First off, I must say that my experience w/ Blackstone audio books has been VERY positive. I've purchased most of the audio books in the Bond series, & so far I've only had problems w/ one of them (On Her Majestie's Secret Service). A couple of the discs had what appeared to be glue (from the packaging?) on them & would not play properly. When I first encountered the problem, I called the 800 number on the box, fully expecting to get an automated answering service w/ menu options. To my surprise, a very pleasant woman named "Carol" answered, assuring me that there would be no problem getting a replacement disc to me free of charge. The entire phone call was over in a few minutes & left me feeling very happy w/ the company & w/ my purchase Thank you, Carol!
As for the Blackstone Bond series audio books, Simon Vance does an outstanding job of narrating the books. Unlike some narrators I've encountered w/ other companies (such as Brilliance) who read descriptive passages AND dialogue using the SAME TONE so that it's difficult to tell which character is actually speaking, Vance gives each character his or her own voice and manner of speaking. It makes for a MUCH more pleasant & enjoyable listening experience.
Part of the fun of the original Bond novels is seeing how they compare to the films that bare their titles. In many cases, there's scarcely any similarity at all (and sometimes none whatsoever). However, I actually enjoy that. Having seen the movies so many times, it's great not knowing what will happen next in the books. Fleming definitely enjoyed meting out "poetic justice" w/ regards to eliminating his villains. I've read all of the Fleming Bond books, either on audio or in print, and they are all worth-while. Once I have the entire Blackstone audio series, I plan to start over from the beginning & "read" them all again in sequence.
This is the second Bond novel in which Bond goes up against his arch-nemesis, Blofeld. Of all the Bond novels, it also perhaps MOST CLOSELY matches the corresponding film. Bond's downhill race from Blofeld's mountain hideaway, as well as his chasing of Blofeld down the bobsled run during the finale are quite exciting thanks to Fleming's gift as a writer and Vance's gift as a narrator. Although I knew what would happen from having seen the movie, I was a bit surprised by how quickly the events of the final pages played out. Though not as "sudden" as, say, LT Hearn's final moment in Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, the book's concluding events seemed somewhat rushed. (On the off-chance that someone might read this review and does NOT know--via the film--what happens at the end, I'll refrain from saying more.)
The "Blofeld series" (Thunderball, On Her Majestie's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice) were some of the titles I was most looking forward to reading, & they are all excellent. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Bond books (and the Blackstone audio books) to anyone enjoys action/adventure stories.
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Juan Fernandez
No es el artículo de la foto el que me enviaron
Reviewed in Spain on November 14, 2015
Juan Fernandez
Reviewed in Spain on November 14, 2015
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