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Moonraker (James Bond (Original Series) #3)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 5,888 ratings · 355 reviews

Moonraker, Britain's new ICBM-based national defense system, is ready for testing, but something's not quite right. At M's request, Bond begins his investigation with Sir Hugo Drax, the leading card shark at M's club, who is also the head of the Moonraker project. But once Bond delves deeper into the goings-on at the Moonraker base, he discovers that both the project and i...more

Paperback, 247 pages

Published December 31st 2002 by Penguin Books (first published April 5th 1955)

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Apr 05, 2013 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to say MOONRAKER didn’t have as much action as either of the two previous James Bond novels. At least at the beginning anyway. Sure there was the consummate card game and torture scene, but neither hit as hard or as fast as what happened in CASINO ROYALE. But this was certainly an entertaining read, even though the female characters seemed to wilt at the first sign of trouble, or at least gave the distinct impression of the likelihood of such an occurrence.

I know it’s too much to ask (and...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Mike Jensen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A mixed bag, this book. Fleming’s third Bond novel recycles a number of plot elements from CASINO ROYALE in more or less the same order. The McGuffin is different, of course, and that keep certain scenes fresh. Fleming seems addicted to torture. There is scene after scene of Bond bleeding and dripping blood on the floor, but somehow, when the rest of us would be dead, he soldiers on. Couldn’t he duck under a desk and be OK just once? Not with Mr. Fleming as the author.

Critics of the series compl...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Teri Heyer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves James Bond.

Recommended to Teri by: Amazon/Kindle & 007 movies.

I finished reading 'Moonraker' close to midnight last night. Loved it! Drax is as bad as can be, Gala Brand is tough and gorgeous and 007 is, well, the invincible "Bond, James Bond." This one has a bit of a slow start with a high-stakes game of bridge, but then the action picks up and blasts off just like the rocket, Moonraker. So if you're a James Bond fan, this is a must read.

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Nov 10, 2009 russell barnes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, 20th-century

V cool. Again, nothing like the film - no space stations, cable-car battles or Jaws. Just boring old Dover and a rocket, but it's marvellous. Quaintly dated rather than amusingly so like some of the others I've read this year, he doesn't even get the girl!

Although she is called Gala Brand, and they do survive a cliff falling on them, so it does maintain a certain level of ridiculousness I expect from Bond.

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Dec 05, 2006 Otis Chandler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, adventure, spy

I'm a huge james bond fan. Always have been. I read a bunch of the books back in high school, but missed this one. I love the books as much as the movies. Fleming brings the character to life in a very different way from the movies - more human, more vulnerable. Plus the its always interesting to see the differences between the plot of the movie and the book. In this one for instance, there was no space station, no Jaws, no plot to populate the planet with a super-race. But there was the million...more

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May 18, 2013 Kacey rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've been a fan of James Bond for years, having watched all of his movies and seeing the character change as each director interpreted his adventures differently. This is my first exposure to Bond as he was in the novels, and I must say it's an entirely different experience! Not in a bad way, but it's definitely a new perspective.

I had some trouble with this novel, and it was nothing about the writing style or the storyline. The scene with the bridge game comes to mind. I don't play bridge so I...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Bob Price rated it 3 of 5 stars

Funny thing....Moonraker had nothing to do with James Bond going into outer space.

If you are only familiar with the movie, then you be tempted to skip over Ian Fleming's Moonraker, the third James Bond novel. The movie deals with James Bond discovering Hugo Drax's secret plot of taking over space and then thwarting that plan with the help of the mysteriously named Dr. Goodhead. Along the way, Bond fights the evil Jaws and has a bunch of kooky adventures and discovers laser beams.

Amazingly....non...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, fiction, thriller

I have been reading the Bond books in order. This is #3. This is the first book that Bond felt closer to the movie-version Bond. Fleming seemed to make Bond a bit more stylized here, at least until the end.

