Dr. No - Ian Fleming

Cover from the first edition.

 'I'm an Englishman. I'm interested in birds'.

 Bond introducing himself to a totally nude Honeychile Rider on Crab Key.

 Dr. No is the sixth Bond novel and the first adapted by Albert Broccoli into the 1961 film. Ian Fleming lived long enough to see only two of his novels adapted thus, Dr. No and From Russia With love. I read this novel on Sunday, then started The Guns of Navarone immediately after it. So again this Bond novels follows the last in being very light breezy reading.

 I didn't think I would enjoy a Bond novel as much after From Russia With Love. That novel is considered the best of the lot and yet I really enjoyed Dr. No. I think that after five previous novels Fleming was well into his stride and Dr. No is a very fine novel for it. For me the character of James Bond comes to the fore here because in the last five novels he never felt like a secret agent to me being more just a tough cop. In Dr. No he really feels like a secret agent at last and this is why I liked this novel so much.

 The novel was well adapted in movie but the last third of it is altered significantly. Firstly Dr. Julius No in the novel lost his hands to the Tongs after stealing $1 million from them, ( he lose of hands denotes a thief in the criminal world ), whereas in the movie they were lost to radiation exposure. Also his demise is altered as he drowns in a pool of reactor coolant, whereas in the novel he is buried by Bond under a huge pile of dried bird dung! The movie also sees Dr. No aiming to disrupt a US manned space flight through laser beams, whereas in the novel he is using beams to crash US military missiles and selling the technology off to the highest bidder.

 But really that is all that is significantly changed. The only other big change was through 1960's necessity. This is due to Bond girl Honeychile Rider being seen by Bond totally nude on the beach. Of course in the movie Ursula Andress is wearing that famous yellow bikini as she comes out of the surf on Crab Key. For me Honeychile is the best of the Bond girls so far in the novels. She is only twenty, somewhat naive, and yet almost physically perfect. She has a broken nose though from a rapist, the only man to have 'had' her. The word 'virgin' ( Honey still considers herself one when she finally gives herself up to Bond ), comes up in the text and must have been pushing the envelope back in 1958. Fleming really pulled out the stops with Honeychile, and she is a very visual character, more so than Bond.

 This novel is interesting because Fleming has alluded to rape through Honeychile, and for the first time swearing. The word is actually printed  -ing instead of the whole word. Also for the first time Fleming has Bond use four letter expletives! So this novel is somewhat more explicit in nature than its predecessors, and hence has less of a dated feel to it. This is probably why I liked it more than the previous five novels. The other interesting point about this novel in particular is that Fleming initially wrote it as a proposed screen play for a 1/2 hour television show titled, Commander Jamaica. It fell through so Fleming adapted it into novelised form.

 From Russia With Love ended as a cliff hanger as Bond had been poisoned by Kleb, and this novel picks up several weeks later after Bond is recovering. All the novels so far have picked up almost straight after the last, virtually within weeks. If you read my review of From Russia With Love I mention the fact I couldn't believe that Fleming armed bond with such a puny handgun as a .25 Beretta. As in the Dr. No movie though M orders Bond to hand it in for a harder hitting . 32 S & W Centennial. Bond is also ordered to train on the Walther PPK he was to become famous for, ( and for which he used in all the following novels ). This novel too is the first time the MI6 armourer, Major Boothroyd appears, to become better known as Q in future novels. ( See my From Russia With Love for the story behind Fleming's development of Q as a character ).

Cover from the movie tie-in

 Dr. No for me has been the best of the Bond novels so far, even surpassing From Russia With Love. Bond feels more like a secret agent at last, and even the case of Dr. No has the scenario which a secret agent would be assigned to. The first four novels felt more like police matters but Dr. No, with his expensive mad man lair, is better suited to the whole premise of James Bond and his 00 suffix. The plot is strong with one scene even having Bond battling a giant squid which wasn't in the movie, but it is really good and would have looked great with Sean 'Bond' Connery! But for me the character of Bond girl Honeychile Rider is the star here! She is lovely, both physically and as a person, and Ian Fleming out does his main character Bond with her. She may be nothing but words on a page but Fleming's descriptions are vivid and I think any make reader will fall for her!

