From Russia, With Love by Ian Fleming

Summary:
Because of his involvement in foiling the plots of Le Chiffre(Casino Royale), Mr. Big (Live and Let Die), and Hugo Drax (Moonraker), James Bond has been declared an enemy of the Soviet Union. They've issued a death warrant for him and started a plot to both kill and discredit him.

Tatiana Romanova is called up by her superiors to help trap Bond.  She claims to want to defect because she fell in love with Bond's photo in his file.  Unbeknownst to her, there is a much larger plot and it involves Bond's death.

Tempted with the thought of a young girl falling in love with him via a picture and with the promise of a Russian Cypher, James heads out to Istanbul, Turkey to recover them both.  Along the way they have to dodge death threats and a serial killer who only kills at the full moon.


Response:
The first 11 chapters are missing Bond entirely.  We spend time in mother Russia and learning about SMERSH and how their organization works.  It feels to me a lot like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles in which there is very little of Sherlock Holmes because the author didn't want to write about that character any more.  I wonder if Ian Fleming was also growing tired of James Bond at this point.

I find it very interesting to see Bond mourning the loss of his relationship with Tiffany Case, from the previous novel in the series.  We learn that she left him for an American ambassador and has returned to her home country.  He is nursing this broken heart when he's told of the Russian Girl's obsession with him.  Which leads him to ponder whether or not he can follow through with his mission.  Can he pretend to return affection when he, himself is so injured.

Also we see again, as in Live and Let Die, that Bond has a certain amount of fear when flying. Certainly he was on plane in Diamonds Are Forever, but it seems that he fears small planes and flying through storms.  You see him reason through his fear, "how old is the plane?"  "has the pilot had enough flight training?" etc.  It's nice to know that he's not this indestructible archetype that is presented in the movies.

I was disappointed with the negative treatment of females by Darko Kerim and I don't feel that the female lead character is nearly as strong as in the previous novels.  She needs to be protected and is merely a pawn in everyone else's larger game.

Diamond's Are Forever by Ian Fleming

Summary:
James Bond, 007 is sent to infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring.  The ring started in the mines in Sierra Leone and ends in the United States. Bond's mission is to travel down the pipeline to uncover those responsible. Tiffany Case, is his first contact in the pipeline operated by "the Spangled Mob."  Together they follow the pipeline from London to New York and then to Las Vegas. 

Seraffimo Spang suspects that Bond may not be who he claims to be and has him captured and tortured. Tiffany's help him escape from Spectreville aboard a and assisted by Leiter, Bond and Case escape.  They kill Spang in the process and shut down half of the pipeline.  Bond and Tiffany board the Queen Elizabeth to travel to London. But Wint and Kidd kidnap Case while en route.  They plan to kill her and throw her overboard but Bond rescues her.  


Response:

Felix Leiter isn't dead!  I'm so glad he recovered from that shark attack in Live and Let die.  Because of his missing arm and leg, he's had to resign from the FBI, but he has a new job with the Pinkertons and is able to help Bond with his Mafia case.

Unlike the movie, there is no Blofeld or Howard Hughes type character.  There is no oil rig and no space attack on nuclear weapons.  There is still a scene with a mud bath, but in a totally different context.

I'm actually very pleased with the character of Tiffany Case and I'm continually surprised with the level of independence Fleming gives to his female characters.  I'm very sorry that this didn't translate over to the films.  We actually see Bond fall in love with another woman (after Vesper) and treat her well.

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.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming

Summary:
James Bond, 007, is fed-up with the Secret Service and is contemplating tendering his resignation when he runs into Countess Theresa "Tracy" di Vincenzo whipping through the streets of France in her car.  He saves her from committing suicide and her father attempts to force him to marry her.   Bond clearly states that he is not the marrying kind, nor is Tracy in the healthy mindset necessary for such an undertaking.

Back in England, Bond gets a lead on Blofeld's whereabouts and poses as Sir Hilary Bray in order to convince Blofeld to leave Switzerland.  While at the mountain resort Blofeld has been using for his headquarters, Bond encounters several young English women who are undergoing treatment for agricultural allergies.  Unbeknownst to the women, they're being brainwashed to use chemical warfare on Britain's agriculture.

Bond is able to stop Blofeld in time, but the villain escapes to fight another day.

Response:
Second in the so-called Blofeld Trilogy, I wish I had read these books in order. There are many references to previous adventures - including Casino Royale and Thunderball - that I understood because of the films, but still felt like I was missing some important information.

