Moonraker

My project to read all of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels in order continues! The third Bond novel, Moonraker, was completely different from the movie bearing the same name; the character of Drax does feature and there is a tenuous link to space travel but sadly there were no excursions on Space Shuttles or henchmen with metal teeth or throw-away Sir Rodge quips or massed lazer battles when orbiting the Earth. The story is based in 1950s Britain (no exotic locations) and revolves around a fiendish Nazi plot to drop an atomic bomb on London.

The book itself is split into three distinct parts:
- Part 1: Bond playing a high stakes cards, like Casino Royale. Some nice tension but the description of the card game was dull
- Part 2: Murder mystery section
- Part 3: Where most of the action happens along with the launch countdown

In part 1 I liked that it included elements not found in either the movies or earlier books. For example, Bond gets to hang out with M (who is fleshed out as a character) and the day-to-day routine of a 00 agent is covered; reading files, going to the canteen, thinking about his salary, etc.

The Britain portrayed in the book seems rather bankrupt and despondent; post-war decline is apparent and the Empire is slowly coming to an end so much so that the country can only afford the Moonraker weapon because Drax will buy it for them. It also seems obvious right from the start that Drax is a villain and to a certain extent this dampens down the suspense but it's still fascinating to read about Bond uncovering the exact details of why a death occurred (part 2).

As for the characters, I've already mentioned M and I did enjoy Drax; he definitely makes for a more memorable scoundrel. Gala Brand held a certain amount of charm and potential but she sort of fizzled out for me especially as poor James doesn't even get to jump into bed with her.

While the writing is typical of Fleming, building up the action and excitement and using evocative and descriptive language, the plot is a little shaky in places, for example, I'm not quite sure why Drax would want to try to kill Bond and Brand by bringing down a cliff on their heads, surely it would be easier to just shoot them? But crazy death scenes are par for the course in a Bond tale and you have to suspend belief from time to time.

So, in summary a really down to earth (literally) Bond novel but probably the weakest of the three books I've read so far, although still entertaining enough. I've now decided to read these books as period novels and thankfully the story contains less of the out and out racism prevalent in Live and Let Die. Overall, a terrific read but perhaps not as exciting as earlier stories.