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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
After two books that hooked me in Moonraker was unexpectedly a step back. The book felt fine up into after the cliff explosion- where it then become dull. I chalk this up to the derivative nature of the scenes. Even the part I thought was fine, bridge at BLADES, was reminiscent of the card game in Casino Royale with a similar cadence. After the cliff explosion we see the same things we've seen before. The girl kidnapped and driven away in a car. Bond gives chase. Gets into a wreck unconscious. The villain inexplicably keeps him and the girl alive- this time with an even worse reason than in Casino Royale. The discovery aspects of the villain's background come not through spy work but a exposition dump where James is yet again tied to a chair. Bond has been tied to a chair in all three books so far; once in Casino Royale, twice in Live and Let Die, and once here. And of course everyone's fainting about. Fleming's writing makes the first have interesting enough to finish it but if this is an omen to what is to come I'll be disappointed that Fleming lost creativity so soon.
I felt that the female lead was undercut more than in the previous two. In Casino Royale and in Live and Let Die their role was never setup to be the competent, career woman. James dismisses the first woman and the second was setup to be a prize if anything. Here we see multiple people- James, Valance, M- all say how competent and powerful a police woman she is. Said straight and backed up in dialogue but in action she is hardly any better than the first woman. Either trembling on Bond when they get attacked, unable after years of infiltration to get any clues, smitten easily by Bond, caught by Draxx, and bailed out by Bond. A token of having the gyro codes is used to give her some help for the day but it feels like lip service. I await a female character with competency in both name and action. She doesn't have to be superman but she does have to live up to the ability of her stated role.
I felt that the female lead was undercut more than in the previous two. In Casino Royale and in Live and Let Die their role was never setup to be the competent, career woman. James dismisses the first woman and the second was setup to be a prize if anything. Here we see multiple people- James, Valance, M- all say how competent and powerful a police woman she is. Said straight and backed up in dialogue but in action she is hardly any better than the first woman. Either trembling on Bond when they get attacked, unable after years of infiltration to get any clues, smitten easily by Bond, caught by Draxx, and bailed out by Bond. A token of having the gyro codes is used to give her some help for the day but it feels like lip service. I await a female character with competency in both name and action. She doesn't have to be superman but she does have to live up to the ability of her stated role.
slow-paced
I like the sort of pedestrian aspects of this book, with some look into what it's like when you're not on the job. Or rather when you're not spying rather doing the bureaucratic part of the job. It felt very 1950s and I enjoyed that aspect of it. I also enjoy the little twists and turns that today would seem very minimal but we're designed at the time to be important.
A bond book needs a gambling scene, an iconic villian and a beautiful woman.
Casino Royale might have been first, but Moonraker is the yardstick to measure all other Bond Books.
Casino Royale might have been first, but Moonraker is the yardstick to measure all other Bond Books.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Definitely the best of the Bond novels so far. Although it's fairly obvious to the reader from the get-go who the bad guy is (the novel is quite different from the movie), it's still quite fun to watch Bond try to figure it all out. And although the main female character does end up needing some saving towards the end, she has the most agency and power out of the main females in these first three novels.
I think the main thing which turns so many people off the Bond novels is how coldly they're written. They don't the sparkle and thrill of what we know of Bond from the movies, or from what most thrillers of our time are like. However, it must be understood that the plain narration and cold calculation of the writing match that of the main character himself. James Bond is, in many ways, divorced from reality, and living in a rational, calculating, and emotion-deprived world. One of the brilliant aspects of these novels is Fleming's portrayal of that character and world via the writing itself. And while it may not have necessarily been purposeful--hell, it was probably a bit of how Fleming himself understood and interacted with the world--it is an essential part of the Bond storytelling.
The storyline itself, while fantastical, is also telling of the mindset of many people at the time, including the ongoing fear of Nazi sleeper cells even well after the surrender of Hitler and Germany in the spring of 1945.
So while certainly not a piece of fantastic historical fiction, Moonraker is a fun and interesting thriller which is reflective of the world it was created in and for.