 The most enjoyable Bond novel so far, and the least dated as Ian Fleming uses swearing and nakedness for the first time. Bond finally feels like a secret agent which makes him more like his movie persona. Overall just fun, absolute fun, and Honeychile Rider is the best Bond girl yet!!







I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

Cover of the first edition.

 ' Books like I am Legend were an inspiration to me '.

Stephen King.

 Yes this is the novel of the 2007 Will Smith movie....of which  it train wrecks Richard Matheson's chilling post-apocalyptic sci-fi /horror masterpiece. If you know your cinematic history you will be aware that this novel was first adapted to film in 1964 as, The Last Man on Earth, and more famously in 1971 as, The Omega Man, with Charleston Heston in the lead role. Both of these adaptations, along with Will Smith's, are complete bollocks and cannot hold a candle against the novel. Like so many great novels the movie adaptations are either poor or just straight out abortions of the original source.

 I must admit I like The Omega Man , and the first part of I am legend ( the second half stunk I'm afraid ), but  god alive they completely hash up the novel. And what a novel it is...I'd go as far as to say it is the most enjoyable novel I've read this year ( and very, very unique, not to mention highly influential ). Firstly forget everything about the movies..they are crap. Richard Matheson in 1954 wrote this novel that first introduced the idea of a post-apocalyptic world due to war and/or infection of some sort. Sound familiar? It should because the likes of 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, The Book of Eli, Resident Evil etc ALL owe their debt to this novel. It is an incredible feat because it is only 160 pages long and can be read in a matter of a few hours. But those few hours will see any reader put the book down at the end with dis-belief, and wonder, at how the movie adaptations have been so bad because the novel's premise is sheer brilliance.

 The novel was written in 1954 but based in the then future of  1970's Los Angeles. It opens in January of 1976 five months after an unspecified war. Protagonist Robert Neville is seemingly the only man left alive after a plaque of some sort has killed off humanity. Neville lives in his own house that he has fortified against the other 'survivors', those infected who have become vampiric in condition. The novel is a horror cum sci-fi novel and has several really chilling moments that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Firstly Neville's wife dies of the infection, and contrary to the law of having to burn her body in a communal pyre, he wraps up her body and buries her. Several days later he is inside and hears someone turning the outside door knob. He opens and the doors to find his wife standing there saying 'Rob.....ert'.!!!!!!!!!!!! He says he let out a 'silent scream'. Honestly I shit myself when I read that scene!

 The other chilling scene sees him caught outside his house after dark due to his watch stopping. He is chased around his neighborhood by a group of the 'undead'. One of whom was a man who he used to share a ride to work with who now stands outside his house shouting, 'come out Neville'. The chase sees him gain the safety of his house but it was chilling and believe me a real page turner!

 Richard Neville is well written as a man totally alone. His character is never delved into but his situation is. He goes through bouts of deep depression which he fights with heavy drinking. He is lonely and is taunted by the women vampires who flash their bits at him. His sexual needs are driving him nuts and he contemplates letting them have him so he can satisfy his lust. It may be a short novel but Neville's lonely existence is starkly written and the reader feels empathy for him as they contemplate themselves in his situation.

 What sets this vampire novel apart from the rest as it doesn't follow the traditional Bram Stoker vision of vampires. It updates the vision and ads a sci-fi element to it. I can't go into too much as it will give it all away. Suffice to say forget the crap movies as they totally butcher this element of Matheson's novel. As a vampire novel it is superb as it takes the myth of vampires and twists around on humanity. Garlic, crosses, stakes, daylight, etc abound, but then the reader hits the twist, and it is a stunner!!!

 The novel doesn't finish how you expect. Like I say the movies must be forgotten as they fail miserably in the true spirit and premise of the novel. The end is brilliant and simply breath taking in its originality. As I got toward the end I was expecting the movie, but oh how wrong I was. As I began to realise that things weren't heading that way I thought they would I found myself totally engrossed, and the pages began to flick by quicker and quicker. I was going oh my god, oh my god, honestly the phrase 'page turner' is not over used here because it is just that. The end was stupefying and I finished the novel absolutely awestruck by Matheson's vision and originality in updating and twisting the vampire story. The title becomes apparent in the very last sentence!

