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Comments
Enjoying the beginning very much.
I think that'd be extremely interesting, and could provide a nice little twist in the plot.
M brings Bond to a cigar & poker club as he does in Moonraker, and there Bond is introduced to a wealthy private businessman. They play a testy game of poker at the club, share a hidden discomfort with each other, and then the story goes off in a new direction from there only to come full circle and the wealthy man Bond met in the club at the start of the story turns out to be the man he was looking for on his mission!
The complex of trying to stop a villain who appears to be doing something, like a major project backed by the government and popular to the public, without disrupting this important project of his should be exploited as well.
The worst Fleming is better than the best non-Fleming.
Go straight on to TMWTGG. The cliffhanger resolution from YOLT is worth it. Plus, it ties in one of the short stories.
Thanks Echo. Yeah, I was leaning in that direction. The end of YOLT kind of leaves you hanging, the way "The Empire Strikes Back" does. And I like your statement about the worst Fleming being better than the best non-Fleming. Although Amis' "Colonel Sun" is quite good.
Then it's on to Dr No my favourite when I first read the books as a teenager.
Quite, and Klebb is just so odious.
I used to hate the book, but now I understand it's point: Fleming wrote it in a woman's perspective because he wanted the readers to wonder if Bond survive at the end. I also found it amusing because when I first read it I was hoping for a spy story, but now I understand it is not. It's actually like Quantum of Solace (short story), wherein Fleming plays with the idea of a human James Bond.
The only problem I still have with this book is the choice of Vivienne Mitchell as the narrator. Though it made sense that she narrated the events, Ian Fleming could have made her character a bit dumb or something. His inclusion of even the sharpest details made it evident that he wrote it. And he should have toned down the love scenes! What we have at the end is 10% James Bond novel, 90% FHM Ladies' Confessions. Anyway the good made up for the bad. I put this a bit higher than Diamonds Are Forever in my Bond novel ratings now.
You'll definitely enjoy OHMSS. The best Bond novel ever written, imho.
Now reading Colonel Sun........
I'm going to read them whilst listening to the audiobooks as well which are released in September.
Stay tuned…
I know what you meanLancaster, I didn't care for Gardner either. Definitely check out Amis' "Colonel Sun." It's very well written (better than some of the Fleming novels actually) and you definitely get the sense that it's the next Bond adventure after YOLT and TMWTGG (Amis actually references these). The pacing is first rate, the characters all memorable.
Some of Fleming's attempt at a female voice is cringeworthy and sexist, but telling it from Viv's perspective did allow Fleming to comment on his main character in a new way. I liked the passages where she talks about how Bond is the type of man she could love, when she compares him St. George, and when she says that no woman could ever have him (ironic, considering the next book).
The plotting is a bit unbelievable as Horror and Sluggsy (clearly physical inspirations for Jaws and Sandor) allow Bond and Viv to have long discussions with each other away from them. It might have worked better as a short story. It is fascinating that Bond refuses to kill Horror and Sluggsy in cold blood.
The grace note I really liked was when Bond said he was a fan of JFK, returning the compliment.