I think the main thing which turns so many people off the Bond novels is how coldly they're written. They don't the sparkle and thrill of what we know of Bond from the movies, or from what most thrillers of our time are like. However, it must be understood that the plain narration and cold calculation of the writing match that of the main character himself. James Bond is, in many ways, divorced from reality, and living in a rational, calculating, and emotion-deprived world. One of the brilliant aspects of these novels is Fleming's portrayal of that character and world via the writing itself. And while it may not have necessarily been purposeful--hell, it was probably a bit of how Fleming himself understood and interacted with the world--it is an essential part of the Bond storytelling.
The storyline itself, while fantastical, is also telling of the mindset of many people at the time, including the ongoing fear of Nazi sleeper cells even well after the surrender of Hitler and Germany in the spring of 1945.
So while certainly not a piece of fantastic historical fiction, Moonraker is a fun and interesting thriller which is reflective of the world it was created in and for.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
The third - and so far, best - of the original Ian Fleming James Bond books, Moonraker is a hell of a lot less ridiculous in book form than it was as a film. The rampant sexism and racism found in the first two (Casino Royale and Live and Let Die) is lessened here, though is not entirely absent. Even the portrayal of Gala Brand - perhaps the series most independent ass-kicking woman to date - plays second fiddle to Bond in moments of crisis.
As in Casino Royale, there is a lengthy game of cards (bridge this time, rather than baccarat); once again I don't fully understand the rules of the game, yet I was captivated by the tension and high stakes. Casino Royale's countryside car chase is also replicated here, but Fleming manages to make it seem fresh.
In reading James Bond books, it can be difficult to picture the character as Fleming intended, and I certainly don't picture him as the portrait the author for Daily Express illustrators (who frankly looks more like Peter Cushing than Hoagy Carmichael; in any event, I don't see Bond as either). Is he Sean Connery? Roger Moore? George Lazenby? Timothy Dalton? Pierce Brosnan? David Niven? Daniel Craig? Who the hell even knows? I'm not even sure I see the same face from book to book, or chapter to chapter. I'm enjoying trying to form the character in my mind, even if I'm fighting against his creator's visual cues.
As I do each time I read one of these books, I long for a reboot of the James Bond film series so that it's set in the era of the books. I'd imagine (HOPE) they'd cut the bigotry and misogyny, and if so I'd be fully on board for the style and technology of the '50s.
As in Casino Royale, there is a lengthy game of cards (bridge this time, rather than baccarat); once again I don't fully understand the rules of the game, yet I was captivated by the tension and high stakes. Casino Royale's countryside car chase is also replicated here, but Fleming manages to make it seem fresh.
In reading James Bond books, it can be difficult to picture the character as Fleming intended, and I certainly don't picture him as the portrait the author for Daily Express illustrators (who frankly looks more like Peter Cushing than Hoagy Carmichael; in any event, I don't see Bond as either). Is he Sean Connery? Roger Moore? George Lazenby? Timothy Dalton? Pierce Brosnan? David Niven? Daniel Craig? Who the hell even knows? I'm not even sure I see the same face from book to book, or chapter to chapter. I'm enjoying trying to form the character in my mind, even if I'm fighting against his creator's visual cues.
As I do each time I read one of these books, I long for a reboot of the James Bond film series so that it's set in the era of the books. I'd imagine (HOPE) they'd cut the bigotry and misogyny, and if so I'd be fully on board for the style and technology of the '50s.
It's been ages since I've seen the movie and I've never read this particular James Bond book so I thought I would give it a go. I'll admit, I've liked this Bond novel more than I have some others. It's your typical super cool British spy who gets all the ladies and solves all the mysteries while looking bad-ass type novel and I love it. This novel is six decades old and James Bond is STILL a bad-ass. In this particular novel he is sent to oversee the construction of a large warhead, the Moonraker, after some troubling incidents occur. There is gambling, skinny-dipping, car chases, German scientists, and much more. Lots of fun and worth a listen as it's narrated by Bill Nighy.