken man. His wife is dead, murdered by criminal mastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and Bond's spirit seems to have died with her. But while 007 is ready to give up, M is prepared to give him an opportunity to live again. Sent to Japan, Bond receives his deadliest assignment yet from Tiger Tanaka, head of the country's Secret Service. A suspicious foreigner has created a 'Castle of Death' where too many people have lost their lives in mysterious circumstances. Tanaka charges Bond with infiltrating the castle, but first of all, 007 has to learn how to be Japanese...
'You Only Live Twice' is followed by 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. Missing for over a year following his Japanese adventure, Bond makes a sudden re-appearance in London, brainwashed by the KGB to assassinate M. Fortunately, the attempt fails, but to prove his loyalty, Bond is sent on an impossible mission; to find and kill the notorious hit man 'Pistols' Scaramanga. But does the world-weary spy have what it takes to assassinate the legendary Man with the Golden Gun?
'You Only Live Twice' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun' are the last Bond books written by Ian Fleming before his death at just 56 years old in 1964. They're full of references to previous events, locations and people, so you need to be aware of their predecessors' plots. The events of 'You Only Live Twice', for example, only make sense if you've read 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (unfortunately, the only one in the series I didn't have!). Don't make my mistake, read Fleming's novels in order!
Of the two, I felt 'You Only Live Twice' was the weaker. I've often got the feeling that Fleming would learn something or meet someone, become fascinated, stew for a bit, then, when the time was right, sit down and write a Bond novel. Unfortunately, this got in the way a bit with this book. The theme here is Japanese culture, but so many pages are devoted to Tanaka teaching Bond how to be Japanese that it dispels the tension in the lead up to the mission itself. Plus, although I know these books are fiction, imagining the bullish Britisher James Bond could masquerade as a Japanese man felt a bit too far fetched. Underground lairs? Yes. Gold smuggled as car parts? Obviously. A bit of make up and some coaching to completely change culture? Hmm, not sure.
Once it did cut to the chase, however, the reader was back on safe ground. The mission in the 'Castle of Death' has all the hallmarks of a classic Fleming thriller and there's a brilliant cliffhanger ending (although there's a loose end connected with the love interest which is never resolved and will torment me forever!).
'The Man with the Golden Gun' is far more tense and arresting throughout. Once the initial hurdle of Bond's brainwashing is out of the way, we find ourselves in what would otherwise be a great standalone Bond story. This is thanks to Scaramanga, a mysterious and unpredictable villain who seems much like a wire that could snap at any time. Throughout the book, it feels like it's the baddie who has the upper hand and Bond could be unmasked at any moment. Even when you think it's all over... well, it isn't... quite!
One unexpected negative to 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was its narrator, Kenneth Branagh. He's such an amazing actor and director and I was really excited to be listening to a Bond book read by him. Unfortunately, the performance felt really rushed, almost as though he'd squeezed it in between two of his other many projects. It was such a shame, especially as many of the other 007 Reloaded readers have added so much to the books with their recordings.
'You Only Live Twice' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun' both feature great characters, old and new. I'm sure Dikko Henderson, Bond's Australian Secret Service contact in Japan, must be based on someone Fleming knew. The guy just leaps off the page! Felix Leiter and Mary Goodnight also make welcome re-appearances and we find out what happened to a number of other characters too.
Interestingly, the man we find out most about is probably James Bond himself. When he goes missing in 'You Only Live Twice', Bond's obituary is published - a great read for trivia addicts!
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Diamonds are Forever'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'The Spy who Loved Me'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
As the regular readers among you will know, I've been working my way through the AudioGo 007 Reloaded series of James Bond audiobooks over the past few years. I've now listened to 13 of the 14 unabridged recordings of Ian Fleming's original novels read by different actors. At time of typing, I'm just two CDs away from finishing the whole series, so watch this space!
