Which Bond novel are you currently reading?

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  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    edited January 2021 Posts: 1,351
    Just finished YOLT. What a strange, strange book.
    The last three or four chapters really floored me in a way where I am not exactly sure whether it's positive or not.
    What a strange book.
    "Then the sex merchant disconnected the wires and put the toad, which seemed none the worse for its experience, back in its hutch and closed the top."
    What a sentence!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 2021 Posts: 17,727
    Just finished YOLT. What a strange, strange book.
    The last three or four chapters really floored me in a way where I am not exactly sure whether it's positive or not.
    What a strange book.
    "Then the sex merchant disconnected the wires and put the toad, which seemed none the worse for its experience, back in its hutch and closed the top."
    What a sentence!

    Strange and weird in a good way, though, I believe. Very Gothic in nature. It's certainly one of Fleming’s most bizarre books and all the better for it in my opinion.

    Yes, I remember being amused by the sex merchant part as a youngster and showing it to a friend. This was before I'd read the novel in full. You've brought back a long repressed memory there! :D
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    I always enjoy reading YOLT. I love Japan. I love the climactic setting. And I love the mysterious coda. I furthermore really dig how Fleming moved from this final chapter into the first few of TMWTGG, which I think is an excellent novel despite not getting a lot of appreciation very often.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    Birdleson wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I always enjoy reading YOLT. I love Japan. I love the climactic setting. And I love the mysterious coda. I furthermore really dig how Fleming moved from this final chapter into the first few of TMWTGG, which I think is an excellent novel despite not getting a lot of appreciation very often.

    I agree.

    I'm glad I'm not the only one. :-) I'm sure TMWTGG could have benefited from some polishing, but I think the novel has a lot of tension to offer and especially the "standoff" between Bond and Scaramanga is a true high point.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Just finished YOLT. What a strange, strange book.
    The last three or four chapters really floored me in a way where I am not exactly sure whether it's positive or not.
    What a strange book.
    "Then the sex merchant disconnected the wires and put the toad, which seemed none the worse for its experience, back in its hutch and closed the top."
    What a sentence!

    Strange and weird in a good way, though, I believe. Very Gothic in nature. It's certainly one of Fleming’s most bizarre books and all the better for it in my opinion.

    Yes, I remember being amused by the sex merchant part as a youngster and showing it to a friend. This was before I'd read the novel in full. You've brought back a long repressed memory there! :D

    I was certainly glued to it for those last few chapters and I am sure it will stay in my mind for quite some time. That in itself makes it a successful book in my eyes.
    I'm just still overwhelmed by the amount of "wait, what?" moments at the end there.
    One of the strangest to me being how in the Questioning Chamber, Bond suddenly becomes full on Connery from one paragraph to the next. There I sit, after reading 10 books with this brooding spy at their center, who doesn't really resemble the screen Bonds to a point that I don't see any of the actors in my mind's eye when reading the books and bang! Suddenly he is quipping and giving Shatterhand shit while being in the most dire of circumstances and it is full-on Sir Sean for like two chapters.l!
  • edited January 2021 Posts: 2,887
    YOLT was the first book written after Fleming had seen a Bond film (Dr. No), so it makes sense that Bond has more wisecracks in this book. Even Blofeld's self-justifying speech seems partially inspired by the film version of Dr. No. And then there is the controversy about whether Fleming gave Bond Scottish roots as a tribute to Connery or not. (Summary: Fleming had inquired about the possibility of Bond having Scottish roots a few years earlier, but never referred to Bond as anything but English until after Connery was cast, starting in OHMSS.)

    I still remember the shock of first reading YOLT--there are so many unprecedented events in this book, shocking developments that never happened before in any Bond story. Bond falls to pieces and turns into an alcoholic wreck at the beginning, gets shouted at by M, kills Blofeld in a full-on bloodlust, loses his memory and sex drive, gets a woman pregnant, and heads to Russia! And then you more crazy stuff like have Blofeld going insane and shacking up with Irma Bunt, the horrifying and eerie Garden of Death, Bond's obituary, the supernatural elements with the nodding Gods, etc. YOLT seems to exist in a world separate from any other Bond story.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 2021 Posts: 17,727
    Birdleson wrote: »
    People spend a lot of time on what isn't there (and there does seem tw\o be a lot of connectivity missing), but big chunks of what we have (the intro, the whore house, the finale, as you've said, are all Fleming at his peak.

