Book No. 3: Moonraker

Ian Fleming wrote and published Moonraker in 1955. And takes place entirely in England. Very rare for our super secret agent.
Moonraker was not the first choice for Ian. He first suggested "The infernal Machine", then "The Inhuman Element", and "Wide of the Mark". Publishers liked "The Moonraker Sense", "The Moonraker Plan", and "Bond, and The Moonraker" much better. Even more title were thrown around like "Mondays Are Hell", "Hell Is Here", "The Moonraker", "The Moonraker Plot", "The Moonraker Secret", and 'Too Hot To Handle".
Interestingly, when first published in the US, the title was "Too Hot To Handle". This is also the only Ian Fleming novel to be translated from "British-English" to "American-English". Such British phrases like "knave of diamonds" where changed to "jack of diamonds", and "lift" to "elevator". Later publications where changed back to the original language.

M likes to play cards at the club, Blades. M suspects Sir Hugo Drax is cheating at bridge. Why should M care that someone is cheating? Because Drax is a millionaire, and has no reason to cheat. Smelling foul play, he brings James Bond, an expert at cards and casinos, to the club. Bond confirms M suspicions, and decides to have fun with it. He tries to also cheat and give Drax a taste of his own homemade hooch. And boy, oh boy does it taste foul. Bond ends up winning £15,000.
Upon further investigation, its found out that Hugo Drax is the financial backer of the "Moonraker" project. A missile operation designed to protect Britain during the Cold War. M, still curious about Drax,orderss Bond to infiltrate his operations. Bond uncovers a fiendish plot to destroy London. He must destroy Drax's plans, but not without the assistance of a Special andattractivee Agent Gala Brand.

This book was pretty good.Definitelyy much better than its movie counterpart. But still, not as good or exciting as Casino Royale. I give it a 7/10


Bond Timeline:
Casino Royale: May 31 - July 16 1951
Live and Let Die: January 2 - Jan 27 1952
Moonraker: The events take place between May 26 and May 30th, 1952.

Please post with any questions.