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Books

James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me


James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me

The Hero: James Bond
The Villain: Sigmund Stromberg
The Bond Girl: Anya Amasova
Supporting Characters: Jaws (Zbigniew Krycsiwiki); General Nikitin; Kate Chapman; Fekkesh; Kalba; Martine Blanchaud; Captain Carter; Talbot; May (Bond`s housekeeper)
Locations: Switzerland, Russia, England, Egypt, Sardinia, North Atlantic

This was the first Bond film that was novelized, and Christopher Wood, who co-wrote the film, is also the novelist. In many ways his achievement is astonishing. It is one of the best Bond novels, but more importantly, it`s a rich and allusive novel. A proper review would require a page-by-page, sometimes even a line-by-line analysis; a thumbnail sketch must suffice.

Wood duplicates Fleming`s mannerisms and even makes nods to the original novels. He includes the background information on Smersh (in “From Russia, With Love”), carefully updated in Chapter 3. Anya`s superior, General Nikitin, was one of the plotters in “From Russia, With Love”. We learn in Chapter 10 that another of the plotters, Lieutenant-General Vozdvishensky of RUMID, has since defected and that Bond`s time for a diploma at his language symposium for Ministry of Defence employees broke all records. There are references to other Fleming novels: “Moonraker” (the time it takes Bond to draw a gun), “Dr No” (Boothroyd deep-sixing Bond`s Beretta – which is now Anya`s choice of weapons; the rain details in Chapter 4). Stromberg and Nikitin`s eyes become pinpoints of red, a nod at Fleming`s “glint of red”. May still has that tick about calling people “Sir”. And there are more references to Bond`s late wife than in any other post-Fleming Bond novel. There are also Fleming sounding details: Chapter 2 has a Casino scene (Bond loses badly at roulette), and he chides himself for letting the soft life catch up to him. Bond`s torture in Chapter 10 alludes to “Casino Royale”. Anya stings Bond with her ring a la Rosa Klebb in Chapter 12. Only someone who respected his source material could be so meticulous.

The novelization is also much darker and more interesting than the film. Consider how Wood describes Stromberg`s background:

“This he immediately began to do with great vigour, and for a young man he showed a remarkable conversance with death, and what he described as its `packaging`. Cremation was what he advocated as the cleanest, purest and most ecologically satisfactory way to go and as business prospered he built his own private crematorium. He had to wait rather longer than anticipated for this because the firm contracted to do the business were at that time engaged in building similar, but rather larger, installations in Nazi Germany.” (Chapter 5)

Few writers are this nimble.

There are other clever touches. In Chapter 2, Sergei`s dying thoughts – Anya, the hotel, the children playing by the beach – are sensitively handled and reiterate the Greta Garbo detail in Chapter 1 (i.e. “consigning”, since nothing can ever be the same between them). At the end of Chapter 21, Bond wonders what`s become of Anya. Wood slowly and discreetly reveals her predicament, which is both horrifying and darkly funny (here, “in medias res” dialogue contributes to the effect, and is appropriate and brilliant).

Wood loves getting into the character`s heads and deserves credit for injecting so many human moments into the book. Ultimately, he`s written a novel about people, about adults. The chapters where he delves into the character`s backgrounds are remarkable (Anya in Chapter 3, Stromberg in Chapter 5, and Jaws in Chapter 12).

Bond is smarter, more fastidious, and human than Fleming`s Bond. He`s also occasionally clumsy, which is more realistic and endearing. He`s an intelligent man in an insane world who struggles against fate, but when the chips are down has that famous “Nelson touch”.

Anya is unusually complex and one of the best drawn women in the series (though she`s inconsistent and two dimensional during the middle when she`s not sure whether Bond is appealing or annoying. By this stage, she should have felt some grudging admiration for Bond; instead her thoughts are flat). She`s a professional – in Chapter 15, she leans out the window and fires two shots at a pursuing car, destroying it. She says nothing. Wood`s prose is as efficient as her trade-craft. Other subtle details shade her: in Chapter 14, she makes her bed every morning (and wonders if Bond has noticed) because she doesn`t want the maids to think that Bond doesn`t sleep with her, not that she would sleep with him. She`s also vulnerable – Wood shrewdly uses details to emphasize her childlike innocence. Almost everyone preys on her: Nikitin wants to ride her like a cossack, Jaws falls in love with her, and Stromberg sees her as the beginning of a new civilization, plucked from nothing to be the womb that furnishes an original species.

Bond and Anya`s relationship is the novel`s focal point. Discussing her Bulgarian minders, Bond says, “You must be lonely without your boyfriends.” She replies, “They are easily replaced.” This can also be taken to mean Sergei, and foreshadows her decision in Chapter 24. In Chapter 13, M orders them to go as man and wife. This has other considerations. In a nod to Fleming`s originals, Anya reminds Bond of Tracy (Chapters 11 and 17); in the latter chapter Anya even utters Bond`s last words to Tracy. It`s not all one way, either. In Chapter 11, Bond reminds Anya of her late lover Sergei (we`re meant to think that she`s with Bond in the rather overwritten first chapter; Bond and Sergei somewhat resemble each other).

Chapter 17 has many brilliant touches and is one of the book`s best chapters. The brisk, opening paragraphs, are cleverly written from a group perspective; the detail about the roses, seemingly sweet, has horrifying consequences later on. Bond and Anya limp back to the hotel – which is realistic – and fall into each other`s arms, which is psychologically accurate; danger brings people together. Wood is clever enough not to reveal the message until the chapter`s last paragraph, so that we see Anya`s reactions objectively. She looks up at the vase in Bond`s hands as though momentarily wondering why he has it – an excellent touch. She smiles and nods apologetically when she remembers that Bond is a commander in the navy and doesn`t need to be told about ships. Her tone is businesslike. She squeezes Bond`s hand: “I do not have to say anything, do I?” The humanity is unexpected and overwhelming. “This is why we are here. This is the most important thing. We can wait.” Nothing can ever be the same between them. Wood is clever in other ways; Bond and Anya discuss business (the shape of the Lepadus), which increases the tension, and more importantly is realistic and adult. Bond traces a circle on her wrist and discusses an Italian dinner – he knows something is wrong; this detail is sensitive and one of many examples where Bond becomes three-dimensional; it also properly integrates his designer goods tastes into the book (e.g. when he contemplates Anya`s clothes in Chapter 14, or helps the stewardess through his drink in Chapter 7 – so often one detail enhances other aspects).

There are nice details in Chapter 18, (though the actual confrontation is poor): Anya wriggling like a child into Bond`s arms, her head turned; the Paul Jones observation; Bond`s feelings about Russian women`s emotions. Moreover Stromberg`s intentions as revealed in Chapter 20 are crucial because they nudge her back in Bond`s direction.

