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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
Kenneth Branagh’s narration made this otherwise highly dated book something it would not have otherwise been.
Ian Fleming, creator of the James Bond novels (as well as Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang), is truly a trend setter. James Bond is not Roger Moore, although those movies were fun on their own. Bond is Connery and Craig-- violent and human. He has a double 0, but he also does not consider it a license to execute. He does not get into the social ills like John LeCarre, and he does not create a plot like Len Deighton, but he is the master creator of the genre.
Bonus: You can read it on the plane between New England and Texas.
Bonus: You can read it on the plane between New England and Texas.
Ian Fleming's final Bond novel, published a year after Fleming's death, is an empty affair that seems to do little more than go through the motions. That those motions can be of interest for the duration of the novel is a credit to Fleming and the character he created. However, the writing feels rushed and lacks the detail, humor and character interaction that one has come to expect from a James Bond story. In the end, The Man With The Golden Gun stands as a cardboard epitaph to the Bond series.
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Classic James Bond spy thriller - this one takes place in Jamaica where Bond is tasked with finding and eliminating a Cuban assassin - 'the man with the golden gun'. Dated but enjoyable banter, combined with plenty of action makes this a quick but enjoyable read.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yet again a good book in the series.
The book was so-so. However the audiobook was read by Kenneth Brannagh and it was top-notch.
This was another "Bond goes to Jamaica" story, which, knowing what I know about Ian Fleming writing these books while he's living at his Jamaica country home, seems like cheating.
The bad guy is evil and "may be homosexual" said the profiler assigned to the case. There's a bit of business where Bond is brainwashed by the KGB to kill M. But thanks to some "electroshock therapy" he's "right as rain."
Somehow, the "fun" part of this book takes place in a convention hotel. And Fleming reuses a trick he used in a previous book.
It's just a ho-hum Bond story.
Brannagh was great tho.
This was another "Bond goes to Jamaica" story, which, knowing what I know about Ian Fleming writing these books while he's living at his Jamaica country home, seems like cheating.
The bad guy is evil and "may be homosexual" said the profiler assigned to the case. There's a bit of business where Bond is brainwashed by the KGB to kill M. But thanks to some "electroshock therapy" he's "right as rain."
Somehow, the "fun" part of this book takes place in a convention hotel. And Fleming reuses a trick he used in a previous book.
It's just a ho-hum Bond story.
Brannagh was great tho.
The least satisfying of Fleming's Bond books, likely because it wasn't quite done when the author died. Bond, presumed dead after the climax of You Only Live Twice but brainwashed by the KGB, reappears and attempts to assassinate M. Re-programmed, Bond is then sent on a purportedly low stakes assignment, to eliminate the flamboyant criminal Scaramanga, who has become inconvenient to MI-6. A plot involving American gangsters teaming up with the KGB to commit all manner of organized crime and commodities market manipulation is uncovered, with gun-fetishist Scaramanga in the center. The action is limited, and as distinctive a villain as Scaramanga is, he doesn't really get to do much. Ho hum. The movie had a chance to improve on the source material, with the always awesome Christopher Lee as Scaramanga, but by playing so much for laughs (like the improbable return of redneck sheriff JW Pepper from Live and Let Die) and not giving Scaramanga a cleverly ominous evil scheme (he steals solar power technology to create ... a laser gun), it's as weak an entry in the film canon as the book is in Fleming's library. Both incarnations have a lot of set-up (I especially like Scaramanga's surreal fun-house lair in the movie), with weak pay-offs.
Hard to dislike a book that has the finale take place on a train.