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Yes, I do believe that Tom Mankiewicz was the one above all who pushed for it. American writer, American locations. I still hold both the book and film as two of the most unique Bond adventures for several reasons.
But yes, LALD was ripe for adaptation at the right time.
It's kind of like Dolly's braces, but I can never remember whether Solitaire in the book is written as black or white. Setting Jane Seymour aside for a moment (she's better as an actress than many who preceded her), the idea of Diana Ross in this film is also intriguing.
"Her face was pale, with the pallor of white families that have lived long in the tropics. But it contained no trace of the usual exhaustion which the tropics impart to the skin and hair. The eyes were blue, alight and disdainful, but, as they gazed into his with a touch of humour, he realized they contained some message for him personally. It quickly vanished as his own eyes answered. Her hair was blue-black and fell heavily to her shoulders. She had high cheekbones and a wide, sensual mouth which held a hint of cruelty. Her jawline was delicate and finely cut. It showed decision and an iron will which were repeated in the straight, pointed nose. Part of the beauty of the face lay in its lack of compromise. It was a face born to command. The face of the daughter of a French Colonial slave-owner."
The last section makes the book's racial politics even more provocative: the descendant of a slave owner (with a face born to command!) has become the slave of a black master (and obeys his commands). It's up to Bond to steal the white woman away from her blackmaster.
I can't remember if my avatar is the cover of a version of LALD or Thunderball. One or the other.
November 11 - Armistice Day and Bond's day. Happy Birthday James Bond!
Seeing Bond at an all-time low to begin the story is an effective and fitting hook for the readers, given the way OHMSS ended. The bits with M are awesome, but I also love how the book opens with the enigmatic scene of Bond and Tanaka's game before that. Tanaka is one of the most interesting and fun to read of Ian Fleming's many colorful characters, and Bond's extensive time with him in the first half was consistently intriguing. The buildup to the threat of the Death Collector, along with all the challenging adjustments Bond makes in Japan and witty banter he exchanges with Tiger, makes the action-lite first half still a very good read. I'll admit it's a little slow here and there, but I was very engaged with almost all of it still.
The second half is where it gets super super good, though. I find Kissy Suzuki to be a great Bond girl; she's provided with a solid backstory, a balanced personality of caring and capable, and I really feel bad for her at the end of the novel. The last several chapters are totally action-packed and thrilling, stuffed with eeriness, intensity, and catharsis. The castle is a classic, ideal villain's lair, Blofeld acts as nefarious as ever, and it's just always so supremely satisfying seeing his and Bond's feud reach its wild conclusion. I'm also glad Irma was remembered and included. The penultimate chapter gives us a nice, tidy look at Bond's life, too - a perfect few pages of lore!
YOLT is like an epic fever dream, and for me the best kind of ending the original series could have potentially gotten. We get resolution to the peskiest and most infamous villain Bond ever fought, and the memory loss + open ending just feels so right to leave things off on to me. I remember liking TMWTGG fine, but just feeling like YOLT offers the right finish for this series, suggesting but not confirming Bond's adventures may not be over. I wish NTTD had taken more from this novel, honestly. Anyways, it gets a pretty high ranking from me, only topped by a few of the other elites. I love it, and for me, the Blofeld trilogy only got better and better.
Novel Ranking:
1. From Russia with Love
2. Dr. No
3. Moonraker
4. For Your Eyes Only
5. You Only Live Twice
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
8. Casino Royale
9. Live and Let Die
10. Thunderball
11. Diamonds Are Forever
12. Goldfinger
Short Story Ranking:
1. Risico
2. For Your Eyes Only
3. The Hildebrand Rarity
4. From a View to a Kill
5. Quantum of Solace
Horowitz was good. I guess not all "H's" are...
I've read the book too, and I can completely understand where you're coming from on this. I'd give him a second chance myself, but only because OhMSS was rushed.
But I agree, I'm not a fan of it either. But it's not the worst bit of literary Bond I've ever read (that honour goes to Blast From The Past).
I don't think it's very political either, not sure where that's coming from. And yeah, if a media mogul is a valid target of a Bond villain story then I think a right wing grifter populist is too. It's not like he actually believes anything he's saying so it's not really a political story at all.
It's fun enough though, passes the time for a quick Bond buzz.
One bit kind of stopped me in my tracks. Bond peruses that in being part of the double 0 section he didn't expect to live past 45..
He calculates that the 8 years he has left in the service coupled with the number of dangerous missions in that time, that it's a statistical certainty he will be killed on one..
Yup... :))
The writing was in the books, if not on the wall. :)
More info supporting this point I think is when he proposes to light a cigarette to sabotage Drax's rocket, perhaps inspiring NTTD's ending.
Unfortunately I don't think they captured the beauty of MR's proposed ending
One thing bothered me though, in chapter 24 during the helicopter ride the pilot tells Swiss air control that they are bringing blood plasma to Italy, he then needs to specify where precisely and he says Bellinzona, which is in Switzerland!
That's quite a big geographical blunder I'm afraid :-?
It has many geographical problems, if my memory serves (it's been a while since I've read the book) but there's also a geographical issue at the book's beginning, particularly at the chase between Bond and Tracy to the Casino, Fleming wrote the names of the places (where the chase had taken place) and some pointed it out for being confusing.
I know the map of Europe rather well, and I have a love for Italian culture, language and cuisine, so for me when he puts Swiss town Bellinzona in Italy or when he writes tagliatelli instead of tagliatelle, I do notice.
Having said so, I still think OHMSS is a magnificent read (since my pasta example is from Risico, I'd like to point out that I adore that short story regardless).
That for me is more confusing than geographical errors.
Blofeld isn't threatening the UK hoping for a title in return. He's not threatening at all: he wants to destroy UK + Irish agriculture, partly for revenge for Thunderball and partly because the Russians (through a Captain Boris) have paid him to do so. Evidence of this lack of relation is showed when Blofeld offers to bribe "Bray" for the title.
The title is simply sidequest that Blofeld aches for, and thinks he has a chance at. After all: Blofeld is quite close to Bleuville and even more so to Bleuchamp (Blue city/town and Blue field respectively). And also he claims that his wealthy ancestors emigrated from France during the revolution and settled in Germany and then Poland with the new name "Blofeld," which matches up with what Blofeld remembers about his family history.
As for why the College of Arms, one can assume that Blofeld probably had only a few options. He speaks English, Turkish (probably), Polish and German. Of the countries of those languages, especially in 1962, England would probably be the only country that would have a market for this kind of snobbery.
I do not find such an error confusing, it does bother me a little bit though. I still enjoy all the rest of the novel, of course :)