The last chapter (25) is appropriately sombre: Anya appears unexpectedly on Bond`s doorstep. Is she defecting? What did Stromberg do to her on board Atlantis? She is – in Ian Fleming`s words – a bird with a wing down. But Wood is clever. Bond collapses after rescuing her from Atlantis and is sent home to recuperate. In the following scene, which also shows how different the novelization and the film are, neither character is stronger than the other:

“Carter accepted Bond`s outstretched hand and grasped it warmly. “Thanks. I hope we work together again sometime. Oh, by the way” – his eye twinkled – “there was some girl hanging around on the front doorstep when I arrived. I think she wants to see you.”

“Do you think I`d want to see her?” asked Bond.

Carter pretended to consider the question and then nodded his head. “I think you might.” He raised a hand to his temple and was gone.*

“Bond stood up, feeling a mounting sense of excitement spread through him. Was he being stupid? Could it be possible? Somebody came into the room behind him and he turned, expecting to see May.”

It was Anya. She wore a black woollen coat down to her ankles and carried a large, soft leather grip. Her face was as beautiful as he had dared to remember it. Perhaps more so. She put down her bag and faced him squarely. “I have come to look after you.”

Bond looked at her lovingly. “But I don`t need looking after. I`m perfectly fit. Right at this moment I feel better than I have ever done. Anyway, I have a housekeeper to look after me”

“The woman with the stern black uniform who was putting on her hat to shopping when I arrived?” Bond smiled and nodded. “Does she hold a State Nursing Certificate, first class?”

Bond rested his hands on either side of Anya`s slim shoulders. “Now you come to mention it, I rather think she does. Sweet, darling Anya. What are you doing here? What about Russia? What about your job?”

She looked up at him and her lips trembled. “Let us say I am on holiday. I will tell you all later – much later.” She began to unbutton her coat.

The other characters are well sketched. In a major departure from the film, Wood exploits the sexual predator element present in Jaws. Stromberg is a monster even in childhood, born grossly deformed. He`s a great villain, though he`s underused – an inherent story flaw that the novelization can`t get around. In Chapter 20, Stromberg checks his wet mouth into a semblance of a smile because Anya knows what he`s talking about – Wood knows how to write moments for his characters. Nikitin – originally a Fleming character – is also wonderfully drawn (Chapters 3 and 13). Wood avoids rhetoric and lets action speak for the characters, which is more effective: Nikitin`s hand burrows up Anya`s skirt (this detail and “the scent of roses” are throwbacks to similar details in Fleming`s “From Russia, With Love”; “face of the moon” recalls a similar detail about Red Grant).

Wood uses irony effectively. Just before he`s killed, Fekkesh thinks of Felicca waiting for him at the flat, unaware that she`s dead (Chapter 9; Wood doesn`t botch it by adding, “little did he know that she was already dead”). Kalba is pleased that Fekkesh has been killed; now he just has to eliminate Kate Chapman (Stromberg`s secretary), unaware that she too is dead (Chapter 11). What does he care if she put her life on the line stealing the tracking device for him? Bond notes that Talbot`s face is unmarked by any contact with the unpleasant realities of life and imagines the teacups at the vicarage trembling when Talbot returns on leave. Moments later, Talbot is torched, and collapses on his own grenade (Chapter 21). In Chapter 18, Bond hopes that Anya doesn`t have a gun in her hand when she divulges her feelings, foreshadowing Chapter 24 (the comment about Russian women shades Anya). Nikitin intentionally withholds the news that Bond killed Sergei (Chapter 13). In Chapter 3, Anya compares the Communist faith to the Christian with horrifying consequences in Chapter 21: Stromberg selects her to be the initiator of a new civilization, akin to Mary in the Christian dogma.

There are flaws, though. Wood can`t seem to cut free from the mechanical story and this prevents the book from being more cohesive. At times he overwrites and gets bogged down in minutia: e.g. Chapter 1 (though the Greta Garbo detail is nice, as is the way that we`re led to believe that it`s Bond); ditto the beginning of Chapter 14, and most of 16 (compare Chapter 17`s sprightly beginning). His prose also has an unrefined quality; though clever, the Chapter 5 quote above is somewhat stilted (compare his prose to John Pearson`s). He likes similes – perhaps too much – they can be very useful, but are essentially static and generally unnecessary (his earliest novels overdo them). The descriptive action passages are tedious – fluid writing would have helped here; it also undercuts the impact the human moments would otherwise have. But it is one of the best books in the series, and like “Colonel Sun”, a serious novel, one that should and can be appreciated for it`s literary merit. Unfortunately, the novel is out of print – an unfortunate oversight that should be rectified.

Movies

Hauer, Rutger Hauer

I was able to personally speak to Rutger Hauer once about his James Bond experiences. It was fascinating to say the least (we talked about him testing for Bond, too!):

The star of LadyHawke and other assorted films confirmed to the press back in 1983 he`d been asked three times to play a Bond villain, but he didn`t specify which role(s). With his blond hair perhaps he was asked to play Erich Kriegler or Max Zorin?

Hauer said: “I heard those rumors, too (that he was in consideration to play James Bond). I don`t know about James Bond, but they asked me three times to play Bond`s bad guy. At one point, I said I think it would be interesting if you really threaten Bond and what is the way to do that? Have a bad guy who has the same spirit, the same sense of humor and the same skill and let Bond face this guy and really be endangered. But the villains are sidekicks, they aren`t really strong. They wouldn`t change it for me.” Ironically, the same type villain he describes would come along some 12 years later in the form of Alec Trevelyan in the 1995 film GoldenEye.

Games

Real Strategies & Hints For Bond: World Of Espionage

us-android-1-james-bond-world-of-espionage

 

Ready To Bond, Mister Bond?

Are you ready for Bond: World Of Espionage, a free, fun mobile game?

Why should you play Bond: WOE? It’s enjoyable without having to spend money on gold or extras. Collect and assemble weapons and vehicles, fight  legendary book and movie villains, build your team of agents, and battle with individual agents and alliances.

Daniel Craig (left) and Berenice Marlohe star in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions? action adventure SKYFALL. stars as James Bond in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions? action adventure SKYFALL.

“Mother Has Been Bad, Or Is It Good?”

Take a mentor to show you the ropes. Mentors and mentees earn rewards inside BWOE. I’ll be happy to serve as your mentor. Just shoot me a note.

maxresdefault“If The Collars And Cuffs Match”

The graphics of BWOE are as good as that of any mobile game online. And the villains you’ll encounter are taken from the EON film franchise and from Ian Fleming’s novels and short stories.

Wint and Kidd from Diamonds Are Forever are truer to the books than the films, but Moneypenny, Q and others are taken straight from Spectre and Skyfall. The dozens and dozens of agents like Honey Ryder, Silva and James Bond himself are sharp looking and carry deadly weapons and gadgets.

Agents you know and new creations, all each have a glossy dossier describing their strengths and bonus abilities for matching to conflicts, missions and alliance wars.