I was surprised by how closely the film followed the novel but was surprised by the emotional aspect of Bond.  After sleeping with Ruby, his internal monologue expresses regret at having to lie to her to get information. We see him seriously questioning why he does what he does and what he wants for his future.  In the film, it's very difficult to see this internal struggle.
Personally, I prefer the Character of Tracy Bond in the movie.  She's much more independent and I understand why Bond would marry her.  In the book, she's more of a secondary character who lets men make decisions for her. She's described in terms of how Bond reacts to her and not about her as an individual at all.

Written during the same time that the first Bond film, Dr. No, was being filmed, there's a sly reference to this film in the novel.  While dining at Piz Gloria, Irma Bunt tells Bond that they get all kinds of celebrities.  She then points out actress, Ursula Andress.

Louise de la Valliere by Alexandre Dumas

Summary:

Now that the turbulence has passed, we're able to see what life at court is really like for the next generation.  Instead of wrestling for power in war, we find the members of the court vying for position through romantic intrigues and political maneuverings.  Focusing more on the Vicomte de Bragelonne and his peers, we're seeing that the older generation has become dissatisfied with the new order, but only Athos is content to retire to his property.

Response:

The poor Vicomte de Bragelonne, has been utterly heartbroken and I find it difficult to be angry with Louise de la Valliere.   On the one hand, she didn't realize she wasn't actually in love with Raoul until she fell completely in love with the King.  The King, never having really been loved by a woman, is immediately drawn to Louise.    I am, however, angry with Princess Henrietta for suggesting Louise as a possible cover for the illicit affair she was having with the King.  Without this suggestion, the King would not have been in a position to overhear Louise's confession of love and she might have gone on to marry Raoul after all.  Though, if she wasn't actually in love with the Vicomte then perhaps this was all for the best.

The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later

Summary:

Ten years after the close of Twenty Years After, and thirty years after the events at the end of The Three Musketeers, We find that d'Artagnan has lost his position as the Captain of the Musketeers and has been demoted back to Lieutenant.  He is a personal body guard to the King and has become very disenchanted with his lot in life.   The Cardinal rules over Louis with an iron fist to the point that Louis is unable to help his friend, Charles II, to reclaim his throne in England.

Aramis is now the Bishop of Vanne, Porthos is aiding him in his political machinations, and Athos is desperately trying to control the budding romance between his son and Louise de la Valliere while fulfilling a promise he made ten years earlier.

D'Artagnan asks for leave to retire from the Musketeers and undertakes the task of returning Charles II to his father's throne in England.  Unbeknownst to him, Athos is attempting the very same thing.  Soon all is resolved and Charles is returned to power.

Response:

I was surprised to see D'Artagnan so quickly demoted after the events of the previous novel and concerned about the weakness of the King.  But was greatly impressed at the way Dumas bends his story to fit the historical framework.

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas

Summary:
Twenty Years after the events of The Three Musketeers, France has a new King, a new Cardinal, and d'Artagnan hasn't progressed past his promotion to Lieutenant in the Musketeers.  The four friends, d'Artagnan, Aramis, Athos, and Porthos, went their separate ways in the end of The Three Musketeers, but are reunited only to discover they're on separate sides of the intrigues at court.

Athos is now a father and living comfortably on his estates in the country.  He takes an interest in the political intrigues against Cardinal Mazarin and then  goes to England to help King Charles I fight for his kingdom during the English Revolution.

Aramis is an Abbe, but is experiencing a case of the "grass is greener."  While a Musketeer he dreamed of joining the church.  Now a member of the clergy, he dreams of his days as a Musketeer.  Aramis joins Athos in his quest to help the British Monarchy.

Porthos is a widower and has come to realize that all his riches are useless without someone with whom to share them.  He's persuaded by d'Artagnan to work for Cardinal Mazarin for the spirit of the adventure and a promise of a baronetcy.

Response:

I was slightly disappointed to find that d'Artagnan hadn't progressed much past the final pages of The Three Musketeers.  There's a new cardinal and a new king, but he seems lost without his friends around.  He goes to seek them and discovers that Aramis and Athos are on the opposite side of the political unrest in France.  They actively support the deposed king of England and are endeavoring to have Charles reinstated.  D'Artagnan and Porthos are the agents of the Cardinal who only supports Charles' efforts in words.