 I am Legend is an extremely influential novel. Not only did it inspire the post-apocalypse genre it also influenced a certain man called George Romero. If you don't know the name George Romero then there is no hope for you! Of course he is the man who popularized the zombie movie and this novel is the inspiration behind Romero's vision.

  What else can I possibly say? It is a novel of extreme brevity and yet puts so much into its few pages. It spans three years and has a ripper of twist which only expands and plays on the myths and legends of vampires. It is chilling and has two quite scary moments, especially the one when Neville's wife coming home! I felt my skin crawl which is rare as horror novels don't work for me, hence I don't generally read them. I'm sure this will satisfy any horror/sci-fi/ apocalypse aficionado. Without question a unique, intelligently thought out novel that takes an old myth and turns it on its end.

 A totally original, chilling and satisfying read. Don't miss it, and whatever you do.......forget the movies!

Amazon has this with 4 of out 5 stars from 592 reviews. For me it is 5 out of 5.

Click here for an interesting blog dedicated to the novel:

http://iamlegendarchive.blogspot.com/

Dr. Strangelove - Peter George

 Now you all must surely know of Dr. Strangelove or ; How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, to give it's full title! If you have it is probably because of the very famous, and quite brilliant, 1964  Stanley Kubrik film adaptation. But this is not the novel it is adapted from, as this is nothing more than a screenplay of the film.

 The film and this screenplay were actually adapted from a 1958 novel by Peter George called Two Hours to Doom. He published it under a pseudonym, Peter Bryant, but as Peter George he co-wrote the screenplay with Kubrik for the film adaptation which became Dr. Strangelove. The novel and film of course are an anti-war statement that deals with the threat of nuclear war and the absurd ease with which it can be triggered. Where the film differs is that it is more a black comedy than the novel. This comedic approach though only heightened the absurdity of the characters, whilst strengthening the films potent anti-war/nukes message.

  

 I knew that Kubrik had adapted his film from a novel, and when I loaned this from the library I thought that this was that very novel. Unfortunately within the first page I realised it wasn't and what I had was a screenplay of the film. Where this differs is that it opens and closes with the discovery on Earth ( in a crevice in a desert ) of a type of  diary detailing the events that triggered the nuclear bomb droppings which set of the Doomsday Machine. These discoverers then dismiss the human race as primitive wondering why they stockpiled so many nukes which they estimated had the power to destroy the Earth three times over! They end the account saying the Earth's history is of no real interest because of the stupidity of its end! ( the anti-war message loud and clear ).

 The film doesn't have this opening but it is a clever way to open this scene for scene novel. If you have seen the film then you will be aware of how this would read. I was disappointed this wasn't the original novel of which it was based on, but it is only 140 pages long and extremely easy to read. I read two very short novels last night of which this was one. I then read 70 pages of Ian Fleming's Dr. No. so you can see the simplicity of what I was reading!

 Is this worth the time to read? Probably not. I picked it up thinking it was the original novel and was disappointed it wasn't. But Kubrik's comedy interpretation is still a serious anti-war film and if nothing else this a re-visit to that great film albeit in word form. It is also an interesting look at how a screenplay is written from which a film is made.

 As a review this isn't one as such because as I've stated if you have seen the film then there is absolutely no need to read this. The title is unfortunately mis-leading because it gives the impression of being novel the film is based on, which in fact has a totally different title altogether. This is more a word of caution because if you see this novel and think it is the original you will be mistaken because it isn't. I still want to read the original though to see how much Kubrik's film adaptation stands up.

 To be read only as a novelty.

The Journal Of Fletcher Christian

 It was not with any intention that I read two novels with a similar premise one after the other. If you read my Girl With a Pearl Earring review then you will know it was a piece of conjectural writing with a historical backdrop. The Journal of Fletcher Christian has exactly the same premise but far surpasses Tracy Chevalier's novel. I hope you all know who Fletcher Christian was!! But where Tracy Chevalier absolutely missed the mark with an historical 'air' in her lovely little novel, Australian Peter Corris gets it dead on and provides a fascinating, plausible, and entertaining piece of historical conjecture.