Back to back, I recently (ahem) finished 'You Only Live Twice' (read by Martin Jarvis) and 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (read by Kenneth Branagh).
 |
| 'You Only Live Twice' by Ian Fleming and read by Martin Jarvis (AudioGo 2012) |
'You Only Live Twice' is followed by 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. Missing for over a year following his Japanese adventure, Bond makes a sudden re-appearance in London, brainwashed by the KGB to assassinate M. Fortunately, the attempt fails, but to prove his loyalty, Bond is sent on an impossible mission; to find and kill the notorious hit man 'Pistols' Scaramanga. But does the world-weary spy have what it takes to assassinate the legendary Man with the Golden Gun?
 |
| 'You Only Live Twice' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
Of the two, I felt 'You Only Live Twice' was the weaker. I've often got the feeling that Fleming would learn something or meet someone, become fascinated, stew for a bit, then, when the time was right, sit down and write a Bond novel. Unfortunately, this got in the way a bit with this book. The theme here is Japanese culture, but so many pages are devoted to Tanaka teaching Bond how to be Japanese that it dispels the tension in the lead up to the mission itself. Plus, although I know these books are fiction, imagining the bullish Britisher James Bond could masquerade as a Japanese man felt a bit too far fetched. Underground lairs? Yes. Gold smuggled as car parts? Obviously. A bit of make up and some coaching to completely change culture? Hmm, not sure.
Once it did cut to the chase, however, the reader was back on safe ground. The mission in the 'Castle of Death' has all the hallmarks of a classic Fleming thriller and there's a brilliant cliffhanger ending (although there's a loose end connected with the love interest which is never resolved and will torment me forever!).
 |
| 'The Man with the Golden Gun' by Ian Fleming and read by Kenneth Branagh. (AudioGo, 2012) |
One unexpected negative to 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was its narrator, Kenneth Branagh. He's such an amazing actor and director and I was really excited to be listening to a Bond book read by him. Unfortunately, the performance felt really rushed, almost as though he'd squeezed it in between two of his other many projects. It was such a shame, especially as many of the other 007 Reloaded readers have added so much to the books with their recordings.
 |
| 'The Man with the Golden Gun' by Ian Fleming. (Vintage, 2012) |
Interestingly, the man we find out most about is probably James Bond himself. When he goes missing in 'You Only Live Twice', Bond's obituary is published - a great read for trivia addicts!
Overall, despite having my disbelief suspended a bit higher than normal, I did enjoy both these stories and they are great additions to the Bond canon. On the whole, I think it's a case of if you enjoyed one, you'll probably enjoy them all.
Now I've nearly finished them all, I'm actually feeling quite sad that there weren't more. I know other writers have picked up the pen and continued where Fleming left off, but there is a big part of me that can't help thinking that nobody does it better.
Now, what next...?
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Diamonds are Forever'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'The Spy who Loved Me'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
06 August 2015
Strangers in the Night
Hot on the heels of 'Diamonds are Forever' comes Ian Fleming's tenth Bond book, 'The Spy Who Loved Me'. Written from a female perspective, this AudioGo CD version was read by Rosamund Pike (Miranda Frost in Die Another Day fact fans!)
In an isolated American motel, the Dreamy Pines Motor Court, Vivienne Michel is alone with
nothing but thoughts of her past disappointments - bitter love affairs, faded career prospects, shattered dreams. Nursing her wounds and in search of a fresh start, she's begun a cross country journey that she hopes will lead to something new, something better. But fate has other ideas. With the arrival of two terrifying psychopathic gangsters, Vivienne finds herself caught up in a deadly criminal plot and Dreamy Pines begins to turn into a nightmare beyond anything she could have imagined...
Oh. My. Goodness. 'The Spy Who Loved Me' is far and away the most visceral, hard hitting and haunting of all the Bond novels I've read to date. People often talk about being on the edge of their seat and in this instance it was not a metaphor. At the end of every disc, I was finding I was about to topple off my chair and I couldn't get the next CD into the player quickly enough. Perhaps it was to do with the narrator - Mr Fleming does an unexpectedly good job writing from the female perspective, while Ms Pike is fantastic, her performance expertly drawing you into Vivienne's rapidly shrinking and increasingly threatening world. I felt like I was in the room with her, a helpless bystander watching as the horrors unfolded, praying for someone to come and help her.
This is the first Bond novel that I know I definitely want to read again. 'The Spy Who Loved Me' is a chilling, taut, suspenseful thriller of the first order and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
Now, what next...?
