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Thunderball (James Bond (Original Series) #9)

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 4,459 ratings · 177 reviews

"The girl looked him up and down. He had dark, rather cruel good looks and very clear, blue-grey eyes. He was wearing a very dark-blue lightweight single-breasted suit over a cream silk shirt and a black knitted silk tie. Despite the heat, he looked cool and clean. 'And who might you be?' she asked sharply. 'My name's Bond, James Bond ...'"

When a stranger arrives in the Ba...more

Paperback, 258 pages

Published May 27th 2003 by Penguin Books (first published March 27th 1961)

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Feb 06, 2013 Jason Reeser rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a bit mystified by the Fleming legend. First of all, I find his writing lacking. I can fill most of it in with my knowledge of the Bond movies, so I see it all very well, but his style is not so much minimalist as dull. There are very brief flashes of good action--stress on the brief--but these do not keep my interest. Also, the Fleming's Bond, as opposed to Broccoli's Bond, is more bumbling, unsure of himself, and most certainly a whiner. There is little about him that makes me very interes...more I'm a bit mystified by the Fleming legend. First of all, I find his writing lacking. I can fill most of it in with my knowledge of the Bond movies, so I see it all very well, but his style is not so much minimalist as dull. There are very brief flashes of good action--stress on the brief--but these do not keep my interest. Also, the Fleming's Bond, as opposed to Broccoli's Bond, is more bumbling, unsure of himself, and most certainly a whiner. There is little about him that makes me very interested in him. On one hand, this means he is more human, more believable, and a more sympathetic character. On the other hand, he is less of a Titan, lacks that edge that makes us watch him in awe, and even his vaunted cruelty is replaced with pettiness, which is difficult to take in a hero.
There is an odd scene in this one, after he has first met Domino, and spent the afternoon with her. As she drives away, he watches her go, and for little apparent reason, says out loud-- "Bitch." While this is humorous, it makes him look like an ass, and does not fit with his later scenes where he spends time worrying about the fact he has put her in danger and wishing he had left her out of it, to the point it is distracting him from completing the job. One of Bond's more remarkable traits in the movies is his ability to use women as a means to an end without much care as to their well-being. Is this admirable? Not as a personal trait, but as a professional one it is as impressive as it is shocking. But here, in the book, he just sounds like any guy who's too caught up in puppy love.
I suppose I'm being hard on Fleming/Bond, but since he is the poster-child of the tough-guy super-spy, I suppose he can take it.
As for the plot, it is much closer to the movie than I expected it to be. It moves well, and is more plausible than the movie. His characterizations of the principals are well done. Felix Leiter gets quite a complete fleshing out here, including the detail of his metal hook for one hand. That's something we never see in the movies.
Fleming shines best when he is dealing with the slower, more atmospheric scenes; the detail work of spying. I will certainly read more of them (I've read two others already, Casino Royale and The Man with the Golden Gun) if only to get a better perspective on Fleming's Bond. I am not criticizing Fleming's Bond in the above review, only making observations on the differences between the book and the movie. Fleming is not to be blamed for the persona that Bond became on film. But the film Bond is so pervasive in our culture that he cannot be ignored when approaching the books. Perhaps, as I read more, I'll come to prefer this more human James Bond.(less)

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Dec 04, 2007 Matthew rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read all the Ian Fleming James Bond novels in middle school and high school, and this year decided to revisit a few. THUNDERBALL is my favorite of the four I've re-read so far, and I should note that I didn't expect this to be the case at the outset: Not more than five pages in, M., the head of MI6, launches into an extremely weird rant on wheat germ and the inferiority of processed foods -- an odd start indeed for a spy thriller. I guess if 007 is supposed to save Miami from nuclear annihilat...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Bjoern rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads, james-bond, thriller