 Hopefully you are all aware of, or have at least heard of the Mutiny on the Bounty. It is an interesting piece of history that has enthralled people world wide having been examined and dissected but scholars, and immortalised by novelists and film makers for generations. The names Bligh and Christian are common household names and conjure up the mutiny every time they are uttered. There is much known about the munity, especially from Bligh's perspective, as he survived it and made an incredible navigational feat sailing to Timor from around Tahiti in a small cutter. He had with him a number of faithful crew from the Bounty with only one death on this remarkable journey.

 Peter Corris opens his novel with from his own point of view and how he came into possession of the 'journal'. It reads like non-fiction as Corris uses himself in that manner. I'm not overly sure of this method of opening a novel of this type thinking an unknown narrator is more preferable. Jack Higgins uses this method a lot ( notably in his most famous novel The Eagle has Landed ). The novel then opens with a young man ( Henry Corris ) who writes his own journal on his life at sea. He inadvertently ends up on Pitcairn Island where he is handed Christian's 'journal' from the last living member of the mutinous crew. The narrator is told he has an uncanny resemblance to Fletcher Christian, and he in time finds circumstantial evidence he may in fact be distantly related. Christian was a Manx man with a swarthy complexion, and Henry Corris himself is descended from The Isle of Man, ( he also has a swarthy complexion but is told by his sisters it is Indian blood ).

 Corris's journal is an opening gambit and only 69 pages long as it is there to show how Christian's 'journal' turned up. I like the premise and it is plausible even though totally fictional. Peter Corris obtained a PhD in Australia and worked in academia for over twenty years specialising in Pacific history. He then turned to journalism and novel writing. All his life long skills are apparent in this novel. His grip on the munity is strong and I just brought into his conjecture on what happened to the Bounty after Bligh was kicked off.

 As a Kiwi I have read quite a number of works on Captain James Cook ( of who Bligh sailed with on his second voyage ). Much of Corris's novel is set in Tahiti and he captures the historical feel of the times perfectly. So much of Cook's writings and observations are mirrored by Fletcher through Corris. His knowledge comes through and adds to the plausibility of his novel. It is a glaring difference with that of Tracy Chevalier's novel. I also got a real Moby Dick, Robinson Crusoe feel  as this novel has traces of both of those famous works, but without the literal prose. Corris does write in a way to mirror that of the era but is never too heavy handed or thick. As a piece of conjecture it works extremely well, but as a piece of maritime fiction it is well above average. It is the sort of novel that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

 The Crusoe feel occurs once Christian has found Pitcairn Island and the crew and Bounty's usable equipment onshore. From there the 'journal' pretty much describes a colony in anarchy. Corris has succinctly shown what probably happened to a group of hunted men with no law or order. The group implodes and ends up killing one another. Christian himself is murdered in the postscript. I can believe this even though it is again conjecture and overall I think Peter Corris is probably not far of what probably happened.

 As stated in Girl With A Pearl Earring I like these types of conjectural novels. They are fun way of looking at plausible historical events in the wake of any actual knowledge. The sad thing about Peter Corris's novel is that it will never receive the attention or readership Chevalier's has received even though it is far the superior novel of the type.

 At 280 pages it is a relatively quick and easy read. I read it in two nights, having read the first journal of 69 pages one night and the following 210 the next night. Corris has attempted to use and write in the manner of an educated naval man of 1790, making it readable to a modern audience. His knowledge is obvious and I think this a very well thought out novel on what possibly happened after the munity. As stated it will appeal to any number of readers, from those who like historical fiction, to those with a maritime leaning, and to those who know of the munity and have a passing interest in it. On every level this will satisfy anyone who takes the time to read it.

 A very well thought out piece of conjectural history, and well worth your time to read.

 ( Amazon has this with 5 stars out of 5, but that is only from one review! I'd agree with 5. Compare this with Chevalier's novel that has over 800 reviews, and you'll understand why it is with regret that this, the far better novel, hasn't gathered the readership it deserves ).

