Moonraker: A James Bond Novel (James Bond, 3)

It’s an obvious fact that the early Bond movies more closely resembled their namesake novels, probably because they had the advantage of being made not long after the novels themselves were published. Since Moonraker, the third novel in the Bond series, was published in 1955 but its subsequent film was not released until 1979, the two entities share only two elements in common: their titles and main protagonists. But even those two elements are common in name only. While the Moonraker in the film was one of a group of identical shuttles provided by Drax for the space program, the Moonraker in the novel was a one-stage rocket with an “operational range of about 4,000 miles, bringing every European capital within reach of England.” The Hugo Drax in the film, played by Michael Lonsdale, was a rich, cultured, well-mannered entrepreneur with a wry wit and a God-like hidden agenda to re-populate the Earth with perfect humans of his own choosing, causing him to steal and kill to fulfill that end. In the novel Hugo Drax is a man of unknown origins found injured during World War II. He is a red-haired, broad-shouldered, disfigured, self-made multi-millionaire who through his work in metals has discovered Columbite and produced a rocket to protect England, making the philanthropist a national hero with a knighthood. He is also a loud, boorish, bullying man who bites his nails and, to the chagrin of M, “cheats at cards” at M’s club Blades where they are both members. Roger Moore, portraying Bond for his third time, looks nothing like the Bond in the novel who is in his “middle thirties” with “grey-blue eyes”, a “scar on his right cheek” and “the comma of black hair above his right eyebrow.”What I’m trying to say is that no matter how ridiculous or over-the-top one dismissively considers the movie version of Moonraker with its emphasis on outer space that even includes a fight sequence in orbit reminiscent of the one in You Only Live Twice, one finds that the novel Moonraker, while a “spy novel” or “thriller”, fits in neatly behind its predecessors for one big reason that I love. The book takes the time to flesh out the details of Bond’s world and all of its British spycraft intricacies. James Bond lives in a flat off the King’s Road. He drives a 1930 Bentley with a .45 Colt in the glove box. His office, which he shares with two “00’s”, is on the eighth floor, one below M, of Universal Export Co. His secretary is named Loelia Ponsonby. He actually reads reports that are pertinent to his duties at his desk, not in some high-ceilinged, echoing room surrounded by every “00” available. He has two or three missions a year and, at the time of the book, is eight years from being removed from the “00” list. He smokes Macedonian blend cigarettes with three gold rings from Morland’s of Grosvenor Street which he lights with his Ronson lighter.In the film Bond gets briefed once. In the novel Bond gets briefed before the mission by Assistant Commissioner Vallance of the Special Branch, physicist Professor Train and the Ministry of Supply. His contact working undercover as Drax's secretary is Gala Brand, a member of the Special Branch of Scotland Yard, not Holly Goodhead working for the CIA. In the film Drax Industries and its subsidiaries are scattered around the globe. In the novel Drax’s complex is located in one place – the coast of England near the white cliffs of Dover.Though a work of spy fiction, I believe Moonraker, along with the other novels, provides a wealth of detail into the life of James Bond, rooting him closer to reality than the films do. At his flat and in his office, James’ life seems more mundane and routine, filled with tedious tasks that require his attention. Once on a mission, though, he is thrown into extraordinary circumstances and fantastic situations which may be less believable but are all the more exciting for the contrast they provide.By the way, Drax's plan in the film is revealed early on to the audience and more gradually to Bond as he investigates. In the novel, revealed in a well-written plot twist, Drax's plan, while not as far-reaching as the one in the film, is no less diabolical considering his standing among the people of Britain.I look forward to re-reading and re-discovering Fleming’s world of Bond as I continue through the series.Whether you like the films or not, I hope you will keep an open mind and give the novels a chance. I know, people complain about Bond being chauvinistic and misogynistic but, remember, these novels were written in the 1950s and '60s. Despite the cancel culture of today, those eras existed and are history, warts and all.

