Casino Royale remains my favourite overall, but I've enjoyed all the ones I've read, I have col sun downloaded ready to read and also trigger mortis. Wasn't that keen on carte blanche though, and I can't put my finger on why?
Casino Royale remains my favourite overall, but I've enjoyed all the ones I've read, I have col sun downloaded ready to read and also trigger mortis. Wasn't that keen on carte blanche though, and I can't put my finger on why?
I have read TM. If you like the 50s-60s original timeline, you will enjoy it!
Much as I've enjoyed the continuing novels, some more than others. I
Do love to sit down with a drink and drift off into Fleming's world.........
..... Britain in the mid to late fifties, The Empire still had some power in the
World, the Bad guys were easy to spot and Bond would slay the dragon and
get the damsel.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Much as I've enjoyed the continuing novels, some more than others. I
Do love to sit down with a drink and drift off into Fleming's world.........
..... Britain in the mid to late fifties, The Empire still had some power in the
World, the Bad guys were easy to spot and Bond would slay the dragon and
get the damsel.
And get beaten up/tortured/ burnt to a crisp in the process, great stuff and I too love the atmosphere of the originals I find myself revisiting them every few years. I've high hopes for tm.
50s-60s, the original timeline, is the period I look for in continuation novels and ofc a style closer to IF's. Trigger Mortis falls in to that
Other continuation novels which I have not read that are probably set in this or around this timeline could include Col Sun and Devil May Care (DMC). Though from the list posted on this thread, DMC is not rated that highly )
An excerpt from The Man With The Golden Typewriter:
FRWL .... IF letter to MH:
"the point about Bond is that he makes a fool of himself and falls headlong into the trap. This is a change from making him the cardboard hero and I cannot help thinking it is a healthy change. There is so much danger of these books being all alike and my main satisfaction (such as it is) with the book is that a Formula which was getting stale has been broken."
For the ending:
"Personally, I think I shall get a good deal of reader criticism such as yours, but I d think it is a good thing to produce a Bond book which is out of the ordinary and which has, in my opinion, an ingenious and interesting plot. There is also the point that one simply can't go on writing the simple bang-bang, kiss-kiss, type of books. However, hard one works at it, you automatically become staler and staler and very quickly the staleness shows through to the reader and all is indeed lost."
TMWTGG is a terrific read, such a shame Fleming didn't get the time to
add his finishing touches or " The Fleming sweep" as it's been described
as over the years.
For atmosphere, I love Bond's first meeting with Scaramanga. The heat
and humidity, the vile attitude of the hitman. Masterful writing. Even if he
Does change Mary Goodnight's hair colour, bit I guess that may have changed
in the final writing stage, or perhaps she merely fancied a change.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
I finisht Casino Royale and Live And Let Die one or two years ago. Great books! I did start with Moonraker back then but just quite forgot about it and never finished it, starting again this week. From what I've read those 2,5 were really nice. One that I also read was For Your Eyes Only, but as it's all short stories it's quite hard to write a conclusion. Not bad, but just not that great either.
EDIT: Before I forget, I did like SOLO too, I don't know about the rest? Really thought of Moore with that book.
Don't confuse me with the other DutchBondFan, but be sure to follow his YouTube account. You can read my articles on James Bond Nederland: www.jamesbond.nl/author/gosse/
My ranking. Personally I enjoy all the novels.
1 From Russia With Love - perfection.
2 Doctor No - read it in one day.
3 Goldfinger - first one I read.
4 Casino Royale - classic.
5 Thunderball - really cool.
6 Live And Let Die - racism? It was the 50s. Move on.
7 On Her Majesty's Secret Service - possibly the best but a little heavy for me.
8 Moonraker
10 Diamonds Are Forever
11 The Spy Who Loved Me
12 You Only Live Twice - honestly this one is a downer I think.
Some of the better short stories include TLD, OP, FYEO, RISICO, and THR.
-{
Novels I have reread recently. (The ultimate test)
The first seven novels are the best IMHO
In order of preference as of now.
1 Casino Royale (Unique. Unforgettable)
2 Goldfinger (Most accomplished Fleming novel)
3 From Russia With Love (Classy)
4 Moonraker (Fabulous in parts. British setting works like a charm)
5 Doctor No (Exotica)
6 Live and Let Die (Really feels like the 50s)
7 Diamonds Are Forever (Just didn't feel right. Especially the ending)
Comments
I have read TM. If you like the 50s-60s original timeline, you will enjoy it!
Do love to sit down with a drink and drift off into Fleming's world.........
..... Britain in the mid to late fifties, The Empire still had some power in the
World, the Bad guys were easy to spot and Bond would slay the dragon and
get the damsel.
Other continuation novels which I have not read that are probably set in this or around this timeline could include Col Sun and Devil May Care (DMC). Though from the list posted on this thread, DMC is not rated that highly
FRWL .... IF letter to MH:
"the point about Bond is that he makes a fool of himself and falls headlong into the trap. This is a change from making him the cardboard hero and I cannot help thinking it is a healthy change. There is so much danger of these books being all alike and my main satisfaction (such as it is) with the book is that a Formula which was getting stale has been broken."
For the ending:
"Personally, I think I shall get a good deal of reader criticism such as yours, but I d think it is a good thing to produce a Bond book which is out of the ordinary and which has, in my opinion, an ingenious and interesting plot. There is also the point that one simply can't go on writing the simple bang-bang, kiss-kiss, type of books. However, hard one works at it, you automatically become staler and staler and very quickly the staleness shows through to the reader and all is indeed lost."
add his finishing touches or " The Fleming sweep" as it's been described
as over the years.
For atmosphere, I love Bond's first meeting with Scaramanga. The heat
and humidity, the vile attitude of the hitman. Masterful writing. Even if he
Does change Mary Goodnight's hair colour, bit I guess that may have changed
in the final writing stage, or perhaps she merely fancied a change.
One Dr. Gibson wrote to IF:
"Vintage Bentleys are really a bit vieux jeu these days, and if Bond was resurrected maybe it could be with an Aston Martin"
EDIT: Before I forget, I did like SOLO too, I don't know about the rest? Really thought of Moore with that book.
I had known that Bond switched to Astons as a result of a suggestion made to Fleming, but I didn't know who it was.'
Either way, I think Bond belongs in a Bentley and that's what he should drive on film, too.
Now as for best novel, my vote goes to Moonraker
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
1 From Russia With Love - perfection.
2 Doctor No - read it in one day.
3 Goldfinger - first one I read.
4 Casino Royale - classic.
5 Thunderball - really cool.
6 Live And Let Die - racism? It was the 50s. Move on.
7 On Her Majesty's Secret Service - possibly the best but a little heavy for me.
8 Moonraker
10 Diamonds Are Forever
11 The Spy Who Loved Me
12 You Only Live Twice - honestly this one is a downer I think.
Some of the better short stories include TLD, OP, FYEO, RISICO, and THR.
-{
The first seven novels are the best IMHO
In order of preference as of now.
1 Casino Royale (Unique. Unforgettable)
2 Goldfinger (Most accomplished Fleming novel)
3 From Russia With Love (Classy)
4 Moonraker (Fabulous in parts. British setting works like a charm)
5 Doctor No (Exotica)
6 Live and Let Die (Really feels like the 50s)
7 Diamonds Are Forever (Just didn't feel right. Especially the ending)