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Diamonds are Forever'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
In an isolated American motel, the Dreamy Pines Motor Court, Vivienne Michel is alone with
 |
| 'The Spy Who Loved Me' by Ian Fleming and read by Rosamund Pike (AudioGo, 2012) |
This is the first Bond novel that I know I definitely want to read again. 'The Spy Who Loved Me' is a chilling, taut, suspenseful thriller of the first order and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
Now, what next...?
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Diamonds are Forever'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
28 July 2015
Diamond Geezer, Hard Case
After several months, I've finally finished listening to AudioGo's 007 Reloaded recording of 'Diamonds are Forever' by Ian Fleming, read by Damian Lewis. Yay!
Millions of pounds worth of diamonds are being smuggled from West Africa to the United States via London and MI6 is investigating. Suspicion has fallen on the anglo-American Diamond Corporation, but the authorities need to know the pipeline's route so they can close it down. It's a tough job that needs a skilled agent, so M sends James Bond undercover to track who is handling the illegal gems. But as Bond penetrates deeper into the organisation, he encounters harder and more brutal adversaries, until he's face-to-face with the Spangled Mob gangsters behind the Corporation and their psychopathic heavies Mr Wint and Mr Kidd. Is Bond in too deep this time? Can he convince the gang of his false identity? Or will Britain's greatest spy end up in a desert shallow grave?
Like a number of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, 'Diamonds are Forever' suddenly gets going quite a way in, in this case about 100 pages from the end. It starts well, with an intense description of the first link in the smuggling chain, then the initial investigations in the UK followed by Bond's first moves undercover and his introduction to the damaged Tiffany Case. Then it all goes flat for a bit while there's some stuff about fixed horse races and gambling before Bond upsets his paymasters and finds himself in trouble. To be honest, it almost felt like Fleming had suddenly developed an interest in equestrian events that he really wanted to (horse) shoe in, but I'm probably being a bit harsh.
As in 'Goldfinger', the gangsters are as repulsive a group as you could ever imagine, while Wint and Casino Royale'. They are truly terrifying villains, prevented from becoming cartoonish by Fleming's tactile descriptions, which mean you can't stop yourself imagining them in three dimensions, conjured through every one of the five senses.
Kidd take sadistic torture to levels not read since '
For me, the books often hang on how I feel about the heroine and I must admit that I grew to like Tiffany Case. She's tough with a heartbreaking back story, but had humour, playfulness and ambition. She made her own decisions and made her own mistakes.
Overall, this was a pretty good Bond book, although it's not for the faint hearted. If you like the others, you're going to like 'Diamonds are Forever', but I wouldn't recommended it as an introduction to the series.
Now, what next...
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
 |
| 'Diamonds are Forever' by Ian Fleming Read by Damian Lewis (AudioGo, 2012) |
Like a number of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, 'Diamonds are Forever' suddenly gets going quite a way in, in this case about 100 pages from the end. It starts well, with an intense description of the first link in the smuggling chain, then the initial investigations in the UK followed by Bond's first moves undercover and his introduction to the damaged Tiffany Case. Then it all goes flat for a bit while there's some stuff about fixed horse races and gambling before Bond upsets his paymasters and finds himself in trouble. To be honest, it almost felt like Fleming had suddenly developed an interest in equestrian events that he really wanted to (horse) shoe in, but I'm probably being a bit harsh.
As in 'Goldfinger', the gangsters are as repulsive a group as you could ever imagine, while Wint and Casino Royale'. They are truly terrifying villains, prevented from becoming cartoonish by Fleming's tactile descriptions, which mean you can't stop yourself imagining them in three dimensions, conjured through every one of the five senses.
 |
| 'Diamonds are Forever' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
For me, the books often hang on how I feel about the heroine and I must admit that I grew to like Tiffany Case. She's tough with a heartbreaking back story, but had humour, playfulness and ambition. She made her own decisions and made her own mistakes.
Overall, this was a pretty good Bond book, although it's not for the faint hearted. If you like the others, you're going to like 'Diamonds are Forever', but I wouldn't recommended it as an introduction to the series.
Now, what next...
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
24 February 2015
The Old Man and the Spy
It's taken a while, but I have finally finished the AudioGo recording of Ian Fleming's 'From Russia with Love'. This version was read by Toby Stephens, who fans will recognise as the villain Gustav Graves from 'Die Another Day'.
