tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post7289439808480551191..comments2024-03-11T01:39:11.362-04:00Comments on At the Scene of the Crime: 007 Reloaded: From Russia With LovePatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-46096965306525804962013-02-07T18:03:33.847-05:002013-02-07T18:03:33.847-05:00There is no doubt that it is one of the best of th...There is no doubt that it is one of the best of the Bonds. I was surprised by the unusual structure of the book when I originally read it. Leaving Bond out of the first half of the book was a bold move, but it paid off. In most of the other novels we are side to side with 007, facing the dangers at the same time he faces them. Here, we are aware of the terrible danger he is in, and this foreknowledge helps rack up the tension to an unbearable degree.<br /><br />The scenes of the plot being hatched are very interesting. They are played as almost a paranoid comedy, with everyone recording everyone else's responses on tape in order that they can denounce them later on. Grant is one of the most terrifying of the Bond villains in that he is utterly real (in the real world, Richard Kuklinski was a Mafia hitman who used his murderous urges to make a living as a killer for the mob). The final showdown has got to be one of the most gripping pieces of writing that Fleming ever did. Equally, Rosa Kleb is so wonderfully vile that it's startling that she appears in so little of the book.<br /><br />Kerim Bey is such a vivid character that you have to wonder if he was based on a real person (Dikko Henderson from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE definitely was, so perhaps Kerim Bey was). Fleming was always good at depicting strong male friendships.<br /><br />I'm strongly tempted to buy the audio book. Stephens is a terrific actor and a great Bond on the radio (I'd love to see him as Bond in the movies, although it's probably a forlorn hope). Sextonblakenoreply@blogger.com