'The Man With the Golden Gun' | An Incomplete Final Fleming Work? | Book Review

[@davidshillaker7578]

Shame Ian Fleming couldn't survive long enough to make a polished version

[@MatthewHarkin]

*still feels absolutely awful for accidentally ruining the M twist for you* 😭😭 Such a brilliant scene though and something that I would absolutely love to see on screen!! I know i've mentioned it a few times but it's such a fantastic and interesting way to introduce a new Bond actor! How much more memorable can you get having Bond #7's first scene include him trying to outright murder Ralph Fiennes. :P

[@WhiteJarrah]

I half expect they might do that in the next Bond film, assuming they plan on continuing the story rather than just giving us a straight up reboot.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

@@WhiteJarrah It's almost certainly going to be a reboot. It would only work if it was between a Bond+ M with an established relationship [as shown by TWINE and Skyfall being M heavy and occurring in her third film with that Bond actor] although it's one of the few 'Fleming set pieces' still to be used.

[@nickbode5211]

I’m always amazed by how different these books are from the Bond movies.

[@BenCol]

The opening of this book definitely feels like Fleming tried to do a Pre-Title Sequence. You an almost see the poison dribbling down the glass segueing into a Maurice Binder Title Sequence à la ‘Thunderball’. Fun Story: My Mum’s an English teacher and they had a snippet from this book in one of the textbooks she used. I suggested using the corresponding bit from the movie in her lesson, so I asked my friend for the DVD. I was just getting in to Bond at this point, and this was the point when I discovered that the books and the films often didn’t match one another. Indeed, I was super confused when the film seemed to stop being about Bond and instead be a film about some random Southern sheriff shouting at elephants. Either way, I do remember, when I finally read the book, there’s a passage where Goodnight talks about her dress, and how Q Branch installed a hidden device in one of the buttons and thinking “hey! They used that line almost verbatim in the film!” And hey, a Bond book set in Jamaica is no bad thing - it was a country Fleming knew very well, so he does a very good job when it comes to world-building. If I may be a literature buff for a brief moment, it gives the book a good sense of verisimilitude. P.S.: Have you checked out Fleming’s travel guide ‘Thrilling Cities’? It’s no use as a travel guide anymore (it’s over 50 years old) but Fleming’s anecdotes are great. Vintage did a reissue a few years ago, and I think it should easily be available at all good book retailers, and some of the lesser ones too.

[@davidjames579]

Yeah, I've got a copy (off Amazon). It's great. Fantastic having Fleming talk about various international cities, and in true F style, he's totally candid. He also has some eclectic interview subjects. It's like Alan Whicker meets Keith Floyd. The cities he visits also would make great Bond locations.

[@WhiteJarrah]

Honestly, I half expected them to do the Bond amnesia and M assassination attempt in Skyfall. It could easily have fit in that movie.

[@cutthr0atjake]

I'm hoping the next film does the brainwashed Bond bit. They could have the new 007 as the hero before we discover at the end that the villain is Craigs Bond trying to kill M.

[@donaldthesavage1288]

@@cutthr0atjake Bond is going to be the protagonist in the next film. He can’t exactly be sidelined in favor of a new 007.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Now that Craigs gone I'm sad that we didn't see Fleming plots like this with him. When it comes to the dialogue and performance of his first three he did an incredible job bringing Bond to screen. Spectre killed the flow, and NTTD had to clean up after Spectre's shortcomings when I wish these last two movies could've been more like Bond's source material.

[@DM-kv9kj]

