Clash of the Titans by Alan Dean Foster

 

(pb; 1981: movie tie-in novel, based on the screenplay by Beverley Cross)

From the back cover

“He was Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae, born in disgrace, exiled to perish at sea, fated to survive at heavenly caprice─until he met his love, defied the Gods and dared to fight them or die.

“She was Andromeda, enslaved by her own beauty which beggared the heavens and brough a curse upon her city, her home, heart. . . until Perseus accepted the Devil’s own challenge, answered the deadly riddle and rode forth on his winged horse Pegasus to claim his love and to face the last of the Titans, armed only with a bloody hand, a witches’ curse and a severed head.”

Review

Clash is a fun, action-dominated and lightweight-take-on-Greek-mythology read, one that reflects the tone of its counterpart-source film. Foster, no stranger to writing movie tie-in books, penned Clash with well-edited verve, his descriptions appropriately cinematic vivid and his prose and characters lively. If you liked the 1981 film a lot and are looking for a light, quick and familiar-story book, chances are you’ll enjoy Clash.

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The film was released stateside on June 12, 1981. Desmond Davis directed it, from a screenplay by Beverley Cross.

Harry Hamlin played Perseus. Judi Bowker played Andromeda. Burgess Meredith played Ammon.

Lawrence Olivier played Zeus. Claire Bloom played Hera. Maggie Smith played Thetis. Ursula Andress played Aphrodite.

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There was a remake in 2010, but I have zero interest in it.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, by Ian Fleming

(pb; 1963: eleventh book in the original 007/James Bond series)

From the back cover:

“The superlative thriller that pits James Bond once more against SPECTRE’s archfiend Blofeld, architect of the nefarious scheme to destroy the free world… the thriller in which 007 falls in love with the lovely Tracy, daughter of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Union Corse…”

Review:

A year after the fireworks of Thunderball, Bond is still – unsuccessfully – hunting Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who masterminded the aforementioned missile hijacking-and-blackmail plot. Blofeld has completely disappeared (as has SPECTRE), it seems. But then a lead is unearthed…

Posing as Hilary Bray, a specialist who traces clients’ ancestries, he infiltrates Blofeld’s (who’s had plastic surgery) mountainous retreat. Bond is surrounded by a gaggle of rich, young girls who are undergoing “treatment” for various “allergies” – as well as Fräulein Irma Bunt, a woman who’s more thug than nurse.

This mission is not the only thing on Bond’s mind. He’s also in love with Tracy di Vicenzo, wild daughter of a gregarious gangster-revolutionary – and possibly the perfect woman for Bond.

It’s typical 007 stuff, though the pacing and focus is different (the love story is as important as the action, which is downplayed), the characters (especially Bond) have matured a bit, and the ending, similar to that of From Russia With Love, is one of the most shocking Fleming has penned.

One of my favorite 007 novels – and movies – in the series. Check them out.

[Side-note: Sharp-eyed readers will spot the phrase “the world is not enough,” which later became the title of a James Bond film, and references to Irma La Douce and Ursula Andress, who starred in Dr. No.]

Followed by You Only Live Twice.

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On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released stateside as a film on December 18, 1969. Peter R. Hunt directed the film, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Simon Raven (who provided additional dialogue to the script).

George Lazenby played Bond. Diana Rigg played Tracy di Vicenzo. Telly Savalas played Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Gabriele Ferzetti played Marc-Ange Draco. Ilse Steppat played Irma Bunt.

Doctor No, by Ian Fleming

(pb; 1958: sixth book in the original 007/James Bond series)

From the back cover:

“Doctor No, a sinister recluse with mechanical pincers for hands and sadistic fascination with pain, holds James Bond firm in his steely grasp. Bond and Honey Rider, his beautiful and vulnerable Girl Friday, have been captured trespassing on Doctor No’s secluded Caribbean island. Intent on protecting his clandestine operations from the British secret service, Doctor No sees an opportunity to dispose of an enemy and further his diabolical research. Soon, Bond and Rider are fighting for their lives in a murderous of Doctor No’s choosing...”

Review:

When Strangways (an agent of her Majesty’s Secret Service, seen in Live and Let Die) and his female assistant (Mary Trueblood) disappear, Bond returns to Jamaica to investigate why. It’s been three months since the events of From Russia with Love, and this is meant to be a routine investigation, as Strangways is known to be a womanizer.

Bond quickly realizes that mission is far from routine. A mysterious, rarely-seen man named Doctor No owns Crab Key, a nearby island where several people have disappeared; even Quarrel, a Jamaican boatman and Bond ally who also appeared in Live and Let Die, is terrified at the thought of going there.

