Moonraker

I finally just finished this I know its been awhile; overall I didn’t find this outing of James Bond as enjoyable as the previous title.  That being said I do think that Moonraker has a plot that is worthy of the darker tone that the Bond franchise has taken with Daniel Craig in the staring role.  The villain Hugo Drax is similar to that of Silva in Skyfall by instigating a terrorist attack on England for its participation in WWII against the Nazi’s is a highly relevant plot due to the events of the last decade.  Again if the movie had stuck more to the source material there is no denying that this would have been an instant classic.  There is a level of tension felt in this book unlike the previous title where the reader along with Bond has mixed feelings about Hugo Drax in one chapter you admire this character & in the next you loath him; this cycle repeats throughout most of the book.  The ending is somewhat anti-climactic considering the great build up throughout the book. 

Live & Let Die

Compared to the previous novel Live & Let Die is a fraking riot.  This is an awesome book in reading this book the biggest surprise is how much this source materiel has been mined for multiple Bond films.  I came across at least three different scenes in this book that have appeared in different movies.  Part of me wishes that the Live & Let Die movie was this good but another part of me is glad the material has been mined for multiple movies.  I am really looking forward to the next volume in the series.

Casino Royale

I just finished reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale.  This is nice introduction to the James Bond character.  In comparison to the movie with Daniel Craig everything is pretty much the same except for what I would consider three major differences.  The first of which is that Le Chiffre is working for the Russians since this is set in the cold war era & that the game they are playing is high-stakes baccarat instead of Texas Hold’m Poker.  The second of which is that the organization S.M.E.R.S.H. is behind Le Chiffre’s death instead of Mr. White & the Quantum organization.  The third difference is the death of Vesper Lynd is less redeeming & it makes her betrayal to Bond less of conflicting & just part of the job.