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One last Bond review before the end of the year. This is the one where 007 travels to the exotic faraway land of Upstate New York to watch horse racing. Wait, what...? I was originally going to read the whole series in a year, but I'll have to settle for just four instead. The first three were fantastic surprises, each better than the last, and despite some problematic handling of women and race, they held up to modern aesthetics and sensibilities better than I could've ever hoped. Much better than the old movies. They read as if they were written specifically for the Daniel Craig, Casino Royale fans. No small feat, when some sixty years separate them. It might be the worst film. But it's the best book. Third in the James Bond collection by Ian Fleming, This is Moonraker.
Ian Fleming's second Bond novel. You may recognize the title from that less than favorite 1973 film featuring Roger Moore for the first time, but believe me when I tell you this is something else entirely. If Casino Royale was status porn for the gentleman wannabe, Live and Let Die is a rude awakening with real stakes, dire consequences and gritty frustrations all circling an ever more hopeless mission for Bond and his poor, poor pal Leiter who gets off lucky once, but not twice. This is the original James Bond, the cold, calculating, gentleman playboy of the 1950s. He's not rich but his tastes are expensive. He's not a super spy, but he's determined to complete his mission. Ian Fleming debuts his famous Double-O agent with perfect, pulpy unpredictability and it's nothing like you remember from the movies. This is not Sean Connery. This is not Roger Moore. This is not Pierce Brosnan. Okay, maybe it's a little bit Daniel Craig, but that's on purpose. Join me as I begin a year-long tour of the original Bond series, beginning with Casino Royale. |
Captain's Blog
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