Click here for wikipedia's very informative and useful page on the munity with links to movie and book adaptations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty

Girl With A Pearl Earring

 For some reason I haven't read a lot of novels written by females over the years. The last one I read was Alice Sebold's The lovely Bones after watching Peter Jackson's lacklustre adaptation. It certainly isn't a conscious effort to avoid female authors as it is just something that has just been. I still haven't been down the Jane Austen route yet but have dabbled in Emily Bronte with Wuthering Heights.

 I looked at this novel last week in the library as I knew of the film adaptation which, for some reason that now escapes me, I didn't go to see. After having now read the novel I must see the film as the novel is a little gem and the cast of the adaptation  a good one with Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.

 This novel was a New York Times bestseller and it is easy to see why. Yet it has some serious flaws which make it all the remarkable because it is still a fine novel and well worth your time to read. You may know that it is touted as an historical novel, but this is the flaw because in all essence it isn't, and I give Tracy Chevalier a definite 0/10 for her total lack of historical feel within her novel. But as a piece of conjectural history I give it 10/10!!

 Girl With a Pearl Earring is set in mid-17th Century Delft in Holland. As such you would expect to get a novel that makes you feel the period in question and yet Chevalier completely fails to do so. The novel could be based in any period of history from the Ancient Greeks to the mid-20th Century. It has absolutely no historical or period feel to it at all. This is the novels major flaw and I've read that in her next few novels with historical backdrops Chevalier does the same thing. Being set in Holland I expected alot of 'Dutchness', but there is none and could well have been set in a tiny English village as anywhere in Europe or the States.

 Chevalier as an historical author hasn't got it as far as settings goes I'm afraid.  But I will state she does attempt to go into the class system of the times and the differences between the haves and have nots. She also touches on a point of there still being Catholics in Holland even after the ousting of the Spanish influence on the country. It is touched on stuff rather than an in depth feel or air though.


 But when I finished the novel I felt I could forgive her that somewhat because it is a novel of conjectural history rather than a historical novel per se. It is more about the relationship between maid and narrator Griet and painter Johannes Vermeer. This is where this novel comes into its own and I believe its popularity is well earned. Chevalier's motivations behind writing the novel are wonderful and for its lack of historical feel works on every other level.

 The novel is Chevalier's conjecture on the story behind Vermeer's painting, Girl With a Pearl Earring. Little is known of Vermeer as a man and absolutely nothing about the girl in the picture. Who was she? What was her name? Was she ever real or just a figment of Vermeer's imagination? No-one knows and this is the intriguing idea behind the novel as Chevalier brings her plausible take on who she possibly was and the story behind the painting.

 I love the whole premise behind this novel because with so little known it opens the door for some wonderful fiction. I was en rapt with this novel from word go and read it in one night. It is only 248 pages long and is an untaxing read. Interestingly Chevalier has foregone chapters and chopped up the narrative into many separate parts that read almost like a diary as her narrator Griet ( 16 through to late 17 ) speaks to the reader about her life in the Vermeer household. The story revolves around how she came to be in one of Vermeer's paintings and it is a really well crafted story.

 I won't give away details except to say that young Griet is initially is reluctant to as she knows it may end in her being taken sexually by her 'master'. Vermeer is never named by Griet but is referred to as he, him, or master. The painting sequence is the heart of the novel and the build up to it is fantastic, as is the release of tension once it is completed. What an imagination Chevalier has to write such a conjectural novel!! I like how she has taken actual historical art facts and woven them into the narrative. The sexual side of the painting and Griet's reluctance is seen and explained,  because in a Dutch painting of the era open lips, as in Vermeer's painting, meant sexual availability. This is what Griet feared as she in no way wanted to give herself to Vermeer. What Chevalier has conjectured is that Vermeer painted Griet as he saw and wanted her rather than as she actually was. Of course this sexuality of the painting inflames already smouldering resentments in the household and Griet is unceremoniously fired.

