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I have that one in first edition, minus the dust jacket. Found it in a secondhand bookshop once, much to my surprise.
Great review. Although I think Devil May Care (1967) comes before Solo (1969). If true continuity is counted. I’m interested in your reviews either way.
Still my favourite.
This is the Folio Society edition I'm asking for for Christmas this year. [-O<
SOLO kind of reads a bit like a multipart bingeworthy Netflix series. It's a slightly different style with a few more cliffhangers thrown in than perhaps say for example OHMSS or Casino Royale. The novel leaves one with a vivid impression of colours, smells and tastes. The main scheme of the villain Kobus Breed and Hulbert Linck is perhaps a bit of a letdown (I won't spoil). And some of the violence is a little unrealistic and over the top. But apart from that I would recommend it to any Bond fan to have a read but I would caution that the novel definately requires a quiet room for a few hours (maybe even treat yourself to a room at The Dorchester ;) ). Oh and some scrambled eggs and bacon plus a decent whiskey and some ice may help to recreate the mood...
Hope you get it! I have this edition and it's gorgeous.
There's something really magical when they adapt Fleming onto the screen and they capture the atmosphere of his writing in the film.
Dalton nailed that scene, he really understood what made Fleming's Bond.
But I think the short story is much better still because it has that realistic "Behind The Iron Curtain" type of Espionage thing, typical like Le Carre thing.
There's a tension and quietness in danger, I could easily picture each scenes in my mind.
It's my favorite Fleming Short Story.
The problems with the film was it added so many things in it like the Mujahideen for example, the plot was convoluted, and there's Brad Whittaker and Georgi Koskov whom I considered weak villains, but nonetheless, a great watch, entertaining, as long as I turn my brain off.
Agreed about Dalton, the way he translated Fleming's Bond to the screen, he comes close, he nailed it!
Although the sophistication lacked a bit, I mean the literary Bond's a gourmand, more on style and his humor comes off as a bit sarcastically natural, but I'd say Dalton's comes close.
Still prefer the short story.
Great reviews and feelings about Bond literary adventures, everyone. I like it when namely continuation novels get recognized. Solo has some great ideas. Kobus Breed is truly one of the nastiest villains, ever. If EON wanted to adapt it, I’d have William Boyd adapt it.
For the stories themselves, Octopussy a decent jumping off point that was improved for me by having read By Royal Command as a child, which is sort of a prequel to this story, we get to see Hannes and James’ first meeting and their growing bond (pun fully intended) as he teaches the boy to ski. Having that knowledge made his death hit harder and made me despite Smythe so much more.
Fleming admits that he was rather displeased about how The Property of a Lady turned out and it’s certainly not great, but for what it is, a little fluff piece for Sotheby’s it’s surprising captivating, more so than the analogous part in Octopussy the film.
Whereas, The Living Daylights is a brilliantly faithful adaptation of what is for my money the quintessential James Bond story. It has all the elements of Bond distilled into their purest form.
On the flip side, to paraphrase a-ha from the film I 'set my hopes way too high' with 007 in New York, because it always gets said that the final scene in Quantum is loosely adapted from it, I didn't realise quite how loosely. I also wasn't prepared for what Bond gets up to in the final page, but reading Fleming was nothing if not surprising until the last, and the final Fleming contribution to Bond being a scrambled egg recipe is fittingly on-brand.
I’ve really enjoyed doing this, even though at the end of the day it was self-imposed scheduling a new Bond adventure every month was a really nice thing to look forward to and I like to imagine readers in the 50s and 60s had that same thrill with a new Fleming every year.
I doubt I’ll read the Benson and Gardner series, I’ve heard much more mixed reviews (to put it mildly) and there are so many of them, I’ve got such a long TBR list as it is.
For next year I am going to read the one-shot continuation novels though: Colonel Sun, Devil May Care, Carte Blanche and Solo. And maybe I'll go back and write my thoughts out on the novels I skipped whilst I wait for the middle chapter of the Double O Trilogy, if you guys are interested.
All that's left is to show you my ranking and wish you a very happy holiday.
Moonraker
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
The Spy Who Loved Me
Casino Royale
You Only Live Twice
Live and Let Die
Dr No
Octopussy and the Living Daylights
Thunderball
For Your Eyes Only
Goldfinger
The Man with the Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
Welcome aboard, @AndrewReedMiller! Always good to have a literary Bond fan join us.
Welcome to our site, @AndrewReedMiller! Please let us know what you think of the book!
Bond film.
That was indeed an odd introduction to the literary Bond. My first Bond novel was Fleming's Moonraker in the summer of 1997 and it remains my favourite to this day.
Tell me how do you feel about it, not really a fan of the book tbh.
Will do!
Hope you enjoy it! That's certainly one of Fleming's more epic and dramatic stories.
Good observations. Also, I recommend the Dynamite Comics version as well. A visual classic!
Is there going to be a Bond Novel Meter for 2023? What with the anniversary, the books will get more attention this year than usual.
I honestly wish the continuation authors and novels got more attention and love. Meanwhile, here’s a Tweet from IFP.
I think we’ll have some more interesting news from IFP than EON. Fingers crossed that they have more adventure books!
I also love the playful twist on the 'Bond, James Bond' line. I'm happy there's some more love for the Young Bond books. I hope you enjoy the rest of the novel, I won't spoil it but I will say it gets more Fleming-esque as it goes along.