@@TheT3rr0rMask I think Craig should have gone after Skyfall. His performance is totally 2 dimensional, miserable and boring. He looks short and fugly and as much as I was defending his casting back in 2006, I just could never actually see him as James Bond and I really tried. On top of that, Spectre and No Time to Die are two of the very worst Bond movies ever made, and that's really saying something. Utterly amateurishly committee-written fanboy heaping piles. I also am apparently in a minority that thinks Skyfall, while not bad, is massively overrated purely because of it's polished veil of style over substance. Killing off every character you want to replace or making everyone related to each other is a seriously cheap writing trick to force emotion. Furthermore, Bond movies should not be soap opera serial episodes, they should always be standalone stories with OCCASIONAL fun references and callbacks to previous characters or key elements from older movies. The producers now seem convinced that every single movie has to be a Netflix episode run-on, Blofeld has to be Bond's brother, Moneypenny has to be an ex-field agent who has now slept with Bond (even though the fact she was the one female character never to actually sleep with Bond and just tease him was a strong element for her character, now cheapened by making her just another Bond girl), Q has to be like the only personnel of Q branch who does everything and is always talking to Bond on an earpiece like some computer game, M has to die to be replaced, Leiter has to be killed off, Bond has to be killed off... Sorry, but all this stuff is the cheapest and lowest-of-the-low amateur writing. Purvis and Wadehead should have been fired after TWINE, let alone Die Another Day. Why they are STILL being hired is beyond me, especially since every single screenplay they hack out has to be re-written by better writers just to make it even slightly presentablen - yet the finished product even then is pathetic.

[@lexgil6520]

Maybe Noel Coward just told the whistling thing to Fleming, as a secret laugh, and the latter simply bought it.

[@EthanKnight97]

Much like the movie, it has one or two great moments but on a whole it's rather lackluster. I love the attempted assassination of M and I would love to see that in a future movie Bond and Sukie's son does make a appearance in Reynonds Benson's short story Blast from the Past.

[@MichaelHonscar]

Read the short story Blast from the Past (1997) by Raymond Benson if you want to find out what happened to James and Kissy’s child.

[@davidjames579]

Also James Bond: The Authorised Biography Of 007 by John Pearson, which fills in James Suzuki's childhood.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

The book 'the bond files' quotes John Gardner as saying he was not allowed to use James Suzuki nor invent any other Bond child. Hence, I wonder if the publishes let Raymond Benson use James Suzuki as a one time thing only just to get it out of the way. That case of affairs annoys me as there is so much potential with the character.

[@naotoshirogane7512]

Just to clarify. I freaking LOVED Christopher Lee in MWTGG as Scaramanga. And I think he was the best thing about Goldeneye Rogue Agent. I mean, he can modify your eye to give you telekinesis. Ill take that xD

[@naotoshirogane7512]

See you in tonight’s stream, Calvin! Stay awesome!

[@calvindyson]

Naoto Shirogane very much agree on the Lee front but what we get here is so very different!!

[@naotoshirogane7512]

Calvin Dyson I think we can both agree that he was easily the best part of Goldeneye Rogue Agent.

[@SolarDragon007]

@@calvindyson The films should bring back Scaramanga, perhaps as a sort of recurring henchman/rival of Bond's.

[@normanby100]

Scaramanga in the book is closer to the producers' original idea for casting - Jack Palance.

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Yes this one clearly feels like half a Bond Story with only the first draft. However, a benefit is Christopher Lee took a nothing villain and made him one of the iconic villains of the Roger Moore era because Christopher Lee is that awesome.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

While I agree Lee brought a lot to the part, the movie version is a very different character to the book. As Lee put it 'in the book he's just a thug'.

[@joehahn9801]

Perfect timing Calvin. Just sat down to eat and needed something to watch. Been looking forward to your thoughts on this last actual novel as well, particularly the first few chapters.

[@calvindyson]

Joe Hahn splendid! Very glad this timed out well 😁 I’ll try my best to have a video up for your next meal!!

[@Tobio88]

I find it interesting how Skyfall takes some of it's ques from Fleming's The Man With The Golden Gun. Mainly a washed up, believed to be dead Bond getting one last mission to prove himself plot of the movie. Skyfall does pull off the getting him back in his prime better though. But also, interestingly, the assassination of M. If you look past the fact that Silva successfully kills Dench's M and not an attempt by, but instead look at a line in the book from M about his predecessor dying on the job. So when casting rolled around I did predict that M would die and Fiennes would turn out to be Miles Messervy. Naomi Harris was obviously turning out to be Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw was confirmed to be playing Q, so Fiennes being him was likely. Turns out I was mostly spot on, apart from the name 😂

[@rubicon0049]

Oddly, this was the first Bond book I read. I had a stack of them, and tried a couple times to read Casino Royale and FRWL, but it never took. Then one weekend, I sat down and flipped to near then end of this one to see how it compared to the movie. That last chase scene you mentioned, it really grabbed me and I remember reading the whole last part of the book in one sitting. I was so surprised at how different the tone was from what I was expecting. Right now I'm listening to the "celebrity performances" version of the audiobook performed by Kenneth Branagh, and it's really good! I love his performance for Scaramanga and Leiter!

