Firmly on the ground... - Rated 
Forget the film.
Fleming's third bond novel is a brilliant thriller with a strong plot, well-rounded characters and a villain with real menace. Instead of the weak, thinly constructed baddie from the film, Drax is a ruthless, bombastic, yet calculating genius with a diabolical scheme for revenge. Of all the actors to protray Bond (can't comment on Daniel Craig, not having seen his portrayal yet), Sean Connery seems to have come closest to the original books. Suave, sophisticated, but not devoid of cruelty when necessary, Bond is a hero the reader can believe in. Rather than the campy superhero as portrayed by Roger Moore, Bond is intelligent but not indestructable. He is knowledgable, but as seen in the next book Diamonds Are Forever, he is not all-powerful.
I find it sad that Fleming died before he could see his creation achieve the world-wide acclaim it enjoys today.
Moonraker is the perfect example of why that acclaim is so well deserved.
An interesting start, sags in the middle, exiting at the end - Rated 
This novel has some nice high points, Bond's rapport and regard for his boss, 'M', is pleasantly delineated as 'M' talks Bond into investigating a curious war hero. The millionaire Philanthropist & Industrialist red-haired and blustering 'Sir Hugo Drax', who is apparently interested in helping Britain develop a Nuclear rocket, or ICBM deterrent shortly post-war in the early 50's, called the 'Moonraker'.
It is NOT played out in space or has anything to do with space ships or shuttles at all. The movie adaptation was simply a cash in on the peak of Star Wars Space Opera films of the time.
The investigation of Drax is rather more prosaic than the film asserts and the story takes place almost entirely in the South east of England, mainly Maidstone, Kent, I think if I recall corectly, where Drax has the Moonraker being readied for a test launch that BBC radio will hoo and haa over in jolly cut-glass accents.
'M' was beaten at Cards by Sir Hugo and lost alot of money at the Blades club, in Westminster and to top that, Bond's boss is certain that he was cheating and that there is a shadowy side to Sir Hugo's past. To put it simply 'M' thinks Sir Hugo is a bellicose, swaggering bounder and would like 007 to - unofficially of course - take him down a peg or two.
Naturally Bond is sympathetic to 'M' being cheated at cards, in this case (I think) Baccarat, as Bond cannot abide a cheat. Further, to cheat in any game at the Blades club is bad show and simply beyond the pale.
'M' arranges a table at Blades for himself, Bond and a couple more Big-wigs for a high stakes Baccarat match, last one 'standing' wins the entire pot of some 10's of thousands of pounds.
To cut a long story short, Bond outfoxes the cheating Drax at his own game by careful manipulation of the decks of cards with subtle marking and discovers his - very subtle - method of cheating, which I wont reveal here.
Drax loses, is nearly bankrupted, but more importantly loses face.
Drax invites Bond over to his Moonraker facility as a guest and Bond takes along a top Scotland Yard operative, who also are interested in Drax over the mysterious death of a Journalist or facility worker there, I can't recall which. 'Gala Brand', from the Yard, accompanies Bond under the disguise of being a 'friend', and the two nose around the base to find out some unsavoury things about Drax.
Now the issue I have with this book is the card game scenes, as unless you actually understand the game he is playing, come accross as rather long and stall the pace, holding up the narrative, which,in Casino Royale say, cracks along compellingly.
Once Bond has got one over on Drax, the narrative picks up again, with bond roaring around London and Kent in his no, not Aston-Martin or BMW, but his 1933 Amherst-Villiers Supercharged Bentley (in the same colour as the famous DB5).
Moonraker loses a star due to its sluggish card scenes but is largely saved by Fleming sense for taugh storytelling and killer opening chapter sentences:
The book opens with the great line,
"The two 38's roared simultaneously."
Another chapter starts with the brilliant
"Bond awoke in the dead mans bed."
All in all the novel is a great read as it is so evocative of the quaintness of post-war England. Where a Millionaire was exceptional and racing along roads in hot pursuit of bad guys at 120MPH was very fast indeed.
The novel has kidnapping, murder, sex in the outdoors (well written), innuendo, romance, tension, torture, revenge and lots more.
The Penguin edition here is a bit on the large format side and is not as pocketable as the classic Pan books editions, try and buy a smaller format edition. Its the sort of novel that thrils, is utterly readable.
For bedtimes, on the plane, in holiday anywhere; its 'juice' stays with you for a long time.
Crackling suspense in one of Fleming's best novels - Rated
Bond author Ian Fleming was advised by friends to write his second Bond nove LIVE AND LET DIE before he had even tested the waters with his first 007 thriller CASINO ROYALE. Fleming's friends impressed on him that if the first novel failed he would be less inclined to write a second one. His friends need not have worried as is proved by this third 1955 entry into the James Bond literary series.
After some shaky elements in his first two novels Fleming and his characteristic Fleming-sweep, really hits its stride here and he delivers a thriller which is not only consistently ranked as one of the best by fans, but also a personal favorite of mine.
One of the great strengths of this book (as was the case with the subsequent 1979 movie adaptation) is the main villain Hugo Drax. A leading member of British society with a somewhat mysterious background, Drax is ostensibly building a weapon to help protect Britain, but all is not as it seems.
Bond's first encounter with Drax is at the behest of his superior M who is convinced the industrialist is cheating at cards at M's gentleman's club Blades. Bond uncovers the method behind Drax's remarkable winning streak but also effectively turns the tables on him.
In this novel Bond is not the superhero of the movie that would follow over two decades later. This is no clearly more evident than in his rejected advances towards Gala Brand, an undercover policewoman at Drax's plant. Brand is actually one of my favorite leading ladies of the Bond literary series, she is both independent and intelligent and one of the better drawn female characters of the Fleming books.
The plot is low-key enough, the villain suitably overblown and the so heroine irresistable as to make this compelling reading. Drax's monlogue towards the end is so well done and Fleming keeps the twists and turns coming at a fast enough pace that the reader can easily overlook the improbabilities and plot holes and simply enjoy the book.
Well recommended, not just for Bond fans but all people who enjoy a good solid thriller.
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