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 14, 2012 Fred Torphy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thunderball is one of the better Bond stories, and if you're going to pick out one of Ian Flemming's spy novels from the Bond series to read, this one may be the most fun. It has all the classic elements that define the spy genre: a stolen nuke; exotic locations; the gadgets; and excellent villains. But even as someone who was raised on James Bond films (I have my father to thank for that), it's impossible to ignore the blatant chauvinism in Flemming's writing. All of the Bond books feel severel...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Arjun Mishra rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was cringing the entire time that Bond was unbonding and becoming the least recognizable figure of Bond that there could be. It was like the vegan extremists and food austerity impositions squad had performed an inception in Ian Fleming's mind and made him create the weakest, most ineffective, dullest, lolligag of a Bond there could be with the added benefit that he would be annoying, preening, and incorrect all of the time. The first fifty pages were incredibly brutal in this regard, except f...more I was cringing the entire time that Bond was unbonding and becoming the least recognizable figure of Bond that there could be. It was like the vegan extremists and food austerity impositions squad had performed an inception in Ian Fleming's mind and made him create the weakest, most ineffective, dullest, lolligag of a Bond there could be with the added benefit that he would be annoying, preening, and incorrect all of the time. The first fifty pages were incredibly brutal in this regard, except for the part where Fleming set up the plot. I wondered whether M went off his rocker. He took a legitimate complaint of Bond's body being subject to an inevitable breakdown and instead of telling him to ease off the heavy tobacco and alcohol nonstop, he encouraged him to sit in a bath all day while having a cup of tea. The therapy that Bond receives, I am pretty sure, is undoable in terms of what the human body is capable of handling. Considering Bond is a buff, fit, and adult male, there is no way he could consistently live on a cup of vegetable soup and tea with sugar for two weeks straight. What is that, 300 calories and that is being generous? Obviously, Fleming does not pay attention to these details (still has to explain how Bond was in his superb double zero agent shape while puffing three packs of Balkan cigarettes per day), but if a therapy actually practices this, wouldn't that be grounds for a lawsuit? Regardless, this is the kind of stuff that is anathema to Bond and the Bond series because James Bond is predicated on knowing exactly what it is he wants and embodying that. The worst combination of austerity, stupidity, and prattishness was not a welcome change. Actually becoming Bond and getting on with saving the world from SPECTRE was a welcome change.

SPECTRE posed a legitimate threat to the world order and global stability, but the villains were hardly drawn out. There were far too many of them and the leaders were only given an introductory shake. The plot was overwhelming, confusing, and weak after that. Vitali and Largo were given some flesh as characters but hardly enough. The entire operation of this book seemed to be botched from its tragic beginning, underdeveloped characters, and promising yet confusing ending. Fleming is allowed a free pass here and there, but there are way too many negative aspects occurring simultaneously. (less)

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Jun 30, 2012 Jerome rated it 3 of 5 stars

It started off with an interesting premise with Bond being sent away to become healthier. This fascinated me because a lot of authors will never address some of the realistic flaws of their hero. After the interesting and amusing incidents in the beginning though, the novel descends into dry and boring scenes and dialog. It is by no means bad, but I expect a bit more out of Fleming who's elegant writing style always impresses me. The book picks up near the end in a climax which is almost worth t...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

First published in March 1961, Ian Fleming's ninth James Bond book out of an eventual 14, "Thunderball," is one of the best of the bunch. Of all the books in the Bond canon, it is the one with the most complicated legal history regarding its authorship, film rights and royalties. Much has been written elsewhere regarding the complex litigious battles surrounding the book, and I will confine myself here to saying that "Thunderball" was originally written as a screenplay--by Fleming, Kevin McClory...more First published in March 1961, Ian Fleming's ninth James Bond book out of an eventual 14, "Thunderball," is one of the best of the bunch. Of all the books in the Bond canon, it is the one with the most complicated legal history regarding its authorship, film rights and royalties. Much has been written elsewhere regarding the complex litigious battles surrounding the book, and I will confine myself here to saying that "Thunderball" was originally written as a screenplay--by Fleming, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham--for what was to be the first Bond film. When this production deal fell through, Fleming wrote his novelization alone, leading to the aforementioned, decades-long brouhaha. This is an important book in the Bond series in that it introduces us, for the first time, to Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the criminal genius who would later figure in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "You Only Live Twice" (the Blofeld Trilogy, Raymond Benson has called it), as well as the terrorist organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E. In the book, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. manages to hijack a NATO Vindicator aircraft and steal its two atomic bombs, with which it ransoms the U.S. and the U.K. for 100,000,000 pounds. Bond is sent by his boss, M, to the Bahamas on a hunch and there teams up with his old C.I.A. buddy Felix Leiter. They combat S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s Emilio Largo, aided by his mistress, Domino, and ultimately (and I don't think I'm really spoiling anything for anyone at this late date), with the aid of 10 Navy frogmen, engage in an underwater dukeout with Largo's men as the first bomb is being laid.