[@noelwalsh5898]

SEAN CONNERY AS BOND WOULD BE GREAT IN THE MOVIE.HE WAS 007.

[@brandonkoluch5811]

Great review as usual Calvin! You should do a ranking of your top 10 Bond film scores and of all 11 series directors, I'd love your thoughts on those, keep up the good work!

[@DarthRushy]

Will you be reviewing the Bond novels ordered by the Fleming Estate from later authors?

[@007robotchicken]

He said he was in this video and the stream yesterday.

[@DarthRushy]

@jim johnston No.

[@iansmith4023]

Search out the comic strip adaptation if you can (it's been published in graphic novel form). It does a pretty good job of adding the details and plot elaborations that Fleming was unable to do. In particular,it builds upon the aftermath of the M assassination; while (by expanding on a couple of brief sections of narrative in the novel)providing more of a substantial back-story for Bond and Scaramanga.

[@smallmj2886]

Thanks for giving us the history of this book. The shortcomings make much more sense now that I now that it was essentially unfinished.

[@mariakelly5]

Calvin, I just thought that you should know that David Hedison, who played Felix Leiter in Live And Let Die and Licence To Kill died. He was 92.

[@LeonWick526]

Bond: And who do you represent Mr. Scaramanga? Scaramanga: Caribbean money. Bond: Cuban? Scaramanga: I said Caribbean didn't I? Cuba's in the Caribbean ain't it? Bond: Castro or Bautista?

[@ricardocantoral7672]

One could argue that Bond's attempted assassination of M was the culmination of the self doubt that festered inside Bond for so many years. Throughout the series, Fleming made it quite clear that Bond was always conflicted about his duties and he loathed M when he was ordered to do the dirty work for King and Country.

[@MarvinFalz]

It seems such a shame, that this book is unfinished in a sense. One feature I really like about the Bond books is that they don't seem to follow a typical Bond formula, as most of the movies do. That is also one reason why OHMSS is one of my most favorite Bond movies ever.

[@johnleggett5054]

Really looking forward to when you review the two Anthony Horowitz Bond novels.

[@jonlinam4029]

We might have a bit of a wait lol

[@jackmessent3490]

One of my favourite youtubers to watch on all things 007. :)

[@calvindyson]

Jack thanks! Very nice to hear that 😁😁

[@mrrosell3355]

Me two

[@RolandHulme]

13:43 "Okay, that's fine..." most British moment of this video. 😂🤣

[@kennethallen3810]

I haven’t read all of Fleming’s books but I loved reading this

[@HStephens]

The opening to thid book Bond trying to Kill M is I wish how Bond 25 would start

[@jamesatkinsonja]

It wouldn't have the same impact with Fiennes M. compared to if they did it with Dench as they no long had the pseudo parental nature of the Bond-M relationship when Dench was in the role which tied back to the books.

[@grantdavis5945]

I thought this was a very good, and very fair review. I'm excited to hear that you're going to review the non Fleming books. I'm generally not a fan with a couple of exceptions. I really enjoyed Colonel Sun. I actually like it better than some of Fleming's weaker novels. I think it's terribly underrated and the fact that it seems to have almost been forgotten about is disappointing. Can't wait for that review.

[@calvindyson]

Grant Davis I’m half way through Colonel Sun and so far it has been pretty great! I’m really enjoying it. It’s taking some getting used to though... it’s missing a lot of the toughness of Fleming. I guess that’s because it actually feels planned out and structured. Fleming makes some strange tangents and (on paper) illogical plot developments here and there but I’ve gotten so used to it! He very much has his own style and it’s going to be hard for anyone to imitate it.

[@naughtydog1617]

@@calvindyson I think you should stop at Colonel Sun Calvin. Let THAT be the final Bond novel for you. It is the only one truly worthy of Fleming's Bond canon in my opinion and it is a much better "sendoff" to Bond than TMWTGG was. After Colonel Sun you should instead listen and review BBC Radio 4 James Bond radio dramas for the novels. The radio dramas are extremely faithful to the novels! Toby Stephens voices James Bond and other celebrities voice other characters. They are around 90 minutes long and they have done 8 radio dramas so far: Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia with Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I myself have all 8 of the BBC Radio 4 dramas uploaded on my channel. You should check them out Calvin. 😎

[@keithtam19]

Always love your book reviews , makes me wanna buy it straight from Amazon !