 I must admit to really liking this style of historical writing. Sure Chevalier utterly fails in giving an historical Dutch feel to the novel, but she more than makes up for it with some careful art research that she weaves into Griet's narrative beautifully. She writes an afterword that is well worth reading as she explains how she came to write the novel and her motivations for doing so. They are very sound and whilst she has produced a flawed historical novel she has in turn written a very fine example of conjectural history that is hard to ignore or dislike.

 I recommend this novel to all. It is a neat little novel and a real gem....or a real 'pearl' you might say!! I'm confident you will enjoy it and how Tracy Chevalier has come up with a very plausible story based on people who very little to nothing is known about. It is also very much a novel both males and females can read even though it is written from a female perspective. 

 Amazon has this with 4 out of 5 stars from 857 reviews. I think that is fair even though it has its historical flaws. The premise more than makes up for that!!

ENJOY!!

From Russia With love - Ian Fleming

Cover from the first edition.

 From Russia With Love is the only Bond novel I have read before. I read it two years ago after finding a paperback copy at a second hand book sale. I read it that afternoon and was surprised by how the movie adaptation was an almost carbon copy of the novel. And like that day of two years ago I sat down and read From Russia With Love again last night.

 At 318 pages long it  is one of the longest Bond novels Fleming wrote. Suffice to say it is still the easy reading style of the preceding novels so 318 pages zipped on by pretty quickly. At first I wasn't going to re-read this novel and skip to Dr. No since I had read it before. But I'm pleased I did because it is regarded as the best of the novels, as its movie counter-part, and it was interesting to compare its quality against the first four novels. It comes out the clear winner by a long margin in my opinion.

 The movie is my firm favorite of the franchise. Sean Connery himself stated it was his favorite as well. It follows the novel almost slavishly with only a few very minor changes. The boat chase at the end of the movie being added for dramatic effect. I think with this lack of change it shows how strong a novel it is. It is funny to realise that when released in 1957 it was not an initial best-seller in the U.S. And yet after a article in Life magazine in 1961, where President Kennedy stated it was one of his top ten favorite books sales skyrocketed. Nothing like a bit of presidential promotion huh?!

 After Diamonds are Forever I stated that a lot of Fleming's somewhat biased views had been toned down, and yet in From Russia he has a go at the Turks and their appearance. As Bond enters Turkey Fleming has him calling the customs men 'ugly', and 'with cruel eyes'. He really doesn't hold back on his judgement of the Turkish race! It is absurd and so incredibly dated. Fortunately this is the only time his views slip out and after five novels I'm coming somewhat annoyed with them. They are dated, and while initially interesting in view of the times, I feel I can do without such rubbish now!

1959 paperback edition.

 This novel also has the first appearance of 'Q' branch. Bond receives a modified briefcase in which has money, extra ammo, and several throwing knifes. The introduction of 'Q' branch is interesting as the character of 'Q' himself is modeled on Geoffrey Boothroyd, an English firearms expert who helped Fleming with the design of the cover above ( notice the modified trigger guard ). In the movie Dr. No  there is an Major Boothroyd ( played by Peter Burton ), in acknowledgement of his help to Fleming. The character was then changed to 'Q' in the movie  From Russia With love and made famous by Desmond Llewellyn.

 To be sure I haven't yet read the following nine Bond  novels but I doubt if Fleming was able to top From Russia With Love. It hasn't dated as badly as the first four novels and is a really good, ripping yarn. If you enjoyed the movie then you may not need to read the novel as it is virtually the same. Yet if you wish to read the novels in sequence it is indicative to read it just to see how Fleming's writing abilities strengthened along with his imagination and confidence.

 Probably the best of the Bond novels. With a very strong plot it hasn't dated as badly as its predecessors. And with a Presidential backing you can't go wrong can you?!

Diamonds Are Forever - Ian Fleming



Cover from the first edition.



  Diamonds are Forever is Fleming's fourth Bond novel. Like the three predecessors it is a relatively easy read and I started and finished it last night. I can finish one of these novels off in two hits. I started it before I had dinner having initially read 70 pages, and afterwards, with all the household stuff finished, I sat down and read the next 210 pages in one sitting. Sure I finished just after mid-night but you get the idea at how easy these novels are to devour.

