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I know, I was actually on my way out of the store when I realized that the fiction section "F" was off the my left, and I immediately stopped and looked for Fleming, and lo and behold, there they were!
Thanks man! I've been reading Goldfinger, it's quite enjoyable, despite my dislike for the movie.
And why does he keep the Spangs mostly offscreen? Time and again, M, Felix, etc. states how dangerous they are, but we never see it. Fleming clearly enjoys writing Wint and Kidd more; he should have made them the main villains.
Still, it is amazing how much was skipped in adapting it to the screen: the Spang brothers' name, the hot mud torture (changed for the worse), the horse cheating (appropriated for AVTAK), Tiffany as the blackjack dealer (eventually used in LTK), the roulette sequence, the train and Wild West town (shades of, perhaps, the TMWTGG funhouse).
The highlight, for me, was the Tiffany character. Her "American" dialogue is a bit cliche and over the top, but her backstory is fascinating and I had forgotten that Bond basically falls in love with her. The "love 'em and leave 'em" Bond is so much more a creation of the films--it seems that more often, Fleming's Bond gets his heart broken or has circumstances pull him away from the woman.
From Russia With Love
Casino Royale
Live and Let Die
Doctor No
Thunderball
Goldfinger
Moonraker
Diamonds Are Forever
The Man With The Golden Gun.
All Fleming’s Bond are readable, but some are more readable than others.
Oh, good catch.
Spolier, for anyone who hasnt read the MR novel....
And the last paragraph, I quite agree.. I feel pity for Bond. In MR, especially, when he’s comparing himself to Gala and her fiancée, saying he’s too cold to burden her.
I am just re-reading it now. It is one of my favourite Fleming's, with its slightly different structure, a great scene at Blades, some great action and a great Bond girl in Gala Brand
Quite agree Echo - weakest of the early Bonds. Also my big bugbear is that Bond seems to be lax in it. Several times his doesn't put two and two together re: clues to the bad guys!
Oops, sorry about that! Have just worked out how to do spoiler tags! Will try to remember in future!
Do you think the name Gala Brand can be used in a future film, or will it seem too dated? Something about "Gala Brand" screams 1950s to me. And yet the dialogue about her full first name I could see easily fitting into a film.
The name does feel dated, yes. It is lost in the plethora of the common names we now have. It could still work though, I have faith.
But GF is still the best out of the books I've read.
Least liked is TSWLM and DAF - but I still read 'em all.
Dr No
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Moonraker
Live And Let Die
Thunderball
Goldfinger
Casino Royale
From Russia With Love
Diamonds Are Forever
The Man With The Golden Gun
The Spy Who Loved Me
You Only Live Twice
1= OHMSS
1= FRWL
3= Thunderball
4= Goldfinger
5= Dr.NO
6= Moonraker
7= Casino Royale
8= YOLT
9= LALD
10= TMWTGG
11= DAF
12= TSWLM
For me, there is a huge difference in quality between my top 8 and the bottom 4.
Ironicaly, with the exception of the fabulous "Skyfall", the 1= also made the best movies.
Reading it now. Heavy on the Blofeld and SPECTRE.
The passage on Domino is one of the best bits of writing on a Bond girl you will read. Amazing.
CR
TSWLM
MR
DAF
GF
OHMSS
TB
MWTGG
DN
OP
YOLT
FYEO
TLD/OP
All of Ian Fleming's novels are a great read.
High praise for Dr. No.
I'm surprised you put YOLT last behind even TSWLM.
Here's my (ever-changing) list with short stories:
Casino Royale
Moonraker
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
Dr No
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy & The Living Daylights
Live And Let Die
Thunderball
The Man With The Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
You Only Live Twice
The Spy Who Loved Me
First off, I think the novels are (obviously) much more readable than the short stories by convention; multiple short stories with unrelated plots in succession will always make for a haphazard read.
