The James Bond Bedside Companion (40 page)

"Quantum of Solace" is an offbeat, experimental story for Fleming. Kingsley Amis describes it as a "Maughamish" anecdote; this is not surprising, since Fleming was a Maugham fan as well as a personal acquaintance of the writer. It is not a Secret Service story, but a morality tale as told to Bond by his friend, the Governor. It doesn't resemble any other work by Fleming, and this is precisely why it is so intriguing. The story is rich in characterization and feeling, and it is apparent that Fleming enjoyed writing it simply as a departure from the usual Bond.

The theme is that no adventure story can top a real-life human drama. Bond comes to this conclusion at the end of the story, as he is leaving the Governor's house to finish up the assignment on which he is currently working. He reflects that his present job is "dull and unexciting."

Interwoven with this theme is the premise of the title. The "quantum of solace" is a theory the Governor holds about the amount of comfort on which love and friendship is based. He maintains that unless there is a certain degree of humanity existing between two people, there can be no love. This quantum can be measured numerically, with zero as the absolute absence of any kind of love. When Philip Masters and Rhoda Llewellyn were married, the quantum of solace between them was very high; but at the end of their relationship, it was zero. Apparently, Fleming believes in this theory himself. His rather rocky marriage must have given him cause to create the theory and incorporate it into a story.

Again, nothing new is revealed about Bond, except, perhaps, more of his views on marriage. Otherwise, Bond is merely a sounding board for the Governor's story. But Bond is also made to seem more human than usual, simply because he reacts with compassion to the story; he is able to relate it to his own life. The Governor (his name is never revealed) is a friendly chap who is actually speaking in Fleming's voice. As a character, he is unimportant. The truly important characters in this story are Philip Masters and Rhoda Llewellyn. Masters, though shy and vulnerable, is quite intelligent and resourceful. Rhoda is pretty, ambitious, and a much more aggressive character than her husband. This is what finally breaks up the couple. No sides are taken by the author in the story of this divorce; both partners become equally cruel to each other. Rhoda, perhaps, pays the most for her wrong doings, but she at least emerges from the story a happier person than Masters, who will spend the rest of his life in a civil service post in Nigeria.

The story, with its surprise ending of Rhoda turning out to be Mrs. Harvey Miller, somehow rings true to life, and it is ultimately very moving. Even though "Quantum of Solace" has no intrigue, action, or thrills, it has a quality which is missing from most of the other Bond stories—human drama.

I
n this story, James Bond is assigned to break up a drug smuggling racket operating from Italy to Britain. He is ordered to offer an informant named Kristatos a large amount of money to stop the drug flow. Kristatos agrees to Bond's offer only if the Englishman will kill the head of the drug smuggling operation. He says the leader is Enrico Colombo. Unbeknownst to Bond and Kristatos, Colombo has managed to record the men's conversation by an ingenious wire-tap located in an empty chair at their table. Later, Colombo has Bond captured and brought aboard the smuggler's ship, the
Colombina.
There, Colombo insists that it is actually Kristatos who is running the drug operation. The next morning, the
Colombina
arrives at Santa Maria, where men are loading what appear to be rolls of newsprint onto a ship. The
Colombina
's
crew attacks the smugglers. Kristatos is discovered in the warehouse, and Bond shoots him before he can escape. Once back at sea, Colombo explains that the Russians were backing Kristatos.

Fleming returns to the usual format in "Risico," with Bond pursuing and breaking up, for the first time in the series, a drug smuggling racket. There are structural problems, though. The story begins in the flash-forward manner: there is an opening scene which takes place before any exposition is made, then a jump back in time to M's office where Bond receives his assignment. In the traditional Fleming novel, this flashback technique usually works; but in a story as short as "Risico," it is damaging because there is not enough space to flesh out a fully realized situation and then go back to illustrate the exposition. Also, the change of locale happens too quickly. "Risico" could have been expanded to an exciting, lengthier novella. But as it stands, the story is too frantically overcrowded with scene changes, plot developments, characterizations, and, exposition. 'Risico" is rich with detail, though, and contains some fine characters. Its main problem is a lack of focus.

