Thank you, friend and fellow author
Ian McDowell
for pointing me in the direction of
007 Reloaded
on
Audible. Not long ago, Ian posted positive sentiments on the audio
production of
Moonraker, Ian Fleming’s third James Bond 007 novel (1955), specifically
actor Bill Nighy’s narration. Intrigued, I decided to purchase the
audiobook on
Audible. In the past year or so, due to my all-too-frequently overtaxed eyes giving
out on me when attempting to read for any length of time, I’ve taken to heart
my wife’s suggestion to listen to audiobooks. Having lately been putting in
far more than customary mileage on my automobile, audiobooks have been just
the ticket to make driving considerably more pleasant.
I’ve been a 007 fanatic since I caught Diamonds Are Forever at
the theater in January 1972 and then proceeded to read all of Fleming’s
novels, most of which lurked in my dad’s den bookcase at the time (and have
recently been somewhat ceremonially returned to that hallowed spot). During my teens and early
twenties, I read all the books at least twice, some far more than that. My
favorites of them are From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (of the movies,
both of those rank highest as well). Although I’ve read the later 007
offerings of Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood,
John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Anthony Horowitz, and
others, I’d not read any of the original Fleming novels in decades, so the
prospect of experiencing a reputedly excellent audio production appealed to
me.
Ian McDowell did not err in his praise. Although
Moonraker doesn’t occupy the highest tier on my personal
favorites list, narrator Bill Nighy — whom I rate most highly as an
actor — kills the performance, and in fact readily elevated my appreciation of
the source material. At that time, I knew nothing about the audio series. By
way of a little research, I learned it came out in 2014 and featured a
host of accomplished actors as narrators, including
Dan Stevens, Damian Lewis, Hugh Quarshie,
Hugh Bonneville, Jason Isaacs, David Tennant,
Martin Jarvis, and Kenneth Branagh, as well as veteran 007 film
actors Rory Kinnear, Rosamund Pike, and Toby Stephens.
Happily, on the most recent Amazon Prime Day, the audiobooks were made
available at wonderfully discounted prices. So, I purchased most of the
series, excepting the story collections For Your Eyes Only and
Octopussy & The Living Daylights and Other Stories — which I
most certainly will once I have finished listening to the novels. I suspect
that won’t be very long, since I’m currently nearing the end of
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
There’s not a clinker among these. Each narrator brings his (and her) unique
vocal interpretation of the prose. In the enjoyable interviews that follow
each production, many of the actors profess to have never previously read the
books they narrate, and many apparently consciously avoided mimicking the
vocal styles of the actors who played the characters they're reading in the
movies. My personal favorite narrators are probably Nighy, Damian Lewis, Jason Isaacs, and Rosamund Pike. I still look forward to the vocal performances of Martin Jarvis and
Kenneth Branagh (as well as Samuel West in
For Your Eyes Only and Tom Hiddleston and
Lucy Fleming in
Octopussy & The Living Daylights and Other Stories).
The merits and shortcomings of Fleming’s original material aside, I’ve found
these performances consistently invigorating treats. The audio form can be dicey in
less-accomplished hands (or voices, as the case may be); it took me a while to warm to audiobooks in general largely
because some of the narrators I’d experienced never seemed to hit all
the marks. That is anything but an issue with this collection of Bond novels,
so these, individually as well as a bunch, rate five out of five
Damned Rodan’s Dirty Martinis. If you’re even marginally interested in
the world of James Bond 007, whether books or films, I would say this audio
series is absolutely for you.
