We are told that the Shalmuan, Chives, resembles a short, hairless, long-tailed green human being:
"...if you ignored countless differences in shapes and proportions of features..." (p. 29)
A CGI (computer generated image) would have to show all these differences. Chives' bodily proportions and facial features should look alien quite apart from their hairlessness, colour and tail.
We find another parallel between Dominic Flandry and James Bond. For the former:
"...a lady died on Dennitza, fourteen years ago..." (p. 30)
Bond visits a churchyard where a granite cross displays a name followed by "RIP." However, Fleming does not furnish any dates or number of years elapsed.
Finally, for now, Bond must do a lot of research to track down Blofeld, an arch-enemy. Flandry begins to research Cairncross, suspected and soon to be revealed as the current enemy. For as long as they live, each of these heroes must confront an endless series of enemies.
In their concluding instalments, Magnusson interns Flandry whereas Bond and Scaramanga shoot each other and lie in a Jamaican swamp...
2 comments:
I suspect Bond was a little too... too... for the mature Poul Anderson.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I don't know if you've read any of them, but I believe William F. Buckley's novels about CIA agent Blackford Oakes to be far superior to Fleming's 007 stories. I would urge first time readers of WFB's novels to try the first two: SAVING THE QUEEN and STAINED GLASS.
Also, it's my belief the quality of the Bond stories declined after Fleming replaced the USSR/SMERSH as the villains with the unconvincing SPECTRE.
Pessimistic this uploads.
Ad astra! Sean
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