    Put me down as another fan of The Man with the Golden Gun. I love that it's different. Perhaps because it isn't so polished it really breezes along and provides a smaller scale, more localised real world plot. Things are more at the planning stage than the "ticking down to the bomb going off or the missile being fired" stage. I like that kind of change of pace.
  • edited January 2021 Posts: 532
    As someone who hasn’t read the later Bond books yet, does The Man With the Golden Gun offer some sort of “conclusion” to the novels, or was it written as if the adventures would continue? From what I’ve heard about it, YOLT sounds almost as if it could have been some sort of grand, fever-dream finale to the books. I don’t know much of anything about TMWTGG novel, but it sounds much smaller scale?
  • Very cool, thanks for the rundown. For some reason I was expecting it to just be an open ended adventure, but I’m glad Fleming was able to put some sort of a stamp on the series.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    Colonel Sun is fairly highly regarded, though I must admit to feeling cold towards it, both times I read it. I remember taking to my dad about it, he read back when it was first published, and he didn't like it much either.

    Finished Wood's The Spy Who Loved Me, earlier. Being honest, I sort of lost momentum, for a few days, so I decided to restart the book.

    I think Wood took a good stab at dropping Fleming's Bond into this TSWLM. Was Christopher Wood never given the option to write his own Bond? He did an admirable job in capturing the Fleming Bond.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    No, no, I thought he did a good job. I would have liked him to have written more, maybe even his own Bond story.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,921
    I wonder why Wood was (presumably? unceremoniously?) dumped after MR which, despite its excesses, had some very good moments. Was it because MGW wanted to write?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited January 2021 Posts: 17,727
    echo wrote: »
    I wonder why Wood was (presumably? unceremoniously?) dumped after MR which, despite its excesses, had some very good moments. Was it because MGW wanted to write?

    I suppose it was because they wanted a more down to Earth film (quite literally after Moonraker) with For Your Eyes Only and Christopher Wood was not exactly synonymous with that type of writing in his prior two Bond films.

    I suppose they wanted to return to the Bond films of old (From Russia With Love was cited as the main influence). In that regard, Richard Maibaum was a tried and tested Bond writer who could write in various styles of Bond film. Changing from Wood as the main writer signalled a complete break with what had went immediately before.
  • edited January 2021 Posts: 2,887
    I'm ashamed to say I still haven't read either of the Wood novels, primarily because Wood was very snotty about Fleming's TSWLM (and to a slight extent Fleming's MR) in his memoir James Bond, the Spy I Loved. The book is also disappointing in detailing who-contributed-what to the screenplay of TSWLM. Ditto for the genesis of the MR script. All that said, I should put aside my disappointment and read his Bond novels.
    echo wrote: »
    I wonder why Wood was (presumably? unceremoniously?) dumped after MR which, despite its excesses, had some very good moments.

    I don't think there were any good reasons to keep him. MR is a retread of TSWLM, whose screenplay likely owed more good qualities to Maibaum and the thousand other people who worked on it than Wood (even Mankiewicz did an uncredited pass!). Maibaum came back for FYEO and probably wouldn't have been happy to work with Wood.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I've always enjoyed the Wood novels, He had a way of writing very close to
    the style of Fleming himself. Also I'm a fan of Col Sun, a great continuation
    Novel.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 7,946
    Revelator wrote: »
    YOLT was the first book written after Fleming had seen a Bond film (Dr. No), so it makes sense that Bond has more wisecracks in this book. Even Blofeld's self-justifying speech seems partially inspired by the film version of Dr. No. And then there is the controversy about whether Fleming gave Bond Scottish roots as a tribute to Connery or not. (Summary: Fleming had inquired about the possibility of Bond having Scottish roots a few years earlier, but never referred to Bond as anything but English until after Connery was cast, starting in OHMSS.)

    I still remember the shock of first reading YOLT--there are so many unprecedented events in this book, shocking developments that never happened before in any Bond story. Bond falls to pieces and turns into an alcoholic wreck at the beginning, gets shouted at by M, kills Blofeld in a full-on bloodlust, loses his memory and sex drive, gets a woman pregnant, and heads to Russia! And then you more crazy stuff like have Blofeld going insane and shacking up with Irma Bunt, the horrifying and eerie Garden of Death, Bond's obituary, the supernatural elements with the nodding Gods, etc. YOLT seems to exist in a world separate from any other Bond story.
    And still people complain it's too much of a travelogue... Strange world this is...


    Put me down as another tmwtgg fan, for the same reasons. If anything it takes you even more into the atmosphere of what's going on than fleming-usual. I love the setting, Bonds decisions (sitting in the back of the car) etc. The end is epic as well.

  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    Revelator wrote: »
    YOLT was the first book written after Fleming had seen a Bond film (Dr. No), so it makes sense that Bond has more wisecracks in this book. Even Blofeld's self-justifying speech seems partially inspired by the film version of Dr. No. And then there is the controversy about whether Fleming gave Bond Scottish roots as a tribute to Connery or not. (Summary: Fleming had inquired about the possibility of Bond having Scottish roots a few years earlier, but never referred to Bond as anything but English until after Connery was cast, starting in OHMSS.)

