The striking thing about this one is how radically different it is from the Roger Moore movie. The novel has nothing to do with space travel; Moonraker is a nuclear missile. It is noteworthy that the 'Bond girl' in this one, Gala Brand, at a couple points steps in as the subject of the narration. This didn't happen in either of the previous 2 novels. Other departures from the movie-ingrained stereotype James Bond: still no Q, still no Walther PPK (rather a .25 Beretta), still drives a Bentley (which is wrecked and replaced in this one), and he doesn't end up with the girl at the end. No sign of Jaws. Also, all of the first 3 novels end with him quite severely injured. Nonetheless, the plot is compelling and suspenseful (despite some noticeable plot element repetition starting to emerge by the 3rd installment), and the villains are interesting. Well worth reading, though I'm not sure if I'll move on to the next one.

V cool. Again, nothing like the film - no space stations, cable-car battles or Jaws. Just boring old Dover and a rocket, but it's marvellous. Quaintly dated rather than amusingly so like some of the others I've read this year, he doesn't even get the girl!

Although she is called Gala Brand, and they do survive a cliff falling on them, so it does maintain a certain level of ridiculousness I expect from Bond.

I really enjoyed this story which is so much better than I thought it would be. Bill Nighy was brilliant as the narrator, bringing to life the different characters so well. I particularly enjoyed his voice for Krebbs, Drax's assistant, even though it made my skin crawl. I highly recommend this audio.

Cute. I recommend brushing up on bridge before starting this one ha ha.

Reading this fiction, “Moonraker” would be, I think, gradually thrilling and heart-throbbing due to, at least, its two godlike episodes as narrated in Chapter 6 'Cards With a Stranger' and Chapter 7 'The Quickness of the Hand' in which James Bond has to win to subdue Sir Hugo Drax from cheating; the other being in Chapter 23 'Zero Minus' that depicts how Bond has miraculously freed Gala Brand by biting at the torch using its flame to melt the copper strands bound around her arms.

M asks Bond to investigate why Sir Hugo Drax, the filthy-rich, noted industralist and Britain's man-of-the-moment, is cheating at cards at his club. Sir Hugo is the funder of the Moonraker, a long-range missile intended to act as a deterrent against foreign attack on Britain. When one of the Moonraker's guards is murdered in an apparent crime-passionel, Bond is sent in to help guard the Moonraker ahead of its much-anticipated test flight. He quickly discovers a dastardly plot to sabotage the weapon and ends up in a race against time to save London.

Drax is a suave, calculating villain with some ridiculously stereotypical henchmen. It's clear from the outset that he's up to no good - the question is what exactly he is trying to do. Bond is helped by Gala Brand, an intelligent, determined and spirited Bond girl who doesn't end up sleeping with Bond (nice change!)

Much of the action is set in Dover and the surrounding areas of Kent. It is strange to imagine Bond driving through the streets of Maidstone and doing 95mph past the entrance to Leeds Castle, but also makes a nice contrast to the more glamorous locations used in the Bond films.

Hugely enjoyable but, note to self - knowledge of olde-worlde card games like bridge, baccarat etc would make understanding the gambling scenes a heck of a lot easier!

I was gonna give it four stars until the very end, which took me by surprise and made me love it. A really sweeping book. Ian Fleming manages to surprise me every time.

Yet another case where the villain wastes time monologuing and concocting a needlessly elaborate death for the heroes instead of a quick bullet apiece. Oh, when will these supervillains learn?

I find these interesting for what they say about the time period itself (or at least the author and his view): the politics, the gender relations, and the views on masculinity. There's a sequence early in the book that captures all of it. No, not the bridge game, though that was fascinating. In talking about the Double-O Section secretary, Loelia Ponsonby, Fleming briefly goes through the strange position of the women in this department. They are hit on by the agents but smart women don't get involved, and if they marry outside the service then they are considered security risks and must retire. The ones who stay are unmarried and considered pitied spinsters. Which, of course, all the men comment about to poor Ms. Ponsonby. I couldn't tell if Fleming mentioned this situation with deliberate irony.

First of all, I was lucky enough to find a 1959 Pan copy of Moonraker, a treasure for my collection. Bond books hold a special place in my heart because I distinctly remember checking them out, a couple at a time, from the adult section of our local public library. They took up a whole shelf, and I worked my way through the series. This was likely around 1967, I was in my early teens, and I thought myself to be quite the sophisticate, taking out those racy Bond books. Rereading them now, they seem pretty tame, especially when I conjure up visions of a svelte Daniel Craig, in a tuxedo. I grew up with Connery as Bond, endured Dalton, swooned over Roger Moore in his prime, and adored Pierce Bronson. That said, such comparisons to the Bond in Moonraker are totally unfair. The essence of the character is there in those brief 189 pages, and it's fun to go back to the roots of the phenomenon that is Bond. Drax as a villain, is just as despicable, the danger to England is just as real, and the cooperation between James and his female counterpart from Scotland Yard's Special Branch, is key to saving the day. Fleming' s prose detailing the craft of espionage, is so authentic-not a surprise since he worked for MI6. On the surface, the book seems outdated, but once you read a few pages, you are hooked. Just enjoy the ride!

A very fitting read after watching Oppenheimer. I give three stars since there was no point in the plot where I was hooked and fascinated. Maybe I am burnt out on James Bond for the moment???? Still enjoyed though.

There’s something about these Ian Fleming books that makes them eminently readable. The writing is richer than you might expect. Moonraker as a story is well paced and has enough of the trademark gritty spy elements to really draw you in.

Sir Hugo Drax has been supervising a bunch of German scientists who are building England’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. Drax has become something of a national hero and the first test is imminent. The problem is that Drax is suspected of cheating at cards at the elite gambling club he belongs to. Bond is brought in to tactfully expose the cheating and quietly get it to stop before scandal taints Drax and his project. So, the first third of the book ends up being about Bond figuring out how Drax cheats and then turning the tables on him.

On the same night as Bond is working to prevent a scandal, one of Drax’s German employees shoots the head of security for the Moonraker project then shoots himself. The coincidental timing is enough for higher echelons in the British government to decide Bond should lend a hand to the investigation. It was all a good thrill ride of a novel.