Ian Fleming

Phantom Commander wrote:

Even the worst of Fleming is better than the best of any of those others.

I know you did like Christopher Wood at least

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.

I'd say Diamonds Are Forever. It doesn't hang together very well and it feels lower stakes as a mission. Plus the villains in the form of the Spang Brothers are weak and appear very little in the story. Their henchmen Wint and Kidd far outshine them.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

Yes, Gun is fairly weak. At that point, Fleming was mining his own basement for the story, and Bond's apparent infatuation with Scaramanga was off-putting as well. Bond shouldn't behave like a silly schoolgirl in the presence of a rock star.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

TSWLM is well written, but is a tad boring during long stretches.

Phantom Commander wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

TSWLM is well written, but is a tad boring during long stretches.

It's wonderfully written. Stylistically, among Fleming's best. But the conception is very strange, to say the least, and Fleming regretted having written it.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

Yes, Gun is fairly weak. At that point, Fleming was mining his own basement for the story, and Bond's apparent infatuation with Scaramanga was off-putting as well. Bond shouldn't behave like a silly schoolgirl in the presence of a rock star.

Perhaps slightly more understandable if he'd been more like the suave aesthete of Lee's portrayal rather than the boorish and vulgar borderline hoodlum that he is on the page (if memory serves, been a while since I read GG).

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

Yes, Gun is fairly weak. At that point, Fleming was mining his own basement for the story, and Bond's apparent infatuation with Scaramanga was off-putting as well. Bond shouldn't behave like a silly schoolgirl in the presence of a rock star.

Perhaps slightly more understandable if he'd been more like the suave aesthete of Lee's portrayal rather than the boorish and vulgar borderline hoodlum that he is on the page (if memory serves, been a while since I read GG).

Yes, you're correct. It's been observed that the Scaramanga of the novel is more like a henchman than a main villain when compared to most of the other occupants of Fleming's rogues gallery (Horror and Sluggsy aside). Still, I like TMWTGG as a story more than most seem to. It has a pared back simplicity to its plot that appeals to me.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

Yes, Gun is fairly weak. At that point, Fleming was mining his own basement for the story, and Bond's apparent infatuation with Scaramanga was off-putting as well. Bond shouldn't behave like a silly schoolgirl in the presence of a rock star.

Perhaps slightly more understandable if he'd been more like the suave aesthete of Lee's portrayal rather than the boorish and vulgar borderline hoodlum that he is on the page (if memory serves, been a while since I read GG).

Yes, that is correct. Fleming's Scaramanga was a vulgar thug, albeit a highly competent and crafty one. From a personality standpoint, he was pretty much diametrically opposite of Bond.

Maeve Horton wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Blunt Instrument wrote:

There's a question ... which is Fleming's 'worst'?

Golden Gun's reputation ain't great what with it essentially being a published first draft, and TSWLM's experimental style wasn't too well received at the time.    

Yes, Gun is fairly weak. At that point, Fleming was mining his own basement for the story, and Bond's apparent infatuation with Scaramanga was off-putting as well. Bond shouldn't behave like a silly schoolgirl in the presence of a rock star.

Perhaps slightly more understandable if he'd been more like the suave aesthete of Lee's portrayal rather than the boorish and vulgar borderline hoodlum that he is on the page (if memory serves, been a while since I read GG).

Yes, you're correct. It's been observed that the Scaramanga of the novel is more like a henchman than a main villain when compared to most of the other occupants of Fleming's rogues gallery (Horror and Sluggsy aside). Still, I like TMWTGG as a story more than most seem to. It has a pared back simplicity to its plot that appeals to me.

The first part of the novel, up through Bond's attempt to assassinate M is very good. And there are other good bits, such as the initial meeting between Bond and Scaramanga and the latter's gunning down of a pair of "kling-klings." (Cruelty to animals is a common trope of Fleming's villains.) I also like how Bond frequently needles the hotheaded Scaramanga causing his eyebrows to come together. Heh. Then, too, M reading Scaramanga's dossier and the bit about the inability to whistle being linked to homosexuality, with M reflexively testing the hypothesis--"M pursed his lips and blew, emitting a cool, clear note. 'Tcha!,' he said to himself irritably, and continued reading."--is one of the funniest moments in Fleming's oeuvre. In other words, even second-rate Fleming is dam' good stuff.

Meant to say that Anthony Horowitz is a decent 'continuation' author (although seeing as his 3 novels are set in the Fleming timeline, maybe 'continuation' is a misnomer). Them being set then (and their usage of previously unused Fleming material) may also be why they work better than some other efforts.