“Those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make bored.” Following the somewhat lackluster novel Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia, With Love nicely sets everything right in the world of James Bond. Following the events of that diamond-smuggling adventure, James Bond has found himself living ‘the soft life.’ Work has been slow and he’s been keeping … More From Russia With Love, by Ian Fleming: Book Review
Like Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever was one of my least favorite movies in the Bond series. Unlike Moonraker, the book didn’t improve things. Moonraker was one of my favorite books in the novels so far, but Diamonds is among the worst. The plot of the book and the movie have the same basic set-up (James Bond pretends to be Peter … More James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever: Book vs. Movie
“Death is forever. But so are diamonds.” You may recall from my last review that Moonraker turned out to be a terrific little book that was adapted into a seriously terrible movie. As fate would have it, I also despised the movie version of Diamonds Are Forever, but while Moonraker became my favorite book in the series so … More Book Review: Diamonds Are Forever, by Ian Fleming
Here we have quite an interesting juxtaposition: Moonraker is the worst Bond movie ever made in my opinion, but it’s probably my favorite of the books by Ian Fleming (so far at least). How did that happen? Blame Star Wars. No really. For Your Eyes Only was supposed to be the next Bond movie after The Spy … More James Bond in Moonraker: Book vs. Movie
“’They want us dead,’ said Bond calmly. ‘So we have to stay alive.’” The film adaptation of Moonraker is legendary for being awful. I called it the worst Bond movie ever, so you can understand that I was very curious to see how the book would fare. Thankfully, aside from the title and the villain’s name … More Book Review: Moonraker, by Ian Fleming
The movie version of Live and Let Die was used to introduce a new actor, Roger Moore, playing 007, but on the page it was pretty much just another adventure. Unlike Casino Royale, there are many differences to be found between the source novel and the film adaptation. Both find 007 investigating Mr. Big, an African American crime … More James Bond in Live and Let Die: Book vs. Movie
“In my job … when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It’s ‘live and let die.’” Now that we’ve been introduced to the world of James Bond, 007, Ian Fleming gets right to the point in the second Bond novel, Live and Let Die. The events of Casino Royale don’t … More Book Review: Live and Let Die, by Ian Fleming
“History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts.” Although it was the 21st movie in the series of Bond films, Casino Royale was the very first Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. Appropriately enough, its film adaptation was essentially a reboot of the Bond series with Daniel … More Book Review: Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
I’ve had a curious relationship with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s a rollercoaster, really, and it all comes down to the ending of the book and the terrific movie adaptation by Alfonso Cuarón. You see, when I first read Prisoner fifteen years ago I didn’t really like it at all. I thought the ending was … More Book Review: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
Although it’s the second book in the series, Chamber of Secrets was actually my first experience reading Harry Potter. Fifteen years ago I was 18 years old and attended a birthday party for one of my older sister’s college friends. Everyone spent the night at the friend’s house and in the morning I woke up … More Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling
Supposedly Fun 