    I still remember the shock of first reading YOLT--there are so many unprecedented events in this book, shocking developments that never happened before in any Bond story. Bond falls to pieces and turns into an alcoholic wreck at the beginning, gets shouted at by M, kills Blofeld in a full-on bloodlust, loses his memory and sex drive, gets a woman pregnant, and heads to Russia! And then you more crazy stuff like have Blofeld going insane and shacking up with Irma Bunt, the horrifying and eerie Garden of Death, Bond's obituary, the supernatural elements with the nodding Gods, etc. YOLT seems to exist in a world separate from any other Bond story.
    And still people complain it's too much of a travelogue... Strange world this is...


    Put me down as another tmwtgg fan, for the same reasons. If anything it takes you even more into the atmosphere of what's going on than fleming-usual. I love the setting, Bonds decisions (sitting in the back of the car) etc. The end is epic as well.

    I still think that is a valid point. Or rather, I didn't find the first half of YOLT - the travelogue part - as engaging as Fleming's previous writing on destinations. With this one I got much more of a feeling of "this is a tour of the country I did and things I have seen and I will tell you my thoughts on it" and less of the lived in feeling that other books have. Which is logical, because that is exactly the way it was for Fleming (and come to think of it Bond). He visited Japan once (I think) whereas he had many more experiences in the Caribbean, the US and of course continental Europe. Accordingly, both Fleming and Bond have f.e. a favourite place to eat and an opinion on the way one should drink in Paris, whereas in Japan it's more that someone presents him with something and he either likes it or doesn't, but usually at least thinks it's strange.
    It certainly pales in comparison to the wild ride that is the second half.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 7,946
    Revelator wrote: »
    YOLT was the first book written after Fleming had seen a Bond film (Dr. No), so it makes sense that Bond has more wisecracks in this book. Even Blofeld's self-justifying speech seems partially inspired by the film version of Dr. No. And then there is the controversy about whether Fleming gave Bond Scottish roots as a tribute to Connery or not. (Summary: Fleming had inquired about the possibility of Bond having Scottish roots a few years earlier, but never referred to Bond as anything but English until after Connery was cast, starting in OHMSS.)

    I still remember the shock of first reading YOLT--there are so many unprecedented events in this book, shocking developments that never happened before in any Bond story. Bond falls to pieces and turns into an alcoholic wreck at the beginning, gets shouted at by M, kills Blofeld in a full-on bloodlust, loses his memory and sex drive, gets a woman pregnant, and heads to Russia! And then you more crazy stuff like have Blofeld going insane and shacking up with Irma Bunt, the horrifying and eerie Garden of Death, Bond's obituary, the supernatural elements with the nodding Gods, etc. YOLT seems to exist in a world separate from any other Bond story.
    And still people complain it's too much of a travelogue... Strange world this is...


    Put me down as another tmwtgg fan, for the same reasons. If anything it takes you even more into the atmosphere of what's going on than fleming-usual. I love the setting, Bonds decisions (sitting in the back of the car) etc. The end is epic as well.

    I still think that is a valid point. Or rather, I didn't find the first half of YOLT - the travelogue part - as engaging as Fleming's previous writing on destinations. With this one I got much more of a feeling of "this is a tour of the country I did and things I have seen and I will tell you my thoughts on it" and less of the lived in feeling that other books have. Which is logical, because that is exactly the way it was for Fleming (and come to think of it Bond). He visited Japan once (I think) whereas he had many more experiences in the Caribbean, the US and of course continental Europe. Accordingly, both Fleming and Bond have f.e. a favourite place to eat and an opinion on the way one should drink in Paris, whereas in Japan it's more that someone presents him with something and he either likes it or doesn't, but usually at least thinks it's strange.
    It certainly pales in comparison to the wild ride that is the second half.