The so-called Fleming effect (the author's ability to create a sense of absolute realism and engender complete credulity on the part of the reader by a laying on of convincing detail) is very much in evidence in this book; indeed, the amount of detail is really quite incredible. I hadn't read "Thunderball" since the '60s, and can't imagine how I managed to appreciate it back then; even now, I required the aid of a good atlas, a dictionary AND the Interwebs to investigate the 147 obscure references that I encountered therein. (Really, how many of us remember the "Ah, Bisto" gravy ad? John Griswold's "Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories" might indeed be a worthy investment!) The book comes off slightly dated in parts, with references to New Providence's Infield Road (now J.F.K. Drive), Diner's Club cards and the U.K.'s Ministry of Health (now the Department of Health), but the basic plot--a terrorist group laying its hands on nukes--is, sadly, more relevant and timely than ever. At one point, Bond muses that pretty soon, "every tin-pot little nation would be making atomic bombs in its backyards"; a bit of prescience on Fleming's part, five decades ago. The novel is swift moving and tense, with Bond constantly wondering if he's following a false lead and really mucking things up. The fondly remembered Shrublands section at the beginning, during which Bond goes for a rest cure, features some humorous moments, as Bond is almost converted to a healthy lifestyle! This soon changes as his difficult case begins; during his first day in Nassau, he consumes, by my count, a vodka tonic, two double martinis, a double bourbon old-fashioned, two more martinis and a stinger...10 mixed drinks! That's my James! Domino, it must be said, turns out to be one of the most appealing and spirited of the novels' "Bond girls," and Largo a worthy adversary. All in all, some extremely impressive work by Fleming.

Inevitably, comparisons to the 1965 filmization come to mind. (I will refrain from discussing the 1983 filmization, "Never Say Never Again," which is inferior to the 1965 picture in every department.) Although a book is most often fuller, richer and deeper than the film that follows, it turns out that in this case, both have their strengths. The "Thunderball" novel is certainly more realistic, especially as regards that climactic dukeout (mechanized underwater transports in the film; S.P.E.C.T.R.E. CO2 guns vs. Navy knives stuck on broom handles in the book). The slaying of Petacchi, the Italian airman who steals the Vindicator, is, I think, better in the film (a slit-air-tube drowning in the film vs. a quick knifing in the novel). The Shrublands sequence is far better and more sensible in the book, however; this section has always been hard to follow in the film...plus, I have always disliked Bond's sexual blackmailing of Patricia Fearing, his Shrublands nurse, in the picture. Bond's reconnaisance of Largo's hydrofoil yacht, the Disco Volante, is far superior in the novel, too; the film excises the entire, exciting sequence with that nasty barracuda. Bond's discovery of the sunken Vindicator is also far more effective and grisly in the book. In the film, Blofeld is never really seen (except for his lap and that darn cat!); in the novel, in a very fascinating section, we learn his complete background and history. "Thunderball" the movie tends to get a bit scattered and sluggish at times (don't get me wrong...it's still one of my personal top 100 films), whereas the book is quite compact and really moves! What the film does uniquely offer, to its credit, is a character not present in its source novel, and that is the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. assassin Fiona Volpe, memorably portrayed by Luciana Paluzzi. She is a wonderful character, and perhaps the best of the Bond "bad girls" (not counting Rosa Klebb, who I have trouble regarding as a "girl"!). "Thunderball" the movie is bigger than the book, perhaps inevitably, and a smashing entertainment (filmed for $9 million, the picture made almost $29 million and was the third top grosser of the year, after "Doctor Zhivago" and "The Sound of Music"), but is it better than the book? In all, I'd have to say no. The book is not perfect, and Fleming surprisingly makes a few flubs here and there (S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is said to have assassinated a French "heavy-water specialist" named Peringue in chapter 6, but in chapter 8, he is named Goltz, for example), but it sure is as entertaining as can be. "It is the sort of melodramatic nonsense people write about in thrillers," Domino tells Bond at one point, referring to one small part of his plan of action, but most readers shouldn't mind one bit, as the Fleming effect hurtles them along. This is some wonderful, exciting and classic stuff, indeed.(less)

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May 25, 2010 Zohar - ManOfLaBook.com rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Thunderball", the ninth Bond novel, is the first of the "Blofeld Trilogy" (continued with "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and concluded with "You Only Live Twice" intercepted by "The Spy Who Loved me").

