Vintage Classics Moonraker: Read the third gripping unforgettable James Bond novel

Forget the 1979 film made in haste to jump on the space bandwagon that Star Wars started rolling... the only thing that shares with this book is its title and the name of the villain. The book is vastly different to the film, and is - as the title of this review says - the archetypal Bond story, encapsulating perfectly the best bits of 007: a despicable yet believable villain; a stylish hero with superb cerebral acuity; msaterful building of suspense; moments of hard-hitting action; a genuinely gripping story; and, yes, a wonderful card sequence (an outstanding achievement: who could have thought a game of Bridge could be so exciting and easy to follow for a reader who understands nothing about it?!).Having read all of Fleming's Bond, this stands out at the top of the pile - just edging it ahead of From Russia With Love and The Blofeld Trilogy.

Reading again after many years I am very happy to be brought back to the roots of the modern phenomenon but I recommend reading this and all the Bond novels for their own sake and not as film comparisons. The writing in the 1950s and 1960s is very different to the expectations of the film makers and cinema audiences of later years and whilst some films bear a resemblance to the books (some don't), at best they all contain additional embellishments (and some wild ones at that) and some are all but completely different story lines resembling the book in little but title only. It's important to realise the era in which these books were written, three books before the first satellite (sputnik 1957) and nine before the the first communication satellite (Telstar 1962) so non of the space age technology of the films existed at the time. As a film, Roger Moore's space shuttle exploits I found a little cringe worthy as opposed to good old fashioned secret agent original in the book.

Of all the James Bond books this one is to me the most far-fetched and puzzling. It is well written and Fleming is on top of his craft but the plot and its credibility have more holes than a Swiss cheese. For example - the famous sting at bridge in Blades when Drax gets a hand stuffed full of honours only to hear Bond bid a Grand Slam must've made him suspicious if he's any good as a player. As he is a cheat himself he must know he's being cheated but goes on and re-doubles the bid. Then the whole security around an intercontinental ballistic missile built by unrepentant Nazis plotting to destroy London. Was there no security? Only poor old Major Tallon who is easily dispensed with. And it would have been clear that the nuclear bomb came from the USSR; everybody would know that there were only three nuclear powers at the time, so the conspiracy would be tantamount to the Russians firing it themselves. Then why does Drax want to kill Bond and Gala by blowing up the white cliffs of Dover? Surely there are easier ways (and it failed anyway). The list goes on - right up to the government of the time covering up the fact that a nuclear bomb landed in the North Sea sinking a Royal Navy submarine that just happened to be flying the flag of the Soviet navy having zoomed up the North Sea in no time at all. A good yarn but too far-fetched

FLEMING hit his stride with his third Bond offering. He gets the balance right between suspense, character and description. Bond is a more interesting hero than the comedy thug of the movies, and the villain’s shocking back story is not revealed until the end. 007 doesn’t get the girl who is more his partner in arms than simple love interest.The narrative stays in England, apart from flashbacks, and this gives it a tight focus. The descriptions of driving show an infectious love of cars, similar to the way that Hemmingway’s characters would share his passions.He might not tackle the deep issues that Graham Greene does, but Fleming is still a great writer. The Rider SongThe Rider Song

This is an early James Bond. Story is good and well written. Completely UK based (no nice beaches and bikinis). Glad they got a film out of it.