Thunderball

Review updated following the BBC Radio production.

Thunderball is the 9th James Bond book by Ian Fleming. It's one my favourites of the original series. It has it all:

M – check,

Moneypenny – check,

May – check,

Felix – check,

Exotic location – check,

Beautiful girl with catchy name – check,

Car – check,

Walther PPK – check,

Blofeld and SPECTRE – check,

Atomic bombs – check.

I could go on but you get the picture ...

I liked the way that the book opens with Bond in need of a serious detox. Fleming describes a hangover, I'm guessing from his own experience, in a wonderful way. After reading this I realised just how descriptive Fleming was with his prose. This is especially the case when we get to the underwater battles later in the book. Fleming must have loved the sea and diving. His portrayal of frogman Bond is rich and atmospheric, for example: Bond sneaking around the Disco, the battle with SPECTRE scuba divers and the various sea life.

The novel is a tough straightforward thriller with an exciting plot. The 1967 movie of the same name follows the book. If you've seen this then it'll help you to conceptualise the story and scenes described.

It all rattles along at a nice pace with a sprinkle of humour and panache. Thunderball also has less violence as compared to other books in the series too.

The focus of Thunderball is on Bond himself. Again, Bond comes off as a rather vulnerable person, riddled with self-doubt. He's definitely not the superhero that we see in some of the movies. Of course, we get the usual misogyny and abuse. But by this point in series it doesn't come as much of a shock any more.

We also get to see Bond in scenes with some favourite characters. Not only M but Moneypenny, who was missing from the last couple of novels. Felix Leiter and Bond's Scottish housekeeper, May who gives Bond a telling off also appear too. The only character that is missing is Q meaning he gadgets and gimmicks so prevalent in the movies are missing. For me this enhances the story and definitely doesn't make the book less entertaining.

The last part of the novel was a slight let down. In a Bond movie this part of the story is the big climax but not here. What Fleming gives us is rather lukewarm. There's no big punch or crescendo as we nonchalantly learn that Blofield has escaped.

So in summary, this is a fun novel and worth reading even if you're not the biggest Bond fan. The exotic mixture makes for an exhilarating page turning thriller. A polished performance from Fleming, with an action packed ingenious plot full of excitement.