I’ve been drawing out reading Moonraker because of how much I’m enjoying it. The first third contains a high-stakes gambling sequence better written than most suspense set-pieces I’ve seen elsewhere. Bond is very low-tech here. The buttons he pushes aren’t on devices, they’re on people.
He isn’t quippy. He smokes a lot, and you know he’s tough. Not because he says so, but because he acts when required. No second-guessing, no hesitation. Being a hammer is his personality: you hit him and you hit steel; he hits you and something breaks. And Hugo Drax on the page is far more interesting than his film counterpart.
And now I have to go finish the last few chapters. I want to see what happens next.
