Thunderball by Ian Fleming

God I’m bored of this story. If you read the James Bond books, and see the James Bond films, you end up getting this story three times. This is one of the earlier versions, but it’s the last I’ve come to. After Thunderball the film (which is Connery’s third-weakest film), and Never Say Never Again (which is Connery’s second-weakest) I read this bored with the tedious plot.

Still, I guess of the three, this is the more interesting version. At least you get a bit of Felix Leiter, and the diving scenes aren’t as mind-numbingly dull as those in the film. For all of this, though, the book drags and drags and drags, and although Bond and Leiter seem incapable of working out what’s coming next, the reader can see pretty much every plot point coming pages in advance.

The best news is that this means we’re nearing the end of the Bond extravaganza. The bad news is that it’s been some time since there’s been a good story (excluding the short stories) and I don’t hold a great deal of hope for future novels.

Thunderball (book) on Amazon

Thunderball (DVD) on Amazon

Thunderball (Blu Ray) on Amazon

Never Say Never Again (DVD) on Amazon

  1. pootling posted this