One of the more touching scenes in my opinion is the failed rescue attempt for King Charles.  Clearly, we know that history and that there is no hope for Charles, but with every turn of the page I hoped Dumas would write an alternative ending.  I wanted the Musketeers to succeed and possible have a fake executed in Charles' place.  But, alas, Dumas stays true to the facts and we are left with this beautiful scene of Athos trapped under the gallows during the execution.  It's something I would love to see in a film one day - if it hasn't already been attempted.

I'm looking forward to the next few novels and the further adventures of these men.  Though I read a spoiler the other day that makes me hope it was wrong.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Summary:D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, on a yellow horse, to make his fortune but finds himself caught up in the political intrigue at the court of King Louis XIII.  Foiling attempts by Milady de Winter lands him permanently on her bad side and thwarts the plans of the Cardinal Richelieu.  With the help of his new friends, the Three Musketeers, d'Artagnan is able to navigate these tumultuous times and win his heart's desire - a Lieutenant's Commission with the Musketeers.


Response:The Three Musketeers has always been one of my favorite novels.  I read it for the first time after seeing the Disney Movie, starring Chris O'Donnell, at the age 12.  I remember it being entertaining and immediately declaring it my favorite.  Though, looking back now, I think this had more to do with the film than the actual book.  Over the years I've reread it several times and find something new each time.  When I read it at 20, I laughed out loud at some parts. At 27, the historical aspect of the stories intrigued me and I realized there was actually witty banter between the friends.  At 33, I'm more interested in views on women and the characterization of Milady de Winter and Constance.  Obviously, this says more about me as the reader than it does about the author or the time period in which it was written.

Based on real life events and  Les mémoires de M. d'Artagnan, by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras, d'Artagnan is an interesting character, to say the least.  In the first novel of the d'Artagnan Romances, by Dumas, he's portrayed as headstrong and, at times, impulsive but also very clever in his dealings with the royal court.  There are events in the novel which make me think d'Artagnan is simply an asshole and yet we see how loyal he is to his friends.  He's an imperfect character much in the same way that we are imperfect people and I love this about the novel.

An event, that I think will be revisited in the next novel of the series, Twenty Years After, will be the advantage taken with Milady de Winter.  While searching for his lady love, d'Artagnan becomes enamored of  Milady de Winter.  When he learns that she is actually in love with the Comte des Wardes, and is merely stringing him along at Richelieu's orders, d'Artagnan disguises himself as des Wardes and sleeps with Milady.  It's in this manner that he learns Milady's true identity and her terrible secret.   Even though *Spoiler Alert* Milady is executed at the end of the novel, d'Artagnan will have to face consequences for this action, possibly at the hands of des Wardes.

Changeless by Gail Carriger

After reading Soulless, Book 1 in the Parasol Protectorate series, I simply had to pick up Book 2 and, again, I have not been disappointed. Gail Carriger has the ability to write a fantastic story that just draws you in.  (I'm already starting on book 3, Blameless.)

I am very pleased with this series. The characters are engaging and well rounded.  It's like the child of an Austen novel and insert your favorite vampire/werewolf novel here (Except that one - you know which one I mean).  I would reccommend this to anyone looking for an intelligent and fun series. 

***Note: if you have not read Soulless or Changeless, there may be spoilers in this post.  Also, the links to Changeless on Amazon contain several major spoilers***

Changeless opens with Alexia immersed in her new life as Muhjah to Queen Victoria and wife to Lord Maccon.  She has to deal with Werewolf politics and a strange type of plague of Humanity upon the Supernatural set.  Her investigation takes her to Scotland where she becomes acquainted with Lord Maccon's former pack.  Spies, assassination attempts, and a passel of bickering women follow her.

My new favorite character is Madame Lefoux.  She dresses in men's clothing, loves to tinker with technology, and has great chemistry with Alexia.  I love how, even with her association with Lord Akeldama, Alexia is completely oblivious to Madame Lefoux's attraction to her.  I kind of see her as Alexia's Q, supplying her with all sorts of fun gadgets and an interesting ally.  What I love most about her is that she refuses to play by society's rules.  Alexia doesn't care for most of the societal rules, but she is still guided by them, and while she greatly admires Madame Lefoux's practical clothing choices, I don't think she could bring herself to "cross the line" that much.

I won't spoil too much, but I just have to say that the ending broke my heart.  Throughout the entire book, we see how much Lord and Lady Maccon truly care for one another and the ending just made me weep openly.  It was quite fortunate that I was reading into the wee hours of the morning and my roommate didn't see me sobbing over the pages.