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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crackling suspense in an entertaining thriller novel, July 30, 2004
Bond author Ian Fleming was advised by friends to write his second Bond novel LIVE AND LET DIE before he had even tested the waters with his first 007 thriller CASINO ROYALE. Fleming's friends impressed on him that if the first novel failed he would be less inclined to write a second one. His friends need not have worried as is proved by this third 1955 entry into the James Bond literary series.
After some shaky elements in his first two novels Fleming and his characteristic Fleming-sweep, really hits its stride here and he delivers a thriller which is not only consistently ranked as one of the best by fans, but also a personal favorite of mine.
One of the great strengths of this book (as was the case with the subsequent 1979 movie adaptation) is the main villain Hugo Drax. A leading member of British society with a somewhat mysterious background, Drax is ostensibly building a weapon to help protect Britain, but all is not as it seems.
Bond's first encounter with Drax is at the behest of his superior M who is convinced the industrialist is cheating at cards at M's gentleman's club Blades. Bond uncovers the method behind Drax's remarkable winning streak but also effectively turns the tables on him.
In this novel Bond is not the superhero of the movie that would follow over two decades later. This is no clearly more evident than in his rejected advances towards Gala Brand, an undercover policewoman at Drax's plant. Brand is actually one of my favorite leading ladies of the Bond literary series, she is both independent and intelligent and one of the better drawn female characters of the Fleming books.
The plot is low-key enough, the villain suitably overblown and the heroine so irresistable as to make this compelling reading. Drax's monologue towards the end is so well done and Fleming keeps the twists and turns coming at a fast enough pace that the reader can easily overlook the improbabilities and plot holes and simply enjoy the book.
Well recommended, not just for Bond fans but all people who enjoy a good solid thriller.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated . . ., March 27, 2007
Moonraker, the third entry in the James Bond saga, tends to be overlooked by those unfamiliar with Ian Fleming's original novels, largely because almost none of it has made it to the big screen. Practically the only thing it shares with the laughably bad 1979 movie (arguably the worst Bond flick ever) is the title. And the book is even a bit of an anomaly within the series, but nevertheless it's an important book in the Bond canon.
In the first Bond Novel, Casino Royale, Fleming was clearly just starting out both as a novelist and as a chronicler of Bond's adventures. The second Bond book, Live and Let Die, is much more solid and action-packed, and gives us both a Bond and a Bondiverse that are more fully developed. But it's in Moonraker that Fleming really delves into Bond's personality, his background, and his day-to-day life in England. Then, just as we're developing a feel for the daily grind of a 00 agent, Sir Hugo Drax enters the scene . . .
Drax is the most human of all of the bond villains. Mr. Big, Dr. No, the Spangs, and of course Blofeld, often come off as larger-than life megalomaniacs or set-piece villains. But Drax--though he's certainly villainous--is a very down-to-earth one, being lecherous, nasty, tough, smart, and boorish. He, like Bond, is a three-dimensional character, and as such has no villain-equal in the series, except for perhaps Auric Goldfinger.
The plot, too, is more life-sized than those of the later canon. Escapism? Yes, put of an almost-believable kind, especially when set against the backdrop of the postwar U.K. (this is the only Bond novel to take place entirely in England) and the tensions of Cold War Europe. About the plot I won't reveal more, but Moonraker is the most life-sized Bond books and still well worth reading.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kinder, Gentler Bond; Bigger, Badder Drax, May 26, 2004
This is the third review I have done for a 007 novel and as always I will tell the reader that the book is nothing like the film. Forget the pseudo-science fiction of the movies (done to capitalize on the Star Wars craze) this book is a completely different animal.
Plot aside (Moonraker is a super ICBM capable of destroying London; not a space station) the biggest differences are in Bond and mastermind-of-the-hour Hugo Drax. Bond is, again, Fleming's human being as opposed to Hollywood's super-agent (He actually gets TURNED DOWN by his leading lady and you get the feeling he's ACTUALLY A LITTLE HURT). Drax is much more intense in this book, coming off as what today we would call the typical megalomaniacal mastermind (but since Fleming was instrumental in defining such a character, this must be accepted as part of his vision for the 007 mythos).
Lastly, sorry Jaws fans: he's not in here -- but check out the Peter Lorre-like Krebs. He's a good villain too.
All in all, Moonraker was my favorite of the 007 novels thus far. And though the car chase was a more intense clone of the one in "Casino Royale" it did nothing to detract from the enjoyment of this book.
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