The opening chapters of Moonraker mouth-wateringly detail Bond’s dinner and drinks at Blades with M. However, readers used to overseas adventures wrote to complain they felt short-changed by the locations. Fleming took the criticism to heart and with the exception of one short story, The Property of a Lady, all subsequent Bond adventures took place overseas. While the locations are not as exciting as the previous books, Fleming does provide a gripping bridge game. He soon learns that Drax’s motives are not as philanthropic as they first appear. When a Ministry of Supply officer working on the project is murdered Bond is sent to investigate.

The project is intended to provide Britain with an independent strategic nuclear capability. The plot concerns a wealthy industrialist, Sir Hugo Drax, who is financing the Moonraker missile. Ian Fleming knew this area of England well, owning a weekend cottage at St Margaret’s Bay, outside Dover. What we sayĪfter the exotic locations of the first two books, Moonraker was far more modestly set in London and Kent. The Moonraker site is located three miles north of Dover, an area known well by Fleming as the location of his weekend retreat. The novel is unique in that it all takes place in England. We first meet him at M’s private members club, where he is exposed as a cheat by Bond and needless to say all is not as it seems.

The plot centres around a wealthy industrialist, Sir Hugo Drax, and his ambition to finance Britain’s nuclear strike capability. The book again features the thrilling card games of Casino Royale and has to be noted as the only book where 007 does not get the girl. Moonraker saw James Bond based in the UK, where strictly he was not supposed to operate.

Moonraker fleming