tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post7752455833613098146..comments2024-03-27T17:14:54.791-05:00Comments on Glorious Trash: Casino Royale (James Bond #1)Joe Kenneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03285576322579808153noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-41256077055288395572018-03-14T14:37:09.346-05:002018-03-14T14:37:09.346-05:00Hey, thanks for the comment, sorry I missed it -- ...Hey, thanks for the comment, sorry I missed it -- interesting to hear that Fleming wasn't fond of Mike Hammer. Speaking of which, I'm nearly finished Diamonds Are Forever, and so far I like this one second-best of the first four Bond novels, after Live And Let Die. Still blows my mind that many people, like Chandler, consider Casino Royale to be the best Bond novel. But to each his ownJoe Kenneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03285576322579808153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-65870147808317340942018-02-20T16:13:47.291-06:002018-02-20T16:13:47.291-06:00I don't think Fleming was a fan of Mike Hammer...I don't think Fleming was a fan of Mike Hammer. Fleming's journalism actually contains some derogatory references to Spillane. Casino Royale was based on Fleming's wartime knowledge and experiences, with some influence from Dennis Wheatley, Peter Cheyney, Eric Ambler, Somerset Maugham, and Raymond Chandler. One of the book's biggest fans was Chandler himself, who told Fleming he&#Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06905195863291708921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-75047544854995943712018-02-12T13:51:26.562-06:002018-02-12T13:51:26.562-06:00Anthony Horowitz is writing a prequel to 'Casi...Anthony Horowitz is writing a prequel to 'Casino Royale', to be entitled 'Forever And A Day'.Ystafell Gynghorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157335049148464110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-50385882647994915262016-06-30T15:56:53.308-05:002016-06-30T15:56:53.308-05:00Thanks for the comments, everyone!
Allan -- I enj...Thanks for the comments, everyone!<br /><br />Allan -- I enjoyed that sketch, had never seen it.<br /><br />FreeLiveFree -- "Casino Royale" was the only Bond movie I ever walked out of, and I've never gone back to the Craigs. Lame modern revisionism at its worst. I was already prepared for annoyance when I saw the CR trailers, complete with buff Craig in speedos. I mean, when Joe Kenneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03285576322579808153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-23097486717552618032016-06-30T11:41:01.968-05:002016-06-30T11:41:01.968-05:00First off, I was surprised to see Fleming even cov...First off, I was surprised to see Fleming even cover in this blog. The literati may have called him trash but I would have to side with Raymond Chandler in that Fleming was an effective, elegant writer and, having read this novel several times, I'm surprised that you fault this one so yet praise "You Only Live Twice," which is a great travelogue with no plot until about the last 30 Stephen Mertzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08531248810283345577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-8432556572145444982016-06-29T16:45:01.475-05:002016-06-29T16:45:01.475-05:00You're not wrong about the flaws in the book, ...You're not wrong about the flaws in the book, but it's probably my absolute favorite for the conversation Bond has with Mathis about the nature of good and evil. Here's my take on the book:<br /><br />http://briandrake88.blogspot.com/2009/08/ian-flemings-casino-royale-spy-story-to.htmlBrian Drakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01233187184688491057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-89033622262801069292016-06-28T23:26:27.815-05:002016-06-28T23:26:27.815-05:00Tim Powers's "Last Call" did some fu...Tim Powers's "Last Call" did some fun things with gambling, although strictly speaking it was more about Tarot.halojones-fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05473935330204075559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-85026572609600511882016-06-28T20:23:31.028-05:002016-06-28T20:23:31.028-05:00If I remember right, after the attempt is made to ...If I remember right, after the attempt is made to blow Bond up on the street goes awry he goes back to his hotel room and orders a massage. Nothing like a nice massage when your cover is blown and people are trying to kill you! I think Live and Let Die is right after this one and that was a pretty good book if memory serves. I haven't read it since high school though, when I read all of the Kurthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13890931403701897892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-40347739149241250632016-06-28T16:47:32.537-05:002016-06-28T16:47:32.537-05:00Outstanding review as always. I actually enjoy lon...Outstanding review as always. I actually enjoy longer, expansive, NYRB-style reviews to capsule reviews, so you're A-Okay by me. <br /><br />I enjoyed CASINO ROYALE waaay more than you or Zwolf did. I am not a gambler, but was swept up in that worlds and the tension Fleming effectively created. Of course I brought a lot of positive associations to my reading, having seen most of the films Gary R. Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00811008380554433446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-63342775267797195672016-06-28T07:57:22.335-05:002016-06-28T07:57:22.335-05:00Excellent review! And thanks for the plug! :) Tony...Excellent review! And thanks for the plug! :) Tony Randall as Bond pretty much nails that book. <br /><br />I still haven't moved on to any other Bond books yet. I'm thinking I should probably skip over to Thunderball, since it sounds good, but so far I haven't gone for it. It is pretty tough to get a lot of "action" out of a gambling book. The only books I've read Zwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02364540771153476179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-47811950546275165282016-06-28T02:09:27.832-05:002016-06-28T02:09:27.832-05:00The thing to remember about Fleming is that as wel...The thing to remember about Fleming is that as well as Spillane, he was heavily influenced by Dornford Yates, whose snobbishness is reflected in Fleming's use of non-English languages and expensive brands. This makes for an odd cocktail that didn't really come into focus until a book or two down the line. With no pulp or mushroom jungle paperback past, and no journalism or magazine Age Of Aquariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05776093741594779732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-90233675385046741722016-06-27T17:36:06.764-05:002016-06-27T17:36:06.764-05:00Hi Joe, found your blog thru GROOVY AGE.
I think ...Hi Joe, found your blog thru GROOVY AGE.<br /><br />I think you're right that Fleming hadn't yet found his voice with respect to portraying Bond as a "tough guy." One book claimed that Fleming was also a big fan of Somerset Maugham, and there have been many times when Bond seemed less like Mike Hammer and more like one of Maugham's effete characters.<br /><br />I reviewed Gene Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11495562795211277146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-28738739398756800912016-06-27T17:32:26.074-05:002016-06-27T17:32:26.074-05:00I tend to think of this as Bond's "origin...I tend to think of this as Bond's "origin story" to use a term from Comic Books. This is what created the Bond from the later novels.<br /><br />You mention you don't think of Craig as Bond. There's a fan theory that James Bond is just a code name of different agents. This explains Connery, Moore, Craig et cetera being different. Obviously, it only works for the movies and Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04695983348254508387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3701602284718920546.post-91791067498449052692016-06-27T12:59:53.405-05:002016-06-27T12:59:53.405-05:00It’s almost as if Fleming just learned the word be...<i> It’s almost as if Fleming just learned the word before writing the book and became fascinated with it, as in a skit I once saw back in the ‘90s on a show called The State (the word that writer just discovered was “and;” ...</i><br /><br />You'll like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrJYpActs7g" rel="nofollow">this Kids In the Hall sketch</a>.allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.com