Michael continues his solo exploration of Fleming's Bond novels with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Written after the release of the Dr No film, OHMSS references the movie is some interesting ways while also continuing the Blofeld saga begun in the novel Thunderball. And then there's Tracy Draco, who may or may not be as [...]
Michael, Rob, and Karen Flieger discuss the first James Bond feature film: how it compares to the Fleming novel while setting the stage for the 60-year (and running) series of movies about the world's favorite super spy. Download or listen to the episode here.
Michael talks about the most unusual James Bond novel of all, The Spy Who Loved Me. No Jaws. No Russian spy on a revenge quest. No underwater lair. Just a heartbroken girl, a remote motel, and a couple of thugs sent to kill her. Download or listen to the episode here.
In this solo episode, Michael talks about the four James Bond short stories collected after Ian Fleming's death as Octopussy and The Living Daylights. In addition to the two title stories, later editions also included "The Property of a Lady" (commissioned by Sotheby's) and "007 in New York" (to placate American readers after a rather cranky [...]
Michael continues exploring Ian Fleming’s James Bond books with Thunderball, a controversial novel with complicated origins that finally introduces Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE to the series. Download or listen to the episode here.
Michael continues exploring Ian Fleming’s James Bond books with the eighth in the series. For Your Eyes Only isn't a novel, but a collection of five short stories. Elements of all five have turned up in various films though, whether it's the titles of "Quantum of Solace" and "From a View to a Kill" or the villains [...]
Michael continues exploring Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels with the seventh in the series, Goldfinger. Like with the film version, the novel introduces a lighter tone than had been in the series so far. But is that a good thing or bad? Download or listen to the episode here.
Michael continues exploring Ian Fleming's James Bond novels with the sixth in the series, Dr. No. It's the pulpiest so far, but also has big character development for Bond and a surprising thematic connection with Pierre Boulle's novel, Planet of the Apes. Download or listen to the episode here.
Michael discusses the fifth Bond novel by Ian Fleming and it's a bold entry in the series. Fleming spends the first half of the book on the villains and their plan, not introducing Bond until halfway through. And then ends the story on a cliffhanger. Download or listen to the episode here.
Michael covers Ian Fleming's fourth James Bond novel, Diamonds Are Forever, in another solo episode. Bond returns to the United States to bust up a mob-run diamond smuggling operation, but how do these hoods measure up as a threat to a spy used to taking on mad industrialists and agents of the Soviets' assassination bureau? And what [...]