James Bond Books

I recall the Gardner books as being pretty good (when I read them at 13-14 yrs old). I think I read them all except the last three and License to Kill (which was based on the screenplay). They avoided the silliness of the late 1970s, 1980s movies, and I remember them as being a little more involved plot-wise than the Fleming books. I'm thinking more Robert Ludlum than Ian Fleming.

 

I agree. It's been forever since I read them, so the details are a little hazy. But that description sounds about right.

 

Fleming wasn't Cormac McCarthy, but he writes circles around Tom Clancy in my opinion.

Especially when it comes to the descriptive passages describing what Bond is eating. You can start reading about Bond's lobster dinner with a full stomach and still end up hungry.

Fleming also brings a good amount of depth and subtext to the Bond character lacking in the movies.

Clancy wouldn't know how to give Jack Ryan character depth if he threw his ass in the Marianas Trench.

 

True, but nobody read(s) Clancy for that.

 

One of the main reasons I enjoy the books is his development of Bond. It's fascinating to see his home life at his flat with his maid and all of his interactions with characters like M outside of the office. Good stuff that works well for character development but probably wouldn't fit in a fast-paced Bond movie.

 

But he certainly isn't a guy who "can't write a lick" as JR suggested.

 

I always enjoyed his stuff, but certainly not for the artful writing.

 

I would agree with that. I think he's a good writer because he does a good job of crafting an engaging plot and strong characters even if it isn't full of flowery prose.

 

He's a good genre writer with a clever protagonist.

Saying he's better than Tom Clancy isn't much of a bar to set but he sure as hell ain't Elmore Leonard.

Goldfinger was my favourite Bond book and movie.

 

I picked up a set of British paperback editions of the Fleming books in Seattle 10-11 years ago. Great stuff for lazy days when you're not in the mood to read anything of great importance. I think Bond is more of a prick in the books than he is in the movies. He's also a bit less suave.

 

For my money, Ian Fleming's best book was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."

 

Stuff was a damn sight less offensive (not to mention more entertaining) than the vast majority of commercial series.

Odd fact: Raymond Chandler and Fleming were very good buds.