Thursday, January 2, 2014

Audio Novel 7: The Man With the Midas Touch

Art by Isdailic
Sir Ian McKellen as Auric Goldfinger? Why the hell not? Here's another BBC radio play of an Ian Fleming novel, this time "Goldfinger," the most famous of the James Bond tales.
The seventh Ian Fleming novel, published in 1959, became the third Bond film in 1964. The film "Dr. No" was a hit in 1962 and "From Russia With Love" a bigger hit in 1963. But with "Goldfinger," the James Bond mega-hit was born, with lines around the block for tickets and 24-hour screenings.
My friend and mentor Elleston Trevor — creator of the taut Quiller spy series — thought Fleming's novel ridiculous, and it does have a couple of implausible turns, even by Fleming's standards (why in hell does Goldfinger keep Bond around as a "secretary?")
But finally, there's really no arguing with Ian Fleming's golden touch, is there?

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