    I agree wholeheartedly, and am amazed that the first half would have such a prominent effect on people.
  • Finished Moonraker. In many ways this is Fleming’s best novel thus far in the series; it’s confidently structured (rather than splitting up the acts by location ala LALD, here they are broken up almost by style: the social intrigue of the first part, the second part is a mystery, and the third becomes a thriller), the plotting is very tight as multiple hints and strands are carefully woven together until the reveal, and Fleming’s writing has further improved offering more insight and development into all the major characters but done in a more organic way than the philosophical pontifications that came towards the end of Casino Royale. And yet, despite all that, I hesitate to call this one my favorite of the bunch. The first part, which details more of Bond’s office and personal life than we’ve ever seen yet, as well as his and M’s opulent and tense evening in Blades, is probably the best stretch of writing out of the three books. It’s just captivating stuff; the location is fascinating, the card game is incredibly tense, and I loved seeing M and Bond on a mission together. Unfortunately this section is, in my eyes, easily the peak of the novel. Moonraker is a bit like a reverse LALD; where that book got better with each passing act, Moonraker diminishes. Which is not to say Moonraker is poor by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just that by the time we get to the third act’s car chase that results in Bond’s capture, and subsequent torture and escape, it can’t help but feel just a little like a a rehash of the action beats of prior books only set in a less exotic setting. I admire Moonraker a lot for setting itself apart with its setting and more intrigue driven premise, but I think I might prefer the jet-setting and adventure of the typical Bond story more. Still though, I had a blast with this (so much so that I don’t think I could even rank just these first 3 books in terms of preference, they all excel in different ways). Next is Diamonds are Forever: this one I haven’t read before and from what I gather is another SMERSH-less entry in the series that takes Bond back to America, leaving FRMWL to get the series back to its Cold War vendetta.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    edited February 2021 Posts: 7,946
    Personaly I find it more Biggles than Bond. Especially the ending. I find it rather odd that M would approve of the damage done to the Netherlands by the impact of the Moonraker. Does Britain really not care about it's allies and their people, especially just after the horrendous floods of 1953?
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,921
    I think there was a much lesser understanding of environmentalism in the '50s than there is now. Silent Spring was when, 1963?
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    Just finished TMWTGG.

    Don't think I have a lot to add about it. It is a smaller book and parts of it feel a bit like re-hashes of previous story beats.
    Bond becoming the villain's assistant.
    The Group is kind of a less interesting mix of SPECTRE and the consortium of crooks in Goldfinger.
    The train showdown.
    And I have to say I was more preoccupied with trying to find the seams of the book and reflecting on Fleming's death then I was with enjoying the story, which is sad.
  • I'm about 1/3 of the way through Licence Renewed, which is my first Gardner novel. I must say I'm enjoying it so far. I have minor quibbles, but it is sturdy enough. The prose is certainly not as atmospheric or strong as Fleming's, but it is keeping me engaged
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    Finished Wood's Moonraker earlier. I feel as if I detected a little more of the movie Bond at times, but on the whole, an improvement on the film. I likes the way the Gondola chase plays out. In the film, Bond is just sitting back, enjoying the sights, before he sees the funeral boat making its way down the waterway. In the book, there a building sense of foreboding that is absent in the film.

    I might start Licence Renewed later, just to keep my momentum going.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 7,946
    Reading Octopussy & The Living Daylights now. Those short stories fit ln my work-home travels (for the one day a week I'm still going to the office).
  • Reading Casino Royale again, it’s been a while.

  • Finished Wood's Moonraker earlier. I feel as if I detected a little more of the movie Bond at times, but on the whole, an improvement on the film. I likes the way the Gondola chase plays out. In the film, Bond is just sitting back, enjoying the sights, before he sees the funeral boat making its way down the waterway. In the book, there a building sense of foreboding that is absent in the film.

    I might start Licence Renewed later, just to keep my momentum going.

    Just finished this myself this week. Agree that it’s an improvement on the film. And interestingly, my mind’s eye picture of Bond while reading was often Sean rather than Roger.
    Don’t think it’s as good as Wood’s TSWLM, but still one of the best impressions of Fleming’s Bond that I’ve read.

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Dr No, I keep forgetting that Prof Dent Isn't in the Book ;) every time I read it.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    Finished Wood's Moonraker earlier. I feel as if I detected a little more of the movie Bond at times, but on the whole, an improvement on the film. I likes the way the Gondola chase plays out. In the film, Bond is just sitting back, enjoying the sights, before he sees the funeral boat making its way down the waterway. In the book, there a building sense of foreboding that is absent in the film.

    I might start Licence Renewed later, just to keep my momentum going.

    Just finished this myself this week. Agree that it’s an improvement on the film. And interestingly, my mind’s eye picture of Bond while reading was often Sean rather than Roger.

    I don't really picture one particular Bond, but a... weird amalgamation
    Don’t think it’s as good as Wood’s TSWLM, but still one of the best impressions of Fleming’s Bond that I’ve read.

    I'd go along with that sentiment. It's a credit to Wood that he manages to make a more sensible MR.

  • Just finished this myself this week. Agree that it’s an improvement on the film. And interestingly, my mind’s eye picture of Bond while reading was often Sean rather than Roger.

    I don't really picture one particular Bond, but a... weird amalgamation

    It is weird, isn’t it? I don’t know if it’s the fact that I recognise certain scenes from the film, or if it’s Wood’s mixture of literary and film Bond.

    Reading Peter Vollmer’s Per Fine Ounce next. Not a Bond book, but vaguely connected at least.
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