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Great show.

brilliant ..subscribed

Loved this video, but it has one glaring omission. What word did Fleming's friend come up with to describe a woman exhaling cigarette smoke?

I read Goldfinger and From Russia With Love... VERY different from the movies!

Darn, I didn't realize you had done a video on Perry Mason! I loved the Raymond Burr TV show and was inspired to read the novels. I think I've read all of them. It's interesting that in the first novel, The Case of the Velvet Claws, there is no courtroom scene. He resolves it before getting into court. Also, sure, Mason does unethical things, but not entirely without consequence. Several time he was threatened with investigations of his misconduct and/or disbarment proceedings, which he narrowly avoids by solving the case and proving who the real culprit is. Aso, The Case of the Musical Cow, even though its title seems to follow the same pattern as the titles of the Mason novels, is not in fact a Perry Mason novel. It's still a pretty good novel though. For the Mason titles, Gardner preferred using alliteration, as in the The Case of the Mythical Monkeys or the The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe. Some of Gardner's other writings are also fun, especially the Donald Lam and Bertha Cool stories. The D.A. series is shorter, harder to find, and a bit more uneven, as are the Grandpa Wiggins stories.

People who haven't read the early Perry Mason novels don't know what they're missing. Masterpieces of darkness, all of them. The bleak view of human nature, Perry's secretive approach to running the case, Della's ingenuity and resourcefulness when left without clear instructions, Perry's monumental respect for her, twisting the law to its limits to buy time. . . To me ESG and Mickey Spillane are head and shoulders above all other American crime fiction.

Been my favorite series since 1983….totally scratch the third one though! Read The Gap series instead

Came for the Bond books analysis. Stayed for the ASMR.

"I have to place them in an easily escapable situation. . ."

Thanks, I've never hear of this author. Wonderful video. I am going to buy one of his books.

You have a great voice Prof. Better than many audiobook narrators I've listened to.

I've been a bond fan thanks to my father (a baby boomer)so he got started in the old-school Connery films, thru the years I have appreciated how it has changed and evolved, yet my favourite bond is Timothy Dalton (in part because he looked a lot like my father) and his Bond was brutal and more realistic, (pretty criticized in the past but Craig is 100% Copy paste of this portrail), then Lazenby did a great great job considering He had never acted, I dunno why all the hate for his Bond, and actually it was very well received in the past actually he was offered 5 films and due to probably the worst advice ever he dropped from franchise...(maybe he's swtill banging his head on the wall to this day).....ok so in my very opinion my favourite film from each Bond are:.....From Russia with love, In her majesty..., For your eyes only, Licence to Kill, Golden Eye and Sky fall.... stay kool!

Thomas is a great character. The best. I like him. Im sorry no. Thomas is the hero. I dont agree with you at all.

The original Iseki story.

Dr. No is a really good Bond novel.

LIVE AND LET DIE is one of the most entertaining Bond books.

Very enjoyable and informative. Great info for someone who used to be into Bond but is no longer and probably never read the books. It was a shock when I realized movies usually didn't totally represent the books they were based on. Was excited for the remake of 'Walking Tall' and then tried to watch it and turned it off. Movies are all about making $$ and shocking the viewer and just because a book sells X # of copies doesn't necessarily mean its material for a film.

Why do I imagine you telling me this, about an inch from the nape of my neck? 🤔

Just finished Dr No a couple of days ago. After reading a couple other Bond books that basically just shared the title with the movie, I was surprised how close the Dr No book and movie were to each other.

Oh, right thrift stores have books! But how do you deal with books from thrift stores? The conditions could vary. That said how do you go about mold or just general book cleaning?

Live And Let Die is my favourite Bond movie...highly entertaining...no comment on the books as i tried reading one but gave up after about 6 pages

I grew up with Mary Stewart's books. I was in love with Merlin until Mordred came along and ever since, I've disliked every Mordred character in every other work in Arthuriana that portrays him as a villain. My favorite scene, however, is when Merlin finally reveals to Arthur who his true father is, Uther, the last High King. And he's surprised that Arthur is actually disappointed. Arthur had hoped that _Merlin_ was his father, he basically raised him after all. Sir Ector protected him but it was Merlin who was had show interest to a lonely boy who only knew he was a bastard living on charity.