[@jonathancampbell5231]

Calvin: Yes, I am going to be reviewing Colonel Sun and the non-Fleming Bond novels, in fact I'm reading Colonel Sun right now. Comments: Calvin, are you going to read Colonel Sun? Or the non-Fleming Bond novels? You totally should!

[@calvindyson]

Jonathan Campbell I get more questions about reading the further books than anything else so thought I’d better just say it in a video haha 😂

[@garybryant1501]

M treats Bond like a teenage son who has gone off the rails and gives him a second chance he was probably expecting it to happen eventually he doesn't seemed surprised at all

[@paulklee5790]

You have to keep in mind that by this book (more or less a first draft in my opinion) Bond has pretty sever PTSD... Bond is not a very integrated personality from the get go and by the end of the sequence of novels has gone about as far as a man can go. In fact like many a similar servant of the Crown he has nowhere left to go too, the State has used him and used him up without a qualm. M in the last two books knows this and it ambiguous as to whether he is actually trying to help his protege or hoping he will be finished of and no longer his concern. A few times in the books Bond reflect on the 00 life and that it’s rewards are finite and prospects bleak, he has no illusions when things are going well and by now, when things have gone so bad for him he knows that the deck is now firmly stacked against him finding any kind of ending that is not wracked with misery, regret and recriminations.... that said Bond is a great personification of certain aspects of the British character that pop up over and over, and we love him for all that...

[@Daltonis007]

Calvin - I just found your page via the podcasts. Just brilliant. Thanks for doing this.

[@WhiteJarrah]

I don't usually catch your videos 12min after they're posted. Nice.

[@JGordonAuthor]

Calvin, will you do Gardner, Benson and the other external authors (and the movie novelizations)? I love these reviews.

[@LloydNance]

Great review Calvin. I haven't read that one yet. Looking forward to your live streaming.

[@wrestlingbuff87]

Yul Brynner as Scaramanga would've been awesome!

[@davidjames579]

With Calvin saying S reminds him of a Western villain, it's interesting that EON's first choice was Jack Palance (from Shane)

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I think Lee Marvin would have been better.

[@davidjames579]

@@ricardocantoral7672 Hmmmm. Lee Marvin vs Roger Moore actually happened in Shout At The Devil (1976)

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@davidjames579 I know. I picture Lee when I read Fleming's book.

[@davidjames579]

@@ricardocantoral7672 For some reason I pictured The Wrestler era Mickey Rourke

[@desotowright]

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the Octopussy short story. It’s one of my all time favorites. My dad and I listened to the audiobook version once on a big road trip when I was a teenager.

[@crakatoot5480]

The Movie version of this book is def one of the most underrated Bond films. Up there with Quantum of Solace, Spectre, Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, World is not Enough, Moonraker and Never Say Never Again.

[@Bond8789]

I have mixed feelings. It isn't up to Flemings own high standard of CR, MR, OHMSS and YOLT. But knowing it was the last Bond Fleming wrote, I have a sense of sadness reading TMWTGG. Where might Bond have gone next, if Fleming had lived a few years more?

[@fqvermis8205]

Apparantly Fleming did consider this his final book, saying he is "burned out" and "doesn't have any ideas left". And i do think this time he meant it, like where would you even go from here? The last couple of books had that feeling of finallity to them and this book does conclude the "Rebirth" story started with YOLT. I think TMWTGG is a flawed but satisfying conclusion to the series. (Octopussy doesn't count, since the shortstorys came out way earlier)

[@SolarDragon007]

@@fqvermis8205 When he said those things, you have to keep in mind how ill he was at the time. It's entirely possible that had Fleming not been sick/near death, he might have very well continued on with the series.

[@Oakwoodstudiosmoviesandtvshows]

This one was my second James Bond novel and it was amazing. So underrated.

[@angusmcmillan111]

Really enjoyed all these book reviews. It's interesting that you visualised Scaramanga as a Western, Sam Elliot type character - I imagined Josh Brolin being Scaramanga when I was reading it.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I picture Lee Marvin !