And the gorgeous mission scenes are beautiful. It’s worth the effort to get all the way up to Spectre, to see the beautiful Day of the Dead and other artwork in-game.

Hint: Just shoot me a note if you want free mentoring in the game, to get better, fast. There are rewards in it for us both!

f-3444-9c4f2d049d“Take These Points Outside And Waste ‘Em”

Players earn attribute points for completing special missions and going up in level, which happens fast in the early stages of the game. Hint: Don’t add points to your Offense, Defense or HP stats, ever. You may not even need to add them to your Stamina rating.

Hint: You should add them to your Stamina rating, at least up front, as Stamina for conflicts and villain battles and Energy for missions auto-reset on timers. And Stamina hits on a villain count for double leveling-up points, and for certain hits one-on-one, triple, even quadruple points! Regardless, come away from the BWOE for some hours and you will have 2x as many points to “spend” to level up, faster, if you build both Stamina and Energy points. But as you grow stronger, you will want lots of points for missions! You can even buy facilities for millions of cash dollars in the game to upgrade your energy levels, permanently.

Completing missions gives you cred, money to spend and advances you in level. Developing the level of your agency and your individual agents gives you bonus Stamina, Energy, Offense and Defense, so you need not earmark points for those categories. Hint: Save the big push for the end. If you have 100 points left in both energy and stamina, and are on the edge of a new level, (where both refresh to full) instead of doing a mission, for say, 17 points, or a villain hit for 20 points, play one of the “spin to win missions” for 100 points–you’ll be 98 points closer to the next level plus you might win a cool prize or even a new agent.

Hint: Save a big burst of points for the end of an agency level. Say you have 200 points in Stamina and Energy but are approaching an experience rating to take your energy next level, where both Stamina and Energy will fully recharge, meaning you cannot use all of those 400 points. Use points precisely until you are 1 or 2 shy of the next level, then spin for a free agent, say, in Russia, for 145 points. You will start the next level with 143 or 144 experience!

Conflict is a fun way to earn dollars in the game, but you can also earn dollars from redoing missions you’ve completed, plus after completing secret missions you earn spins for free new agents. Don’t waste your points. Put most of them for Energy toward missions. Hint: Conflict gets fast cash, especially against high-level agencies. $25,000 to $100,000 or more per punch or kick! Good times.

Hint: Speaking of conflict, watch out for battles with members of strong alliances. It’s better to fight some dude or chick with a Level 210 Agency, allied with 21 other playing pals, than it is to take on a Level 150 Agency, allied with 35 other bad-mamma-jammas.

Hint: Know thy enemies. If a level 200 cannot take out a level 100 in a straight-up duel, it’s because of the level 100’s alliance. If you’re in a alliance, use espionage instead of dueling.

Hint: Be judicious in fighting villains and henchmen. “Choose your next enemy carefully, Mister Bond, he may be your last.” Don’t just plunge into a villain confrontation but 1) see if this battle was begun by an alliance teammate and 2) see which villains are close to 100% defeated already, so you can put the killing moves on and get the swag.

Super mean and nasty hint: We all need friends. Add players you can beat easily to your friends list, then make “friendly visits” whenever you need some quick conflict points or cash. You did not read that here!

aston-martin1“One Million Dollars… You Were Wondering What It Cost”

You’ll want plenty of gold in BWOE to advance your agenda. There’s plenty of free gold, with more to spare, from completing in-game achievements at early agency levels. Once you are strong enough, you make your own agents by spinning for new ones, without gold. Don’t buy anything–just enjoy the free ride.

Be patient, as free-play timers take a while to load. If you play a bit in the morning, then again in the afternoon, and one more time near bedtime, you will gain a level or two a day, and have fun exploring Bond’s world.

There are free offers you can complete for gold in the game–but take screenshots to document your progress, in case the offers don’t hit your account properly. There is also plenty of enjoyable gaming without the free offers and without making any in-game purchases.

Hint: Get to detonate faster, free. You need not acquire all six conflict powers to have the power of detonating (exploding) your enemies. Just run the three along the top of the powers (Shoot, Strangle, Defenestrate) then straight to Detonate! And now you know.

Damien-Lewis-as-James-Bond-main“Spend The Money Quickly, Mr Bond”

Enhancers are used to combine agents to make super-agents. Go to the right location to get the bang for your game bucks, where you get not only enhancers but gamble for new agents:

  • Skyfall: Gold
  • Thunderball: Purple
  • From Russia With Love: Two Greens and a Blue, for 145 points
  • Slow Down Faster: Gold and Green
  • Diamonds Are Forever: White
  • Dr. No: White and Green

They are prone to high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, neurological disorder, stress, depression, and anxiety. The main work of oral medicines is to not take more than a tablet in 24 hours a day. Modulation: 1, the first tea on Beiwan, into the water. 2, the first drink tea and drained, and then into the water 3, about 2 minutes to lift online prescription for cialis djpaulkom.tv the lid, chrysanthemum fragrance overflows, hot drink. Sometimes, it has to do with women’s hope and expectancies, and whether or not they think the causative reason is a virus.

com_glu_espionage-screen-16“I’m A Member Of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.”

Join an alliance as soon as you are able. Alliances protect you from losing too much money during in-game conflicts. But choose your next alliance carefully, Mr. Bond–it may be your last.

A weak alliance is just kind of there to protect one another from losing too many dollars in conflicts.

A strong BWOE alliance enjoys fellowship during in-game chat. They also band together to fight alliance wars effectively, sending teams of  spies, commandos and other agents to time attacks and defense. You’ll know the better alliances immediately by their leaderboard status.

Hint: See if you can get accepted to an alliance above your level rating. If you send a message letting them know you are active in alliance wars and serious about play, they’ll sign you on in most cases. Top alliances receive free gold and status badges to wear in-game, every few months.

11-JamesBond-Connery“I Can Think Of No Better Arrangement”

Much game fun ensues when you not only collect Bondian swag, but build it, using components in Q’s Lab. Hint: When you get an e-mail, “Hey, you can build a PPK!” wait on your pleasure, saving up for bigger and better things. (I held wheels, an antenna, leather, etc. and that lovely ejection seat, so that when my self-destruct timer comes in, I get an Aston Martin DB5!)

Hint: You can also collect cool stats. Example, if you never retreat from a conflict battle by hitting the “Leave” button, but rather back out of the screen using the back button or another button, you will have a 0 in your “You Have Been Finished” battle statistic. And that’s something only Bond himself can say otherwise.

Aidan-Turner-next-James-Bond-376342“This Is No Time To Be Rescued”

Just shoot me a note if you need any assistance in the game, a mentor to lean on, or have questions. See you online inside Bond: World Of Espionage!