 I've now read two novels in two nights as I greedily flew through Tracy Chevalier's lovely novel Girl With a Pearl Earring the night before. Courtesy of Blogger and its temperamentally I wrote a review and lost it as I posted it due to a Blogger glitch. Just imagine a guy stamping his feet, swearing and cursing, and you get the general idea! Not impressed at all as it took me an hour to write!

 Diamonds are Forever is also the seventh of the Bond movies. It saw Sean Connery return as Bond after George Lazenby's foolish, career ending decision not to continue on in the role. At the time I believe Connery was the highest paid actor in the world for reprising the role. Of course after this he quit permanently only appearing in the unofficial Bond movie, Never say Never Again, which was nothing more than a Thunderball re-make. As with all the movies it veers well away from the novel. Several scenes are lifted from the novel but it is virtually unrecognisable. The diamonds in the book are smuggled into the States to be distributed illegally by a gang. In the movie they are used in satellite laser. Also the villains in the novel are the Spang brothers, but in the movie it is Bond's arch-enemy Blofeld.

 I believe diamond smuggling was of personal interest to Ian Fleming and he wrote a non-fictional work on the subject in the 1960's. Apparently it is very similar to Diamonds are Forever and many have mistaken it as a Bond novel because of the similarities. Like its predecessors this novel has also dated and Fleming has toned down some of his sentiments. Maybe he was advised to as the anti-American feel is less than in Live and Let Die. For instance Bond and Leiter have a discussion on the merits of American and European sports cars instead of Fleming, through Bond, just being totally dis-missive of American cars. Also Fleming is less dis-missive of American food than in Live and Let Die. It is a better novel to read for this toned downedness, as I'm not really interested in reading an authors somewhat racist/sexist/xenophobic views.

 In dated terms we see Bond with 'the girl' in this novel, Tiffany Case, fly from L.A to New York to board the Queen Elizabeth and the flight taking ten hours. I'm sure it doesn't take that long now but it is indicative of the fact the novel is 58 years old! Also the car Felix Leiter drives is a Studillac with a top speed of 130mph. Most high powered cars today are able to top that easily! Funnily enough Fleming uses the Studillac in the novel because he drove one in the States and was impressed with it. I suppose he toned down his feelings on American cars because of this!

 After finishing this novel one glaring thing hit me in the differences between the novels and the movies. That is the fact that in the novels Bond caries around a Beretta with a puny .25 calibre. In the very first movie Dr. No M makes Bond swap his Beretta for the more reliable and potent 7.65mm PPK, a very fine hand gun. I was amazed than a 00 was armed with such a puny hand gun in the novels. Sure it is small and relatively flat pistol, but with a 'license to kill' I'd have expected him to armed with something more that what in all reality is little more than a pea shooter!! But here I again  had to back off and separate the Bond of the novels from that of the movies.

 The other thing is that besides Sean Connery none of the other Bonds smoked. Bond of the novels is a seventy a day smoker!! and has his own cigarettes custom made with three gold stripes just above the filter. It isn't exactly what you would expect from a secret agent who is supposedly super fit is it?! Yet it is a sign of the times as smoking wasn't the social taboo it has since become.

In short then Diamonds are Forever is a step forward from Fleming especially in regards to his private views. I found the novel well paced with no flat spots. I found there was no single scene that stood out as in the previous three novels. I'm just not sure that the premise fits Bond as a secret agent though. Diamond smuggling comes across more as an Interpol area of expertise rather than that of 'Universal exports'! I've started From Russia With Love and it feels more like proper Bond territory in with dealing with Smersh again rather than Mob type gangs in America.

 So far of the four novels I have read I liked Live and Let Die the most. It has a tension in several of its scenes that the other three novels don't come close too.  You may also like to know that in Diamond are Forever Felix Leiter has left the CIA after his encounter with the shark in Live and Let Die. He has lost a hand and has a limp, and now works for a private firm. Fleming wrote 14 Bond novels and Leiter was written out of his CIA role very early on. It is a very clear deviation from the movies where he is CIA in all of them...and even changes colour in Casino Royale!! What an amazing trick!!

 Another quick, easy reading Bond novel, but very,very dated.