[@andrewstorm8240]

I like the filtering process to get Bond to meet M, but good point about his time in Russia

[@tompor561]

Nice. Was waiting for you to review this one

[@auditore5399]

Also nice to see James Bond Jr reviewing his dads books hehe

[@niels25chr1]

I agree that the beginning is a mess but from the moment he gets the mission it actually works quite well however the film improved on a lot the things in this novel - not the action obviously. That´s mainly because of JW Pepper but he´s not in the novel, so that´s good. I think the book version of Scaramanga was used as inspiration for Sanchez in LTK.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

They might have used Scaramanga as a starting point but Sanchez was mostly based on Pablo Escobar [who, according to Robert Davi, praised him for his performance!] with elements of Al Pacino's Tony Montana [aka Scarface] and Colonel Noriega [due to the puppet government element and Isthmus city being comparable to Panama].

[@Jamesbondfan-vg9qs]

Can't wait to see the live stream

[@juliabrnssr]

I've been watching a lot of documentaries on the Bond films. What's funny is that apparently Christopher Lee and Ian Flemming where cousins, and on top of that also worked in Naval intelligence during WW II. I wonder how much he knew about the books?

[@davidjames579]

Christopher Lee was often asked about his wartime experiences in The SAS. He'd say "Can you keep a secret?". The nosey parker would look around and go "Oh yes", to which Lee would reply: "So can I".

[@mr6oodstuff79]

It looks like Bond also fed Goodnight some snake.

[@fuscinula]

I actually had visualised Jimmy Dean as Scaramanga, because of his getup, southern style drawl and appearance.

[@JackMellor498]

Listened to the audiobook today for the first time, read by Kenneth Branagh on Audible who I must say does a stellar job. Watching this review, I can totally see in retrospect that it was a first draft novel. Personally didn’t find the plot all that exciting, Bond spends the majority of the time under Scaramanga’s eye, nosying about the hotel, listening in on conversations, and only getting into one brief shootout at the end, all felt very barebones. I did love the part Felix Leiter played though, in being like Bond caught up in the whole affair and playing along, and him and Bond working together under Scaramanga’s nose.

[@anythingandeverythingwithjp]

Just finished this one, a very good read!

[@flameracer93]

7:55 Flemming establishes in FRWL that Bond doesn't like killing in cold blood. He never does in any of his other adventures

[@superfriends835]

I'd take an 'incomplete' novel like this over a boring novel (like diamonds are forever) or one that crashes in its final act (like goldfinger).

[@upintheairstudio]

Since you are a fan of the Bond/M scenes you will love Colonel Sun.

[@dudleymq]

Been really enjoying your reviews. I know there are numerous Bond novels by other authors CV you could turn to next but I'm really hoping you'll be reviewing the Young Bond novels by Charlie Higson, which I think are outstanding.

[@andrewwebster2598]

To me, I really enjoyed the book. Even an average Fleming 007 novel is better than most other average novels. I like how Goodnight is his ally & is it Leiter or some other CIA man goes undercover in the hotel ?

[@Germaniac77]

You HAVE to read "Colonel Sun" (a superb continuation of Flemings work) and John Pearsons "autorized biogropjhy of James Bond" ... the later fleshes out Flemings stories. Give John Gardner at leats a try and read his first 3 books (I love License renewed and Icebreaker is phenomenal; his later work is hit and miss). Raymond Bensons novels feel more like Brosnan Bond movies and not like a Fleming novel.

[@BenCol]

‘Nobody Lives For Ever’ is another good Gardner one, it has a very good hook (that is, SPECTRE’s game to hunt Bond). I’m reading through the Gardeners at the moment, and I’m getting the impression that how good or bad it is depends very much on how interesting the hook is. Also, I’ve become very good at smelling out his twists - he loved his twists, but couldn’t think of many. Either good guy is bad, bad guy is good, or both.

[@user-si9fx4xb6v]

Just wanted to mention that the new James Bond novel With A Mind To Kill follows up on what happens to Bond after this story. Quite a bit of it also tells you what happened to Bond at the hands of KGB in between You Only Live Twice and The Man With The Golden Gun.