The novel begins with M, MI6's head, sending James Bond, our hero, to a two week vacation in a health clinic due to poor health caused by lots of drinking and smoking sixty cigarettes a day.

Of course, nothing for our hero goes smoothly and his vacation is smudged by an assassination attempt b...more

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Mar 04, 2010 F.R. rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Bond originally conceived by the movies was very much a creature of the 1960s (despite his comments about having to listen to The Beatles without earmuffs), the Bond of the books however is a 1950’s gent through and through. In 1961’s ‘Thunderball’, the Second World War veteran Commander James Bond is briefly forced face to face with the younger generation and sneers at their cheap self-assertiveness, duck-tail haircuts and desire to be Tommy Steele. It seems that something I can look forwar...more

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Nov 21, 2009 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: spy-fi

James is in poor shape it seems, 60 cigarettes a day (think of that today...where'd he even find a place to smoke that often?), oh and he drinks a lot to. So M sends him away on a little vacation to recouperate...again. And of course as seems to happen each time James goes away to rest, someone trys to kill him.

What a life huh?

I enjoyed these adrenalin soaked reads, they do after all have their charms. This one is no less exciting, smothered in cold war paranoia we get stolen nucs here with the...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

* The ninth Bond book.

* Fifth appearance of Leiter, first appearance of Blofeld.

* Fleming's back in top form (after the disappointment of Goldfinger) in this, the novel that introduces Blofeld and SPECTRE (though Bond doesn't get to go after Blofeld here and doesn't even know he exists).

* High stakes--two stolen atomic warheads--and a solid plot that begins on an amusing tangent as Bond is forced by M to spend a couple of weeks in a sort of health spa to clean out his system.

* Exciting climax, a...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Paul Lyons rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Though not as enthralling as the 1965 film, Ian Fleming's "Thunderball" novel is still an interesting read. Significant is the fact that this ninth James Bond novel was the first to feature important elements from the nearly all of the early 007 films...namely Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and the evil SPECTRE organization. Reading about these James Bond antagonists was worth the read alone...as it provided valuable insight into what is only hinted at in the James Bond movies...

There is much to like abo...more Though not as enthralling as the 1965 film, Ian Fleming's "Thunderball" novel is still an interesting read. Significant is the fact that this ninth James Bond novel was the first to feature important elements from the nearly all of the early 007 films...namely Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and the evil SPECTRE organization. Reading about these James Bond antagonists was worth the read alone...as it provided valuable insight into what is only hinted at in the James Bond movies...

There is much to like about "Thunderball." The plot is especially good, and filled with danger. One of the great things Fleming does (which is fairly absent in practically all of the Bond films) is that he introduces a strong touch of doubt in the mind of Bond, and his choices through out his story. For almost the entire book, Bond is never quite sure if his hunches are sound, and whether or not his instinctual suspicions about the larger-than-life Largo are just. Unlike the films, Ian Fleming's James Bond is far from a superhero...and in fact he is quite vulnerable, and often relies on others for help. As an example, it is not Bond, but his CIA pal Felix Leiter who figures out that there must be a connection between Bond's interaction with Count Lippe at the health spa (which put Lippe in the hospital), and the timing of The Letter which was sent by Lippe (on behalf of SPECTRE) to the British Prime Minister. I am still amazed that James Bond never realized that on his own.

Largo is a great villain, and his verbal sparring with Bond at the casino is priceless...with Bond goading the criminal with the constant mention of the word "Spectre" in as many sentences as he could. Yet unlike the film, Largo still doesn't get that Bond is British Secret Service. In the book, the names "James Bond" is not well-known among the criminal elite...so he uses it freely, and openly. Domino is one of the better Bond women...smart, strong, sexy, and very imaginative. Her story about her "Hero" on the cigarette box was unusual, yet interesting.

Another great thing about the book, is James Bond's strong friendship with Felix Leiter, his partner in crime the previous Ian Fleming Bind novel "Casino Royale," "Live and Let Die," and "Diamonds Are Forever." The films never quite captured the strong (forgive the pun) BOND between the two men.

Despite all of the good, I can't say that "Thunderball" was an easy read. Some of Ian Fleming's vernacular throws me, and at times I was not able to understand who was speaking. I didn't enjoy the smooth flow of story as I did with say..."Casino Royale"..."Moonraker" or "Doctor No." The story itself was a great one, yet I missed the simplicity of Fleming's earlier books. That said, I'd like to re-read "Thunderball" sometime...now that I better understand the lay of the land.