Reading these books really takes me back. Bridge plays a big part of this story for the first third of the book. I suspect most folks under 40 know little or nothing of the game these days. It was prominent here for it was prominent then. I have forgotten the movie version, but I imagine the g...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Aaron Weinman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Being a Gen-Y’er – the first Bond film I watched was Goldeneye, and even that for me was difficult given I was still in single digits. So it was with great shame, that I reveal, this, Moonraker, was my first Bond novel. So I’ve had to trawl through several reviews (good and bad) in order to gain more insight into the background, but upon completing it, while the dialogue did drag on at times, you can’t argue that Fleming’s prose is fantastic. He employs some really thorough techniques, especiall...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Clark Hallman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

Fleming published Moonraker, the third James Bond book, in 1955. Like the other 007 books, Bond is portrayed as a very competitive, resourceful, adventurous, dedicated, and violent British secret agent. Of course his love of fine cars (especially his Bentley) and beautiful women (in this case an undercover agent for Scotland Yard with whom he shares several life-threatening and a few sensuous hours). The book begins not with an official case, but with M asking Bond for a personal favor. He asked...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Arjun Mishra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature

This was enjoyable. The story involved high stakes, the criminal was established from the beginning through an innocuous conduit, and it took place in England ! Whereas Bond is usually racking up miles and gallivanting with exotic international women, he is home-bound and tracking a domestic criminal with international ambitions.

Being far removed from the 1950s, I cannot understand the constant fear and anxiety felt by the threat of a nuclear attack. From what history shows, the threat was reen...more This was enjoyable. The story involved high stakes, the criminal was established from the beginning through an innocuous conduit, and it took place in England ! Whereas Bond is usually racking up miles and gallivanting with exotic international women, he is home-bound and tracking a domestic criminal with international ambitions.

Being far removed from the 1950s, I cannot understand the constant fear and anxiety felt by the threat of a nuclear attack. From what history shows, the threat was reenforced by governments that amped up their defense spending and pursued all kinds of weapons headlong. The idea of a moonraker works brilliantly within this scheme, portraying itself as the new weapon in a world dominated by invented weapons. It gives Britain great pride to have its own citizen - a decorated war hero, nonetheless - conjure the device. The telltale signs are there that something is rotten in the state of England (only Germans working on the device, ingeniously playing on the fear of a revanchist West Germany), yet the desire to have a defensive device to protect against USSR attack surges England into ignoring all other alternatives and throwing its stock behind this device. The rationale for the device and pursuing it are interwoven with the existing social norms, and I care for social history and accuracy, so that hit a positive note with me.

Sir Drax plays the perfect criminal. His cheating in the super duper exclusive Blades club becomes apparent and even begins to make sense as Bond unravels the plot and the mystery. A full Nazi who is still seething at the mouth from what he considers betrayal against the Hinterland (sounds like WWI language, as well), he devises a ploy to destroy what has become his surrogate country. Having deceived everyone into believing that he was a decorated British war hero, he uses his monopoly on Columbite and goodwill to be the lead in creating the moonraker. Everything fits beautifully and nobody suspects him until trouble brews. It is simultaneous with his card fiasco the week of the test launch. What confuses me, though, is if Drax is a Nazi in hiding, why does he have a Jewish partner at Blades? Blades, by the way, was exclusive beyond anything I could ever comprehend. Seriously, what is the point of replacing yesterday's money with freshly printed money. It is the same amount, same currency. Today's one pound note is yesterday's one pound note. I suppose the ever exclusive aura of the club brings pride to its 200 members.

Being that the story is set in England, Bond actually has a chance with a British girl. Gala by herself is nothing special and Fleming seems to intimate as much. There is no long and drawn out dalliance that requires Bond dig deep into the core of his seduction and pull out all the stops to woo her. She is cold and detached from him at first owing to her suspicions about his horny intentions and then they get comfy with each other at the beach. Simple enough. As he is wont to do, Bond falls head over heels for her, despite the machine like nature of his service. This results in great disappointment because she shuns him at the end, just as he exclaims about great plans for a fully expended vacation throughout France and Germany.

Adding some more depth to the story, Fleming finally introduced us to M and how he operates. Despite not knowing, I think we are to assume that he is slightly out of character because Bond is working so closely with him, but M is shown to be careful and competent as a leader, as well as well-connected and powerful. We are given insight into what Bond does when he is not on assignment - report to work, eat lunch, drink coffee, and go home. His life is the diametric opposite of what it is when he is actually in the clutches of death and excitement. He is literally waiting for his next opportunity to save the world and imperil himself while doing so. This happens twice or thrice a year and then Bond goes into retirement. This necessary background information fills out the picture of who Bond is and how he operates. We are still waiting for an origins story, though this is not a comic book.

