Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not my favourite Bond novel this. It starts strongly, gets a bit bogged down, has an amazingly written escape scene, turns into a slightly odd discussion of agricultural machinations before finishing on a strong and emotional note.
I'm probably in the wrong frame of mind to write this review as it has been a long and tiring day. My brain, soft at the best of times, is like sludge.
It's a very readable, very average Bond book with a powerful ending. And that's it I'm afraid. Sorry.
I'm probably in the wrong frame of mind to write this review as it has been a long and tiring day. My brain, soft at the best of times, is like sludge.
It's a very readable, very average Bond book with a powerful ending. And that's it I'm afraid. Sorry.
A ski chase and a luge chase? Who doesn't love that? The hand grenades on the luge track were a nice bonus.
Today I find Bond a little campy, but mostly great. I find myself wondering how I would have taken the books as a contemporary? Would it have been with deadly seriousness, or was a luge chase just as funny in 1963 as it is today?
An plot to ruin English agriculture that somehow manages to rely exclusively on hypnotizing young, good-looking English farm girls was pretty good work on Blofeld's part. I am at a loss as to why Blofeld has a stout, unpleasant girlfriend, beyond serving to emphasize what an evil bastard he is. Which is more evil? A villain who is surrounded by people as blackhearted and ugly as himself, or one who has all of the most beautiful people and the best things even though their wickedness makes them thoroughly undeserving?
Maybe it was a thing back in the day, but the French mafia seemed a bit off. I know they are Corsican, which is kind of French-Italian, but it didn't quite do it for me.
Today I find Bond a little campy, but mostly great. I find myself wondering how I would have taken the books as a contemporary? Would it have been with deadly seriousness, or was a luge chase just as funny in 1963 as it is today?
An plot to ruin English agriculture that somehow manages to rely exclusively on hypnotizing young, good-looking English farm girls was pretty good work on Blofeld's part. I am at a loss as to why Blofeld has a stout, unpleasant girlfriend, beyond serving to emphasize what an evil bastard he is. Which is more evil? A villain who is surrounded by people as blackhearted and ugly as himself, or one who has all of the most beautiful people and the best things even though their wickedness makes them thoroughly undeserving?
Maybe it was a thing back in the day, but the French mafia seemed a bit off. I know they are Corsican, which is kind of French-Italian, but it didn't quite do it for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This Bond title is probably best known for the movie version because it is the only one to star George Lazenby. While the movie is not often listed among the best-of-Bond lists, the novel itself is one of the better Bond novels. That’s a little strange, because unlike most Bond movies, this one mirrors the novel quite closely.
After the events of [b:Thunderball|177194|Thunderball (James Bond, #9)|Ian Fleming|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1431840214s/177194.jpg|2933393], James Bond is questioning his future with the Secret Service and has, in fact, mentally prepared a letter of resignation. His future plans are considerably altered through the characters he meets and the hunt for the villain, Ernst Blofeld, who has embarked on a massive biological warfare scheme. The novel is largely known as the most emotional of the Bond novels for there is true romance and love here as well as a horribly tragic ending which will leave Bond in a state of depression at the beginning of the next book, [b:You Only Live Twice|3761|You Only Live Twice (James Bond, #12)|Ian Fleming|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426793735s/3761.jpg|23841292]. Bond does succeed in his mission to stop Blofeld’s scheme but one can’t help but feel he has lost far more than he has won this time around.
Only three more books to go in the series (covering 4 stories) and I look forward to each of them.
After the events of [b:Thunderball|177194|Thunderball (James Bond, #9)|Ian Fleming|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1431840214s/177194.jpg|2933393], James Bond is questioning his future with the Secret Service and has, in fact, mentally prepared a letter of resignation. His future plans are considerably altered through the characters he meets and the hunt for the villain, Ernst Blofeld, who has embarked on a massive biological warfare scheme. The novel is largely known as the most emotional of the Bond novels for there is true romance and love here as well as a horribly tragic ending which will leave Bond in a state of depression at the beginning of the next book, [b:You Only Live Twice|3761|You Only Live Twice (James Bond, #12)|Ian Fleming|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426793735s/3761.jpg|23841292]. Bond does succeed in his mission to stop Blofeld’s scheme but one can’t help but feel he has lost far more than he has won this time around.
Only three more books to go in the series (covering 4 stories) and I look forward to each of them.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Still reeling from The Spy Who Loved Me, and although the misogyny isn't quite as blatant in this one, it's still there like the icky film of burned milk on a stove top after a pot boils over. Pushing that aside - hard to do, Fleming had issues - this book reads so much better than TSWML that you almost overlook the overly-complicated, silly plot. The action is fun and the expected, had-to-happen ending is still sad even if the idea of "the love of his life" is not new territory for Bond - ahem, Gala Brand, Tiffany Case, Tatiana Romanova...
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No