Rating: 
Summary: A good Bond novel, but not one of the best.
Review: "Moonraker" (1955) was the third of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, and it is a good example of Fleming in fine form. A solid, suspenseful plot; an evil, over-the-top villain; M puffing away impatiently on his pipe; and Bond, ready for action and maybe a little love. Sir Hugo Drax is a national hero in Britain, and is donating millions of his own pounds to create the Moonraker rocket, which can hit any city in Europe and, therefore, protect England from invasion by any enemy. But when M discovers that Drax cheats at cards, a plot is set into motion that will eventually lead to Bond uncovering the tycoon's true designs. This is a perfectly respectable entry in the series, but does not attain the heights of, say, "Casino Royale" or "You Only Live Twice." There is less action than one might expect, and the suspense sometimes sags. But still, this is a solid thriller and I recommend it to anyone interested in the original Bond novels.
Rating:
Summary: A good Bond novel, but not one of the best.
Review: "Moonraker" (1955) was the third of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, and it is a good example of Fleming in fine form. A solid, suspenseful plot; an evil, over-the-top villain; M puffing away impatiently on his pipe; and Bond, ready for action and maybe a little love. Sir Hugo Drax is a national hero in Britain, and is donating millions of his own pounds to create the Moonraker rocket, which can hit any city in Europe and, therefore, protect England from invasion by any enemy. But when M discovers that Drax cheats at cards, a plot is set into motion that will eventually lead to Bond uncovering the tycoon's true designs. This is a perfectly respectable entry in the series, but does not attain the heights of, say, "Casino Royale" or "You Only Live Twice." There is less action than one might expect, and the suspense sometimes sags. But still, this is a solid thriller and I recommend it to anyone interested in the original Bond novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Dated, but solid story
Review: 50 years after Ian Fleming wrote Moonraker, it is still a great action-adventure story. The ending really took me by surprise! I don't remember seeing anything like it happening in ANY of the movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Bad Bond
Review: A friend of mine told me after he started reading the James Bond novels, he would never go back to the movies. Though I will never turn my back on the films I grew up with and still love to go back to, I can understand his logic. If you've a fan whos never read any of the James Bond novels, you need to. Bond of the films, while still a great character, comes off as a mere caricature of the man we meet as 007 in the books. Smart, grim, vulnerable (yes, VULNERABLE!), with far more depth than his on-screen counterpart, James Bond in the books wil change how you look at the famous secret agent. Moonraker is the third Bond novel I have read, and while it is not my favorite (OHMSS is personally, the best), it is still a tremendously fun story written with slick language and beleivable characters (though the middle tends to be kind of slow). You can get more details from other reviewers, so I'll spare you the details. But yes, there is very little resembelance to the film of the same name.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Judge a Book by it's Movie
Review: Although Moonraker the film was virtually beaten to death by critics, Ian Fleming's third novel is quite a piece of literature. Fleming's style is generally one of slowness, minor events are described in great detail, such as golf games or meals and this is true in most (if not all) of his novels. But that techinque is so rare today that many attentive readers end up praising it. As for this particular book, it is excellent. But it is also very different then the movie portrayed it to be. It fact, the differences were so durastic that another author re-wrote the novel a number of years after the release of the picture. So make no mistake when you buy a copy of this treasure, go not for the movie-adapted version, but for Fleming's. This is a difference between aluminum foil and diamonds. And don't worry, all of your favorites are still there, Drax, Jaws, and of course, Mr. Bond. So, if you are a perspective buyer all I can tell you is...ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENCE! BY FLEMING
Review: Another Fleming classic! He explains things so well and doesn'y make u want to put the book down! I enjoyed this because I really liked Gala and the whole plot it really entertained me and I didnt want to put the book down! This is a great read and one of Flemings best! Definitely better than the movie!
Rating:
Summary: Crackling suspense in an entertaining thriller novel
Review: Bond author Ian Fleming was advised by friends to write his second Bond nove LIVE AND LET DIE before he had even tested the waters with his first 007 thriller CASINO ROYALE. Fleming's friends impressed on him that if the first novel failed he would be less inclined to write a second one. His friends need not have worried as is proved by this third 1955 entry into the James Bond literary series.