Whatever theme the story contains, the Kristatos character more or less states it at the beginning: "In this business there is much risk." The point is driven home far too many times in the story, finally becoming a little trite.

The characters are interesting: aside from the usual Bond (nothing new here), there is the colorful ally Colombo. Colombo is reminiscent of Darko Kerim in FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE. He is that familiar heart-of-gold type of man, brash and extroverted, with a penchant for bragging and boasting. He, like Kerim, embraces life and lives it day to day with no expectation of tangible rewards. Kristatos is a slimy villain, although not much is known about him. It is a clever twist that the author leads one to believe that Kristatos is the ally and Colombo is the villain at the beginning of the story. Lisl Baum, as a heroine, is practically nonexistent. She appears briefly and is never successfully incorporated into the plot

But M is back to his stuffy self in "Risico." Here Fleming reveals the various idiosyncrasies in M's running of the Service, as well as his disgust at involving the organization in a drug smuggling case.

As usual Fleming's descriptive travel passages are excellent: he paints a clear picture of Venice and the Lido peninsula. The final shootout at Santa Maria is exciting and well done; but overall, "Risico" suffers from Fleming's insistence on confining its sprawling storyline within undersized boundaries.

I
n this story, James Bond has a week's leave in the Seychelles Islands before returning to England. His friend, Fidele Barbey, tells him that a rich American, one Milton Krest, has offered them a job of helping him hunt for a rare fish called "The Hildebrand Rarity." The boorish Mr. Krest has no qualms about showing that he is boss of his attractive wife, Liz. She doesn't seem to mind, but Bond senses that she actually fears her husband. During a tour of Krest's luxurious yacht, Bond notices a stingray tail hanging on the wall of the master cabin. Krest admits to using it on his wife, calling it "The Corrector." Krest has set up The Krest Foundation as a tax shelter, and has recently been collecting rare animals for the Smithsonian Institution by bribing owners with large amounts of money. But Liz foolishly
reveals that the tax
people will reclaim their yacht if
Krest fails to bring back a catch this time. As a result, Krest uses "The Corrector" on his wife that night.

Krest is very drunk the night after the Hildebrand Rarity is found, and he insults Bond and Barbey. He goes to sleep in a hammock on deck. As Bond listens to him snore, the sound is interrupted by a choking, gurgling sound. When he investigates, 007 finds that the rare fish has been stuffed into Krest's mouth. Bond throws Krest's body over the side. Back in port, neither Barbey nor Liz Krest admit to the murder, and they all pretend that Krest fell overboard.

"The Hildebrand Rarity" is another off-beat experiment for Fleming, and is probably the most successful story in the anthology after "For Your Eyes Only." It is straightforward structurally, and each sequence proceeds logically from the previous one. Although it isn't a secret service story, it contains elements of intrigue, danger, and murder.

The theme of the story is similar to that of "Quantum of Solace." Here, the question is: how much abuse can a person take before rebounding with offensive action? Krest is a boorish, sadistic braggart. One wonders why the couple married in the first place. The murder of Krest is an act of retribution, to be sure. Although the murderer is never revealed, it is strongly hinted that Liz Krest killed her husband; it makes the most sense that she is the culprit.

The story has well-drawn characters. A new side of Bond is revealed: his temper. Throughout the story, Bond must do everything he can to restrain himself from striking Milton Krest. But his better judgment reminds him not to become involved in family quarrels. He is attracted to Liz Krest, but keeps his distance. He feels sorry for her having to put up with such a disgusting husband, but he allows the situation to work itself out His opportunity to help her comes after he has discovered Krest's dead body. Bond throws it overboard so that there will be extreme difficulty in proving Krest was murdered.

