›

Which Bond novel are you currently reading?

1…5354565859…80

Comments

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    Klaus_Doberman wrote: »
    MajorDSmythe wrote: »
    Klaus_Doberman wrote: »

    Just finished this myself this week. Agree that it’s an improvement on the film. And interestingly, my mind’s eye picture of Bond while reading was often Sean rather than Roger.

    I don't really picture one particular Bond, but a... weird amalgamation

    It is weird, isn’t it? I don’t know if it’s the fact that I recognise certain scenes from the film, or if it’s Wood’s mixture of literary and film Bond.

    Reading Peter Vollmer’s Per Fine Ounce next. Not a Bond book, but vaguely connected at least.

    I read Per Fine Ounce myself, a few backs back. It is the worst edited book that I have ever read. It’s so sloppy, it isn’t even amateurish. It’s more like sabotage. Which is a shame, because otherwise... I enjoyed it.
  • Klaus_DobermanKlaus_Doberman
    Posts: 39
    Yeah, I’ve heard that, sounds very off-putting.

    This is the version that came out last year, wonder if they’ve fixed the errors.

    I guess I’ll find out!
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    Klaus_Doberman wrote: »
    Yeah, I’ve heard that, sounds very off-putting.

    This is the version that came out last year, wonder if they’ve fixed the errors.

    I guess I’ll find out!

    Last year? I didn't know about that one. I have this one, from around 2013 or 2014:

    41XyIdxwSvL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

    It comes with an extract of the original manuscript.
  • Klaus_DobermanKlaus_Doberman
    Posts: 39
    Yeah it was reprinted middle of last year I think, I only spotted it a few weeks back. I’ve wanted to read it for a while but it was always stupid money whenever I checked online.

    Here’s the link on Amazon (I I’ve downloaded the kindle version).

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fine-Ounce-Peter-Vollmer/dp/1839012072

  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    starting Gardner's License Renewed
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Have you read the Gardners before?
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    Finished Licence Renewed. One of the better Gardner books, and one of my favourite Bond books. Garnder didn't try to mimic Fleming, but brought his own style to Bond, which I would prefer. Authors that have tried to recapture Flemings voice, are impressions at best. They will never be the definitive article, so why waste time trying.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,489
    I liked Licence Renewed a lot. It was a very good read . It s two years ago and I don't remember it in detail. But it was definitely interesting enough that I read it in a few days (what I can't say about Gardner's third novel Icebreaker). And I remember that I liked the characters, especially the Bond girl.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    goldenswissroyale wrote: »
    I liked Licence Renewed a lot. It was a very good read . It s two years ago and I don't remember it in detail. But it was definitely interesting enough that I read it in a few days (what I can't say about Gardner's third novel Icebreaker). And I remember that I liked the characters, especially the Bond girl.

    One problem I had with Icebreaker, were the double/tripple/quadrupple crosses. It started to get a bit silly.
  • SomethingThatAteHimSomethingThatAteHim
    Posts: 532
    Finished up Diamonds are Forever. Certainly not as good as the first three books, thanks mostly to some dull plotting (the diamond plot is structured as if it’s a mystery...but there is no mystery) and a lack of a compelling central villain. But if this is considered one of the weakest of the books that’s still quite a high bar because there’s plenty to live in here. Fleming makes up for the lack of travel in Moonraker by giving us the largest array of locations in a single book yet — sure most of it is in America which is not exactly “exotic”, but one we get out of NYC and into Satatoga it still feels like uncharted waters for the series. The Saratoga section is probably my favorite, with the mud bath setpiece a wonderful bit of tension, but Spectreville and the cruise ship are also plenty atmospheric and thrilling (interestingly most of the best parts of the book are wherever Wint and Kidd show up, who almost make up for the lack of a good main villain). Tiffany Case, much like Gala Brand before her, is another step up from the fairly lifeless Bond girls of the first two books. She’s charming, has some emotional complexity, and has skills of her own. While I was a bit down on the first half of the book, it really picks up as it goes along, and I really enjoyed it by the end. For such a short book Fleming really packs a lot in there and makes it feel like a huge adventure, much like he did with Live and Let Die as well.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    I recall enjoying Icebreaker quite a bit when I re-read it a couple years ago. The double/triple/septuple crossings didn't bother me that much in this one. Perhaps because it was one of Gardner's earlier Bonds, perhaps because it seemed to go with the territory of the story.

    There are things of worth in just about every one of Gardner’s novels, though it sounds like, as with most things, you tend to appreciate them more if you grew up with them.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,356
    I revisited Icebreaker recently, which I remember being one of the better Gardners when I was a kid.

    This time, I found it underwhelming, aside from the title, locations, and setup of the four-agency task force.