James Bond is a marked man. The Russian spy-killers SMERSH have decided they need to bag a big name and none come bigger than Bond. Orchestrated by Colonel Rosa Klebb and chess master Kronsteen, SMERSH set a trap with the twin temptations of the beautiful Corporal Tatiana Romanova and a top secret Spektor coding machine. Although suspicious, M and Bond decide it is a prize worth making a play for and before long the famous secret agent is on his way to Istanbul, unaware that Russia's top assassin, Donovan Grant, is on his tail...
Unfortunately, I found this story hard work. It starts well enough, with a focus on Grant and his origins, but once the story moved to the boardrooms of the Russian military, my mind began to wander. In the paperback, it's more than 90 pages before Bond makes an appearance, but it's hard to believe that it's purely his absence that stopped it holding my attention. I usually like it when Fleming tries something different, but I think this time it fell a bit flat and led to a lack of tension early on, for me anyway.
Whether I enjoy each Bond novel often seems to hinge on how much I like the female lead. Romanova seemed a bit too much of a push-over, little more than a pair of blue eyes and some fluttering lashes. That may appeal to a certain male audience, but I'm afraid I need a brain too please. I know that the girls can't outshine Bond and that these books represent the values of a different era, but it's always more fun when the ladies get a look in on the action rather than just being damsels in distress.
I think my love of the film version was also a big problem here. 'From Russia with Love' is one of
my favourites, so I had high hopes that the book would exceed the movie and flesh out the key characters, particularly Kerim and Klebb. To a degree it did, but unfortunately I didn't really like what I found out, especially about the apparently lovable Kerim. I'm very glad that the sexual politics of today don't accept 'taming' women the same way they did in 1957.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed by the book. Perhaps people who haven't seen the film will get more out of it because they don't know the basic plot, but I doubt there are many people who haven't watched it already and that doesn't make up for the dodgy way the female characters are portrayed and treated. On the whole, like Grant and Klebb, it's a bit odd, but that won't stop me pushing on with the rest of Fleming's novels.
I will return.... with the rather different 'The Victorian Chaise-Longue' by Marghanita Laski!
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
 |
| 'From Russia with Love' by Ian Fleming Read by Toby Stephens (AudioGo, 2012) |
Unfortunately, I found this story hard work. It starts well enough, with a focus on Grant and his origins, but once the story moved to the boardrooms of the Russian military, my mind began to wander. In the paperback, it's more than 90 pages before Bond makes an appearance, but it's hard to believe that it's purely his absence that stopped it holding my attention. I usually like it when Fleming tries something different, but I think this time it fell a bit flat and led to a lack of tension early on, for me anyway.
Whether I enjoy each Bond novel often seems to hinge on how much I like the female lead. Romanova seemed a bit too much of a push-over, little more than a pair of blue eyes and some fluttering lashes. That may appeal to a certain male audience, but I'm afraid I need a brain too please. I know that the girls can't outshine Bond and that these books represent the values of a different era, but it's always more fun when the ladies get a look in on the action rather than just being damsels in distress.
I think my love of the film version was also a big problem here. 'From Russia with Love' is one of
 |
| 'From Russia with Love' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
Overall, I was a bit disappointed by the book. Perhaps people who haven't seen the film will get more out of it because they don't know the basic plot, but I doubt there are many people who haven't watched it already and that doesn't make up for the dodgy way the female characters are portrayed and treated. On the whole, like Grant and Klebb, it's a bit odd, but that won't stop me pushing on with the rest of Fleming's novels.
I will return.... with the rather different 'The Victorian Chaise-Longue' by Marghanita Laski!
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
16 June 2014
No Limit!
No no no no no no no no no no no no there's no limit!
OK, now I've got that out of my system, here is a post about 'Dr No' by Ian Fleming, an AudioGo 007 Reloaded version of the novel read by Hugh Quarshie.
Returning to active duty after a near fatal encounter with the Russians, James Bond is given an easy assignment; investigating the disappearance of two MI6 operatives based in Kingston, Jamaica. But the case is not as it seems. Before too long M's 'bit of a holiday' looking into a suspected affair and elopement has evolved into something far more sinister. As Bond joins the dots, he finds all the threads lead to Crab Key, home to rare birds, a guano plant and the secretive spider at the web's centre, Dr Julius No.