Movies

Review: For Your Eyes Only (1981) – Robert Baum

For-Your-Eyes-Only-m02

Following his out-of-this-world adventure Moonraker (1979), James Bond is back on Earth to keep the world safe from subversives yet again. Roger Moore returns for his fifth 007 outing in the twelfth cinematic mission of Ian Fleming’s fictional agent. Based on a pair of Fleming short stories (“For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico”), For Your Eyes Only marks the directorial debut of John Glen who has worked an editor and helmed second units on prior Bond films On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and Moonraker.
In the exciting opening sequence–as they almost always are–Bond (Moore) pays a visit to the grave of his wife. Getting back to the office is anything but routine; Bond boards a chopper and is taken for a ride, literally, as the helicopter is remote controlled by a madman. The flight might be his last but not before 007 manages to extricate himself from the unnamed fiend’s (though given he has a white cat, it’s more than likely to be Blofeld) diabolical deed which leaves him shaken and stirred.
     A British naval vessel disguised as a fishing trawler sinks in the Ionian Sea, thanks to a lethal mine. It turns out the vessel had a sophisticated device aboard her which can be used to launch missiles from British submarines. Whoever is in possession of the device, needless to say, will be able to neutralize Her Majesty’s Navy. Bond’s mission, of course, is to retrieve the device and keep it from falling into enemy hands.
     Bond’s first stop: Madrid, where he seeks a hitman who killed a pair of operatives looking to locate the sunken ship. Bond winds up being taken captive by the hitman’s associates. He does manage to escape in great part due to the lovely Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) whose crossbow delivers vengeful bolts into the man responsible for her parents’ demise and a few of his cronies.
     Having not gotten any info from the now-deceased killer doesn’t exactly please 007’s superiors. Thanks to gadget guru Q (Desmond Llewelyn), the MI6 operative does manage to get back on the trail, courtesy of one of his high tech toys–the only device developed by Q which the agent employs on his mission, in fact–and he heads to snowy Cortina.
     There Bond’s contact introduces him to Kristatos (Julian Glover), a charismatic Greek shipping magnate who is keeping watch on his kewpie doll cute–though probably less intelligent than one–ice skating niece Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson, last seen melting the heart of Robby Benson in Ice Castles). Bond manages to mix pleasure with business and explores the slopes with Bibi, though he rejects her advances. Bond manages to wind up facing assassins riding customized motorcycles through the streets and slopes of the resort town.
     Bond’s next stop is Greece, where he meets up again with the lovely Melina who has been continuing her father’s archaeological endeavors knowing nothing about the vessel her pa was seeking or its contents. Bond later heads to a casino where he again meets with Kristatos. The agent wins big at the tables (naturally) and gains a tryst with the girlfriend (Cassandra Harris) of Kristatos’ rival, a smuggler named Columbo (Topol, last seen like Moore, in space–last year’s remake of Flash Gordon to be exact).
     This was scheduled to be the follow-up to 1977s The Spy Who Loved Me, however, the success of George Lucas’ space opus Star Wars that year prompted producer Albert Broccoli to reach for the stars. For Your Eyes Only marks not only a return to Earth but also a return to the basics in a leaner, terrestrial thrill ride very much in the vein of Bond’s second cinematic undertaking, From Russia With Love. It could almost be considered something of a carbon copy. The gorgeous Bouquet makes for a great romantic partner for Moore as the fiery Greek beauty. She can more than handle her own with looks and brains to boot. Johnson is cute but annoying which she is supposed to be. Sonja Henie she isn’t.
     Without giving much else away, Topol is gruffly winsome as the Greek smuggler (arguably better or at least as good as the late Pedro Armendariz was as Kerim Bey in From Russia With Love). Glover is polished and impeccably mannered; though it’s bound to induce groans or laughs, perhaps both, to find that the Greek tycoon’s name is Ari. Obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke in a toned-down script courtesy of long-time 007 screen scribe Richard Maibaum and first time scenarist–and longtime Eon employee and Broccoli stepson, executive producer Michael Wilson. Here plot and locales are key and Bond too has a harder edge relying more on his fists and ingenuity rather than the marvels of Q branch to gain an advantage in sticky situations. The collection of exotic locales and amazing stunts make for a lively entry which Bond enthusiasts will no doubt savor. Surely Glen’s efforts are welcome given that Moore isn’t exactly getting any younger and his box office competition this time (Superman II and the Spielberg/ Lucas effort Raiders of the Lost Ark) looks pretty fierce.
Movies

Moonraker – An Original Review

moonraker-posterWith thanks to Robert Baum, reprinted by permission

Review: Moonraker (1979)

       Having proven triumphant once again both in thwarting another fiend looking to finish off the world and regaining his footing at the box office, Roger Moore returns as James Bond yet again. Stopping the sinister stratagems of Karl Stromberg was child’s play for 007. This time, however, her majesty’s best known spy faces a far more formidable challenge.
      Not only is Bond now portrayed by an actor who is now just shy of over half a century (Sean Connery was just over forty when he made his final Bond adventure: 1971s Diamonds Are Forever) but there are a new crop of cinematic pickings prompting producer Albert Broccoli to look to the stars for 007’s latest endeavor. That mission has Bond seeking a stolen space bound shuttle: Moonraker. This effort reunites most of the key players from The Spy Who Loved Me: Broccoli, director Lewis Gilbert, screenwriter Christoper Wood, and of course Roger Moore.
      Having used his time between the last adventure to be of aid to fellow UK stars Richard Burton and Richard Harris as one of The Wild Geese, Moore returns to being a solo operative; but not before having a run-in with the metal-mouthed monster of a mountain from The Spy Who Loved Me, Jaws (Richard Kiel), in search of a new employer and wanting revenge. Following a briefing by his superiors (Bernard Lee and Geoffrey Keen) and receiving the latest state-of-the art hardware from MI6 weaponsmith Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Bond is off to California. There he meets Drax (Michael Lonsdale), a megalomaniac obsessed with venturing into the final frontier.
Bond also gets an encounter with a striking siren of a scientist with a good head on her shoulders named Holly (Lois Chiles) who gives Bond a taste of astronaut training which goes awry thanks to a jerry-rigged centrifuge, courtesy of Drax’s kendo-savvy manservant Chang (Toshiro Suga). Of course wherever Bond is, there’s a woman waiting to be swept off her feet even if in doing so, the results prove fatal; as they do for one of Drax’s employees (Corinne Clery) who goes to the dogs.
      With Gilbert at the helm for another mission, there are similar elements to the last cinematic mission for 007 which was a refashioning of another Bond adventure: 1967s You Only Live Twice which Gilbert also directed. This time the showdown is not at sea but takes advantage of the science fiction frenzy ushered in by the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. One certainly doesn’t need to guess much where the film winds up.
      Virtually no expense has been spared for Moonraker, despite it being a lightweight romp bordering on camp that is light years away from past Bond adventures; particularly From Russia With Love (1963). The effects courtesy of recent Oscar-winner Derek Meddings (Superman) and his colleagues are out of this world; and the stunts, as always are impressive. Still it is a joy to watch, though aficionados more fond of the earlier efforts might think otherwise. John Barry, missing since The Man with the Golden Gun, returns with a score that brings back the magic he has given to many a motion picture. The title tune performed by chanteuse Shirley Bassey offers aural aesthetics. Nothing against Carly Simon, or Paul McCartney, but when it comes to singing 007 theme songs, nobody does them better.
Fan Events

Rotterdam Bond Exhibition

CaptureROTTERDAM, Netherlands – The Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam inaugurated on Monday an exhibition titled “The 007 design, 50 years of Bond Style,” which sheds light on how the British secret agent influenced art, music, technology and design.