(less)

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Jan 24, 2013 Seth Madej rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thunderball is an important novel to 007 nerds for a bunch of reasons: it's the first story (arguably) in which James Bond is sent to save the world from villainy; it debuts said villain: Bond's arch rival SPECTRE and its leader Blofeld; it's based on a treatment for what was intended to be the first 007 movie, that Ian Fleming cowrote with Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham and which led to a legal battle that affected the franchise for 40 years; and, it turns out, Thunderball is better than an...more Thunderball is an important novel to 007 nerds for a bunch of reasons: it's the first story (arguably) in which James Bond is sent to save the world from villainy; it debuts said villain: Bond's arch rival SPECTRE and its leader Blofeld; it's based on a treatment for what was intended to be the first 007 movie, that Ian Fleming cowrote with Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham and which led to a legal battle that affected the franchise for 40 years; and, it turns out, Thunderball is better than any of the Bond books that came before it.

It'd be dismaying that the 007 series highpoint comes from a story that isn't wholly Fleming's, if it weren't for the fact that what makes Thunderball great is the one thing specifically left out of a movie treatment: detail. From outlining the precise mathematics of how a hotel bar stiffs its customers by dunking oversized olives in its martinis, to using the way a bratty cabdriver combs his duck-tail as a metaphor for the decline of the British social fabric, Fleming fills the novel with such obsessive detail that he seems to be compensating for not having written the plot himself.

But that's fine. It's not a particularly fascinating plot (bad guys steal some nukes and threaten to use them if they don't get paid), so it's Fleming's triviality that bring the book to life, especially when its twisted through his weird fetishes. He debuts SPECTRE via an exacting board meeting that paints the group not as a paragon of supervillainy but as more of a sociopathic actuarial firm. He devotes a chapter to the inner monologue of the treacherous pilot Giuseppi Petatcchi as he steals an atomic bomber and murders its crew. He gives Domino Vitali (one of his few female leads to rise above ornamentation) a life fantasy imagined from the picture of a sailor printed on her Players cigarettes pack, and has her tell it to Bond as he casually fantasizes about raping her.

Yes, 007's still a scumbag at heart here, but a manageable one, because Thunderball puts him into a world so rich that he becomes the booze spiking a punch that's delicious enough on its own.(less)

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May 16, 2013 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars

A formula that works,though the effect of watching too many Bond films clearly has bitten into my psyche like one of the barracudas that feature in the under-water sequences.There,...I can't but help putting things in a cinematic way! Readers of 007 novels will have the strange feeling of deja-vu...the faces of notorious film actors looming up out of the pages at you like so many ghostly & vicious spectres!! The plot just about survives the long voyage to the climax; 'Thunderball' is one of...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Emperador Spock rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bond-novels

A real gem among Fleming's Bond novels, despite the overly grandiose villain plot, the story doesn't go insane or put Bond in the centre of the world as its sole hero and saviour (up until the culmination, perhaps) and presents a good share of solid detective work by Bond and his partner, and lots of captivating action in the end. Even the Bond girl this time has trace amounts of depth in her, which after several previous debacles gives hope that in the rest of the series Fleming actually put so...more

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Aug 06, 2010 Howard Olsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the central books in the Bond ethos. Fleming references "Operation Thuderball" throughout his oeuvre, and it's the only Bond book that has twice been made into movies. (Serious movies, not the goofy original "Casino Royale"). It's also the last traditional Bond book. After this one, Fleming started screwing with Bond: marrying him off, widowing him, sending him to Japan where he becomes Japanese, getting him brainwashed by the KGB, and having him try to assassinate M.

The story is excitin...more

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Oct 23, 2012 David McClelland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

Thunderball is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a James Bond novel. It's a pretty solid thriller, and I'd argue that it's actually better plotted than the movie of the same name. It's a little more subtle in its characterizations, with Felix Leiter and Domino Vitali both being better developed than their film counterparts. The literary Bond also tends to be a very well fleshed-out character, and he has a certain edge to him that I don't think the movie adaptations were really able to c...more

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Jan 06, 2009 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

Thunderball has proved the longest slog of the Bond books that I've read so far. The plot is relatively weak, and the prose is leaden and bloated. Nothing seems to happen for huge sections of the book, and the final climactic scene is incredibly hurried and clumsily written.

