It’s hard to live in the world without being at least a little familiar with James Bond. Even if you’ve yet to see the new movie Spectre, you can probably already picture that gun-barrel sequence in your head. And, chances are, you’ve seen at least one Bond movie over the years. (Constant marathons on Spike TV has seen to that.) “Bond. James Bond.” is one of the most-iconic lines in film history (even though announcing himself isn’t such a good move for a spy).
But what about the man that created him? Ian Fleming, the author of the Bond books, is not as well-known as his most-famous creations, but he might have actually been a better spy than Bond. Fleming was a badass in his own right. How do you think he had enough military and espionage knowledge to fuel 13 novels and a handful of short stories? The answer: By actually forming a commando unit and stealing enemy intelligence in WWII. He even formed a counter-intelligence plan called Operation Goldeneye, which was also the name of his house after the war (and where the 1995 movie would get its name). As much as I love George R.R. Martin, I just can’t picture him actually fighting white walkers with a sword and shield whenever he’s not writing.
Although he never fought giant squids or surfed on a shitty CGI tsunami, Ian Fleming was pretty accomplished at espionage himself. Could James Bond have outwit his creator?