Not only that, somebody – Doctor No? – has made two low-key attempts on Bond’s life since his arrival in Jamaica, and Bond is being shadowed by Chigro (Chinese-Negro) spies, who may or may not work for Doctor No.

With Quarrel, Bond goes to Crab Key, encounters Honeychile Rider, and that’s when the trouble really starts.

Like the five preceding books in the Bond series, Doctor No is exciting, fast-paced and hard to put down. Doctor No is the perfect megalomaniacal villain, whose cold charm masks murderous, vengeful intentions.

Honeychile Rider isn’t book-smart like many of Bond’s previous women, as she’s lived in the jungle all of her life, but she is practical and courageous – the perfect foil for Bond, given the nature of this adventure.

Another winning entry in the Bond series, followed by Goldfinger.


Doctor No, the first James Bond film, was released stateside on May 8, 1963.

Sean Connery played James Bond. Ursula Andress played Honeychile "Honey" Rider. Joseph Wiseman played Doctor Julius No. Jack Lord played Felix Leiter (whose character is not in the book version). John Kitzmiller played Quarrel.

Terence Young directed the film, from a script by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood and Berkely Mather.

Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming

(pb; 1953: first book in the original 007/James Bond series)


Review:

The first James Bond novel finds British Secret Service agent James Bond matching wits with Le Chiffre, a SMERSH* financial associate/agent in Royale-les-Eaux. Bond’s mission is to break Le Chiffre, who’s in financial – and possibly fatal – trouble. Bond has helpers: Felix Leiter, a CIA agent (later a recurring character in the series); Mathis (a French agent); and Vesper Lynd, a fellow Secret Service agent.

However, things go awry when Lynd gets kidnapped by Le Chiffre -- and that's just the start of Bond and his fellow agents' problems.

The tone of this novel is abrasive, occasionally violent and taciturn, much like Bond himself. This is not the suave Bond seen in the films: he’s a lady killer, but his view of women (particularly fellow agents) is much darker and misogynistic.

Since Casino is the first novel of a series, there is a lot of set-up. The action sequences are sparse, but when they happen -- later in the book -- it is especially nasty. The ending, especially the last line, is a brutal and effective set-up for the Bond novels that follow.

Casino is an initially awkward, but ultimately raw and worthwhile read.

(*SMERSH is Fleming’s fictional Russian equivalent of the British Secret Service. The acronym SMERSH is “a conjunction of two Russian words: ‘Smyert Shpionam,’ meaning roughly: ‘Death to Spies.’”).

Followed by Live And Let Die.

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The first version of Casino Royale was filmed for television – a disappointing effort, from what I’ve read.

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The comedic second version, "suggested" by the source novel, was released stateside in movie theaters on April 28, 1967.

David Niven played Sir James Bond. Charles Boyer played Le Grand. William Holden played Ransome. Kurt Kasznar played Smernov. John Huston played "McTarry aka M". Deborah Kerr played "Agent Mimi aka Lady Fiona". (John Huston also directed the "scenes at James Bond's house" and the "castle at Scotland scenes.")

Woody Allen played "Jimmy Bond - Dr. Noah". Barbara Bouchet played Moneypenny. Terence Cooper played "Cooper, James Bond - 007". Daliah Lavi played "The Detainer - 007".

Peter Sellers played "Evelyn Tremble, James Bond - 007". Ursula Andress played "Vesper Lynd - 007". Jacqueline Bisset played Miss Goodthighs. Orson Welles played Le Chiffre.

Joanna Pettet played Mata Bond. George Raft played himself. Jean-Paul Belmondo played "French Legionnaire". Geoffrey Bayldon played Q.

An uncredited Peter O'Toole played Piper. An uncredited Burt Kwouk played "Chinese General". An uncredited Caroline Munro played "Guard Girl". An uncredited David Prowse played Frankenstein's Creature.

Val Guest directed "scenes with Woody Allen and additional scenes with David Niven." Ken Hughes directed the "Berlin scenes." Joseph McGrath directed "scenes with Peter Sellers, Orson Welles and Ursula Andress." Robert Parrish directed "scenes with Peter Sellers and Orson Welles." An uncredited Richard Talmadge directed the "Casino Royale finale."

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A third version is scheduled for stateside release on November 17, 2006.

Daniel Craig played James Bond. Judi Dench reprised her role of M. Eva Green played Vesper Lynd. Mads Mikkelsen played Le Chiffre. Jeffrey Wright played Felix Leiter. Giancarlo Giannini played René Mathis. Vlastina Svátková played a "Waitress".
 

Martin Campbell, who directed GoldenEye, is set to direct.