If Ian Fleming arguably set the template for James Bond's adventures with his second novel, Live and Let Die -- exotic locales, beautiful women, incredible escapades -- he immediately turned what has become the standard "Bond formula" on its head with his third novel, Moonraker. The action of Moonraker never leaves England, the resulting product a tautly-scripted suspense novel that is my favorite entry (thus far) in the series. The novel opens with Bond settling in for what appears to be a routine week of office work, until he is summoned to an unexpectedly personal meeting with M to discuss Bond's impressions of the latest media darling -- Sir Hugo Drax, industry magnate, whose plans to build a super rocket for the defense of England, with a range covering Europe -- the ultimate military deterrent in the new post-war nuclear age. But M has discovered something disturbing about the enigmatic "savior" of England -- Drax is a card cheat. Bond earns Drax's ire by trouncing him at a high-stakes bridge game -- a rivalry that makes Bond's temporary homefront reassignment to Drax's missile project, replacing the recently-murdered security officer. With the help of a beautiful and savvy Gala Brand, an undercover Special Branch operative, Bond is determined to protect the Moonraker project from sabotage, but the threat to England's best hope for nuclear security is closer than he ever dreamed. With the missile's test launch mere days away, Bond and Gala find themselves caught in the midst of an insidious plot to strike at the very heart of England against an enemy who will stop at nothing to silence their investigation.I loved this book. LOVED it. If Fleming had stopped here, I'm convinced that this novel and Casino Royale would have marked him as a master of the spy thriller. If Bond -- and by extension, his creator -- are known for outlandish plots, stereotyping, and the objectification of gorgeous women, Moonraker dares to crush those assumptions with Fleming's deft plotting and characterizations. First published in 1955, Fleming's nuclear missile storyline plays into the public's newly-awakened postwar fears concerning the possibility of a nuclear war. And by placing the entirety of the action on English soil, Fleming brought those fears home to his readership. The Blitz had awakened England to the realization that their island state was not immune from enemy attack, a realization and a fear that Fleming explores through first the hope of the Moonraker as insurance and the fight to keep that technology from turning on the very public that embraced its aim and its creator.Like Casino Royale, easily a good third of this novel is set around the action of a pivotal card game. I simply adore reading Fleming's accounts of Bond's battles waged across the length of a card table. This is a plot device that could easily misfire in the wrong hands, but Fleming was clearly a master of his craft and an adept at cards. With his economical, fluid prose, his account of Bond's schooling of Drax at bridge is masterfully done. The depths to which Fleming used this construct to explore both Bond's psychological state as well as his opponent's are extraordinarily well done, a suspenseful sequence that is a brilliant set-up for the action that follows against the broader scale of the Moonraker launch and the threat of sabotage against the heretofore flawlessly run project.Bond is at his best here, the perfect mix of dedicated agent, patriot, and very human, very fallible man capable of great feeling, with an equally great capacity for triumphs and failures. His counterpart here is Gala Brand, far more than typical "Bond girl" eye candy -- this is a character with surprising (considering the source) fire, intelligence, and training, more than capable, as Bond reflects, of hitting him where it hurts. *wink* While Bond is still Bond, physically desiring Gala, in a welcome twist she is a capable investigative partner, one who likes him, but manages to refrain from succumbing to his "legendary" charms. They make a memorable pair, and I love their relationship arc -- well done, Fleming.Drax is a fascinating character. Per the Bond formula norm, he is a larger than life spectacle, full of annoyingly crass manners, limitless funds, and apparently rock-solid patriotism. I've always been fascinated by the idea of sleeper villains (such as Raymond Shaw in the shortly to-be-published 1959 classic The Manchurian Candidate), and pair that with a plot involving a Nazi plot a decade in the making -- it's the recipe for a surefire success. Drax is full of self-loathing, hell-bent on destroying his childhood and wartime demons through a brilliantly-conceived long con that might have succeeded -- if not for his inability to resist cheating at cards. In him, Fleming has crafted a unforgettable arch-villain with a surprisingly human Achilles' heel.Sadly for Bond film fans, by the time the franchise looked to adapt Moonraker to the big screen Fleming's intimate little plot was largely discarded in favor of an attempt to cash in on the Star Wars craze, which is tragic when once considers the strength of the source material. Interestingly enough, though, I was struck by Drax's similarity to Toby Stephens's Gustav Graves in Die Another Day (only with the added spectacularly weird genetic therapy thing). Moonraker is a fantastically good outing in the Bond universe, a brilliantly-plotted, solid thriller that delves unexpectedly deeply into the psyche of Britain's most enduringly famous secret agent. This, my friends, is why Bond is a classic.

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.

The James Bond of the films, particularly the early films, is a hedonist who seems to have no doubts. The James Bond of the books is a more rounded character. He suffers doubts. He reacts to pain like a human being, not a super being. He allows himself to be swayed by prejudice. He is far more real, and he doesn't necessarily get the girl.Similarly, the villains are more rounded, and, consequently, more frightening.I am working my way through the books, and so far this is the one that I've enjoyed the most, and also the least like the film. We see Bond suffer doubts, and real pain, both physical and mental.Hugo Drax is a villain in all ways, he looks like a villain, he talks like a villain, and he acts like a villain, but not a Hollywood villain, a caricature, he is a villain you might meet, if you were unlucky. What I enjoyed about the book was that it examines in depth the man's character, and shows how evil can be disguised so that someone as savvy as Bond can be fooled.A thoroughly good read. I'd certainly recommend it.

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.

Having read Live and Let Die I was tempted not to continue with reading the Bond books. Having been an avid fan of the films the second installment of Fleming's creation did nothing for me after the wonder that was Casino Royale. I am pleased to say that Fleming brings Bond back with a bang. Very different to the film, Bond is again working hard in only a way he can to try and save Britain once again. You start the book, knowing he is going to do it. That is not the fun part. For me it is the way that Fleming develops the character of Bond, his relationship with M and the introduction of Drax as the villain. Each an ingredient in the delightful cocktail that is Moonraker. A must for any lover of Bond.

The third Bond novel and Fleming has absolutely hit his stride. I have no interest in cards but the description of a high stakes card game totally ramps up the tension and grips like a Bond film pre-credits sequence. Entirely England based, almost completely different to the movie version (which ironically is probably the most overblown of the series, fun though it is) and with absolutely the best 'Bond girl'-a tough woman with agency, this is a classic thriller whether you are a 007 fan or not.