There is an attractive aspect of Bond's character that I absolutely love. He knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. This does not parlay well all the time with the womenfolk, as Gala shows, but knows his drinks, food, cards, people, psychology, etc. The hero must have the proper physical attributes, but he rounds himself out into a super hero with the requisite mental strength and ability.
(less)

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Jun 30, 2012 Jerome rated it 2 of 5 stars

Moonraker has a good premise, a very human and quirky main villian who has an interesting background, but the pace of the book is really slow. James Bond doesn't even fire his gun the entire book. I don't expect Bond to shoot someone every page, but he doesn't even engage in combat. There is very little hand-to-hand combat, a couple car chases, and no gunfire. If there is only a little action, I expect deep and thoughtful espionage to substitute, but the book doesn't give you that either. There...more

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Jun 02, 2012 J.C. Greenway rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What is there that can possibly be left to be written about Britain’s favourite secret agent that hasn’t already been said a million times before, by feminists, by film reviewers, even by distinguished literary gents? While the cover art is calculated to have any teenage boy’s blood racing – girls! guns! rockets! – this book delivers on both the book and recent film versions of Casino Royale’s promise of a more appealing, albeit less charming, Bond.

What you know are to become key elements of the...more What is there that can possibly be left to be written about Britain’s favourite secret agent that hasn’t already been said a million times before, by feminists, by film reviewers, even by distinguished literary gents? While the cover art is calculated to have any teenage boy’s blood racing – girls! guns! rockets! – this book delivers on both the book and recent film versions of Casino Royale’s promise of a more appealing, albeit less charming, Bond.

What you know are to become key elements of the films already exist here. Bond’s love of gadgetry and the high life are evident, whether that is fine tailoring, his Ronson lighter for use on his own blend of cigarettes, or the little flat off the King’s Road. He drives a Bentley, rather than an Aston Martin, an older, classic model he takes pride in racing against foreign engineering, at least until he totals it.

Yet while aiming for effortlessness in all this acquisition, Bond is only one loss at cards away from ruin. We see him chafing at the daily routine and ploughing half-heartedly through the paperwork just like any other office worker, although in the privileged position afforded to a senior civil servant, he is no idle playboy. When away from London on operations, he has a Leica camera in one pocket and a Beretta in the other but perhaps more telling are the gadgets he lacks: having to drive to the next town to telephone allies in Scotland Yard or waiting for essential information to arrive by telegram.

Also lacking is any contact with anyone he isn’t working with or for. Perhaps this lack of companionship is compensated for by being surrounded by women, of course possessed of a beauty that mere mortals can only dream of. Whether it is the carefully selected waitresses of the gambling club M frequents, the steely Secret Service secretaries, or a ‘severely competent’ police woman, the lucky fellow rarely encounters a plain woman. Yet central female characters Gala Brand and Loelia Posonby – though crazily named – are also blessed with a quiet strength, essential to keeping the battered and broken Bond on his feet throughout the action.

Though Fleming laments that Posonby is approaching an age where:

'Unless she married soon, Bond thought for the hundredth time, or had a lover, her cool air of authority might easily become spinsterish and she would join the army of women who had married a career.'

Perhaps this is not the terrible fate he makes it out to be, and it is arguable if a quick tumble with 007 would be a better one, especially as he is facing a similar destiny. His own prospects for a long and happy retirement seem slim, after all. Although contemplating certain death with hopelessness after torture and near defeat, he never questions the rights and wrongs of the power the Service wields over his life. He is good at the essentials of his job, his boss is decent, that is enough. Bond is far more of a bastard than you remember, quite a lot rougher around the edges and unafraid to fight dirty if circumstances dictate. Able to pass with the Lord Basildons of this world, but not quite of them:

'Bond knew that there was something alien and un-English about himself. He knew that he was a difficult man to cover up. Particularly in England.'

