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Comments
Of course. Shakespeare wrote for the theatre.
Then you should not complained if Fleming used already made material. Which is what he did in the 50s to a certain degree: using spy thrillers commonplaces to great effect.
That's not what I'm saying. My observation is that, for me, TB didn't quite have the feel of his previous novels in terms of their idiosyncrasies and authorship. It feels like a definite shift - imbueing a certain cinematic feel, which to me is a hangover from source. This is just my opinion. I'm not saying I'm right. While still a great read, I just don't think TB is as good, or uniquely Fleming as quite a few of his other efforts.
I concur.
The entire canon though, is of course excellent.
I know this because I keep re-reading them.
The collection, is rather one Fleming whole, that thrilled upon first compulsive reading as a 13-15 year old, and continues with each subsequent read.
Edit.
Re Spectre. Yes it is a trilogy, but Bond also battled Spectre in TSWLM, right off the back of TB. The organization was still intact.
He has a nasty battle with Spectre agents in Toronto, before he motors south for his rendezvous with Viv and the two goons.
But this is an impossible decision as I think there is something special about 60s literary Bond as well. Fleming really expands his hero and his themes. I enjoy the one-two punch of OHMSS and YOLT - the former is my second favourite novel, the latter I have a real soft spot for. It is languid and leisurely with the travelogue aspect consuming the reader while a hint of death creeps in with every turning page. It draws to a creepy, apocalyptic climax. Where not only does Blofeld die - but Bond in his own way. As grateful as I am for MWTGG there is something desperately perfect about a reborn, amnesiac Bond ironically strolling toward an uncertain fate in Soviet Russia. I feel as though MWTGG and OP/TLD are codas - YOLT is where the Bond story ends so well. And to know that Fleming was dealing with death in such a very real way so close to his own - it reminds me of John Huston's final film - the gentle, melancholic 'The Dead' - so uncharacteristically romantic and quiet for a director who dealt with such macho and brutal subjects in Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre and The African Queen. There's a stretching out to the beyond with both of these creator's final completed artistic endeavours.
Craig's last Bond really should showcase the end of YOLT; he is so perfect for it. I just fear that they'd get the writing wrong. They really need a Soderbergh who would honor the original source and make it sing.
Yes! I can't remember that much about it, though.
I was too embarrassed to walk into a shop and buy a copy of Playboy for the Bond story, so I asked my dad to buy it for me, which was, er, somehow less embarrassing??
Embarassed dad in the shop: ."It isn t for me. It s a present for my daughter"
What a fabulous summation from the good Major.
We have people with great taste haunting this hallowed cyber hall - atleast the literary end of it.
That said, PussyNoMore must stick to his original proposal that Bond was really a hero of the '50s and that with the exception of OHMSS, the great stuff is really from that decade.
Yep, I have that edition too. I don't remember having any qualms about buying it though. I was a fairly avid "reader" of the fine publication.
I was actually probably brazenly eyeballing the centrefold full length, in the checkout lineup - no doubt influenced by Laz's example, leaving the lawyers office in OHMSS.
I've also got a collection of all the Baywatch special edition Playboys.
Should really get these precious collectables wrapped in plastic coverings.
As for the Benson short stories. I think there are four total.They finally got published as add-ons to the pair of Benson trilogy novel collections, which are available on Amazon.
Why thank you PNM! I definitely love the 50s Bond the most - I reread FRWL quite often. That was the sweet spot of Fleming's writing IMO. That 50s hero observation is correct. A man for his times - and it is interesting to see the changing times of the tumultuous 60s fraying at the edges of Fleming's hero. The existential doubt and questioning is there in the early texts but they really come to fore in the later Bond novels.
Birdleson, why did you find GF a bit of a slip ?
I re-read it in preparation for Trigger Mortis a solid Fleming.
Of course, not up to the level of CR,MR, FRWL,or OHMSS but ceratainly a good mid ranker.
I think it's because DAF is in essence crime fiction and not spy thriller. Fleming did far better with TSWLM, as he seems to truly embrace the genre there while bringing some originality to it.
Gets some good ones in at Auric too.
I think this one below, is in the movie, but it could have been lifted from Fleming's pages.
Edit: it's from the book. I don't believe there is any mention of agoraphobia in the movie.
Thus, Fleming was as glib as any of the early screenwriters.
"How's the agoraphobia Goldfinger?" whilst the two stroll down the wide expanse of the golf fairway.
Fleming reveled in portraying his villains as ultimate corruptions of evil, and enjoyed having Bond verbally torment them.
This aspect of Bond comes out in many of the films too.
Ultimately, between the 50s and the 60s, I'd go with the 50s novels. That first run is stellar (including DAF for me) with Dr. No and Goldfinger being comparatively less great than their predecessors (again, for me).
The 60s novels are fantastic as well though (TB and YOLT being standouts for me) with only TMWTGG really letting the decade down.