Is moonraker and from russia with love good books to start off with?

James Suzuki

I'm fairly new to reading the bond books. I started casino royale found it boring then i read moonraker, then i'm in the middle of FRWL. Is that a good start, what shall i read next?

Mr. Arlington Beech

I've always said read them in order or don't read them at all. Then again, i feel that way about any series.

Napoleon Plural

Dr No follows on directly from FRWL and even refers back to it, it's a good read so try that one.

j.blades

Mr. Arlington Beech wrote:

I've always said read them in order or don't read them at all. Then again, i feel that way about any series.

^This.

James Suzuki

thanks

hegottheboot

It won't kill you to read them out of order early on. I started with Goldfinger.
Just don't read any of the later novels first.

chrisno1

xboy614 wrote:

thanks

I'd recommend Doctor No also. It's the most action orientated novel, very sexy and very similar to the movie.
Casino Royale is short and bitter-sweet, but for a new reader some of the more philosophical passages are a turn off.
I hope you are enjoying FRWL, which is supremely excellent, is also very similar to the movie, but it has a lot less action. It IMO Fleming's best novel.

For more info try reading my reviews thread:

http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/33508/bond-novel-reviews/

James Suzuki

thanks again, i will read dr no next

perdogg

Read them in order.

jamesm123

You can't beat reading Thunderball whilst on a sweltering hot beach. That was my first Bond read. Followed by Moonraker.

James Suzuki

I've far finished from russia with love but i will probaly read thunderball on the beach this summer.

superado

hegottheboot wrote:

It won't kill you to read them out of order early on. I started with Goldfinger.
Just don't read any of the later novels first.

I agree. It would be nice to read the books in order, but it's not an absolute must unless one is OC. I'm personally not a stickler for consuming a book or film series in order. There is a character arc in the books, as well as significant differences in Fleming's writing style, but these do not prevent a relatively robust apprciation of a book as a stand-alones. My initiation in the books was based on my favorite movies at the time, so the first Bond book I read was FRWL and it worked for me, except going through the initial chapters w/out Bond was a real trial considering I was so used to the films, complete with the "instant action" provided by the pre-title sequences. But with my 2nd book, the "reading in order" rule did apply, I made the mistake of reading YOLT considering that it was the last installment of the Blofeld trilogy, and at the time, I didn't really appreciate the zen-like tone of that novel; with that though, the trilogy should be read in order, but they in themselves form a unit that do not require reading the earlier books.

Since MR was mentioned in the 1st post, I think it's a good "starter" book that's "economical" in that it's not densely written, it's full of action and it has a great amount of back story that's very rich.