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Which Bond novel are you currently reading?

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  • chrisMchrisM
    edited November 2012 Posts: 59
    just re-read (again) Casino Royale, and starting (again) the compendium of Fleming's short stories - love Living Daylights and the tension Fleming builds as Bond waits for the agent to cross the border from East Germany, and the shock when he sees who the enemy trigger is
  • DB5DB5
    Posts: 408
    "The Living Daylights" is my favorite Fleming short story. And "Casino Royale" is great, from the opening line to the last one!
  • DB5DB5
    Posts: 408
    After much soul searching I decided to give Gardner one more try. Currently about half way through "Licence Renewed."
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    DB5 wrote:
    Currently about half way through "Licence Renewed."

    How are you finding it? Good reading so far?
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited November 2012 Posts: 13,894
    I'm currently reading LALD. I've seen LTK more times than i've read LALD, so there are some passages that feel odd to read in this book.
    1. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming (1953)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    Been 20 years.... I'll reread Fleming once I'm done with some of Gardner...
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited November 2012 Posts: 11,189
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    I'm currently reading LALD. I've seen LTK more times than i've read LALD, so there are some passages that feel odd to read in this book.
    1. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming (1953)

    I re-read LALD fairly recently too. And during the middle section (Bond breaking into the aquirium) LTK did come to mind. One thing I realised when reading the books was that Dalts tries to copy the literary Bond's mannerism's, facial expressions.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,422
    Goldfinger

    Half way through GF. I'm not particularly interested in golf or gold, but Ian Fleming's genius is his descriptive powers.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    Broke my promise of stop buying physical books, felt a sudden urge to re-read OHMSS and ordered a copy online so that will be my next.
  • chrisMchrisM
    Posts: 59
    finished the compendium of all Fleming's short stories, and always amazed when I read them HOW much information Fleming can impart in 20-30 pages, leaves other thriller writers filling up 2 or 3 chapters to do likewise...

    like the gritty no-nonsense feel of the TLD short, really has an almost Le Carre approach to the cold war
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    Yeah, I really enjoy the short stories!
  • googlemonkeygooglemonkey
    Posts: 32
    Just read Brokenclaw and now reading The Man from Barbarossa both by the late John Gardner.
  • DB5DB5
    Posts: 408
    chrisisall wrote:
    DB5 wrote:
    Currently about half way through "Licence Renewed."

    How are you finding it? Good reading so far?

    Yeah so far it's holding my interest, unlike "Icebreaker" which I started and gave up on twice!

  • bgh1968bgh1968
    Posts: 13
    Just finished You Only Live Twice (my favorite book) I'm reading John Gardners 'Win,Lose, or Die'. I like Gardner...however I hated Carte Blanche, Deaver made a mis-step in making the Bond world so ordinary , not style and no memorable villain.
  • googlemonkeygooglemonkey
    Posts: 32
    I liked Carte Blanche. John Gardner did write some really good Bond novels.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited November 2012 Posts: 13,894
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I re-read LALD fairly recently too. And during the middle section (Bond breaking into the aquirium) LTK did come to mind. One thing I realised when reading the books was that Dalts tries to copy the literary Bond's mannerism's, facial expressions.

    That's why I liked Daltons both stabs at Bond, he really nailed the literary Bond imo. While other Bonds might've shown glimpses, Dalton exhibited all the right qualities in all the right quantities.

    LALD finished, i'm ready to begin Monraker tomorrow.
    1. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming (1953)
    2. Live And Let Die - Ian Fleming (1954)
  • JWESTBROOKJWESTBROOK
    Posts: 5,745
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I re-read LALD fairly recently too. And during the middle section (Bond breaking into the aquirium) LTK did come to mind. One thing I realised when reading the books was that Dalts tries to copy the literary Bond's mannerism's, facial expressions.

    That's why I liked Daltons both stabs at Bond, he really nailed the literary Bond imo. While other Bonds might've shown glimpses, Dalton exhibited all the right qualities in all the right quantities.

    LALD finished, i'm ready to begin Monraker tomorrow.
    1. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming (1953)
    2. Live And Let Die - Ian Fleming (1954)

    Moonraker is my personal favorite. Diamonds Are Forever is boring me.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    edited November 2012 Posts: 12,837
    Finished OHMSS the other day. Better than GF, MR and CR, but not as good as TB. I'm really enjoying the Blofeld trilogy so far.

    I'll read YOLT soon, but I have the new Jack Reacher book and I want to read that first, plus I want to finish the new assassins creed game, along with work and other stuff I need to sort out (as well as going to the pub almost every day), it might take me a while before I start it.

