A leading member of British society with a somewhat mysterious background, Drax is ostensibly building a weapon to help protect Britain, but all is not as it seems. One of the great strengths of this book (as was the case with the subsequent 1979 movie adaptation) is the main villain Hugo Drax.
After some shaky elements in his first two novels Fleming and his characteristic Fleming-sweep, really hits its stride here and he delivers a thriller which is not only consistently ranked as one of the best by fans, but also a personal favorite of mine. His friends need not have worried as is proved by this third 1955 entry into the James Bond literary series. Fleming's friends impressed on him that if the first novel failed he would be less inclined to write a second one. Bond author Ian Fleming was advised by friends to write his second Bond nove LIVE AND LET DIE before he had even tested the waters with his first 007 thriller CASINO ROYALE.
