james.doherty@gsa.gov
Wed, 24 Nov 1999 16:09:28 -0600
I agree with Doug Bassett about Fleming as an example of the
classic British adventure writer, rather than a hard-boiled
character. In terms of crime/suspense fiction, the author
Fleming most evokes for me is Sax Rohmer. Dr. No particularly
seems like a recycled version of Dr. Fu Manchu and Bond is,
in many ways, a less gentlemanly version of Sir Denis
Nayland-Smith.
Regarding Bond's obsession with brand names and his technical
expertise, there's an amusing story about that. In *Dr. No*,
Bond is ordered to trade in his tiny Beretta .25 for a
Walther PPK, with a snub-nosed .38 revolver as a back-up
piece, then is issued a Berns-Martin shoulder holster in
which he carries the Walther. Problem with that is the
Berns-Martin is specially molded for revolvers and the
Walther PPK is a semi-automatic which would never fit.
Fleming didn't care. The brand names sounded neat, so Bond
packed a Walther PPK in a Berns-Martin holster for the rest
of the series.
Try to imagine Donald Hamilton making a mistake like that in
a Matt Helm book!
JIM DOHERTY
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