[@klaudiagrob]

Calvin I read somewhere the case of Bond's child with Kissy was revisited by a different Bond writer as a short story I guess. I liked this book. Of course it is clear in the novels that OHMSS changed the series.

[@normanby100]

Ironically what the book could benefit most from is a character like Andrea from the film - the villain's moll who tires of her abused existence and conspires with 007 to bring him down.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

I wonder if Fleming would have thought that was too similar to Domino in Thunderball [which in the novel continuity was only a couple of books ago].

[@cutthr0atjake]

I always enjoyed this book. Not the best, but I found it great fun.

[@williamrooney9945]

Calvin, get your backside in front of the PlayStation and play No One Lives Forever if you have not already. It is 100% worth your time!

[@locutusdborg126]

A vote for Quantum of Solace. IMO Fleming is on par with Somerset Maugham as a short story writer and Quantum in particular is a superb story. When I read this as a teenager I did not appreciate it. Now I do. These are to be read for pleasure.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Quantum was Fleming attempting to emulate Maugham's writing style.

[@emhd2363]

Now we need the film review. Good video though calvin

[@iamskyfall]

This is definitely a lower tier Bond adventure, but it is tragic as Fleming died before it could realistically be completed.

[@magnusflugeim1056]

Nice video ☺️☺️☺️ really enjoyed it 👍🏼 subscribed btw. :)

[@alexdas2000]

James Bond can type 007 words a minute

[@rpb583]

I just finished it for the first time, really enjoyed the story and it being a little more brief than others like From Russia with Love, which I got bored with.

[@jac6995]

Mark Hazard sounds like it would the main character from one of the Italian Bond rip-offs

[@iandouglas805]

Good review & agree with your opinion of the book. Probably my least favourite Fleming novel but appreciate his ill health & premature death left it unfinished.

[@DeedUNo]

With a Mind to Kill - its Simply the best continuation 007 book- A.Horowitz acknowledged p.263, readers may notice a few other “easter eggs” here and there: - Bond’s debating with Scaramanga in his mind p.104; - Bond remembering previous arch villains he tangled with Mr Big, Dr No; Le Chiffre, Drax p. 108, - Bond’s mentions his secretary , Loelia Ponsonby p.154 - He remembers the Oriental X train travel in the company of a psychotic Smersh Killer p.113 - plan to assassinate the target at the Berlin State Opera classical symphony - (The Living Daylight) p.237 - the spy who came in from the cold border crossing ending- like, last chapter - Bond remembers Tracy & compares Katya p.246 - last page echoes the last page of YOLT….. Bond keeps…..

[@jhjhjhjhjhjhify]

The whole 'homosexuals can't whistle' thing is apparently a genuine old wives tale. It's probably a bit obscure nowadays though... mostly because it's complete nonsense, but still...

[@iamskyfall]

Will you be including the novelizations in your reviews? Christopher Wood's James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me and James Bond and Moonraker are two of the best novels in the canon, IMO.

[@chrisbellon3739]

The late 90's/early,2000 James bond writer made a short story about James bond 's son

[@jamesatkinsonja]

There is follow up on Bond and Kissy's child but it's a bit odd. [Presumably Fleming must have had plans to follow it up in later books but never got to write them]. John Pearson's 'autobiography' says that the child is a son, also called James, which he is aware of and supports financially but is otherwise an absent father to. John Gardner said as this wasn't part of the film continuity [and maybe also as it was a Pearson embelishment rather than based on Fleming] he was firmly told not to use or even mention the son. Raymond Benson as part of one of his uncollected short stories [included in the UK ominbus of his non-novelisation books] called 'Blast from the Past' [included in the 'union trillogy' collection] did eventually cover it but in a very 'thow away' manner [James Bond wiki describes it as 'alternative continuity'].

[@ENLIGHTENMENT789]

In Fleming's ideas for GOLDEN GUN, Scaramanga took Bond on because he was gay, and sexually attracted to him, however it was thought too controversial and rejected by the publisher's, and this sub-plot was deleted. This was re-introduced by the script writers in Skyfall, for the adversary.

[@jbain4750]

I don't know if Silva was gay necessarily, in my view he was just trying to creep Bond out.

[@davidjames579]

@@jbain4750 Skyfall is influenced a lot by the film of Golden Gun, so maybe the book too?

