by Matthew Wilson
Moonraker, the third James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1955.
SUMMARY: M is fascinated by the man named Hugo Drax, a millionaire and idol of Britain. Hugo Drax has dedicated his money and life to the construction of an atomic defensive weapon, called the Moonraker. For M, the most fascinating and peculiar thing about this “man of the year” type fellow, is that he cheats at cards. M calls on Bond to take a closer look at Drax, to find out what hidden motives the man may have. Does the millionaire cheat for thrills or is there something a tad more sinister going on?
The SIS is also investigating a murder/suicide at Drax’s Moonraker facility. Typically this wouldn’t be a job for the SIS, but because they cleared the man that did the killing to enter the county, they have to take a closer look. Especially when such violence breaks out around the Moonraker site, with just four days remaining until its first test launch.
As expected in a James Bond spy thriller, things get crazy and the plot gets wild! Bond can feel the dark intentions lingering in the air around the incredible presence of powerful Moonraker. The clock is ticking, and the countdown has begun – for millions of lives.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: Moonraker is such a good book! The story unfolds nicely, it’s full of surprises, drama, and action! I really enjoyed how the book starts, with James Bond doing petty office work. Little details Fleming throws in are fantastic, such as Bond attempting to open a door, but it’s locked, so he has to make the inconvenient walk around to another door.
The story progression has excellent pacing. I thought the way things unraveled to expose the villain was fascinating. There are bits and pieces dropped along the story that keep you guessing and theorizing who certain people are.
In this story, we get insight on what James Bond’s job is like most of the time. It’s just mundane office work, looking at files and reading over reports. Usually he has only one major assignment a year, the rest of the time is boring office work. Bond makes good money, he loves women, has no family, and he likes to drive fast.
Gala Brand is an under cover agent for the special police force, Vallance. She’s been working as a secretary for Hugo Drax, keeping an eye out on the mysterious man and the whole Moonraker operation. She knows that Bond is an SIS agent and is very annoyed that he was sent in – why would he be able to find something that she couldn’t? She can’t stand Bond, however, as usual, Bond mages to break the ice, cooling her bitterness towards him.
There’s this wonderful moment between Bond and Brand. after some intense action, Fleming places the perfect human reaction between the two. Each character was a bit sick, they left each other alone with privacy, they came back together and sat in silence for a moment. Then Bond lights a cigarette. They soak in the remaining sunlight on a beach, then they spoke of business.
Hugo Drax seems to have a clean record, a man of the year type of personality. His past is shrouded in mystery, he came out of World War II with severe wounds to his face, which resulted in plastic surgery and altered his face. He later invested in a metal, called Columbite, and got rich off of it. He gave his entire holding of the mineral to Britain, to build the super atomic rocket, Moonraker. Turns out, behind closed doors, he’s a pretty bad dude.
Do I recommend Moonraker? Yes! The book is fantastic, a must read for the spy/thriller fan.
Rating: This book receives an A+
by Matthew Wilson
Live And Let Die, the second James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1954.
SUMMARY: Gold coins from the lost treasure of Bloody Morgan, are being shipped from a secret location in Jamaica, to New York. These coins are being sold on the streets to fund the Russian organization, Smersh. James Bond has a heavy burden on his shoulders in this big city and tropical adventure. He must find the source of the secret of the treasure to uncover a communist spy ring in New York, run by a voodoo criminal mastermind; and continue his personal mission to cripple Smersh.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed the second James Bond story just as much, if not more so than the first book. Live & Let Die was thrilling from start to finish. The threats James Bond faces were dire and sometimes horrifying. Ian Fleming did great work with the second installment of James Bond, expanding the spy adventure to the streets of New York City, and to the tropics of Jamaica.
There are many characters in this book that were written extremely well. Some characters from Casino Royale come back for the second book, such as Felix Leiter and M. Some of my favorite characters from this book would have to be ‘The Robber’ and Quarrel. The Robber was an excellent henchmen, he was hard edged, not easily pushed around and was full of surprises. Quarrel, was a helpful friend to Bond.