The exhibit, which features more than 500 objects and environmental recreations, shows the Bond effect on contemporary culture since the character was created more than 50 years ago by Ian Fleming.

“Not only does the exhibition show James Bond’s history, but also allows living an experience,” Kunsthal curator Jannet de Goede told Efe.

Documents, models, prototypes, scripts, music and film clips, large selections of costumes and accessories, as well as original photographs, many unrevealed to date, provide an insight on how the Bond series were done.

With 23 Bond films in five decades, the museum shows the glamour of the renowned Bond style, which is not only a landmark in the history of cinema, but also for the world of art, music, fashion, technology, car design and lifestyle.

Eight halls of the museum are dedicated to Bond themes and to recreate the atmosphere of the series, since the debut film “Dr. No,” which was produced in 1962 and starred Sean Connery, until the latest, the 2012 production “Skyfall” which starred Daniel Craig.

In the “Gold Room,” a circular bed covered in white linen and a woman’s body painted in gold are a reminiscence of the classic 1964 production “Goldfinger.”

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The exhibition and the multisensory experience of this extensive retrospective of the world’s most famous spy also includes the “Q” branch, the fictional research and division of the British Secret Service, the casino of Casino Royale, foreign countries, villains, enigmas and the Ice Palace of Die Another Day.

“What impresses me most is the way the exhibition has been set up, in an unconventional manner. It is different because the public really strolls through the James Bond movies,” De Goede added.

In the tour through the Bond world, more than 500 objects can be seen, like the white bikini worn by Ursula Andress in Dr. No, Q’s briefcase in From Russia with Love, Scaramanga’s golden gun from The Man with the Golden Gun, and the shark teeth that first appeared in The Spy who loved me.

The spy’s elegance is reflected in the tuxedo Roger Moore wore in 1983’s Octopussy, or one of the suits of Italian firm Brioni which Pierce Brosnan wore in 1995’s “Goldeneye.”

Another section features 007’s famous cars, such as the silver Aston Martin DB5 that first appeared in Goldeneye and made a return to the screens in Skyfall.

The exhibition, which was first seen in London in 2012, will remain at the Kunsthal until February 2015.

Books

Book Synopses and Reviews – ALLIGATOR!

5174PMHZRWLALLIGATOR

By I*n Fl*m*ng (Michael K Frirth and Christopher Cerf)
First published: November 1962, Vanitas Books (US only)
Reprinted: January 1963 (US only)

Bibliographic notes and trivia bonus: Frirth and Cerf co-created the tv show “Sesame Street”. Frirth later co-created the children`s show “Fraggle Rock”. Cerf was also one of the judges on the much-maligned Random-House list of this century`s 100 best novels.

Hero: J*mes B*nd 007 (trade cover: World-Wide Import & Export Ltd)
Heroine: Anagram Le Galion
Villain: Lacertus Alligator (steel toothed; face purple from heart condition)
Villain`s Employer: TOOTH (ex-Nazis) and SMERSH
Villain`s Project: Steal British Parliament buildings, kidnap Queen for ransom
Minor villain(s):

-Mr Kynstondi, Mr Pazardzhik (both deaf mutes)
-unnamed gigantic mute Korean
-Heinrich (an alligator)
-Kapitan Hammerstein

Bond`s Friends:

-M (head of the British Secret Service)
-Llewylla (Bond`s housekeeper)
-Bill (Chief of Staff)
-Lilly Postlethwaite (Bond`s secretary)
-Miss Pennyfarthing
-Lord Dingletump (Glades Chairman)
-Felix Ronson (CIA Agent who lost an arm and a leg to a shark in Florida on a previous mission with Bond)
-Squabble (black native, i.e. Quarrel)

Highlights:

-Card game
-Anagram`s backstory (Chapter 13)
-Bond hears the chimes and sees Parliament
-Alligator`s backstory
-Bond disguised as PM, chase up Big Ben

Locations:

-London, England
-Glades (Club)
-Bermuda
-British Parliament Buildings

Summary: (Note: even though the villain`s name is Alligator, several alligators (reptiles) appear in the story. For example, Bond shoots a reptile in Chapter 13, not the villain. Also, there`s no point writing “B*nd” for “Bond” and “*” for “M”, though the chapter titles are kept intact, although hilarity ensues when Bond wonders what * is thinking and doing.)

1: Table 14
Bond bored, contemplates his lethargy in a bar. Alligator and his entourage, including a blonde (Anagram Le Galion) and two deaf mute henchmen, enter. Bond also notices Alligator`s steel teeth [see quote]. One of the henchmen, on Alligator`s behalf, invites Bond to their table.

2: A Spray Of Violets
Alligator spray-paints Bond`s face purple; Alligator loves the colour. Bond and Alligator discuss drinks and Bond explains how his own drink is made, then christens it the “Anagram”. Alligator goes to the washroom. Anagram begs Bond to take her away, but once in her car, she has second thoughts and asks Bond to leave.

3: “Give Oop This Life O` Yourn”
Bond`s Welsh housekeeper Llewylla wakes a cursing Bond up. Bill, the Chief Of Staff, phones. Bond drives to work. Ms Pennyfarthing tells him every London bridge has collapsed.

4: Interview With *
M asks Bond about Alligator. Bond says he`s already met the man. M explains Alligator`s background, how Alligator became one of the world`s richest men, and that he cheats at cards.

5: The Man He Loved And Obeyed
M continues. Alligator cheats at the card game “Go Fish”. The Glades chairman didn`t want a scandal, so he asked M if any of his men could catch Alligator out. Bond prepares two decks of cards at home, picks M up and drives to Glades. Bond and M work out a signal: Bond will propose a toast when he`s cracked Alligator`s system. Once inside Glades, Bond becomes excited at the prospect of doing battle with Alligator.

6: “What`s Your Limit, Alligator?”
Glade chairman Lord Dingletump, whose face has been spray-painted purple, introduces Bond and M to Alligator. Alligator promptly spray-paints their faces purple too. Bond and Alligator agree on terms and sit down to play cards.

7: “J*mes, Go Fish”
Bond regrets the terms he`s just made with Alligator; if he loses 8 sets, it`ll cost him more than triple his annual income. Bond plays badly, Alligator keeps winning. Bond notices the two deaf mutes who stand behind him and realizes they`re using sign language to tell Alligator what cards he has. Bond throws his chair back, knocking one of the deaf mutes over.