[@normanby100]

Silva struck me as sexless and was trying to creep Bond out.

[@WH250398]

The Bond 25 news drought is real

[@PungiFungi]

Wasn’t there a girl in the book named Tiffy because her parents have all these daughters and they were named after flowers. They ran out of names for their youngest daughter and named her Artificial.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Yes-Bond meets her around the time he meets Scaramanga for the first time.

[@supermichael9857]

Funny thing is, Archer did the plot line of him being brainwashed by Russia and Assassinating Mallory.

[@vitorafmonteiro]

I do think the actual plot and characterisation in this are top notch, but the travelogue elements take over too much over the rest and make the book sort of uneven, but not bad in quality, which is why some fans do not rank this as highly as the plotting and characterisation alone would.

[@MrHEC381991]

Funnily enough, didn't Christopher Lee know Ian Fleming personally?

[@tpampouk]

They were cousins

[@MrHEC381991]

@@tpampouk Really!? Wow.

[@tpampouk]

@@MrHEC381991 Yeah

[@DAGDRUM53]

Plomer over at Cape let two glaring errors slip into print, ones Fleming himself should have caught. He forgot his character's name is Honeychile Rider not Honey Wilder. And Mary Goodnight couldn't possibly be driving Strangway's old Sunbeam. Dr. No's henchmen crashed a lorry into the car thinking Bond was behind the wheel, both car and truck plunged into a ravine. Nevertheless the Golden Gun book is lean, mean Fleming tapping that golden vein he mined so well.

[@rayvenkman2087]

I imagine had Ian lived to revised the draft and redo the less than polished moments, he would have corrected them. I don’t know how the people who went through the unfinished manuscript didn’t catch the mistakes when they went and assembled the book we have now; it’s why proofreading exists for crying out loud.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

@@rayvenkman2087From what i gather there seemed to be a reluctance to alter Fleming's text [even in a regular 'proof reading' way], probably out of respect-hence why it was published when it's clearly unfinished. They gave the manuscript to Kingsley Amies to critique/suggest ways to finish it but decided to ignore his notes and leave it as it was.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

The Bond files joked that given Bond mentions Honey has got married Wilder is her new last name so isn't a mistake!

[@Matthew-dg6le]

Is there a livestream tonight?

[@calvindyson]

Matt Unwin indeed! In just under an hour :)

[@nickbutterworth6001]

Are you going to review the Bond books written by other authors?

[@stevenhutchison9343]

Listening to your review it sounds like they gave silva bonds assassination of m story in skyfall Because I can totally imagine silva being brainwashed by spectre what do you reckon Calvin

[@tm_1.377]

1

[@aperson22222]

On further review, he doesn’t say that gay men can’t whistle; he says that men who can’t whistle are gay. That doesn’t preclude men who _can_ whistle from also being gay, I suppose.

[@Frikinautas]

A weak effort with an awesome start and a good climax, but that's all. Veeeery slow-paced. By the way, I've read it in Catalan, as I share origins with Scaramanga. A 1965 first edition. I could write a small local legend regarding Scaramanga and that edition, but I would disgress. On to Colonel Sun to close the original Bond cycle (I really don't care about the rest except the Horowitz books, as they're semi-canonical to this original run, as it's Colonel Sun itself).

[@Niala8419]

I think that it is you have a room for me.

[@jonathancampbell5231]

He rejects the knighthood in this novel, but he accepts it at a later date since he has one when Woody Allen tries to kill every man over 5'6 and make all women beautiful.

[@EditedAF987]

That’s a parody movie. It’s not connected to any other Bond timeline

[@jonathancampbell5231]

@@EditedAF987 Yes, I was making a joke.

[@nifralo2752]

Isnt there that rumour that Fleming didnt finish it or was editted by his publisher? Or something

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Fleming completed a first draft but did not live long enough to do any revisions. The publisher did give the novel to Kingsley Aims to read as they was concerned it was 'thin' but despite paying him for his advice, they ignored it and just published it as it stood [despite 'The Rough Guide to 007' incorrectly claiming he did a re-write and giving him a co-author credit].