I read all of the Flemming books in the late 60s thru mid 70s. I continued reading the series up until 10-15 years ago. I just lost interest in reading. Anything. I think Raymond Benson came closest to finding Flemming's "voice" in his books. A year ago, I did listen (in order) to the audio book versions of the Flemming novels.

Great video! I read all the books in 2024. I actually preferred the short stories, because he was just able to get out a quick anecdote -- like Bond hunting down a guy who stole Nazi gold -- without needing to be stretched.

My favourite Bond novel is Dr. No, also the film.

Another aspect of Fleming's description of luxury brands, gourmet food and drink, and travel to "exotic" locations is that these were things that, due to post-war scarcity and continued rationing and economic hard times, were beyond most British readers in the 1950s. So, part of the appeal was that readers could enjoy these things vicariously through Bond. Which is, I suppose, the very definition of escapist literature. And there's nothing wrong with that!

I read all of them in 1981. I was on a bit of a JB tear then. The Spy Who Loved Me was memorable because of how odd it was compared with the rest. Goldfinger and OHMSS are the two I enjoyed the most, and funnily enough they are my two favorite films in the series with an honourable mention to Daniel Craig's Casino Royale, that really did do a great job of reinvigorating a long dead franchise.

James Bond is actually based on 2 people Flemings Cousin Christopher Lee and 3rd Doctor Who Actor Jon Pertwee who both did special operations during the war in both Assassination of senior Nazis and Naval operations

Great informative Video!

HOWARD PYLE FTW! ❤❤❤❤❤

Read them all. Bond in the books can be a heartless killer and something of a sadist although he also regrets some of his actions - particularly when he's had too much to drink. Yes, there's a lot of detail about cigarettes, alcohol and descriptions of meals that would make his cholesterol level go through the roof - and he takes drugs sometimes! His snobbishness is quite amusing as he inwardly sneers at the villain's ugly appearance or poor dress sense, compared to Bond's simple yet well-tailored and expensive clothes.

Really appreciate this. I think I have read only a tiny bit of Lord Dunsany's work, and that only a few decades ago in an anthology of short stories. I must read more, and especially his novels.

HNY and thanks for the great work, effort and delivery that went into this

I love the Elric stories so much, though I fully understand the critism, I think Moorcock is maybe a favorite among other authors because he offers amazing and original ideas, themes and concepts, but they can be a bit underdeveloped so other authors are able to kind of "cherry pick" what they like from Moorcock and expand upon it. I've been digging the first Corum book greatly though, so I hope you cover that series soon.

You acknowledged two, but I consider all the short stories in the book "For Your Eyes Only" to be contained, to some extent, in the movie version (with a new plot to weave them all together). Let's see if you can agree. The short story, "For Your Eye's Only", (with Bond meeting a vengeful daughter outside a Cuban assassin's home, during a sniper mission) was contained pretty faithfully in the movie, as you described. The short story, "Risico" (with Bond getting involved in a gang war between the smugglers Columbo and Kristatos) is also transferred to the movie, right out of the book. I am assuming this was the second one that you were alluding to. But I think there is a connection between the short story "From a View to a Kill", also (as both feature motorcycle assassins). There is also a connection between the short story "The Hildebrand Rarity" and the movie (in that both feature a main villain who is a yachtsman). Even the short story "Quantum of Solace" has a tenuous connection to the movie, in that both feature a fairly tragic promiscuous woman (being the diplomats wife in the former and the underaged Bibi Dahl in the latter). Okay, that last one is pretty weak - but one can make a case for it!