8: “Gentlemen, The Queen”
Alligator is ready to collect his winnings, but Bond challenges Alligator to a rematch for double the stakes. M reluctantly says that he`s good for Bond`s losses when Alligator asks. Before the rematch begins, Bond toasts the Queen, throwing his glass into the fireplace. Alligator tosses his and knocks Dingletump on the head. Bond switches cards with his doctored pack when Alligator spray-paints Dingletump again. The remaining deaf-mute signals Bond`s cards to Alligator. However, before Alligator does anything, Bond toasts the Queen again, and while nobody looks, slips both doctored “7s” from his sleeve into his hand, replacing them with his “kings”. Alligator asks for Bond`s kings and is surprised when Bond doesn`t have any. Bond proceeds to demolish Alligator and win almost half a million pounds. Alligator writes out a cheque and says that if I were you I`d cash this quickly.

9: The Still Vexed Bermoothes
In M`s office the next day. Apparently a purple crocodile killed the head of Station B; M wants Bond to investigate. (M also thanks Bond for donating the “Go Fish” winnings to the White Cross which benefits families of service agents killed in duty.) Bond, rather annoyed that M has sent him on a routine investigation, flies to Bermuda, where he happens across Alligator and Anagram at the Coral Beach Club. (Bond is annoyed to find American currency in as much use as British.)

10: A View From The Terrace
Bond lunches with Alligator (who spray-paints Bond`s face) and Anagram (who decides that Bond reminds her of Hoagy Carmichael). Alligator leaves to use the washroom; Anagram begs Bond to come to her room tomorrow evening where she will explain everything.

11: T.O.O.T.H.
Bond gets M`s cable next morning: the criminal organization T.O.O.T.H. has stolen the Parliament buildings, floating them down the River Thames, with the Queen, the PM, and other notables on board. T.O.O.T.H. demands one hundred million pounds ransom. Bond`s friend and former CIA agent Felix Ronson sneaks up on him; thinking it might be an enemy, Bond overpowers him and Ronson lands in scrambled egg. In between good-natured banter a la Fleming`s originals, Felix explains that he`s down here investigating an alligator smuggling ring.

12: An American Chap
Therefore in order to stop this malfunction from destroying one’s physical abilities they have introduced the anti-impotency solution that has already become renowned as the weekender pill due to its delicious flavors like pineapple, rose, vanilla, chocolate it has become the worst nightmare for some of the men these days is said to be severe disorder in so many words that, ‘Total plasma cholesterol is a powerful. Fortunately you have the option of taking a California online DMV-approved driver education course. You are advised to drink plenty of water daily. PDE5 is said to be an element which obstructs the blood stream in the male discount sale viagra organ and causes the issue of brokenness. Bond meets Bermuda`s Governor, who explains that Alligator bought one of the Bermuda Islands, and built a replica of Parliament painted purple on it. That evening, Bond dines with Anagram.

13: Things That Go Bump In The Night
Bond and Anagram go for a late night swim, where he discovers that Alligator hypnotized her, then painted her torso and nether regions purple. Back in his room, they slide into bed, and an alligator hidden beneath the bedspread lunges at them. Bond throws Anagram to the floor and shoots the alligator five times in the mouth. Soon afterwards, a bellboy knocks on the door and says that Felix Ronson is dead, chewed up by an alligator. Anagram tells Bond her backstory. SMERSH kidnapped her lover, Roger Entwhistle (004) and told her that they would kill him if she didn`t spy for them. They subsequently gave her to Alligator who made the same conditions. Alligator expected her to entice men whom he could feed to his alligators. Alligator would say, “I have to go to the bathroom”, his signal that he wanted her to entice the man, thereby explaining her previous inconsistent behaviour with Bond. Anagram had told Alligator that Bond had changed his mind that day in the restaurant. Alligator retaliated by supposedly having Roger killed. He also blackmailed her about her part in the deaths in case she tried leaving him or telling anybody. She also explains that Alligator`s favourite Alligator, Heinrich, killed the Head of Station B and Felix Ronson, both of whom had been nosing around. Bond decides to visit Alligator`s island base.

14: Alligator`s Lair
Squabble brings the diving gear, and the three of them head for the coast. Alligator, in his car, passes them on the way, and pulls a lever releasing ambergris (whale vomit). Squabble, Bond and Amber`s motor-bicycles skid. Squabble`s goes over the cliff, killing him. Bond and Anagram continue on to Alligator`s lair.

15: Death Of A Frogman
They swim to Alligator`s island; a frogman attacks and a CO2 spear barely misses Bond. The two men struggle and Bond kills him. A whirlpool vortex sucks a struggling Bond and Anagram into Alligator`s lair. Alligator knocks Bond unconcious.

16: The Pleasure Of His Company
Bond comes to, shackled to a chair, and notices an invite to dinner and a menu list. Bond lists how he wants his food prepared. The building vibrates and lists from side to side; Bond realizes that the building has become water-borne like a boat.

17: The House Of Usher
Bond hears two sets of chimes, each apparently four hours apart, and realizes that Alligator stole the Parliament buildings. Stormtroopers march him out at gun point onto a boat which takes him to the real Westminster Hall several hundred yards away; the replica is then sunk.

18 Pandora`s Box
Bond realizes that Alligator intended to float the real buildings out to where the replicas stood so that nobody would be the wiser. Alligator greets him, spray-paints his face purple, then takes him to see the Queen and the PM, the House of Lords, Lord Snowdon (Princess Margaret`s photographer ex-husband), whose faces have also all been spray-painted purple, inside the House of Commons chambers. Two debates are under way, both concerning Britain`s entry into the Common Market. At dinner, Mr Pazardzhik`s fake right arm shoots two darts out of his index finger into a Winston Churchill portrait; each of the darts was dipped in philopon, a Japanese murder drug. When Bond calls Alligator a maniac, Alligator counters that he considers himself an artist and compares himself to Hitler, Alexander The Great and Napoleon. Alligator also implies that Anagram is still a loyal operative, making Bond wonder if Anagram led him into this trap. Alligator tells his life story over dinner: from humble origins, through alligator smuggling, to his current plan and beyond. Several distractions let Bond swipe utensils and Alligator`s spray-paint can off the dinner table when no one is looking. Alligator further explains that he`ll turn on Russia and that the world will be his. An unnamed mute gigantic Korean comes in and karate chops Bond unconscious.

