4/9/22

Many of the earlier James Bond movies were based on the novels of Ian Fleming. When Ian Fleming passed away, the torch was eventually passed to John Gardner to continue writing (it has passed two times since then as well).

When I read Ian Fleming’s books they almost felt like I was walking through the beginnings of one of the most famous fiction characters of our age. I would read a chapter and then just lie there for a while pondering and enjoying the aftereffects of the reading. For some reason, this book felt like a cheap knock-off. The version I read was just a cheap paperback!

In this book, Bond actually doesn’t save the world; in fact, he is just saving his own head. Someone has issued a challenge of the crime world – bring me Bond’s hand on a silver platter. Bind finds this out when he is beginning his vacation. Shortly thereafter, Moneypenny and his maid are kidnapped. Bond races around Europe to save the two damsels while accompanied by two more “hostages” (female of course!). ( )

This was my least favorite of the series so far. It just seemed a bit goofy to me. 3.5 ( )