On Her Majesty's Secret Service, by Ian Fleming

[essentialsaltes]

OHMSS turns out to be one of the best Bond novels I've read. This is also an interesting case where the film adaptation hews pretty close to the source material. Sure, there are some problems in the plot, like the way Teresa's profound ennui, anomie and Weltschmerz is cured by some good hard dicking by James Bond. But there's still plenty to like...
Bond's disaffection with his job
Plenty of corking action
A rather prescient use of agribioterrorism
Some amusement as Bond visits the College of Arms and ultimately has to swot himself into a genealogical and heraldic expert.
And something that distantly approaches a tragic love story, ending with Bond going a bit off his head.

Comments

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read the first Gardner Bond and (among other things) just couldn't get past the fact that Bond's car of choice was a Saab.