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by J. H. Bográn (TopShelf Columnist)
Twitter @JHBogran | [email protected]
It’s dark times for fans of the most
enduring movie franchise of all time.
Much like 2016 was the “Year without
the Doctor” for fans of Doctor Who, the
James Bond fans have seen nothing since
2015´s Spectre. Plans for a new movie are
in pre-production limbo, a most
fearsome place to be, and one that has
claimed Bond for up to six years—from
License to Kill (1987) to Goldeneye (1995).
This has left fans with not much choice
but dusting off the old DVD or newer
Blue-Ray copies of the previous 24
movies. I’m here to offer another lifeline,
one that perhaps has already occurred to
some, but not to all fans: Get to meet
James Bond, literarily, by reading the
books. You can start with Ian Fleming’s,
then carry on to recent authors like
Raymond Benson and Jeffery Deaver.
Once decided to visit the origins of the
character, the next question is where to
begin. For this I’d suggest two options:
Follow the publication order and start
with Casino Royale, or use the movies as a
reference. I won’t go into Casino Royale
because chances are many people read the
commemorative edition published when
the first Daniel Craig movie came out in
2006. The latter option would mean to
start with Doctor No.
Among the iconic scenes from the
movie that were not present in the novel
are two that stand out the most: the whole
scene in the mountain retreat with one
Ms. Taro, a Chinese spy for Dr. No. The
other one, and perhaps one that marks the
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disregard the Beretta and armed him with
not only the Walter PPK, but also a Smith
& Wesson revolver! Yes, I know the movie
doesn’t even mention the .38 Special.
The novel is not without its faults and
it’s a byproduct of the period in which it
was written. Fleming as a proper
Englishman, one who probably saw his
home country as the Ruler of the World
that they were for a long time, has some
disparate remarks towards other races.
For instance, one of the character pegs
LITERARILY MEETING BOND
Jamaicans as lazy, or Syrians as
astute businessmen who when
overstocked of products lit their
stores with the unstated goal of
claiming the insurance.
This column may feel like I’m
offering books as a consolation
prize. That is not the case. I’m just
seizing the opportunity to earn
more readers to a classic spy
franchise that for