The Short Stories
FYEO - Very haphazard, and just outright bland. It's not Fleming's worst, but it's quite dull and certainly is not even close to showing what made Fleming a great author
OP & TLD - These are better, but again, the conventions of short stories make these less readable than the novels. I can read any of them on their own, but the pacing is uneven from story to story. I actually prefer this collection to several of the novels, but this is ranking readability, not greatness
The Novels
TSWLM - Let's be honest. There are a lot of problems with this one, and they all revolve around the lack of a certain individual named James Bond. Makes for a terribly bland read, and I've only ever gone through it once; I intend to never do so again
Moonraker - I found this one to have the most filler out of all of Fleming's books; its' length is evidence of that, but at the same time, DAF is a page longer yet is much more readable than Moonraker
LALD - I really think Fleming went out of his comfort zone with Live and Let Die, to be honest. It's his most awkwardly-written book and it really comes across as just being written by a man who pushed his boundaries as an author too far. At 20 pages longer, it's quite difficult to read following Casino Royale. Also one of his worst Bond books, which doesn't help for quality of reading
Goldfinger - This is the first easy read of Fleming's. I don't breeze through it like I do with FRWL or OHMSS, but nonetheless, it's very engaging and enjoyable
DAF - Very good book. I'd say Goldfinger is better, but this is more fun to read. About all there is to say
Dr. No - This is the first "great" book in the list for me. I was thrilled my whole way through the book, and while it's a bit unsatisfying as a followup to the magnificent FRWL, on its' own it's a near masterpiece
Thunderball - Very readable, very engaging. It's quite long, though, only a few pages behind Moonraker, and accordingly contains a bit of filler here and there. Besides, it starts the Blofeld Trilogy, and that alone makes it worth the price of admission
TMWTGG - I know, I know, I'm crazy for not having this at the bottom and instead having it in my top five. Yes, it's haphazard, and so un-Bondlike compared to the other books, and yes it does fall short due to Fleming's death after the first draft, but it's still a lot of fun to read and is really just enjoyable, if not a particularly good book. It's basically my Octopussy of the book series; it's ranked high, even though it really shouldn't be
YOLT - This is really close to tying with my top three, as I think YOLT is the first of Fleming's true masterpieces in this list. It's just a great, fun, enjoyable, exciting read. And the only reason it's 4th on the list is because the other three have all of those things at higher doses
Casino Royale - It's a bit uneven, and you can tell that Fleming still has some work to do to be the truly great author he became, but it is a thrilling introduction to the Bond character, and I think it's the fact that this was the first piece of media dealing with our favourite fictional character that makes this retrospectively such an easy read
OHMSS - Brilliant. Absolutely fucking brilliant. This is, from an objective viewpoint, the best, highest-quality written book out of them all. And I'd say subjectively it's my #1 as well. The only book that comes above this one, at least in terms of readability alone, comes just because this book - even though it's perfect - can be a much longer read, especially as it's 35 pages longer
And the easiest read out of them all...
FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE
What can I say? This was my first Bond book, ever. I was just a kid, probably 10 or 11, when I first read it, and by God was I in love with it! Even though I was by this point well-versed in most of the films and knew exactly who James Bond was as a character, this completely re-introduced me to him. I was thrilled from the first page to the last. This is just beyond magnificent and, quite honestly, the film (which is possibly in my top five if not top three of the Bond films) has absolutely nothing on its' respective book. I read this within a week, maybe less. And I return to it just as often as I do to the Blofeld Trilogy (OHMSS in particular).
Still feel Moonraker is Flemings best though ;)
Admittedly I haven't read all the books but I have read the majority at least once:
-My rankings:
-Moonraker
-From Russia With Love
-Casino Royale
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Dr No
-Live and Let Die
-Goldfinger
-You Only Live Twice
-Man With The Golden Gun
-Thunderball
-Diamonds are Forever
#11. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - I actually liked this, even though most 007 fans don’t seem to, and Ian Fleming basically disowned it after he wrote it. I still think it’s a lower end Bond novel, because this is basically the autobiography of Vivienne Michel and Bond is only really a supporting character. However, it shows Fleming’s range as a writer and by this point in the series I think Fleming did need to shake things up and experiment to keep the books from becoming repetitive.
#10. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN - Not the strongest novel in the series, but I enjoyed Scaramanga as a villain. HIs brashness was a sharp contrast from the mostly smooth-talking, calculating villains Bond had typically been going after.
