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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.