Perhaps it is his misfortune that the exotic locations so fundamental to the films are passed over for this tale, which largely happens within sight of the White Cliffs of Dover in the usually sleepy South of England. Moonraker’s plot delivers such atomic age fears as a rogue scientists, cities laid waste by the most powerful rocket ever built and an unsettling yet impolitic mistrust of those who have gone from enemies to allies in the blink of an eye.

It is a cracking read, belting along at a great pace and lending a warmth and a human side to its characters that you would perhaps not believe existed if you had only watched the films. You may think you know all there is to know about James Bond, but you won’t until you experience him on the page.(less)

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May 20, 2012 Phil rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bond novel #3 is Moonraker. Odd how they filmed the books in such a random order. Books 1, 2 and 3 - written in 1953, 54 and 55 were filmed in 2006, 1973 and 1979. Well, I say filmed, but other than the villain's name of Hugo Drax and the idea of a rocket, almost nothing from the novel Moonraker ends up in the film Moonraker (which would be why a second "James Bond and the Moonraker" novel could be written by another writer): so there's no Holly Goodhead or steel-toothed Jaws or shagging in spac...more Bond novel #3 is Moonraker. Odd how they filmed the books in such a random order. Books 1, 2 and 3 - written in 1953, 54 and 55 were filmed in 2006, 1973 and 1979. Well, I say filmed, but other than the villain's name of Hugo Drax and the idea of a rocket, almost nothing from the novel Moonraker ends up in the film Moonraker (which would be why a second "James Bond and the Moonraker" novel could be written by another writer): so there's no Holly Goodhead or steel-toothed Jaws or shagging in space or Bond flying a space shuttle and shooting down rogue satellites in the book.

However, having said that, this is far more like the films than either of the previous two novels. In fact it almost feels as though Fleming intended this to be filmed from the start. The action is sharp, the card games are about cheating at cards rather than being better, the travelogue-feel is left behind and there are moments of real tension. Bond now feels like a lady's man rather than a closet wife-beater and the spying actually feels like spying. Having said that, the writing itself is still pretty terrible and it's only the story that keeps things moving. It's starting to be clear that had Dr No not been filmed in 1962, Fleming's novels would probably have been silently left to go out of print.

Other things I've learned from this book: all criminal masterminds in the world of Ian Fleming are either incredibly fat, facially disfigured, or disabled - preferably, all three at once. Secondly, any woman you work with will be kidnapped and you'll be caught by the criminal mastermind while trying to rescue her (this has happened in all THREE Bond novels so far and it's starting to get thoroughly boring). Thirdly, Bond would almost certainly have died of emphysema rather than catching any terrorists - he smokes enough to kill the Marlbrough man: in Casino Royale, he gets back from a night at the card tables and lights his 70th cigarette of the day (yup, seventieth!) he's also an embryonic alcoholic, drinking a bottle of scotch almost every day (Haig and Haig, naturally - god Fleming's boring when he comes to brand names and snobbishness about food and drink and fashion - Jackie Collins / Carrie Bradshaw have absolutely *nothing* on Ian Fleming for product placement) Finally, just like in the movies, Criminal Masterminds won't just shoot you in the head, they'll leave you tied up to be killed by an over-elaborate third party (in this case, the exhaust of the giant rocket).

Next up is Diamonds Are Forever (Bond #4), in which I hope a woman won't be kidnapped and Bond won't be caught trying to rescue her.(less)

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Mar 23, 2012 John Wilson rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, ian-fleming

What exotic locale does James Bond visit in the third novel in the series? The exotic far east? The Swiss alps? The jungles of South America? Erm...try the white cliffs of Dover.

The book begins oddly enough with Bond's superior, M - slightly embarrassed to have to approach what is, essentially, an employee for assistance - asking Bond to accompany him to his gentleman's club one night. Some rotter might be cheating at cards. But because said rotter is Sir Hugo Drax - national hero - it would per...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Dfordoom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: spy-fiction

Moonraker was the fourth of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, appearing in 1955. By that time Fleming had the formula well and truly nailed and the result is wonderful entertainment.

A mysterious businessman has announced plans to build a missile that will ensure Britain’s defences. He is prepared to finance the project himself as a kind of gift to the nation. The rocker, known as the Moonraker, will be able to reach any city in Europe (which in 1955 made it a super-weapon).

