Moonraker by Ian Fleming

Summary:
Called in by M, on a personal favor, to expose a cheat at Blades, James Bond finds himself going to head to head with Hugo Drax.  Sir Drax is the current war hero who seems to have England's national security at heart.  Bond easily defeats Drax in the card game and all seems to be resolved until a mysterious double murder takes place at Drax's facility.

In the interest of national security, and because of M's intuition, James Bond is sent to ensure that the Moonraker project is completed without any further complications.  While investigating the double murder with MI5 undercover agent, Gala Brand, they discover that Drax is former Nazi masquerading as an Englishman so he can release a nuclear bomb on London.

In their attempt to thwart Drax's plan, Gala and James are captured and tied up under the rocket so that they will be killed when it launches.  They're able to escape and come up with a plan to re-route the rocket.  Their plan is not only successful, they kill the enemy scientists in the process.

Response:
Another strong female character from Ian Fleming.  If it weren't for Gala Brand, Bond would have never figured out Drax's plan nor would he have been able to reprogram the gyros to save London.  She's the first woman where Bond finds himself worried that he's taking a relationship seriously.  Unfortunately, she's already engaged to be married and they only have a brief flirtation while saving England.

I was surprised that this novel did not involve an Ark in Space as was shown in the movie.  In fact, the novel never left English soil.  Jaws is nowhere to be found in the villain's henchmen either.  Elements of this novel are more in keeping with some of the plots in Die Another Day.

Three novels into this series and I find that, even though more than 60 years has passed since it was written, we're still concerned with the same things.  Countries are concerned about their national security and finding counter methods to defend their borders.  Readers are also concerned about the traitor in our midst:  Casino Royal - Vesper Lynd, English woman blackmailed into betraying her county. Live and Let Die - Mr. Big, an American who is recruited by the Russians to undermine American interests.  Moonraker - Hugo Drax, English Mother/German Father who sides with Germany in WWII and then returns to England to exact revenge.

It's really quite fascinating to read these novels in the historical context.  Though I find the language both sexist and incredibly racist at times, it gives a snapshot of the concerns and fears of the people at that point in time.  The novels were successful because they incorporated both fantastic and realistic elements into a single narrative.

Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

Summary:

James Bond is sent by M to New York City to investigate gold coins that have been turning up in Harlem and Florida. While in New York, Bond is reunited with Felix Leiter. The villain, "Mr Big"is an agent of SMERSH and is smuggling the gold by placing it in the bottom of fish tanks holding poisonous tropical fish. He is also holding a woman, named Solitaire, against her will because she has the ability to read the future and tell when people are lying. Solitaire saves Bond by lying to her captor and then later joins bond on a train to St. Petersburg, Florida.

In Florida,  Solitaire is taken captive again and Felix is partially eaten by a shark while investigating. This sends Bond to investigate the enemy's warehouse himself.  He is attacked in the warehouse by the "Robber" but is able to escape.  The discovery of the fish tanks leads bond to Jamaica where he meets Quarrel.   

who gives Bond training in scuba diving which allows Bond to swim through shark- and barracuda-infested waters to Mr Big's island.   Bond is then able to foil the enemy's plan, rescue Solitaire, and escape to safety.

Response:

I was quite surprised at the differences between this book and the movie.  First of all, I felt that Solitaire was much more independent in the book and Bond was less of a rake.  In the film, Bond tricks a virginal Solitaire into sleeping with him which winds up taking away her power of foresight.  In the novel, not only does not sleep with her on page but there isn't this terrible connection between her virginity and her power of foresight.  I will refrain from commenting on this with a feminist view point but it did make me very glad to see the this did not originate with Ian Fleming.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how Bond is shown building up his strength for his mission.  He spends a week swimming and training before entering the villains lair.  You just don't see this part of Bond in the films at all - he's almost this superhero kind of spy who can literally do anything and everything with very little effort.  In the novels, he has to study and learn about each mission which makes it much more realistic even when the story elements stretch to fantasy.