On the plus side, this is the first time we encounter Blofeld - probably the best known of the Bond villains. However, although the reader gets to see the man at work, Bond does not. Blofeld's only appearance is at a meeting...more Thunderball has proved the longest slog of the Bond books that I've read so far. The plot is relatively weak, and the prose is leaden and bloated. Nothing seems to happen for huge sections of the book, and the final climactic scene is incredibly hurried and clumsily written.

On the plus side, this is the first time we encounter Blofeld - probably the best known of the Bond villains. However, although the reader gets to see the man at work, Bond does not. Blofeld's only appearance is at a meeting of SPECTRE, his organisation, where he outlines his plans to raise a hundred million dollars. Basically, the baddies plan to steal two nuclear weapons, and then threaten to detonate them in populated areas to extort the cash out of the Western governments.

Blofeld seems promising as a villain. Largo, the main villain responsible for executing the plan, however, is a cardboard cut-out - bland, heartless and proud.

The first third of the book seems to be only tangentially related to the rest of it. M decides that Bond is looking a little out of sorts, and bundles him off to a health farm, where Bond happens to encounter a NATO pilot, who has been bribed by SPECTRE to fly the plane carrying the nuclear weapons to the Bahamas. This wasn't an encounter that M had planned, it was pure chance... and Bond's intervention leads to some alteration of SPECTRE's plans. It seems like a phenomenal coincidence.

Oh, you want an example of some clunky prose, how about this gem from the start of Chapter 7, when Bond is still in the health farm;

James Bond scraped the last dregs of yoghurt out of the bottom of the carton that said 'Goat milk culture. From our own Goat Farm at Stanway, Glos. The Heart of the Cotsworlds. According to an authentic Bulgarian recipe.' He took an Energen roll, sliced it carefully - they are apt to crumble - and reached for the black treacle. He masticated each mouthful throughly. Saliva contains ptyalin. Thorough mastication creates ptyalin which helps to convert starches into sugar to supply energy for the body. Ptyalin is an enzyme. Other enzymes are pepsin, found in the stomach, and trypsin and erepsin found in the intestine. These and other enzymes are chemical substances that break up the food as it passes through the mouth, the stomach, and the digestive tract and help absorb it directly into the blood-stream.

OK, I confess - this section is illustrating the tedium of Bond's life at the health farm... but, really, did we need that? I've read a quarter of the book by this stage, and nothing's happened yet!

Anyway, I guess my conclusion is that this is really the first of the Bond books that I've actively not enjoyed. I've only got five of them to go - let's hope that it wasn't less involvement from subeditors on Fleming's later work to blame.(less)

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Mar 21, 2012 Geoff Sebesta rated it 4 of 5 stars

I can think of no higher praise for this book than to say that I made it almost to the end before I realized that I had seen the Bond movie "based" on this book. It was actually the exact Bond movie that made me swear off all Bond movies as pure seventies stupidity.

I'm only mentioning the movie to emphasize how it has nothing to do with the book whatsoever, and then move on.

Fleming writes some ripping good yarns. They're cynical, propagandistic bull-poop, but they aren't boring, and they're writ...more

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Aug 14, 2011 thom rated it 2 of 5 stars

God I'm bored of this story. If you read the James Bond books, and see the James Bond films, you end up getting this story three times. This is one of the earlier versions, but it's the last I've come to. After Thunderball the film (which is Connery's third-weakest film), and Never Say Never Again (which is Connery's second-weakest) I read this bored with the tedious plot.

Still, I guess of the three, this is the more interesting version. At least you get a bit of Felix Leiter, and the diving sce...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Steve Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

James Bond comes back in his ninth book and for the first time finds he has been pitted against SPECTRE - The Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion - and its evil genius leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The hero first crosses swords with SPECTRE’s Count Lippe on an enforced visit to the Shrublands health farm to recharge his batteries.

SPECTRE has hijacked a Royal Air Force Vindicator bomber from a training exercise that was equipped with two atomic weapons, an...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Margaret rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: english, mystery, read-for-university-classes, spies

Thunderball, the first of the Blofeld trilogy within the Bond series, derives its name from the operation that Bond and the CIA (meaning Felix Leiter) collaborate to recover two stolen atomic weapons. Wait there's more! The reader has to traverse a greatly humorous section where Bond goes to a health spa, essentially old fashioned version of detox clinic, because of M's recommendation. Of course there is some intrigue and before long Bond is back on the case (and eating red meat again).

