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Best Ian Fleming Bond Novel?
ForYourEyesOnly
In the untained cradle of the heavens
I've seen worst Fleming novel threads and threads where you rank them in order, but in this, I was just curious to see if anyone could list a Fleming novel as the best and explain why in depth.
I believe Casino Royale, Moonraker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Thunderball are considered the best by most, while The Spy Who Loved Me and You Only Live Twice are considered the worst. I felt YOLT was solid, though. TSWLM I haven't read personally, but based on what I know and what I've heard, it's probably the worst.
I believe Casino Royale, Moonraker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Thunderball are considered the best by most, while The Spy Who Loved Me and You Only Live Twice are considered the worst. I felt YOLT was solid, though. TSWLM I haven't read personally, but based on what I know and what I've heard, it's probably the worst.
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Comments
as his weakest. It was an experiment for him. It is beautifully written, with
some wonderful passages, but the thriller element, only kicks in for the last
third of the book.
A little research goes a long way
Although here is a big heavy ganster called " Horror" in it, which I think
gave them the idea for Jaws.
@SaintMark - My Google Search didn't come up with that.
real mixed bag)
As far as the formulaic approach is concerned, namely: "Bond is given an assignment by M to infiltrate or investigate some shady operation run by a larger than life villain and Bond then brings down said villain while kicking some ass and indulging in some great sex along the way," is concerned, one need look no further than Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Doctor No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Moonraker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Man With The Golden Gun. In other words, most of the canon.
However, the remainder of the novels may be considered experimental novels that seek to break the mould of the novels listed above. In Diamonds Are Forever, Bond is sent on a mission, but he is little more than a detective chasing a smuggling ring. As such, Fleming is seeking to add a large dollop of "detective crime thriller" to the traditional James Bond mix. Maybe Fleming had been reading too many Agatha Christie novels at the time, who knows? What is clear to most latter day critics though, is that Diamonds Are Forever tries to take Bond into areas, such as everyday policing, in which he is clearly uncomfortable and unsuited. If you like detective novels, the Diamonds Are Forever, may well come top of your list of favourite Bond novels, but I have to say that detective fiction has become too much of a formulaic and cliché-riddled genre for this book to be any less than disappointing for me. I'm all for Bond breaking new ground, but forcing him into areas of the mundane doesn't really work for me.
Then, of course, there's The Spy Who loved Me. This is the novel where Fleming tried desperately to break the mould and the result was a critical failure because by 1962, the fans and critics alike were gagging for their regular dose of Bond, and this novel largely fails to deliver this. Instead, we have what is essentially a mainstream novel about the life and loves of a young woman with Bond dragged in by the scruff of his neck to save the novel's heroine and therefore wreck any significant character development arc that a mainstream novel demands of the book's heroine. Frankly, if Bond had stayed out of this book it would have made a much better and more satisfying novel, although it would not then be a "Bond" novel. Leaving this aside though, the book is well up to Fleming's superlatively high standards of writing and one can't help feeling that if he had written this pseudonymously and left Bond out that it may well have been a much better critical and commercial success than it actually was. As it stands, the book just can't make up its mind what it is
From Russia With Love is essentially a "formulaic" novel in that Bond is sent on a "trap" mission by M to obtain a decrypting device from the Soviets. However, a goodly portion of the book is told from the main villain's point of view and it is Donovan Grant's wholly entertaining and somewhat chilling backstory that grabs one most about the novel. Not only this, but Bond as a character pales next to the larger than life Darko Kerim, who, along with Grant dominate most of the reader's attention.
You Only Live Twice is, I think, the best of the Bond novels in which Fleming seeks to break the traditional 007 mould, but here he does this in much more subtle ways in which he manages to imbue the book with a deep thematic core (otherwise all but absent in previous "formulaic" novels), whilst at the same time preserving the Bond that everyone knows and loves. The theme in question is that of death and rebirth. Bond is transformed from the heavily drinking man mourning the premature death of his wife at the beginning of the book to a man of action and then, after the death of Blofeld, becoming Taro Todoroki, the Japanese partner of Kissy Suzuki -- almost literally born into a new life after falling very symbolically into the Sea of Japan and losing his memory. As such, the book gives us the best of both worlds, there's the Bond out on a mission to foil Dr Shatterhand (aka Blofeld)'s evil project and there's also a clearly developed character development arc for Bond -- a factor that is almost entirely absent form previous novels, simply because if always seems to get in the way of the action.
So take your pick. Out of the formulaic novels, where one can put the mind into neutral and enjoy the action, the sex, the caricatured villains, the exotic travelogues and the two dimensional central character , I would pick On Her Majesty's Secret Service as my personal favourite as it richly embodies all of the formula elements listed above, as well as giving Bond a character development arc. Out of the so called experimental novels, I think it has to be From Russia With Love winning by a nose because it came first. You only Live Twice is by far the most "literary" novel of the canon and if you prefer that sort of thing, it would easily win.
Yet I recently read all the books again, and found the story very compelling
and interesting. Fleming really could write. :)
Please continue in the above thread. Thanks.