"...he had had to jump from the Arlberg Express after Heinkel and his friends had caught up with him around the time of the Hungarian uprising in 1956."
-Ian Fleming, Thunderball (London, 1961), 2, p. 19.
Perfect. Heinkel joins Gwanthyr among the ranks of villains who are named but never seen. I am sure that no one remembers these villains until I dig them out. Unlike Anderson, Fleming gives us a date which suggests that the Heinkel adventure maybe occurs between Diamonds Are Forever and From Russia, With Love although I am quite certain that Fleming had no definite chronology in mind.
The two missions that, we are told, Bond bungled between his wife's death and his promotion to the Diplomatic Section have no parallels in Dominic Flandry's career.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I'm a slow reader, unlike you! But I finally finished Ben Bova's SAM GUNN, UNLIMITED. And I now feel ready to reread the first book Fleming wrote about James Bond, CASINO ROYALE.
Yes, that mention of Heinkel was Fleming showing good trade craft as a writer, the Bond stories don't tell us everything about 007's career. There was more to Bond's life and career than what the canonical novels tells us.
I think one reason why we don't see Flandry immediately falling apart after Kossara was killed is because there was MORE to Flandry than in Bond. I think the former had more inner resources or resilience. But, I should add that, after a bad tine during which he bungled some of the tasks assigned him, 007 did pull himself back together. And that is deserving of respect.
Ad astra! Sean
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