It appears that James Bond has evolved a bit since Casio Royale. In the previous book, he viewed women as a burden, especially on the job. In this book, his attraction for Solitaire was immediate, and felt a connection with her as soon as they made eye contact. Who is Solitaire? She’s a voodoo psychic medium, who was taken by the villain of the story, Mr. Big. She was to marry him against her will. Bond also has a solid friendship with Felix Leiter, an agent of the CIA. Something happens to Leiter in this novel that enrages Bond further into his hatred of the Russian organization, Smersh.
The villain, Mr. Big, was written so well. His presence was overreaching, he was everywhere. He is an intimating force, even though he isn’t present through much of the story. The fear that he instills in the streets with tales of Voodoo magic, plays to his advantage. He has people/goons everywhere, eyes and ears that watch and listen to the happenings in the streets. He’s an extension of Smersh, though we don’t get into those connections too much at all. He appears to be his own man, his own boss, with his own goals.
The tension between Mr. Big and James Bond is great. Mr. Big, really lays down the law, telling Bond how things are going to be. Much of the conversation in the book is well written. The only dialogue that has potential to be a little cheesy, would be some of the conversations between Bond and Solitaire. Overall, the dialogue was good. Fleming did very well with descriptions of people and locations.
The Voodoo aspect of the story was very interesting and worked well. The book basically has two parts, the big city, and the tropics of Jamaica. I’m not much a fan of the tropics, but Fleming had me hooked with the oceanic climax of the story, full of sharks and barracuda. Live & Let Die is a fun James Bond adventure for sure.
Do I recommend Live And Let Die? Yes! However, if your sensitive to cultural differences and historical events, you’ll probably be offended.
Rating: This book receives an A+
by Matthew Wilson
Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel was written by Ian Fleming
SUMMARY: A high stakes game will be played at the Casino Royale in France. Le Chiffre, the financial paymaster of a USSR intelligence organization has been mishandling the agency’s funds. He sought to build his own wealth by investing the organizations money on brothels… which failed. He’s desperate to pull out of debt and clean up his mistakes, by gambling at the Casino Royale. If Le Chiffre fails, he knows the organization he works for, Smersh, will kill him.
The Secret Intelligence Service of a England has sent a double O agent, James Bond, (a good gambler) to face off against Le Chiffre. The goal is to have the enemy lose at the tables. With this victory, the funds of Smersh will be limited, and in turn they will kill off Le Chiffre.
Does Bond pull off a win at the Casino? Will Le Chiffre uncover Bonds identity?
CHARACTERS: With this first book 007 book, I’m going to mention James Bond and Le Chiffre.
James Boned: He’s 007, a double O agent of the SIS, Secret Intelligence Service of England. He takes his job very seriously, it’s a mater of life or death in the occupation as spy. He’s a splendid gambler. He takes risks, unintentionally he lets his guard down, making him vulnerable. He’s a heavy smoker and a womanizer. He is Bond, James Bond.
Le Chiffre: The financial paymaster of a French workman’s union, controlled by a Russian organization known as Smersh. He’s a crumby man with a wild lifestyle. He isn’t in the the best of shape, when it comes to both finances and health. He’s got two loyal body guards and evil side to him.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I was absolutely thrilled with Casino Royale. I never really thought I’d read a James Bond novel, but some friends of mine are always raving about the spy 007. My first exposure to James Bond was the Nintendo 64 game, Goldeneye. I absolutely loved it. I still consider one of the best games ever made. In 2020, I watched the first film, Dr. No, and enjoyed it. So, I picked up Casino Royale and read it in just a few days.
Ian Fleming wrote a fantastic story. At first, I was thinking… how is this book going to be interesting at all? I don’t know anything about gambling, I’ve never really explored spy type books… Yet, I was glued to the pages! I gasped at a few parts, smiled and even sat bolt upright. The tension throughout the book was high. It held my attention and kept the pages turning.
James Bond went through a lot in this story, (the guy smokes nonstop, at one point it says he lit his 70th cigarette of the day). I believe through his ignorance he learned quite a bit about life and how the line between good and evil could shift from hard edged to blurry. The organizations set up are fascinating as well. The villains were vile and written so very well. Smersh, a Russian organization that hunts down traitors and loose ends, is cold and brutal. Some interaction with the group was handled perfectly in the story. This book was a loads of fun to read!
Do I recommend Casino Royale? Yes!
Rating: I will give this novel, an A+