Sir Hugo Drax is very...more Moonraker was the fourth of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, appearing in 1955. By that time Fleming had the formula well and truly nailed and the result is wonderful entertainment.

A mysterious businessman has announced plans to build a missile that will ensure Britain’s defences. He is prepared to finance the project himself as a kind of gift to the nation. The rocker, known as the Moonraker, will be able to reach any city in Europe (which in 1955 made it a super-weapon).

Sir Hugo Drax is very mysterious indeed. In fact no-one is absolutely certain of his identity. During the German breakthrough in the Ardennes in 1944 a British headquarters was destroyed, and a badly burned man was found among the wreckage claiming to have total amnesia. He was tentatively identified as a former dockworker from Liverpool. After the war this man made a fortune speculating on precious metals and by the early 50s he had been knighted and with the announcement of his Moonraker project had become a sort of national hero.

Sir Hugo Drax just happens to belong to the same club as M, the head of the British Secret Service, and M had noticed something peculiar and disturbing- Sir Hugo cheats at cards. It’s peculiar because he is so wealthy he has no need to do something so petty, and it’s disturbing because in 1955 being exposed a card cheat could still mean social ruin. So it has the potential to become a matter of national security and M asks James Bond as a personal favour to find out how he does it and find a way to cure him of this unfortunate habit before a scandal erupts.

This sets up the obligatory gambling scene without which no Bond novel would be complete. Fleming was fascinated by the dangerous glamour of high-stakes gambling and always liked to find a way not only to include such a scene but also to make it integral to the plot.

The very next day a double murder takes place at the headquarters of the Moonraker project and Bond finds himself working undercover as Drax’s chief of security. Naturally there’s a beautiful woman involved, in this case a policewoman from Special Branch also working undercover in Drax’s operation. Her name is Gala Brand. At this stage of course it is still assumed that Drax is a patriotic hero and that some outside group is trying to sabotage the Moonraker. Bond will soon discover there’s more to Sir Hugo Drax than meets the eye.

Fleming’s success with the Bond novels was based on making use the traditional ingredients of the spy thriller but adding extra sex and violence and most importantly, adding extra glamour. He more or less created the stereotypical secret agent as handsome, charming, sophisticated, witty, cultured and as an all-round bon vivant. Fleming loved to drop the names, not of famous people, but of famous and luxurious products. The pages of the Bond novels are littered with references to luxury products. He was sometimes mocked for this but on the whole it was a very effective technique. Spy thrillers are after all escapist fantasies so you might as well make the fantasy as exciting as possible.

Bond also differed from earlier heroes of this type such as Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond in being sexually amoral. Bond is as patriotic and as courageous as Hannay and Drummond but you can’t imagine those earlier spy heroes indulging in the sexual adventures that Bond gets up to.

Fleming’s Moonraker bears little resemblance to the outrageous 1979 Bond movie of the same name. By 1979 technology had moved on and the Moonraker rocket of the novel would have seemed very dated.

The novel is immense fun and if you’ve never sampled the delights of Fleming’s spy fiction it’s as good a place to start as anywhere since there’s no particular need to read the novels in sequence. Highly recommended.(less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: movie, fiction, action

I have to say this was the most interesting book to read so far out of Bond books. Oddly it isn't because of the content. All movie Bond fans know that Moonraker is the cheesiest, and campiest of all Bond films. And the story was the furthest from the story from what I read so far. I was reading the hoping to see beautiful people try and create a super race, and secretly hoping Jaws would make an appearance. Well they don't happen. In a way it is sad.

But taking the book completely out of context...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Russell Grant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just an incredibly clever book! It all takes place in a week, the plot/mystery starts off insanely small and grows to epic proportions, and it's all incredibly tight. the last 3rd is such a page turner I missed my god damned bus stop last night. I also learned that Russians put pepper in their bathtub vodka to absorb and carry the poisonous oil that's on top the vodka to the bottom so you can slam it down. Thanks Ian!

I have one complaint though, the first part is about gambling. It's handled rea...more

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May 31, 2011 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars

SUMMARY
In the third novel about the character, James Bond is asked by his superior, M, to catch a popular national hero named Sir Hugo Drax cheating at cards at a popular gentlemen’s club in London. His initial success leads to a special mission where he operates outside of MI6’s normal boundaries and investigating possibilities of sabotage and betrayal surrounding the testing of the Moonraker nuclear missile- a project that has been funded and led by none other than Sir Hugo himself.