    Ah I have a busy life.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    Finished OHMSS the other day. Better than GF, MR and CR, but not as good as TB. I'm really enjoying the Blofeld trilogy so far.
    If memory serves, MR, The Blofeld trilogy & some of the short stories were my favourites...
    AND Colonal Sun.
  • chrisMchrisM
    Posts: 59
    Finally got hold of Licence to Kill, the only John Gardner I never managed to find before, just started it tonight (was re-reading Dr No and put it on hold....no disrespect mr Fleming sir) hope it's as good as the film
  • Lancaster007Lancaster007 Shrublands Health Clinic, England
    Posts: 1,874
    chrisM wrote:
    Finally got hold of Licence to Kill, the only John Gardner I never managed to find before, just started it tonight (was re-reading Dr No and put it on hold....no disrespect mr Fleming sir) hope it's as good as the film

    Hope you like it. I got it a few months back, and I have to say that I thought it was bad. But then again I can't get on with Gardner's Bond books. There is some very un-Bondlike dialogue he gives our hero and the attack on Felix is just beyond belief. To me Gardner falls down because he is trying to please both camps, the book reader and the filmgoer, and it just doesn't work.
    I had read Licence Renewed and For Special Services when they first came out and had the same feelings, but thought I'd give the novelisation of LTK a go as it is a favourite film. Wished I hadn't now!
  • DB5DB5
    Posts: 408
    Lancaster007 wrote:
    chrisM wrote:
    Finally got hold of Licence to Kill, the only John Gardner I never managed to find before, just started it tonight (was re-reading Dr No and put it on hold....no disrespect mr Fleming sir) hope it's as good as the film

    Hope you like it. I got it a few months back, and I have to say that I thought it was bad. But then again I can't get on with Gardner's Bond books. There is some very un-Bondlike dialogue he gives our hero and the attack on Felix is just beyond belief. To me Gardner falls down because he is trying to please both camps, the book reader and the filmgoer, and it just doesn't work.
    I had read Licence Renewed and For Special Services when they first came out and had the same feelings, but thought I'd give the novelisation of LTK a go as it is a favourite film. Wished I hadn't now!

    They brought plot elements of "The Hildebrand Rarity" and "Live and Let Die" into LTK. So why bother with the novelization?


  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,422
    Goldfinger

    What a wonderful piece of nonsense. For me Goldfinger is the most laid back and expansive of Ian Fleming's novels. Paradoxically the beginning of novel, when Bond gets back from Cuba, when Bond gets captured in Switzerland, prior to the "Pressure Room" and the showdown on the airplane at the end, is graphic and very morose.

    P.s Billy Ring, does he remind anyone of The Joker? When did The Joker first appear in the Batman comics I wonder?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited November 2012 Posts: 28,694
    royale65 wrote:
    Goldfinger

    What a wonderful piece of nonsense. For me Goldfinger is the most laid back and expansive of Ian Fleming's novels. Paradoxically the beginning of novel, when Bond gets back from Cuba, when Bond gets captured in Switzerland, prior to the "Pressure Room" and the showdown on the airplane at the end, is graphic and very morose.

    P.s Billy Ring, does he remind anyone of The Joker? When did The Joker first appear in the Batman comics I wonder?

    Batman #1, Spring of 1940. They almost killed him off in the issue, and what a mistake that would've been, eh?
  • MrcogginsMrcoggins Following in the footsteps of Quentin Quigley.
    Posts: 3,144
    At last I've got my hands on a copy of col sun Could not put it down it's a great read verry
    Fleming well worth reading IMHO .
  • DB5DB5
    Posts: 408
    Mrcoggins wrote:
    At last I've got my hands on a copy of col sun Could not put it down it's a great read verry
    Fleming well worth reading IMHO .

    Couldn't agree more Mrcoggins! Kingsley Amis' "Colonel Sun" is right up there with Fleming, by far the best Bond continuation. From the very first chapter I was hooked, and I genuinely believe it is the legitimate sequel to "The Man with the Golden Gun." Let's hope Boyd can measure up to the standard set by Amis as a continuation author!

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    DB5 wrote:
    Kingsley Amis' "Colonel Sun" is right up there with Fleming, by far the best Bond continuation. From the very first chapter I was hooked, and I genuinely believe it is the legitimate sequel to "The Man with the Golden Gun." Let's hope Boyd can measure up to the standard set by Amis as a continuation author!
    I'm crossing my fingers so hard they might break...

  • daltondalton
    Posts: 1,631
    Currently reading You Only Live Twice. It's been a very long time since I've read the novel, so it's almost like reading it for the first time. I'm about 1/4 of the way through and it's excellent so far.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    dalton wrote:
    I'm about 1/4 of the way through and it's excellent so far.
    I'm assuming you see Dalton as you read... ;)
  • chrisMchrisM
    Posts: 59
    Not too impressed with LtK, to be honest, was never a big gardner fan anyway

    Surely Bond wouldnt be too cheesed off that as the book says Leiter only has his already false limbs mangled and a bit of a stump chewed a little by a shark would he??? seems to take all the drama out of Bond hunting Sanchez "OOOHHH you let a shark nibble my mate....a bit....not too much...just a few centimetres!!"

    Wouldnt an MI6 agent Bond would wonder how come he can run into two arses called Milton Krest, who both have the same boat with the same name, yet he doesnt ask if their related...didnt deja vu strike???

    will finish it though, halfway through at moment, as it's the only Bond book I never read before...
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