When the mysterious millionaire Hugo Drax is suspected of cheating at Bridge in his gentleman’s club, M asks James Bond to find out how he is doing it. Drax is responsible for building Britain’s most advanced nuclear missile and M and the British establishment are keen to avoid a scandal that might humiliate Drax. Later, Bond is assigned to investigate the security arrangements at the Moonraker launching site. Working with Gala Brand, a Scotland Yard undercover agent, Bond uncovers Drax’s true intentions. He then races to stop a catastrophic attack that could change the course of history forever.
I suspect Moonraker might be the first Bond film I saw at the cinema. I vividly remember the scenes in space, and of course Roger Moore’s Bond’s erstwhile enemy Jaws. But there are no space scenes in the novel, because it was written in 1955. Moonraker is a nuclear missile that can help the UK achieve some level of parity in the arms race with Russia. There is also, still, no Q, and although Moneypenny appears, she is not mentioned by name. Instead, there is more focus on Loelia Ponsonby, the under-secretary to all three 00 agents.
Moonraker starts immediately after Bond returns from his holiday after the events of Live and Let Die (he’s still sunburnt). The first part focuses on Bond’s attempt to surreptitiously show Drax he knows about his cheating and is surprisingly excellent. Fleming wrote with clear authority about the game and the setting. I think it is my favourite section of any of the three Bond novels I have read so far. Also in this section, Fleming did a good job of showing Bond the man, not just the agent, with reveals of his flat, daydreams of what he will do with a cash windfall and his close relationship with M.
Hugo Drax is a very convincing villain, because of his abnormal physiognomy, his backstory and his appalling lack of grace in Blades, M’s social club. Sadly, the least convincing element of the book was, as ever, the female character. Fleming’s attempts to bring her to life are unconvincing, and she remains somewhat wooden, although I did appreciate her calling Bond out for his sexism. And I very much liked the last scene of the book between Bond and Brand, and the last line was terrific.
Rating: 82% (my favourite of the first three 007 novels by some way.)
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