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Well if you are wondering if you should read Gardner, Lancaster007 has just given the biggesr thumbs up possible!
He doesn't like Gardner but he does like DMC which is a bit like saying you don't like lying on a desert island drinking endless cocktails surrounded by bikini clad babes but you do like being chained up in a skip in Burnley next to a dead dog as a tramp has a slash on top of you.
DMC is an absolutely pitiful entry into the Bond canon. Far worse than DAD and to be honest if someone posted it on here as fan fiction I'd still be quite shocked at how poorly written it was. If you enjoy it then you must think Benson is possessed by the spirit of Fleming himself.
I'm with you all the way Kronsteen (and let me hasten to add that Kronsteen and TWOI are not the same person!) although not regarding Cold or Brokenclaw.
I would say that Colonel Sun, Licence Renewed, Role of Honour, Nobody Lives Forever and Win, Lose or Die are all better than TSWLM and whilst not Fleming comprise the only decent additions to the Bond literary oeuvre.
Death is Forever apart the later Gardners after Win Lose or Die are pretty by the numbers (Seafire in particular is a grim slog) and you could feel his inspiration waning by then. I don't really count LTK as it was just the book of the film he probably knocked out in a weekend.
Bensons efforts come across as what they are - fan fiction, Faulkes should be so embarrassed he sent his cheque back and I can't comment on Deaver as I have got round to reading it. Had it on the shelf since release - just never felt the urge.
Funny how moments in the books remind you of certain scenes in the films.
One thing worth noting about Dalts. You can tell he's read Fleming's books and has tried to copy Bond's expressions.
CR is actually my favourite one. Always been from the ones I read, though OHMSS and YOLT come close. Fantastic novel and Vesper ist still the most fascinating of the Bondgirls for me.
LALD is very good though has some drags at times imo. Mr Big is enjoyable and kinda the classic Bond villain. Felix has some of his best moments with Bond in this one and Solitaire really contributes greatly to the novel.
Moonraker shapes up to be one of my favourites. I enjoyed it even more this time around. It really grabs the attention. I love Flemings Drax, I felt antipathy from the first chapters and wanted to see him lose, even more so than Le Chiffre. I like M's involvement in the beginning and even though it's one of Flemings more fantastical plots, it just works for me.
I love the end. Here is hope we see it some time on the screen.
As for DAF, never read it, so it's a first time and it's a bit of a let down for me after MR. Since Bond arrived in Vegas, it picks up...but I found the start a bit troublesome.
I like Felix and he has great chemistry with Bond, but he is on the edge of being overused in this one. Let's see how it plays out.
On the positive side, I really enjoy Tiffany Case in the novel! The little that has been there so far...
and btw I agree with BAIN123 on Dalton! :-)
I haven't read DAF for a while. I think I might skip MR next (only read that a couple of years ago) and move to that one.
Last time I read Moonraker was... I guess 7 years ago... and I had a blast this time! :-)
DAF, as I said, has a slow start imo. And especially the horse race chapters didn't really interest me all that much. It gets better now though..
I remember feeling a tad underwhelmed by the DAF novel. Other than Tiffany Case most of the characters weren't really that memorable. However it was still better than the film.
The novel has a few ott moments and basically the whole plot is ott, but I love the pacing and the character development. Yes, Fleming gets a bit extreme at the end (and Ms comment about the nuclear cloud going home shocked me), but overall it's one of the most gripping imo.
That truly is a big problem. There are many characters, but they really don't stick out. Even Bond smiles to himself about the stereotype gangsters and when you compare them to Le Chiffre, Mr Big and Drax...they really are just unimpressive. Though I guess that could have been exactly Flemings goal. After three big main villains, having a smuggling gang of many featureless faces.
I'd go for "surfs the wave" ;)
I love the final few chapters of MR where Bond and Gala are captured, Drax reveals his true identity and then the two manage to escape after being placed under the rocket (why oh why doesn't Drax watch them?)
Really suspensful stuff.
Next on the Bond-Read-a-thon will be (obviously as I am reading in order) Goldfinger. After two top class novels, I find Goldfinger quite a dark brooding novel (quite unlike the tone of the film), so thought I would read something else before tackling it. Though I have two of the best to look forward to Thunderball and the magnificent On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Should be good :D
"Surfs the wave" is probably in this case the most fitting ;-)
Yep, but the "villain ain't watching Bond"-thingy was killed anyway with Austin Powers ;-) Though in that case, I'm even willing to accept that Drax was just so full of himself!
Funny how some of the "cliches" in the films have their genesis in the books.
Absolutely! I had a few times where I thought that to myself while I was reading!
In answer to your question, no, "Icebreaker" was ot my first stab at Gardner. Previously I had read "Nobody Lives Forever." In the words of In Living Color's Men on Books, "Hated it!"
Just got OHMSS, across eight discs! Awesome. Just need a day off work sick to listen to it, ha ha.
I drove to my local Tesco just so I could buy a Costa coffee (going through a coffee phase at the moment) and sit in the car with it listening to Mr Bill Nighy read out Moonraker*
*God I need to get a life.
Another thing, I don't buy that Fleming's books were as "realistic" as some say. True they were more grounded than most of the films but Drax boarders on pantomime (Fleming even describes his actions as such during the game at Blades).
Easy to see where Toby Stephens got his inspiration from.
After finishing DAF (finally and at the moment, it's my least favourite of the Fleming books), I started From Russia with Love. It immediately caught my interest. I love the focus on Grant in the first chapters.
It is almost a quantum leap between the two. FRWL is intricately plotted and a great read, brave of Fleming and the film-makers to not have Bond in it till quite a bit into the story. Can you imagine a modern Bond film where he doesn't appear for the first 20 minutes?
Very brave indeed, but it's such a good read already. I like the fact that Grant really feels like a threat to Bond, with this focus on him and his past!
A modern Bond film wouldn't do it. I don't know however if it would work that well in a movie. That said, more attention and build up for the villain could actually be an intriguing idea!
Now on to License Renewed...
You should try Christopher Woods James Bond and the Moonraker as well, he is in my humble opinion one of the best continuation writers since Fleming.
On another matter currently reading the 1st book of The Moneypenny diaries by Kate Westbrook. Very good stuff so far, I am really impressed.
You shortchange yourself, do whatever you want.
Both books are closer to Fleming than all the others imho. But honestly TSWLM is probably a bit better.
But when it comes to continuation writer he is easily the best, and it is a shame he only did two novelisations instead of an original one. Which they both were to be honest.