    And neo-Nazis as main villains? That was a tired trope even back in 1983.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,599
    For Special Services. It's good so far. I've read all the Flemings so now I'm on to the Gardner books.

    Is there a specific Bond actor you picture in any of the novels?
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,692
    For Special Services, I can definitely see RM as Bond, with David Hedison as Felix and Faye Dunaway as Nena.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,599
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    For Special Services, I can definitely see RM as Bond, with David Hedison as Felix and Faye Dunaway as Nena.

    I picture Craig in CR. Connery in all of the Fleming. Moore in the early Gardners and Brosnan from late 80s on. I read Seafire a few years back and pictured Brosnan
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,692
    I can also picture TM in IceBreaker, it could have been his third movie.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,198
    Just finished the last Fleming Bond novel I never read: FYEO.

    Really liked all of these short stories, but Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity are absolutely fabulous. Made me want to rewatch FYEO and LTK, which can only be a good thing.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Just finished the last Fleming Bond novel I never read: FYEO.

    Really liked all of these short stories, but Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity are absolutely fabulous. Made me want to rewatch FYEO and LTK, which can only be a good thing.

    Those have long been two of my favorites. "Risico" is like a whole miniature Bond adventure with all the key elements of the formula distilled into so many pages and "The Hildebrand Rarity" presents an interesting scenario for Bond and features some excellent underwater writing.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,356
    I think Octopussy is easily Fleming's best story.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,489
    Started on Saturday and finished Higson's second Young Bond novel (Blood Fever) today. Is it allowed to say (as an adult) that I loved it? A page turner with great characters, a lot of action and much more violence as you would expect from a book for teenies.
  • RevelatorRevelator
    Posts: 2,919
    Frieda Toth has just published a fine article on The Spy Who Loved Me and abortion at Artistic Licence Renewed.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,198
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Have you tried the OCTOPUSSY collection yet?

    Oh yes, I'm especially fond of TLD short story.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    edited February 2021 Posts: 4,489
    Revelator wrote: »
    Frieda Toth has just published a fine article on The Spy Who Loved Me and abortion at Artistic Licence Renewed.

    Thanks for sharing. A very interesting article which discusses points I never thought about before. And it's nice to see that Fleming's view about women is positively mentioned by a female writer.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,198
    Revelator wrote: »
    Frieda Toth has just published a fine article on The Spy Who Loved Me and abortion at Artistic Licence Renewed.

    Thanks for sharing. It was a very interesting read.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    So, I just started Thunderball for the first time and the first chapter is just M expounding on the benefits of a natural diet? Seems like Fleming's physical situation really did have a bigger impact on his later books (and especially their openings) than I thought.
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 6,014
    And has a follow-up in John Pearson's book as well.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,489
    ImpertinentGoon wrote: »
    So, I just started Thunderball for the first time and the first chapter is just M expounding on the benefits of a natural diet? Seems like Fleming's physical situation really did have a bigger impact on his later books (and especially their openings) than I thought.

    I absolutely love the first chapters. :D
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    Honestly these books have been such great surprises to me. I am coming at TB the wrong way around as I couldn't get my hands on a copy at first. I've read all of the other books except TSWLM and OP already. The amount and types of funny things that are in there are fascinating. At first I thought "Oh, these are much more dour than the films. Now I get why everybody says Dalton and Craig are closer to book Bond" but towards the end of the run, there is such a profound weirdness to a lot of what is going on, while still being interesting and heavy when they have to be. What struck me the most is that I feel such a connection to Fleming when reading the books. Not that I feel we are in anyway alike, we are not. But that for most occasions I can just picture him sitting there coming up with this stuff and I feel I have a handle on why he wrote certain things the way he did. Very interesting.
    F.e. the TB stuff I mentioned. I know he himself was at a place similar to Shrublands, so he wants to write about that. But because he kind of hates this newfangled health stuff even though he has to begrudgingly accept that it kind of works, he can't have Bond be positive about it right away. So he has M suddenly become fully invested in the stuff, which is such a relatable thing to me. That your senior manager suddenly becomes swept up in a fad and now everyone has to do agile work or there is a smoothie maker in the office kitchen or whatever. But it's the Head of the Secret Service sending James Bond to a Spa! So weird. So great.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,356
    It occurs to me that the weirdness of the novel YOLT somehow anticipates the over-the-top qualities of the films that would come later, even though Fleming only saw DN and FRWL. Was he that prescient? Then again, Dr. No got buried in guano, which is also pretty over-the-top.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    echo wrote: »
    It occurs to me that the weirdness of the novel YOLT somehow anticipates the over-the-top qualities of the films that would come later, even though Fleming only saw DN and FRWL. Was he that prescient? Then again, Dr. No got buried in guano, which is also pretty over-the-top.

    And Bond battled a giant squid. ;)
Sign In or Register to comment.