WHICH BOND NOVEL ARE YOU READING AT THE MOMENT (Page 4 of 9)

Just finnished The Facts Of Death.Really enjoyed it I like the way Benson dosen't keep on about Bonds age like Gardner did,Like most of the Fleming novels Bond will always be in his mid to late thirtys for me, no matter when the Books set.

About a third of the way through High time to kill, so far I'd say it was as bad as the worst of J Gardener's.Fleming had the skill to write about subjects in an exciting way like the golf game in goldfinger or the bridge game in Moonraker,But all this climbing plot is very boring.Hope it picks up pace soon.

Currently on Thunderball!

Just started re-reading From Russia With Love. Donald Grant is the best henchman by far. Pure evil and strikingly brutal. More than a match physically for Bond. I love Fleming's prose. I haven't read any of Benson's Bond books, and only a couple of Gardener's, but Fleming has a style not replicated by other thrillers writers. I think this is where Devil May Care fell down for me. Faulks spends so much time writing in the style of Fleming, he forgot to make the book interesting.

After reading different posts suggesting to read them in order I thought "that's what Ill do" .

Problem was the collector in me kicked in and I had the idea of getting them all as hb's...possible but I soon found my idea was a little too costly, and a bit of a pipe dream really.  

I did get a few hb's though, the first being OHMSS, so that was the first one I read...and it was a cracker.

Currently though I've gone back to the beggining with more sb's filling the gaps, so I'm starting the whole thing by reading CR...so far that's great as well. 

I thinkCR is the first one???

The books in order are 
             
             CASINO ROYALE   
             LIVE AND LET DIE
             MOONRAKER   
             DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
             FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
             DR.NO   i'm currently on this one
             GOLDFINGER 
             FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
             THUNDERBALL
             THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
             ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
             YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE           
             THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
             OCTOPUSSY/THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

Alas, I have finished all the Fleming novels for the first time. AMAZING.  Immediately afterwords, I delved into Devil May Care with high expectations - I hadn't read many things about the novel beforehand, except that Faulks' writing style was similar to Fleming's and that it takes place shortly after TMWTGG.  Whilst reading, I came to the point at which I made myself believe Faulks' writing style was similar to Fleming's - simply because that's what I had read.  I finished the novel somewhat satisfied.  It was not until I began Colonel Sun, by Robert Markham AKA Kingsley Amis, when I realized how different Faulks' style was to Fleming's and how incredibly close Amis' is!

I am sure I will enjoy the remainder of Colonel Sun.  What a pity that he didn't write more Bond novels!

At present I am reading Casino Royale and as with everything else Bond,I am thoroughly
enjoying it !

now reading from russia with love, brilliant novel so far.

Live and let die. Fantastic!

I'm a new member and this is my first post, so apologies if I say anything silly

I've just finished reading "You Only Live Twice" - I'm working my way through all of the books, in order, for the first time since I was a teenager (more years ago than I care to remember!).

I had originally been introduced to the books by my dad when I was about 13 and had finally, and reluctantly, left Enid Blyton behind and was looking for something new and exciting to read. He gave me Dr No and also something called "Modesty Blaise"which he thought, as a girl, I might identify with. Ms Blaise was abandoned very early on, but I stuck with Bond.

Now, after all these years, I am rediscovering them all, and realising how much went over my head as a teenager! But I am also having great fun realising how thrilling, nerve wracking and interesting these books are. Nothing like the films of course, and by today's politically correct standards maybe a tad dated, but I can live with that, I can even forgive Bond's attitude to women drivers!

Ian Fleming's writing is just brilliant, I still keep smiling to myself at a sentence from OHMSS when he describes "two golden girls in exciting bikinis" - which just conveys so much in so few words.

When I've finished the books I shall re-read Devil May Care and then I think I may have a bash at some of the other Bond fiction out there and see how it compares:)