Thunderb...more

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Mar 19, 2008 Ivy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: road-trip-read-alouds

James Bond books are always good for reading aloud in the car during a road trip. Lots of car chases that you can imitate in real-time, and lots of sex scenes to keep the driver listening. Pop a Shirley Bassey or Tom Jones tape in the stereo to set the mood.

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Jul 28, 2009 Jeff rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my personal favorite Bond novel. It introduces SPECTRE and Ernst Starvo Blofeld and is just as exciting (if not more so) then the 1965 movie of the same name.

The action and drama just click in this book and I could just never put it down. The plot of atomic warheads being stolen and held for ransom was great but unfortunately created legal drama that would last up until Fleming's death and beyond. The details are too complex to get into but basically this novel was originally supposed t...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just finished "Thunderball" and "The Spy Who Loved Me" over the past two weeks on my way toward re-reading the entire Fleming canon. I have to say what's most attractive about this journey for me is not so much selecting a favorite Fleming, but observing in one fell swoop (so to speak) how Fleming improves as a writer and becomes more comfortable with his main character. Next title on my list is, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", the Bond novel I've been anticpating most.
So after Fleming, wh...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Bond staggered over to the bed and knelt down beside it. The small head on the pillow turned toward him. A hand came out and grasped his hair, pulling his head closer to her. Her voice said huskily, "You are to stay here. Do you understand? You are not to go away."

When Bond didn't answer, she feebly shook his head to and fro. "Do you hear me, James? Do you understand?" She felt Bond's body slumped down on the rug beside her bed. She shifted her position and looked down at him. He was already asl...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Sun rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookaweek2009

It's been about a week since I finished reading this and all I can remember is the fantastic beginning. I don't believe there was a plot, but it was such a fun start with the heavy-drinking James Bond paying a visit to a health spa (of all places) as recommended by M. There, He endures fasting and endless 'treatments' with cups of sugary tea and a droll sense of humour. Then he's sent overseas to investigate the possibility that stolen atomic bombs have been hidden in the islands. There's an evo...more

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May 14, 2013 David rated it 1 of 5 stars

Probably a 1.5 star rating would be more accurate. Fleming can write an entertaining action sequence, which keeps this book from being a total disaster, but overall this is an instance where the movies are superior to the source material. A certain Neanderthal attitude towards women is to be expected in an adventure novel written over 50 years ago, but Fleming's characterization of the women in Thunderball really was disgraceful. The story also tended to meander a bit, with digressions into M's...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Kalilah rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoy the way Flemings writes and it's kinda fun to experience the literary James Bond for a change. The story starts out well but becomes a little muddled and lost by the end. Bond is his chauvinist, mischievous self, but somehow comes across as a bit sleazier than he does in the films. I love the way he analyses people he encounters as it gives interesting insight into how special agents determine their approach when trying to persuade and influence assets, but I was also a little weirded ou...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Dom rated it 3 of 5 stars

I challenge you to read a James Bond novel such as this and NOT picture Sean Connery amidst the action. Obviously dated (Fleming wrote it 50 years ago), many might find the cultural and/or gender themes awkward. But if you can look past that you'll find the recipe that propelled several 007 novels to the top of best-seller lists.

As expected, the tale differs substantially from the big-screen version, and allows us inside the mind of a character we normally view only as an action hero. It's inter...more

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About Ian Fleming

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond and chronicling his adventures in twelve novels and nine short stories. Additionally, Fleming wrote the...more

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Quotes from Thunderball

“It’s just that I’d rather die of drink than of thirst.” — 13 people liked it

“Women are often meticulous and safe drivers, but they are very seldom first-class. In general, Bond regarded them as a mild hazard and he always gave them plenty of road and was ready for the unpredictable. Four women in a car he regarded as the highest potential danger, and two women nearly as lethal. Women together cannot keep silent in a car, and when women talk they have to look into each other’s faces. An exchange of words is not enough. They have to see the other person’s expression, perhaps to read behind the others’ words or analyze the reaction to their own. So two women in the front seat of a car constantly distract each other’s attention from the road ahead and four women are more than doubly dangerous for the driver not only has to hear and see, what her companion is saying but also, for women are like that, what the two behind are talking about.” — 8 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177194.Thunderball?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309203336l/177194.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/177194.Thunderball?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Thunderball by Ian Fleming[/url]

Thunderball (James Bond (Original Series) #9)

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