This book i...more

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May 08, 2011 Joel Simon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, spy

Another truly enjoyable read in the James Bond series. After struggling with my last book, I went for something lighter this time and was not disappointed. Once again, 007 encounters problems that are not totally out therein fantasy land, giving Moonraker a serious dose of reality. The thing that amazed me the most in this book is that I was on the edge of my seat during a chapter describing a tense game of bridge, and I don't even know how to play the game myself. There is also a great car chas...more Another truly enjoyable read in the James Bond series. After struggling with my last book, I went for something lighter this time and was not disappointed. Once again, 007 encounters problems that are not totally out therein fantasy land, giving Moonraker a serious dose of reality. The thing that amazed me the most in this book is that I was on the edge of my seat during a chapter describing a tense game of bridge, and I don't even know how to play the game myself. There is also a great car chase and another of Bond's great escapes from death. And several of the characters have great names -- Hugo Drax, Gala Brand and Loelia Ponsonby. Ian Fleming's writing style is so engaging, I felt like I was there, in each scene. I read this book in two days and could barely put it down. I enjoyed Live and Let Die slightly (but only slightly) more.

I am always surprised when a number of readers comment (as they have with Moonraker) that the story line is predictable. Maybe so, but I don't see them writing books that sell tens of millions of copies. It must not be that easy, no matter how predictable the story line might be. I also think that it is easy to find the Bond books predictable because he is, after all, the most famous spy in books and movies that we have. So when you know that he is always going to come out alive (because there's another book in the series) and you know that there is always something high tech (for its day) and always a pretty girl who Bond tries to seduce, why criticize that? They make up the core of the genre and are fundamental to everything that makes James Bond so appealing. And if those things didn't happen in each book, other people would say that the books are inconsistent and the character is all over the place.

So, I think the James Bond books (so far I have read three) are light, but excellent reads. If you let yourself go and put your self into the time an place, you will find yourself thrilled, intrigued and entertained from start to finish.(less)

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Sep 27, 2010 Finn Cullen rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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May 14, 2009 Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the forth Bond novel I've read, and consequently the third novel in the series. So far, this is the only one that has made a reference to a past mission, though it's just a small footnote. I have to be honest and say that I enjoyed the book. Of course, I purposefully pick these books because of their light read. I also like Fleming's approach and style. It's sparse without leaving anything out. He develops and shows a scene with just a word. I think anyone else would say that he imparts...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Ian rated it 2 of 5 stars

Certainly not the best Bond novel I've read. It starts with well-paced card game and then quickly goes nowhere for most of the book. If you're expecting a space colony filled with the master race, then you'll be disappointed. A powerful man with a mysterious background is building a massive ICBM for England, could it be that he's secretly going to nuke London with it? That's not a conclusion that anyone reaches for a painfully long time, but as long as you're not expecting things from the movie,...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Shannon Appelcline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

inally got around to reading Moonraker, the third James Bond novel, after a several month hiatus. Honestly, it's because every time I looked at the book, I saw Roger Moore standing inside a moonbase in a bright silver outfit.

Turns out the movie was ahem loosely based on the novel, which is actually about an industrialist building a missile deterrent system and the test launch of that first missile, "Moonraker".

There's a great scene that opens the book with M and Bond working over the inventor of...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: james-bond, mystery, pop-lit, suspense

Let’s talk about James Bond for a second. He’s great, right? Right. I think we can all agree on that. Now let’s talk about James Bond from the movies. He’s suave, confident, cocksure, lethal, sensual, witty, and iconic. Everything a man wishes he were. Now let’s talk about the James Bond from the novels. He is confident (some of the time), almost never cocksure, lethal but only when necessary, sensual on occasion and not always successfully, not really all that witty, he has a refined palette bu...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Cory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

I quite enjoyed this one, not least because of Gala, who was competent and integral to the plot, rather than ornamental. Plus, there was a nuclear warhead in it. I'll read anything with a nuclear warhead in it. This one had quite a simple through-line, for all the over-the-top complexities of the villain's plan. The cliff sequences reminded me of a girl's own adventure I owned as a child; maybe the writer was inspired by Fleming? The mechanics of Bridge were, as others have said, somewhat lost o...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Jacob rated it 4 of 5 stars