19: Do Not Puncture Or Incinerate
Bond comes to in the Parliament building`s fourth sub-basement. Alligator and a naked Anagram, painted purple from neck to knee, stand there. Bond curses himself for trusting her. Alligator threatens torture and a painful death if Bond doesn`t say who he`s working for. When Bond doesn`t respond, Alligator bites Bond`s calf with his steel teeth. Bond knocks his chair forward, overpowering Alligator. Alligator presses a button and Bond drops through the floor into an alligator pool. The alligator bites, inadvertantly cutting the ropes that bind Bond to the chair. Bond uses the weapons he stole from the dinner table to injure the alligator, ultimately killing it: Bond jams the spray-paint can into the alligator`s mouth. The alligator chomps down on it, the canister explodes, a shard lodges in the reptile`s windpipe. The trap door reopens, Bond vaults out and sees Anagram tied to an overturned chair; she had been on his side all along. Since Alligator`s men don`t suspect her loyalties, Bond wants her to get the MPs out of the ballot room.

20 Noon G.M.T. – Saturday
The MPs debate each other. Anagram cons Kapitan Hammerstein into believing that Alligator wants to see him and his men, and that he`s to give her the gun to keep watch over the British politicans. Bond joins her, and asks for the PM. Mr Pazardzhik shoves a note under the door asking the PM to see Alligator. Bond puts on the PM`s wig and robe, and carries the mace (the ceremonial metal object, not the spray), and goes to see Alligator. Steps away from Alligator, Kynstondi recognizes Bond and Mr Pazardzhik lifts his dart hand to fire. Bond knocks the arm off with the mace, then crushes Mr Kynstondi`s head. Alligator makes a run for it; Bond shoots him and chases him up the stairs to Big Ben. Alligator crumples and falls into the clockwork.

21 “When`s Supper?”
An injured Bond in M`s office. The PM had offered Bond a VC, but M had to explain that the service doesn`t go in for that sort of thing. The PM has told newspaper editors that what happened was a test run for moving the Parliament buildings in case of enemy attack. M offers Bond two weeks leave. Bond finds Anagram waiting for him in his home. They kiss.

Remarks: The famous Harvard Lampoon parody of Fleming`s James Bond novels is actually less a parody than a slavish imitation of Fleming`s originals.

Scenes and details are obviously copied (read: plagarized) from Fleming`s originals. I`m surprised that a plagiarism suit didn`t follow – the authors would never get away with it today – and it probably explains why the book only went through two printings and hasn`t been reprinted since.

It`s also at times a respectable Bond novel in its own right and this works in favour of including it in the series: it comes closer to Fleming`s style and tics (good and bad) than any post-Fleming Bond novelist.

The novel also has one major advantage over Fleming`s originals: it`s only 77 pages long and stapled like TV Guide Magazine, and perhaps no more than 32,000 words. Fleming sometimes went on a bit, and parts of Doctor No and most of Thunderball would have benefitted from being chopped in half.

Kingsley Amis complained that it was too close to the original and I assume that the authors marked down particular scenes from Fleming`s novels, changed them slightly and put them in a new order to create the novel. Compare two sets of examples:

1A) Every country in the world has its favourite bird, a creature which is pointed out with pride to foreigners and whose habits are followed lovingly by the natives. In Bermuda this bird is the long-tail, so called because nine-tenths of its twelve inches consist of two, long, graceful, black-tipped, white features. High above the beautiful stretch of pink sand six of them whirled, their white bodies flashes of light in the now setting sun, their tails meteor trails behind them. Their soft mewing punctuated the sound of the waves as they dipped and soared over the ebbing tide, their tiny bright eyes alert to the slightest movement indicating some hapless sea-creature left behind by the waves. Below them all but a few stragglers had left the beach.

1B) The most beautiful bird in Jamaica, and some say the most beautiful bird in the world, is the streamer-tail or doctor humming-bird. The cock bird is abut nine inches long, but seven inches of it are tail – two long black feathers that curve and cross each other and whose inner edges are in a form of scalloped design. The head and crest are black, the wings dark green, the long bill is scarlet, and the eyes, bright and confiding, are black. The body is emerald green, so dazzling that when the sun is on the breast you see the brightest green thing in nature. In Jamaica, birds that are loved are given nicknames. Trochilus polytmus is called “doctor bird” because his two black streamers remind people of the black tail-coat of the old-time physician.

2A) He had not wished to embarrass the Governor, who seemed to him an easily embarrassable man, and it could in fact have been unwise to give him knowledge of a felony which might easily be the subject of a question in the Legislature Council. […] He had known the purpose of Bond`s visit to the Colony, and that evening, when Bond had shaken him by the hand, the dislike of a peaceable man for violent action had been communicated to Bond by something constrained and defensive in the Governor`s manner. […] Not that Bond had anything against the Governor. He belonged to a routine type that Bond had often encountered round the world – solid, loyal, competent, sober and just: the best type of Colonial civil Servant. Solidly, competently, loyally he would have filled the minor posts for thirty years while the Empire crumbled around him; and now, just in time, by sticking to the ladders and avoiding the snakes, he had got to the top. In a year or two it would be the GCB and out – out to Godalming, or Cheltenham or Tunbridge Wells with a pension and a small packet of memories of places like the Trucial Oman, the Leeward Islands, British Guiana, that no one at the local golf club would have heard of or would care about.

2B) Bond and the governor had disliked each other immediately. It was the instinctive reaction of a man of peace to a man of action, each realizing the necessity of the other`s job, but disagreeing with the principle behind it. To Bond the governor was a typical civil servant, holding on until he could retire on a nice pension to a little farm in the south of England and grow roses. To the governor Bond was the sort of person who caused embarrassing incidents, and his job was to avoid embarrassment. The meeting had been brief. Bond was assured of the full support and cooperation of government forces should he need them, and he in turn had assured the governor that there would be little likelihood of that.

I`ll leave it to the reader to decide which from each set Fleming wrote.

The authors also copy other details. Bond`s hand was scarred by SMERSH. Felix has a hook instead of an arm and the book refers to the Florida incident where Felix was injured. In Chapter 2, Bond notes that Anagram drives like a man and uses blinkers to indicate turns. After she leaves him, he calls her a “bitch”; compare what Bond says at the end of Chapter 11 in Thunderball after he`s met Domino. The novel also relies heavily on Moonraker: the card game; the last chapter when M tells an injured Bond that the service doesn`t go in for awards, gives him a leave of absence, and explains how the government and the press will cover up the mishap. Mind you, future Bond films and novels also copy from it (i.e. the villain has steel teeth like Jaws; the henchman`s hand shoots a dart into a picture; an exploding compressed air canister kills a villain).

There`s not that much humour. What little there is, is more of the “throwaway” kind (and some of the more over-the-top humour is rather strained): A large sign proclaimed “World-Wide Import & Export Ltd,” and few knew this was the headquarters for HM Secret Service. Bond thought of the few innocents who occasionally wandered in trying to import or export something. They were taken to the dummy offices on the fifth floor where they were politely, but firmly, shot.” Actually, one of the funniest things in the book is the publisher`s blurb about the other Vanitas Books by I*N FL*M*NG being sold out. Or in Chapter 11, Bond says about M: He had always called Allen Dulles whenever there was a difficult situation and it was difficult to convince him that Allen Dulles was no longer in charge of the CIA.