#9. GOLDFINGER - An entertaining story, but loses points for implausibility. Goldfinger’s plan to rob Fort Knox is unrealistic even by Bond novel standards, not to mention it’s hard to believe the richest man in England would resort to mass murdering everyone at a military base to make more money he clearly doesn’t need, or that he would hire Bond, who has been clearly trying to undermine him, to work as his employee… there’s also his name, “Auric Goldfinger”… a guy who’s name is basically “Gold Goldfinger” who coincidentally happens to be obsessed with gold, is literally like something out of a cartoon. On the positive side, Goldfinger and Oddjob are 2 of the most colorful villains in the Bond canon. The most unrealistic book in the Bond series, but entertaining if you can manage an extremely strong suspension of disbelief.
#8. ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE - The final scene in this book, where a newly widowed Bond is too in shock to fully process that his new bride has been killed, might be the best individual scene in the entire Bond series, and the novel is worth reading for that. Aside from that, the action seems a bit more subdued here than in other Bond stories, and Blofeld is at his least menacing in this episode.
#7. MOONRAKER - Good story, though I thought it started a little slow, before picking up in Acts 2 and 3, and I think Hugo Drax is a little overrated as a villain. Stands out for the curve balls of being the only Bond novel entirely in England, and the only one where he doesn’t get the girl.
#6. THUNDERBALL - Another good story, with one of the best climactic battles in the series.
#5. LIVE AND LET DIE - I’d say this, Bond’s sophomore outing, establishes the typical “Bond formula” most of the books would follow, moreso than its predecessor. The elements of voodoo, fortune telling, shark and barracuda attacks, trap doors, buried treasure, and Bond’s first true megalomaniacal villain, Mr. Big, give this story an exotic flavor to it.
#4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - SMERSH conspires to kill James Bond by using a pretty girl to lure him onto an Orient Express train ride, where they will send an assassin to meet him. There’s a lot to like about this one, including the colorful villains, unorthodox plot structure, and the cliffhanger ending. Two complaints - the story did lull a little in the middle, and the identity of the assassin at the end can be seen from a mile away, and should have been seen by Bond.
#3. CASINO ROYALE - Ian Fleming starts the James Bond series off with a bang here. The casino scenes where Bond and Le Chiffre compete at Baccarat are exciting, Le Chiffre’s subsequent torture of Bond is shuddering, and the final twist at the novel’s end, leading to Bond’s vow to make it his life’s mission to take on SMERSH, make this a great “pilot episode” for the Bond series. I considered ranking this #1, because my enjoyment of this was what pushed me to read all of the Bond books. But on the negative side, the action is smaller scale than future Bond adventures, and the villain is probably dispatched too early in the story, resulting in a too-relaxed final act.
#2. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - I was surprised at how much I liked this, and I also considered ranking it #1. After spending almost the entire series in Europe and the Americas, it’s a breath of fresh air to see Bond immersing himself and learning about a radically different culture he knows nothing of: Japan. Bond’s mission in this book - infiltrating Blofeld’s Garden of Death and taking him down - have to be considered the biggest mission of his career, from both Blofeld’s stature as the founder of SPECTRE, his repeated elusiveness in comparison to other Bond villains who are all one and done, and of course the very personal reason that Blofeld killed Bond’s wife, Tracy. Blofeld’s death gives a sense of closure in the series that never really happened with Bond’s nemesis in the earlier books, SMERSH. Bond’s presumed death at the end, followed by the publishing of his obituary, and the news of Kissy’s pregnancy, collectively pack a bigger punch than maybe any other Bond novel’s ending. My opinion is that Fleming could easily have ended the series here, with Bond living out his days presumed dead in Japan with Kissy, (similar to what Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises did with Batman), and not even bothered with TMWTGG.
#1. DOCTOR NO - My vote for the platonic ideal for a Bond story. Bond goes after one of his best villains, the ominous Doctor No, loses a good friend, goes through immense torture, and gets the girl. A terrific read. If I could only recommend one Bond novel to someone, this is likely what I would go with.
For the sake of completion, I’ll also rank the Bond short stories:
#1. For Your Eyes Only
#2. Octopussy
#3. Quantum of Solace
#4. The Property of a Lady
#5. The Hildebrand Rarity
#6. The Living Daylights
#7. From a View to a Kill
#8. Risico
#9. 007 in New York
The very best thing for any novice to do is to start with ‘Casino Royale’ and work their way through chronologically.
What a delight that would be. To be reading these treasures for the first time.