'Dr No' is much more meticulously paced than 'Live and Let Die', the last Bond story I listened to as an audiobook. It's still not a long novel, but it includes much more tension, character development and back story and is the better for it. Bond lives a hyper-real, ultra-violent life just within sight of reality, so it helps to actually bring the story back down to Earth by making readers care about the characters. In 'Dr No', Quarrel and Honeychile Ryder are much more developed than Solitaire in 'Live and Let Die', so there is a greater sense of danger that makes you genuinely root for these people and want to find out what happens next.
I thought Solitaire was a complete waste of space, but I absolutely fell in love with Honeychile Ryder. Although in some ways a victim of circumstances, she's not been sat around waiting for Bond to arrive and sort everything out for her. She has her own aims, talents and desires, some more sensible than others, but whether her decisions make good sense or not, at least she's trying and she's not afraid of using her skills and knowledge to make her way independently in the world. You go girl!
While the heroes seem more real, the villain Dr No was as unreal as they come. Perhaps it was a deliberate dichotomy or maybe a villain as completely off the wall as this one is so unbelievable to prevent readers having nightmares. Having said that, while No was a typical megalomaniacal Bond villain who seemed completely detached from reality in his underground lair, he was scary. Normally this sort of character becomes borderline camp in the films, but on the page and in his own domain claustrophobia sets in and you begin to doubt that even 007 can overcome this madman's manipulations.
Overall, 'Dr No' is a great adventure story, action-packed, tense and with real punch in places. It has dated in the last 57 years, but, to be fair, all the Bond books I've encountered so far have, like so many of their contemporaries. If you can see beyond this, however, I would recommend it.
Now, what next?
Related Posts
'Live and Let Die'
'Casino Royale'
'For Your Eyes Only'
 |
| 'Dr No' by Ian Fleming, read by Hugh Quarshie (AudioGo 2012) |
Returning to active duty after a near fatal encounter with the Russians, James Bond is given an easy assignment; investigating the disappearance of two MI6 operatives based in Kingston, Jamaica. But the case is not as it seems. Before too long M's 'bit of a holiday' looking into a suspected affair and elopement has evolved into something far more sinister. As Bond joins the dots, he finds all the threads lead to Crab Key, home to rare birds, a guano plant and the secretive spider at the web's centre, Dr Julius No.
'Dr No' is much more meticulously paced than 'Live and Let Die', the last Bond story I listened to as an audiobook. It's still not a long novel, but it includes much more tension, character development and back story and is the better for it. Bond lives a hyper-real, ultra-violent life just within sight of reality, so it helps to actually bring the story back down to Earth by making readers care about the characters. In 'Dr No', Quarrel and Honeychile Ryder are much more developed than Solitaire in 'Live and Let Die', so there is a greater sense of danger that makes you genuinely root for these people and want to find out what happens next.
 |
| 'Dr No' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
While the heroes seem more real, the villain Dr No was as unreal as they come. Perhaps it was a deliberate dichotomy or maybe a villain as completely off the wall as this one is so unbelievable to prevent readers having nightmares. Having said that, while No was a typical megalomaniacal Bond villain who seemed completely detached from reality in his underground lair, he was scary. Normally this sort of character becomes borderline camp in the films, but on the page and in his own domain claustrophobia sets in and you begin to doubt that even 007 can overcome this madman's manipulations.
Overall, 'Dr No' is a great adventure story, action-packed, tense and with real punch in places. It has dated in the last 57 years, but, to be fair, all the Bond books I've encountered so far have, like so many of their contemporaries. If you can see beyond this, however, I would recommend it.
Now, what next?
Related Posts
'Live and Let Die'
'Casino Royale'
'For Your Eyes Only'
03 June 2014
Bond goes on a Treasure Hunt
The final book I finished last month was 'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming. It was another in the 007 Reloaded series from AudioGo and read by Rory Kinnear, who played M's assistant Bill Tanner in 'Quantum of Solace' and 'Skyfall'. Fact!
