The Man With the Golden Gun (James Bond Adventures) [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio Cassette)

by Ian Fleming (Author), David Rintoul (Author, Narrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Agent 007 is pitted against Scaramanga, a deadly archfiend, in a desperate bid to clear his name of treason with Her Majesty's Secret Service. Reissue. NYT. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile
The story feels as if (like Bond himself in this novel) authorFleming were just coming off a rough patch, both mentally andphysically. The one-dimensional plot, the clichéd henchmen, theoverwrought title character all churn through a formulaic 007 tale setin sunny Jamaica. Bond occasionally redeems himself with suaveness,but if it weren't for the restrained and very British performance byRobert Whitfield, this would be a "must-miss." Whitfield, as usual,nails dialect, mood, and pace so well that some listeners mightoverlook the weak story. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland,Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (January 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745159338
• ISBN-13: 978-0745159331
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,620,434 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 13 in The James Bond Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars For Bond completists only, March 11, 2003

By	Jeffrey Ellis "bored recluse" (Richardson, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Man with the Golden Gun (Paperback)

To a certain extent, it feels unfair to criticize The Man With the Golden Gun, the last of Ian Fleming's original James Bond books. It is generally agreed that Fleming, seriously ill while writing this book, died before having a chance to rewrite his initial, sketchy drafts. The book itself was rushed out by Fleming's publishers and therefore, if it often reads like a first draft that's because it is.

This is the book that finds James Bond returning to MI6 after being briefly brainwashed by the KGB. Needing to redeem himself in the eyes of M (who, in this book's rushed characterization, is at his most coldly unlikeable), Bond is sent to take out international assassin Paco Scaramanga, whose trademark is that he kills with a golden gun. As said, the entire book reads like a sketch of an idea (a short story really) and Fleming's prose and dialouge are (through not fault of his own) rough and unpolished. However, the book does have a few good points that are all the more remarkable when you consider the duress Fleming was under when he wrote it. Scaramanga is a potentially fascinating character, a wonderfully image of James Bond as if reflected in a funhouse mirror. Indeed, it is hard not to feel that if Fleming had lived to write a second draft, Scaramanga would be remembered as one of his most memorable villians, in league with Dr. No and Goldfinger. As well, there is wonderfully elegiac about the book's final chapter where Bond spends a few pages considering his legacy as a secret agent and his future in espionage. Fleming, surely knowing that this would be his final novel, uses the chapter to sum up all that he had written over the past 15 or so years and it serves as a nice tribute for the fans of the original James Bond, confirming everything that made us a fan in the first place. The Man with The Golden Gun isn't a book that accurately reflects the depth of Fleming's talent or the potential of the literary James Bond but it still has a few shiny moments that shows why Bond has endured.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The end of an era, August 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man with the Golden Gun (Transaction Large Print Books) (Paperback)

First I have to say, beware of the review by Kevin Johnson below. For whatever reason, his review describes the ridiculous plot of the movie version, not that of the book.

"The Man with the Golden Gun" was the final adventure of James Bond authored by Ian Fleming, and for that reason alone is a classic in the series. While a complete story in itself, it also can be regarded as the completion of an enjoyable trilogy that began with "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and is followed by "You Only Live Twice." That has always been my favorite way to read this book, which I have done every few years.

There are very few books which I am tempted to read again and again as I have with those three. It is fitting that Fleming's last Bond book has Bond returning to the island of Jamaica, which was the setting for two other Bond novels, and was a place that Ian Fleming knew very well, having owned a home there. Like in many of these novels, the setting's ambience becomes as every bit as critical to the story as the characters themselves.

The story is refreshing because of its simplicity. No worlds on the brink of disaster plot here, as in the cartoonish films and Bond novels by other authors. Bond's mission is to assassinate an assassin in an attempt to recover his standing in the Secret Service. And the story unfolds from there.

Those who expect the lack of subtlety of the films will probably deplore this book. But those who have enjoyed the Bond series by Fleming will relish the opportunity to share this last adventure with an old friend. Subsequent authors have never been able to recapture the Fleming magic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting,suspenseful,dangerous, a PERFECT book!, January 21, 2000

By	Kenneth G. Asher (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man with the Golden Gun (Paperback)

This is an incredible novel.Heart pounding from the begging to the suspensful ending.I defenitly reccomend reading this book!