The novel is at it`s best when it tries to be an exciting thriller in its own right. The 14% through 36% section of the novel features an exciting card game which has what others call the “Fleming sweep”. It`s terrific, exciting, with ingenious bits: Bond cottons onto the deaf-mutes` gambit, he realizes that Alligator asked for tens because the deaf-mute must have splayed his fingers out when Bond knocked him over. This is great, though Bond`s toast reeks of parody and seems straight out of the 1967 Casino Royale parody. Notwithstanding this, it`s these clever exciting parts that make me argue that the book should be counted as a legitimate series entity.

There are also wonderful details about Alligator`s background in Chapter 4: people threw baby alligators into the sewers, the alligators grew in size, and Alligator befriended them – which is a strikingly Fleming touch, one that doesn`t rely on the originals, and this is how the authors should have written the novel. M says, “Then when they got too big or their owners became bored with them, they flushed them down the toilet. In the sewers they just went right on growing. Thrived there. Apparently he grew very attached to them and they to him. Found he could do a very good business selling them to zoos, and of course he could sell the baby ones for conversation pieces.” In fact, if I didn`t know any better I would have thought that Fleming had written this passage.

Chapter 6 has a nice bit about stupid Bulgarians which sounds like Fleming but works on its own. Besides there were the two deaf-mute Bulgarian bodyguards. Bulgarians, B*nd had always known, are inherently stupid and muscular. Lacking the intelligence to be criminal masterminds in their own right, they usually ended up as hired thugs. He remembered that while he had been working on the Casino case in France, the Deuxieme Bureau had uncovered a whole pool of Bulgars expert in sabotage and murder jobs. Alligator had probably hired his bodyguards from just such a pool.

In Chapter 12, the Governor explains that Alligator bought a Bermuda Island, and built a purple replica of the British Parliament on it (reminiscent of Doctor No). There`s also a nice, believable (until you think about it) explanation about water shortage, which is probably a parody of Fleming`s poor research. (Mind you, even if it isn`t, it`s detailed and fascinating the way Fleming can be.)

Chapter 13 is one of the book`s best chapters, and has some good writing: “Does Smersh mean anything to you?” “I`ve heard of it,” he replied shortly. Or when Anagram explains Alligator`s “washroom” cue; though parody, it`s nicely done. In fact, up to that point I thought Alligator`s penchant for going to the washroom was amateurish. I read her explanation and thought, okay, that`s good writing. The authors convinced me.

Anagram`s background and predicament is a high point and though it copies Vesper`s situation in Casino Royale, it`s good, strong writing and dramatically effective, perhaps more than Fleming`s original. In the same chapter Anagram mentions that her mother wrestled with her conscience for 9 months (after becoming pregnant); this is Fleming-like and also good writing.

In Chapter 16, Bond, captured, is invited to dinner and given a menu list. Bond specifices exactly how he wants his meal prepared and it`s parody, but it works (and is funny); Bond notes that the shrimp should be de-veined before being cooked. It`s also good, effective writing; it would work well in a regular Bond novel. I suppose a crucial element of a successful parody is for the scenes and details to work as parody and non-parody.

In Chapter 17, Bond hears two sets of chimes and realizes that Alligator stole the Parliament buildings; it`s a nice bit and exciting and has the same charge you get from the high points in the other novels.

Chapter 18 is another fine chapter, with funny details: (it`s presumably a parody of the dining scene in Doctor No) Bond swipes almost everything off the dinner table to use as weapons and nobody notices. There`s one deft, funny bit: he blows the candle out and tucks it in robe.

The same chapter is clever: the kidnapped politicians debate England`s entry into the Common Market. It`s funny and yet entirely logical and it works. Think about it, what else are they going to do? They`ll have to debate it at some point so why not now? It`s brilliant because it`s so believable. It`s off the wall, yet expected.

Also in Chapter 18, Alligator explains that, “With the help of the Detroit Purple Gang, to whom my aesthetic intuition led me directly, I entered the field of international alligator smuggling: my already substantial income increased fourfold, and I was able to expand my Nazi youth group into a sort of special executive for counterintelligence, terrorism, revenge, and extortion [Note the initials: s.p.e.c.t.r.e] – in short, The Organization Organized to Hate, or, simply, T.O.O.T.H.” There are other clever details: Alligator explains his Russian connections (or “connexions”, Fleming`s way of spelling the word): three of their agents stole an atom bomb (Thunderball), and a fourth, Gary Powers (though he`s not actually mentioned), allowed his plane to be forced down over Russia. One of several ingenious Fleming-style details. (It makes it even less understandable why John Gardner never had the knack when Frirth/Cerf got it downpat.)

The finale is exciting and clever (and at these times it forfeits the label parody): Bond disguises himself as the PM and approaches Alligator. It builds in intensity and is probably more exciting than Fleming because the book is so compact.

However, I never thought I`d say this in regards to Fleming`s writing, but Fleming is more stylish than Frith and Cerf. It copies Fleming`s style, but it doesn`t have the same sturdiness or exuberance. Alligator keeps saying “chum” and botching Bond`s name; these tics are actually more annoying as the book goes along and he isn`t a great villain. The novel is also structurally flawed; the story takes an awkward turn at the 40% mark when it shifts from the card game to the Bermuda plot. It also slows down immediately after the card game and takes several chapters to work itself back up. Chapter 11 awkwardly shoehorns news about the disappearing Parliament buildings, and at other times the novel is too rushed (i.e. Felix Ronson is a walk-on/get-killed part) and needed fleshing out.

Chapter 19 probably features the book`s worst scene. Bond fights an alligator which keeps biting chunks out of him. It`s presumably meant to parody the obstacle-course sequence from Doctor No, but it`s sloppy and doesn`t work. It didn`t bother me as much re-reading the novel, but it would have worked better had it been less stupid. However, there`s one inspired bit of writing: B*nd was not a religious man, but at that moment he gazed toward the black ceiling and uttered a silent word of thanks. As if in answer, a flash of blinding yellow light appeared from the ceiling. The trap door had reopened.

Should Alligator be considered a “real” Bond novel? Yes, even though Glidrose doesn`t own the copyright. John Gardner tended towards parody at his worst and the most ludicrous moments in his novels aren`t that far removed from the parody here. It also fits in more easily with the books than the 1967 Casino Royale does with the Bond films. There are moments straight out of that film (during the toast, Alligator throws his glass back and dings Dingletump on the head, Chapter 8), but it`s actually very Fleming-like. It also has the crucial ingredient that, for example, John Gardner never grasped: the situations can be ridiculous but the author must be absolutely straight-faced and treat almost everything with the utmost tongue-in-cheek seriousness. The authors take themselves very seriously. It`s part of the book`s charm and explains its popularity.