Moonraker is a sort of oddity among the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming. For one thing, our villain, Hugo Drax, isn't viewed by Bond to be a true antagonist until the third act of the book. For another, the love interest isn't a paper thin husk that succumbs to Bond's charms immediately and spends the rest of the narrative clinging to him like a lifeless parasite. Fleming's female characters didn't tend to get any sort of development of their own, but Gala Brand diverts from the path wi...more Moonraker is a sort of oddity among the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming. For one thing, our villain, Hugo Drax, isn't viewed by Bond to be a true antagonist until the third act of the book. For another, the love interest isn't a paper thin husk that succumbs to Bond's charms immediately and spends the rest of the narrative clinging to him like a lifeless parasite. Fleming's female characters didn't tend to get any sort of development of their own, but Gala Brand diverts from the path with gusto.

At the same time, Moonraker is quintessential Bond in so many other ways. The first section of the novel is spent with Bond and M playing a game of bridge with Hugo Drax and a luxurious English country club in an attempt to undermine the man's suspected cheating habit. The tense back and forth of the gambling scenes are so fervently Bond-ian in nature that it is somewhat hard to keep in mind that this is only the third outing for the character. These moments have been played with in the film world of the character so much that it is hard to disassociate high-stakes games of chance from James Bond in any incarnation.

The rest of the story reads like a detective pulp. Bond is assigned to investigate a strange murder case that skirts Drax's operation in developing a missle defense system called the Moonraker that Britain's government is heavily invested in. Bond infiltrates the organization and soon finds himself surrounded by suspicious characters and attempts on his life. The book culminates with a fantastically written car chase that gives us a little insight into why James Bond is such a fantastic wheelman (apparently he has a fascination with the racing world, name dropping references to Le Mans and the Nurburgring) and a finale that has Bond willing to sacrifice his life for the good of his country. It really is one of the better Bond stories I have read.

Compare this to the film version, which is all sorts of dreadful. Hugo Drax, such an extravagant and overpowering villain in the novel, is reduced to almost an afterthought. None of the elements of the book make it into the movie aside from using Drax's name. Brand is replaced by Holly Goodhead, who is a competent female sidekick in her own right, but the dynamic between herself and Bond doesn't resonate the way Brand and Bond do in the novel.

Honestly, this is one of the top tier Bond novels and it translated into one of the most ridiculous of the film adaptations. If you did not like the film, and I suspect many fall into that category, I implore you to read the book and find yourself pleasantly surprised.(less)

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Nov 04, 2011 Dustin Gaughran rated it 4 of 5 stars

The more of the Bond novels I read, the more disappointed I am with the movies. The novels are so good. If the movies were honest adaptations of the titles they were using, the quality of the films would have been a million times better. And I know complaining about how the movies are never as good as the books on a book site seems silly, but still. I'm 30, so I grew up knowing the movies better than the books. Most of us did. I'm just glad I'm doing the right thing and reading the Bond novels n...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, general-fiction, 2011

I really enjoyed this book. Having watched most of the films and read none of the books, I bought a complete set of all of the original Bond books last year and have started slowly to read them.
I was not really looking forward to this book - the film is not one of the best. So it was with increasing joy that I realised that, aside from the name of the book and the name of the villain, the film is not based on this book in the slightest.
So here, Bond is effectively working for Scotland Yard, an...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I would like to take some time not to review this book, but to talk a bit about Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Everyone likes to talk about the racism and the sexism but can we just step back a moment and talk about James Bond as a spy because, honestly, he’s a terrible spy. A terrible, terrible spy.

In Casino Royale he was discovered almost instantly, lost a card game he was supposed to win, got bailed out by the CIA, fell in love with a girl who was OBVIOUSLY a spy, and then got rescued by the enem...more

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About Ian Fleming

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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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“They want us dead,' said Bond calmly. 'So we have to stay alive.” — 11 people liked it

“He shrugged his shoulders to shift the pain of failure---the pain that is so much greater than the pleasure of success.” — 11 people liked it

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