'Live and Let Die' begins with a pirate's gold. Old, rare and valuable coins from a legendary Caribbean hoard are mysteriously surfacing in America and the authorities want to know how they're getting there. Working with the FBI and the CIA's Felix Leiter, Bond is sent on a treasure hunt that plunges him headlong into a world of superstition, voodoo and organised crime. His target is Mr Big, cult leader, smuggler and SMERSH operative, a powerful figure in the Black community who manipulates his magical reputation to get what he wants from his network of terrified informants. When 007 is forced to go on the run with Mr Big's pet psychic Solitaire, there seems to be no chance of escape. But Bond was born lucky and it takes more than stories to frighten him. Something more like the thought of a night time swim in a sea of frenzied sharks and barracuda...
This book is the most 'boy's own' of all the Bond stories I've read/heard so far. Ignoring the fact that the novel is very much of its time and uses words and descriptions that are unacceptable today, it starts off very gung ho and a bit Bond-by-numbers, almost like Fleming wasn't sure where he was going with it. For example, a scene set in Mr Big's night club hide out featuring an erotic dancer who strips her meagre coverings for a baying mob may be a teenage boy's cheap thrill, but it seemed excessive even as an attempt to suggest Mr Big and his minions were nothing but unsophisticated tribal savages or to remind us that we're in the hyper-charged world of Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Solitaire, also, feels like a box ticked rather than a necessity for the story. A typical damsel in distress, she comes across as vapid, useless and rather pointless overall. But can Bond be Bond without a girl?
About half way through, however, Bond and Leiter get back to the business in hand, start doing some actual
spying and - lo! - the story starts to pick up. From then onwards, the tension builds to a fantastic climax that kept me guessing even though I knew what would probably happen. Now that's more like it!
As with the other 007 Reloaded CDs I've listened to so far, this one kept things simple and benefited from it.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed by this book, but enjoyed the return of Felix Leiter, the tense second half and working out which films various scenes and events had ended up it. (It goes without saying that this book bears little resemblance to the enjoyable film, but bits of it do appear in other movies, most obviously in 'Licence to Kill'.)
I've already started on 'Dr No' and it's already a much more plodding work, leaden by comparison with this. I'll be interested to see if it does the opposite to 'Live and Let Die' and gets a bit feisty in the second half instead.
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'For Your Eyes Only'
 |
| 'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming (AudioGo, 2012) |
This book is the most 'boy's own' of all the Bond stories I've read/heard so far. Ignoring the fact that the novel is very much of its time and uses words and descriptions that are unacceptable today, it starts off very gung ho and a bit Bond-by-numbers, almost like Fleming wasn't sure where he was going with it. For example, a scene set in Mr Big's night club hide out featuring an erotic dancer who strips her meagre coverings for a baying mob may be a teenage boy's cheap thrill, but it seemed excessive even as an attempt to suggest Mr Big and his minions were nothing but unsophisticated tribal savages or to remind us that we're in the hyper-charged world of Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Solitaire, also, feels like a box ticked rather than a necessity for the story. A typical damsel in distress, she comes across as vapid, useless and rather pointless overall. But can Bond be Bond without a girl?
About half way through, however, Bond and Leiter get back to the business in hand, start doing some actual
 |
| 'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming (Penguin, 2004) |
As with the other 007 Reloaded CDs I've listened to so far, this one kept things simple and benefited from it.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed by this book, but enjoyed the return of Felix Leiter, the tense second half and working out which films various scenes and events had ended up it. (It goes without saying that this book bears little resemblance to the enjoyable film, but bits of it do appear in other movies, most obviously in 'Licence to Kill'.)
I've already started on 'Dr No' and it's already a much more plodding work, leaden by comparison with this. I'll be interested to see if it does the opposite to 'Live and Let Die' and gets a bit feisty in the second half instead.
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'For Your Eyes Only'
06 April 2014
Rough and Ready
After really enjoying 'For Your Eyes Only' in AudioGo's 007 Rebooted series, I decided to go back to where it all began and listen to the first Bond book, 'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming, read by Dan Stevens (him off Downton Abbey).