After some shaky elements in his first two novels Fleming and his characteristic Fleming-sweep, really hits its stride here and he delivers a thriller which is not only consistently ranked as one of the best by fans, but also a personal favorite of mine.
One of the great strengths of this book (as was the case with the subsequent 1979 movie adaptation) is the main villain Hugo Drax. A leading member of British society with a somewhat mysterious background, Drax is ostensibly building a weapon to help protect Britain, but all is not as it seems.
Bond's first encounter with Drax is at the behest of his superior M who is convinced the industrialist is cheating at cards at M's gentleman's club Blades. Bond uncovers the method behind Drax's remarkable winning streak but also effectively turns the tables on him.
In this novel Bond is not the superhero of the movie that would follow over two decades later. This is no clearly more evident than in his rejected advances towards Gala Brand, an undercover policewoman at Drax's plant. Brand is actually one of my favorite leading ladies of the Bond literary series, she is both independent and intelligent and one of the better drawn female characters of the Fleming books.
The plot is low-key enough, the villain suitably overblown and the so heroine irresistable as to make this compelling reading. Drax's monlogue towards the end is so well done and Fleming keeps the twists and turns coming at a fast enough pace that the reader can easily overlook the improbabilities and plot holes and simply enjoy the book.
Well recommended, not just for Bond fans but all people who enjoy a good solid thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Cracking good read!
Review: Dispel any thoughts about the tad-embarrassing Star-Wars-coat-tail film, and dive right into this whip-smart Cold War nuclear thriller. Bond, as he is in the novels, is flinty, flawed, desperate and yes, always heroic when need be. I just keep getting blown away at how three-dimensional Bond comes across in these books.
I truly didn't know what I was missing. I've polished off the first three novels like potato chips, hungrily and ready for more.
I guarantee you that if you pick up this novel, it will only be your first of the Flemings. It's irresistible.
Rating:
Summary: Bond enters the atomic era
Review: Fleming's third Bond novel is quite a good one. The pace is slower than the previous one, "Live and Let Die", but anyway faster than "Casino Royale" (and, like the latter, includes one excellent card-game scenario). It's amazing how the author takes us from 007 at his most domestic to the (then) most sci-fi adventure. The villain, Drax, may look as someone took from a nightmare but Fleming describes him in such detail -dialogue, appearence, mood, idiosincracies and the story of his life- that the character becomes completely "real" (even upsetting the reader as much as he upsets Bond in the book). Drax's speech (heard on the radio by 007) when Moonraker is about to get fired is simply the best monologue Fleming ever conceived or wrote. Superb, funny yet amazingly dangerous! And Gala Brand, the heroine, just not falls into Bond's arms like so many, leaving the secret agent reflecting alone about their different lives and showing us his vulnerability instead of the wrongly-assumed 007's eternal success with women. It's a pity the film version spoiled this title (actually, the title is the only resemblance to the novel), taking Bond to three countries and outer space while this excellent down-to-earth adventure story goes no farther than London and Dover. The rocket ready to blow Buckingham Palace is a more atractive and original idea by far. Bond save the Queen, indeed!
Rating:
Summary: Bond enters the atomic era
Review: Fleming's third Bond novel is quite a good one. The pace is slower than the previous one, "Live and Let Die", but anyway faster than "Casino Royale" (and, like the latter, includes one excellent card-game scenario). It's amazing how the author takes us from 007 at his most domestic to the (then) most sci-fi adventure. The villain, Drax, may look as someone took from a nightmare but Fleming describes him in such detail -dialogue, appearence, mood, idiosincracies and the story of his life- that the character becomes completely "real" (even upsetting the reader as much as he upsets Bond in the book). Drax's speech (heard on the radio by 007) when Moonraker is about to get fired is simply the best monologue Fleming ever conceived or wrote. Superb, funny yet amazingly dangerous! And Gala Brand, the heroine, just not falls into Bond's arms like so many, leaving the secret agent reflecting alone about their different lives and showing us his vulnerability instead of the wrongly-assumed 007's eternal success with women. It's a pity the film version spoiled this title (actually, the title is the only resemblance to the novel), taking Bond to three countries and outer space while this excellent down-to-earth adventure story goes no farther than London and Dover. The rocket ready to blow Buckingham Palace is a more atractive and original idea by far. Bond save the Queen, indeed!
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