Another humanitarian side of Bond emerges as he is helping Krest find the Hildebrand Rarity. Feeling disgust for Krest and compassion for the beautifully striped fish, Bond allows the creature to swim away before Krest can kill it with a poison chemical. But unfortunately, the fish swims back into the area as the poison spreads through the water. Finally, Bond, against his true feelings, plucks the dead fish from the water and resignedly hands it over to Krest with a disgruntled, "Here."

Milton Krest is a nasty, perverted villain; it's too bad he couldn't have been used in a longer novel. He's well-drawn, and exemplifies the worst qualities of a certain type of pigheaded rich American. Krest, who throws insults left and right, is an obnoxious boor. The reader will certainly share Bond's constant urge to hit the man.

Liz Krest is also a well-developed character. Externally, she is pleasant and at ease, but internally she is frightened and yearns for a savior. Her actions in the story illustrate her need to be liberated from her marriage. She confides in Bond, for which her husband punishes her. Another interesting note about Liz Krest: she joins Gala Brand and Tilly Masterson as the only three females in the Bond series who do not eventually sleep with the agent

Fidele Barbey is a Quarrel-like character who is Bond's friend and ally in the story. A native of the Seychelles Islands, Barbey simply adds to the local color. The man is warm at heart, friendly, and jovial. He is a pleasure.

Aside from the rich characterizations, Fleming's usual masterly descriptions of the underwater world make the story top-notch. The colors, textures, and shapes of the sea are easily visualized through Fleming's words. The story is clever, the moods are vibrant, and the narrative is lush. "The Hildebrand Rarity" is a rare gem, indeed.

T
he ninth James Bond novel, THUNDERBALL, is a terrific book. It is the beginning of what could be called the Blofeld Trilogy, which also includes ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. THUNDERBALL also marks the change from the earlier novels to the later, more mature books. The later Bond novels are distinguished by the usual Fleming Sweep and rich detail, but also feature the excellent characterizations which work so well in FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE and GOLDFINGER. There is, in addition, a change in the character of James Bond: he seems to be more aware of his own mortality and the decay that overtakes the body as one becomes older. The later novels are moody and sometimes extremely dark. The Blofeld Trilogy, especially, stands out as the series' most introspective and far-reaching novels in terms of the James Bond character.

In THUNDERBALL, M sends James Bond to Shrublands Health Spa because the agent's health has been very poor lately. There, Bond encounters one Count Lippe, and unravels mysterious clues linking Lippe with criminal organizations. The setting then switches to Paris for a meeting of SPECTRE. Its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, announces the commencement of Plan Omega: the stealing of two atomic bombs from a hijacked NATO plane. SPECTRE demands that England and the United States pay a ransom of one hundred million pounds in gold bullion or the bombs will be used. The massive espionage effort to retrieve the bombs in the few short days before the deadline is called Operation Thunderball. Bond's territory is the Bahamas, as M believes this area to be the most likely landing site for the plane. After arriving in Nassau, Bond immediately investigates suspicious incoming parties of businessmen. He learns that the
Disco Volante
,
a yacht carrying Emilio Largo and a treasure-hunting group, is in the area. Bond manages to meet Largo's mistress, Domino, in order to probe her for information about the Italian. Throughout the next couple of days, Bond and CIA agent Felix Leiter gather clues: Bond, during an underwater reconnaissance, discovers that the
Disco Vo
lante
has a trap door in the hull; the men locate the sunken NATO plane; and Bond convinces Domino that Largo killed her brother—who was in fact the hijacker of the NATO plane. She agrees to help Bond determine if the bombs are aboard the
Disco.
Bond and Leiter join the forces of a Polaris submarine in order to shadow the
Disco
as it sails for its "treasure hunt" one night. Bond assembles a volunteer frogman team, and the group successfully ambushes Largo and his men underwater; the SPECTRE team is caught red-handed with the bombs. During the battle, Largo gains an advantage over Bond, but he is speared in the back by Domino. The bombs are recovered, but Blofeld cannot be found in Paris.