Top Soviet secret agent Le Chiffre has taken one risk too many with his paymaster's money. On the verge of bankruptcy and pursued by Russia's elite spy killers SMERSH, he's decided to gamble himself out of harms way at the exclusive French resort of Royale-Les-Eaux. But Le Chiffre isn't the only one seizing his chance; the British Secret Service knows he is vulnerable and, if he is beaten, one of the USSR's key pieces will be out of the game. So they send James Bond, double-0, assassin and the best gambler they have, to take his money so that SMERSH can take his life.
'Casino Royale' was an interesting book because here is James Bond before he became the James Bond we're more familiar with. There's something unformed about him, as if Fleming met him in a bar and then casually decided to follow him and see where he ended up. At the start of the book, the character seems peculiarly aimless, only interested in getting the job done and the sexual buzz that comes afterwards. If he has any driving force at all, it's the appeasement of his senses; whether it's an excellent meal, the colour of a women's dress or the warmth of the sun on his skin, he lives fully in the moment while remaining controlled and analytical. By the end, however, his self-contained, shadowy world has been turned upside down and he's on a quest to defeat one of the most feared and secret organisations in the world.
Every hero needs a villain and 'Casino Royale' provides one which will presumably keep Bond going for all the books to come. I'd always assumed SMERSH was some sort of non-governmental, hard line splinter group, so it was intriguing to hear more about them. It turns out that they are in fact (if that's the right phrase to use!) part of Soviet Russia's secret service. They police the police and spy on the spies, keeping the most feared men and women in the USSR in check.
Dan Stevens did a great job of reading this story, although I couldn't help but smile at the voice of Le Chiffre at first. It didn't last long, though, and his interpretation perfectly evoked the toad-like figure described. I'll certainly look out for his name on future audiobooks.
Awful as it sounds, one thing that did pleasantly surprise me about 'Casino Royale' was how closely the plot of the 2006 film matched that of the book. I'm so used to the Fleming stories having nothing to do with the films, I simply didn't expect it, so at least the book wasn't ruined for me. Whether this is why it's one of the better Bond movies I couldn't possibly comment. It is kind of strange that the movie Bond and the book Bond appear to have finally converged 50 years and 60 years after they were created! Of all the Bonds, Daniel Craig certainly seems to best match the spy described by Mr Fleming.
Overall, I think the best word for this book is 'interesting'. I really did get the feeling that Mr Fleming was throwing everything at the story, as if it had been bubbling around inside him for a long time. Now I know where Bond began, I'm looking forward to seeing where he ends up going next.
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| 'Casino Royal' by Ian Fleming read by Dan Stevens (AudioGo 2012) |
'Casino Royale' was an interesting book because here is James Bond before he became the James Bond we're more familiar with. There's something unformed about him, as if Fleming met him in a bar and then casually decided to follow him and see where he ended up. At the start of the book, the character seems peculiarly aimless, only interested in getting the job done and the sexual buzz that comes afterwards. If he has any driving force at all, it's the appeasement of his senses; whether it's an excellent meal, the colour of a women's dress or the warmth of the sun on his skin, he lives fully in the moment while remaining controlled and analytical. By the end, however, his self-contained, shadowy world has been turned upside down and he's on a quest to defeat one of the most feared and secret organisations in the world.
Every hero needs a villain and 'Casino Royale' provides one which will presumably keep Bond going for all the books to come. I'd always assumed SMERSH was some sort of non-governmental, hard line splinter group, so it was intriguing to hear more about them. It turns out that they are in fact (if that's the right phrase to use!) part of Soviet Russia's secret service. They police the police and spy on the spies, keeping the most feared men and women in the USSR in check.
 |
| 'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
Awful as it sounds, one thing that did pleasantly surprise me about 'Casino Royale' was how closely the plot of the 2006 film matched that of the book. I'm so used to the Fleming stories having nothing to do with the films, I simply didn't expect it, so at least the book wasn't ruined for me. Whether this is why it's one of the better Bond movies I couldn't possibly comment. It is kind of strange that the movie Bond and the book Bond appear to have finally converged 50 years and 60 years after they were created! Of all the Bonds, Daniel Craig certainly seems to best match the spy described by Mr Fleming.
Overall, I think the best word for this book is 'interesting'. I really did get the feeling that Mr Fleming was throwing everything at the story, as if it had been bubbling around inside him for a long time. Now I know where Bond began, I'm looking forward to seeing where he ends up going next.
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