[@aperson22222]

Such a half-assed book. There may have been extenuating circumstances, but those can only excuse low quality; they can't improve it. I wanted to believe there was some intrigue going on with brainwashed Bond. but he was so robotic, and it was all so obvious, you could really see it all coming from a mile away. After that it's a mediocre tale of running down a generic villain whose nefarious plot couldn't be less interesting. I do actually like that Felix was around for this one (though I'm really starting to question how he can work undercover with such an obvious giveaway as two very specific prostheses) and the highlight of the book for me, such as it was, was when he teased Bond about the obituary that had run for him. You could see him choking back a sob as he delivered those lines: He was not going to admit to how devastated he'd been on learning of his friend's unexpected demise, but you could tell. Somehow it had never occurred to me that Fleming would have done better to have written a book about Bond's ordeals in the USSR, though when you say it, it's so obvious. I really wish Fleming had just stopped one book earlier: Either Bond's death is not a fake-out, or he decides that, after killing Blofeld, he's made peace with himself and is happy to walk away from the Secret Service and into the much simpler and more morally upright life of a fisherman on that charming little island. As for the next book, here's how I rank em: "Octopussy" is a tedious slog that really doesn't matter. "The Living Daylights" is a fun, no-frills basic Bond plot in the same way that most of the stories in the first collection were. (Golden Gun is also a no-frills basic Bond plot, but it's not fun and should not have been spun out into novel length.) "Property of a Lady" is a charming little piece, the highlight of the collection. "007 in New York" is a pointless shaggy dog tale whose ending is so lame I couldn't stand it. It's a shame to make that the last bow of James Bond, it's a line completely unworthy of the long chain of lines that began with the description of a casino at 3 AM. Then there's _Thrilling Cities,_ which I read last month, and _The Diamond Smugglers,_ which I just started. Of course they're very different writings, and being set in the real world, are much less exciting than Bond stories; but they have more charms than either _Golden Gun_ or _Octopussy._

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Francisco " Paco " Scaramanga

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

1974 : Francisco Scaramanga 1989 : Franz Sanchez 2012 : Raoul Silva

[@darcyj19]

Sometimes - and I don't know if it is deliberate on your part - you misquote plot elements. For example, Bond was already using the cover name "Mark Hazard" before discovering that Scaramanga was in Jamaica, and liaising with Goodnight to get organised to investigate. It wasn't a case of Bond and Goodnight "coming up with" the cover. On the other hand, you don't apply enough criticism to weaknesses in Fleming's structure. That Felix Leiter is seconded by the CIA, from Pinkerton's, because of his "prior knowledge of Jamaica gained mostly in company with Bond", is the work of a tired author. Leiter had never been to Jamaica with Bond. The events of Thunderball occur in the Bahamas, and Leiter is half-dead in hospital when the events of Live and Let Die move to Jamaica. Further, the idea that Leiter would go ahead and set up what Scaramanga thinks is Mary Goodnight tied to the railway track? - not a chance. Leiter and the other CIA man, Nicholson, would have taken their already-strong evidence and brought the army down on Scaramanga to avoid all that.

[@auditore5399]

Wait M was originally a man? , Judy Dench totally owns that role i cant see M as anyone else.

[@thedeadlydoctorsthief3695]

Not sure what you've heard about anthony horowitz bond books but his third one 'with a mind to kill' dives much more into the whole brain washing thing

[@astonmartin4360]

Just read it.Thank God they didn't use the story for the movie.It was boring as fuck.Bond working as a Scaramanga as assistant ! Bloody sugar crops.WTF ?

[@kirk1701]

I watched "The Spy Who Loved Me" yesterday. Good to have more Bond content. Raymond Benson revisited the son of Bond and Kissy, but he (the son) dies, IIRC; dying on a mission.

[@johnpotts8308]

Not a great book. The way M just calmly goes, "Oh well, we'll just have to deprogram him, no biggie" was ludicrous, even for Bond. And once he meets Scaramanga I kept going, "JUST SHOOT HIM ALREADY! It is your job!" One where the film is definitely an improvement on the book (IMO).

[@JMcLeodKC711]

The "gay people can't whistle" thing could indicate "M" is gay.

[@jamesatkinsonja]

If I recall, I remember the scene is 'M reads that line, puts the report now, nervously puts his fingers to his mouth, whistles, then relaxes and picks up the report-relieved'! Very strange scene!