Bond novels.
Dexter Smythe
Close to Fort KnoxPosts: 47MI6 Agent
I am new here but certainly not to 007 or Internet Forums. Seen all of the movies dozens of times.In 2010-11 I finally read all of the original Fleming novels in chronological order.I was impressed as they were much better than I expected.Anyone having any questions should feel free to ask.Four of the novels were actually better than the films:Dr No,Live and Let Die,Diamonds Are Forever,and You Only Live Twice.Moonraker was also very good although I am reluctant to say it was better than the film because Moonraker is one of my Top 5 007 films.
Comments
to do it. You really see Fleming growing in skill as a writer and how Bond matures as an
agent and a man.
Infact Dexter if the novels are still fresh in your mind why not add your views and
opinions to the others on " The Bond Book of the month " thread.
Is to read all the Fleming then go on through the continuing novels .
to really get many of the subtleties of his stories. Now I'm a little more mature ( But only a little )
I find them Brilliant, even the stories I found a bit slow, I can now appreciate for their writing skill.
I'm about to start Thunderball this month. -{
BTW, Thunderpussy I agree with your #1 film! Octopussy is my #2.
It might be the times, but the books seem even more misogynistic than the moviess...
I recently re-read the so-called 'Blofeld Trilogy' and was blown away by how fast they actually move despite my memories of TB and OHMSS being quite slow. Over the last couple of years I have re-read 9 of the books, splitting them into trilogies and tackling a trilogy at a time and then taking a break, which were CR-LALD-MR , followed by FRWL-DN-GF and then TB-OHMSS-YOLT. I haven't decided yet if I will go and re-read what I consider the lesser novels, ie. DAF, TSWLM and TMWTGG. Maybe one of these days. I also want to catch up on some of the Gardner and Benson books which I haven't got around to reading yet.
but didn't rate it at all. Although as I'm older I might enjoy it more.
Flemings writing just compels you to keep turning the page. -{
He wanted no paperback published, after the poor reception of the hardback edition. It didn't appear in paperback till after his death.
My understanding is that Fleming didn't want the book to be turned into film, so he never sold the rights to The Spy Who Loved Me which, if I'm not mistaken, is still with the Fleming estate.
Me too. I thought the book was better than the film (although admittedly, I thought every Fleming novel was better than its cinematic counterpart). I liked it because it was different, being first person view of James Bond from the eyes of Vivienne Michel rather than a third person point of view in all other Bond novels. To me, it reveals another dimension of the Bond character - that of a true gentleman coming to the aid of a damsel in distress.
Correct. The reviews for TSWLM were vicious and hurt Fleming deeply (though, as Kinglsey Amis noted, female reviewers were much more positive). I think part of the reason Fleming was so hurt was because the book was personal to him--parts of it are even autobiographical. Vivienne's loss of virginity in the movie theater was based on Fleming's own experiences. But in his book he writes from the female's perspective, and Vivienne's boyfriend--based on Fleming himself--is portrayed as a callous young cad. Couple this with the contesting views on James Bond offered by Viv and the cop she speaks to and you have the most self-reflexive Bond novel of them all.
You're not alone. The movie is a pretty tame version of the book. True, the squid probably wouldn't have worked back then, and the film's budget meant it wouldn't have been able to afford the special effects that could have made it work.