August 3, 2010

CONTEST WINNER!

The winner of the James Bond 007 audio book contests is Our Man in Belgium: Peter Hinoul. Congratulations! Thank you to all of the Spy Vibers who entered. We hold many contests on Spy Vibe, so stay tuned for more opportunities to win prizes. It was interesting to hear last week about everyone's fave Bond novels and short stories. Here are just a few answers:


Thanks for giving us the chance to win a copy of the audio version of Octopussy! Personally I like "Diamonds Are Forever" best! Why? When I was a child it was the first book that I have read from the James Bond series and I got hooked since then on everything James Bond, spies and eurocult. Years later my father took me to see the movie at a local cinema and I could not believe that the story on screen was a different one than the book! Later years I learned that that was almost always the case! But as a young boy I was disappointed! -Peter Hinoul

From Russia With Love is my favorite novel. 1) The best developed characters on all sides of the equation; 2) while a tad convoluted, the most suspenseful plot of the series; 3) so many memorable scenes including the reading of Bond's dossier in Moscow, Tatania meeting Klebb, the battle with Grant, the final moments when 007 might be dead. No wonder it was made into one of the very best films where Brocolli, Saltzman, Young, Shaw, Lenya, Barry and a fella named Connery really breathed life into Fleming's vision. The only real literary competitor might be OHMSS, and, once again, that made for a great film. -Wes Britton

My favorite Fleming piece is "The Living Daylights." As an adolescent in the early 1970s, I was just beginning to find the Bonds and know their history. I knew that Fleming had died in 1964 after writing "TMWTGG," but was unaware of the book of stories that came after. When I found that book, it was like a really terrific present. I savored each page, especially "TLD," in which Bond must clean up afer a colleague. It is a different kind of Bond tale, with Bond trying to do the right thing but finding himself unable to. It is simple, elegant writing. - Rodney Richey

My favorite Bond book is a tie between From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The first because it is such a great espionage story - spies versus spies with each side trying to outwit the other in the cold war chess game. The later because it allows Bond to be so very human and its ending rises to the level of true tragedy. So much so that it required Fleming to write two more books dealing with the devastating aftermath. - Bill Creed

I've yet to read all of the James Bond novels/short stories but as of right now, I'm a huge fan of John Gardner and therefore my favorite is 'For Special Services' (1982). Not only do I love the return of SPECTRE but I love how Gardner gave Felix Leiter a CIA agent daughter named Cedar to assist Bond. I own and operate FelixLeiter.com so obviously I have much passion for the Leiter character and by creating a daughter for him, I could tell that Gardner also had much respect for the character and I appreciate that. -Chris Wright

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