Did my master's thesis on Fleming and the origins of post-war "brand-name novelism" - the introduction in that period of brand specific items in the writings' plotlines. I agree with your assesment of the earlier books, where Bond is indeed a ruthless assassin in service to the Queen. The later novels were done for the money, as the Fleming coffers were suffering, and the books showed it. But I still put "From Russia With Love" up there with the better espionage light fictions (not to be confused with David Cornwell's reality-based books); I also rate "Casino Royal" highly. The inherent racism and class-ism of the books dates them and detracts from their current readability; many modern readers simply will not tolerate those ideas.

If I hadn't gotten so poor and am now approaching the end of my life, I too would be continuing to collect a lot of books. I wish I had not so foolishly discarded many of my old books, including Conan the Barbarian paperbacks with the Frazetta covers, science fiction and fantasy writers, and others that were stolen or lost. Thank you for your channel. You are a wise and intelligent, insightful man.

My favorite Bond books are From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I found the book Moonraker boring, but the movie was complete crap. Goldfinger and less si Thunderball were fun to read and the movies felt like the books, Once we got to Daniel Craig most of those films are very good, especially Casino Royale, which may be the best of all Bond films. Quantum of Solace was the weakest, but it had good sequences. The rest of the Craig’s really developed Bond’s character and that was an improvement over Fleming. Loved your info about Fleming and the books. Thanks!

7:56 okay, where do i get that exact set of "the chronicles of prydain"??? I need that lol😅

Read 'em all as a teenager. Great stuff!

Damn... That VOICE!!!!! 😳😱

While the sale of Bond novels was brisk in Britain, they really didn't take off in America until John F, Kennedy confided to a reporter that he like dto relax with Fleming's Bond novels. Kennedy's populRIity led to a run on the books in American boookstores and assured that the first movie would be a huge international hit. Great video!

I liked it, what is your thought of the bod book between Flaming and Gardner, by Kingsley Amis? I want to say that the title was Colonel Sun, but it's been 40 years since I read it. I have all of the books through the mid 80's. personally I think the TV Casino Royale, is good if the time is accounted for, and the torture was lightened.

I was looking for an art catalogue from 2019, I have searched high and low but it seems to have disappeared, I located 2 copies at a ridiculous 350 dollars! On e-bay It’s Moroni, the riches of the Renaissance portraiture) , if you ever come across it , can you let me know? I’m a huge Art Book fan. I went to the exhibition in New York,2019(the Frick Museum) Now I’m kicking myself for not buying it then. Thank you for your tips!🙏🐾🙏📚

Daniel Craig was the most realistic Bond. My favorite Bond will always be Sean Connery and Goldfinger is hands down my favorite Bond film.

why are you whispering like that while talking about Bonf films? Do you have the flu?

Actually the movies put James Bond in the public eye. The books had some popularity, 1964 Goldfinger movie made it a Phenominon worldwide. James Bond became a household name. People who had never even heard of the books became aware of them fast. So when I hear this actor or that actor fit the books better, I say who cares. Sean Connery will be identified as Bond because he was part of that Phenominan. Albert Brocoli and Harry Saltzman, along with Sean Connery, Terence Young and Guy Hamilton did more for 007 than ian Flemming ever did.

You've made me very excited by recommending an author with fantastic prose.

I've watched this one video at least 10x by now. Just hearing spin and weave a tale of all his books which are all above awesome it seems is just enchanting. 'A song for Arbonne' with me as well took 3 tries to get going. The prolong pacing is kind of slow IMO. Then once I got past the first few pages in chapter 1, each time I am hooked to keep reading. Thank you for everything you do. P.s. Did you see that GGK is going to write another novel based on medieval France? I'm excited!

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to the books on CD. I’d only read Moonraker around the time the movie was released, and thought these are only related by title and villain. I did enjoy the spy who loved me as a departure from the books’ format and as a bonus, I was read by a woman. My two favorites were From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. Goldfinger for the nostalgia of the Corgi 007 DB5. Casino Royale is very good both as a book and film adaptation. Thanks for the reviews