And yet I enjoyed Diamonds Are Forever far more than any of the previous Bond novels. It is tauter and more convincing. Fleming final discards all pretence that he is writing anything more than a modern H. Rider Haggard book and lets his talent for gripping prose do the rest. He seems confident and, more importantly, content with what he is doing at last and it shows.
There is, for the second novel in a row, a ginger-headed bad guy with ridiculous name (Shady Tree) and an ice-maiden heroine who cannot bring herself to trust him (Tiffany Case). Keep the good stuff, jettison the crap. The plot is effective with only one real leap where Bond and Tiffany's secret whereabouts are betrayed to the enemy organisation who despatch their two best killers all within the space of about a sentence. That and the heavy-handedness with which Fleming leaves clues for Bond which it is incredible that the character doesn't add up until it is too late are the only real flaws. I liked it an awful lot.
The only final thing I'd add is the chapter where Bond tells Felix that he is beginning to like Tiffany a lot and Felix relates her backstory of abuse and then alcohol addiction. She finally got off the drink, we learn, with Alcoholics Anonymous. In the very next scene Bond buys her three Vodka Martinis, a Pink Champagne and a liquer. He can't like her that much then!
Ah, I suppose it was a more innocent time.
