It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Poor Rik Van Nutter was never given dialogue like that!
Sluggsy and Horror definitely win the "Pure Scum" competition among Bond villains. They make Scaramanga and The Robber look classy.
Novel Ranking:
1. Moonraker
2. Live and Let Die
3. Casino Royale
As for me, I still didn't care for the opening few chapters at all (her backstory and tales did get a bit better as they went along, though), but after the arrival of Sol and Sluggsy, TSWLM took off at 100 MPH and I couldn't put it down, terrific stuff there. Won't go too far into details so I don't ruin things for those that are still reading along for the first time as well, but that finale was fresh, exciting and explosive.
Two random things: I noticed a typo (one of the only ones I think I've caught this whole series) in the final pages, and something else: Fleming's a military man, so it surprises me when I see him flip flop back and forth between the usage of the word "clip" and "magazine" in regards to Bond's pistol. He uses "clip" in DN, seems to move away from it and call it a "magazine" in later novels (which is what it would be called, in the case of a Walther PPK - a "clip" is the incorrect term here), then calls it a clip yet again in this novel. I wondered if he didn't do it on purpose this time around because it's from the unexperienced point of view of Viv. Who knows though, just a minor thing I noticed.
I had the same thought - whether connected to the rest of the film or an entirely separate incident (like film GF's opening, which I believe is also mentioned in a flashback in the novel), it would make for a great, frenetic little PTS.
Already up to chapter three in OHMSS and I'm loving it.
As for TSWLM, I might immediately re-read it when we're through with all of these, go through those initial chapters in one sitting and see if the beginning sits better with me, because I haven't been able to get the rest of the book out of my head since, it's so good.
Novel Ranking:
1. Moonraker
2. Live and Let Die
3. Casino Royale
4. Diamonds Are Forever
(sorry, I'll go away again)
1. CR
2. MR
3. LALD
At least movie Bond is a cunning linguist.
Thank you! It’s definitely been an awesome trip so far, and I expect it to stay that way!
Ranking the first 3 is pretty tough! I love them all too. I’m pretty excited to keep on going!
That's a good way of looking at it, and yes, I absolutely cannot shake Lee as M with every book - not that that's a bad thing. The mental image I have of book Bond is wholly unique to me, too: a very small dash of Connery, and the rest of him has an entirely different look and attitude.
But I find women taste like chicken.
You're thinking of alligators. Humans taste like pork.
My Bond goes between Connery and my own imagined (kind of faceless) one.
Felix is always my own hawk-nosed creation... though I kind of imagine him to look like Prof Dent actor from Dr. No oddly enough. Must be the nose.
No doubt correct. I suppose that only cannibals were able to divulge that information to us? The mind boggles!
@Thunderfinger has answered in the affirmative, though he said after it's been deep fried, everything tastes like chicken.
I’m very interested to continue and get Bond involved. Seems like from what I’ve read so far that the film FRWL must be one of the more faithful adaptations of the novels. Of the first 4 books, CR was the one that stood out most to me as having gotten a faithful film adaptation. A few bits of LALD and DAF. Nothing really from MR.
Did you also enjoy the fact that Bond doesn't appear for the first 90-100 pages? I loved that full deep dive and set up to Grant, his backstory, how he got where he is today, etc. What a fantastic novel it is.
Honestly I did love that aspect of it. I was a little skeptical of if the idea of keeping Bond out of it so long would pay off, but I think it was a good call! This way the villains, particularly Grant, are given maximum depth. Grant really seems like a nasty one - even scarier than the film version which was still terrific. So far, I’d go as far as to say the novel has some of Fleming’s best writing yet. I’m very much inside the story when I read.
Unless they're Russian programmers. Then they taste like strawberries.
With some added cream.
I'm sorry, and I know it's off topic, but I can't resist.
No, no, I needed to see that. And I'm sure I speak for everyone here.