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1. The central metaphor in this movie is introduced when Palmer is briefed by Ross in Ross's garden. Ross doesn't want to grow roses. He's more interested in weeds. Roses would be the officer class (James Bond). Weeds are the NCOs (Palmer). Ross doesn't deal with roses, he recruits a criminal from the lower order. We know this is important because when Palmer meets Stok, he says, "Roses are out. Weeds are in." 2. On first watching, a lot of people seem to expect the movie to end after Palmer fails to deliver Col. Stok. And then they're surprised by the solid third act that begins after Palmer is told to kill Vulkan. The book ends with a weird firework fight on Primrose Hill in London. The screenplay brings us back to the wall. And none of the witty banter is in the novel. 3. In fact, the screenplay reinforces Michael Caine's Palmer (ex-army corporal from London) whereas the novel tells us the nameless protagonist is from up north and a graduate from a "red brick" university. 4. It's not just that Samantha Steele has urgency. Her motivation is based on how the Swiss banks were holding gold the Nazis had stolen from victims of the Holocaust. This actually happened and didn't become a major news story until many years after the release of Funeral in Berlin. 5. There's a trick at the beginning of the movie when we hear Michael Caine's voice "Who's that playing the piano with his elbows?" and we see a pair of glasses and a pair of hands in male pajamas making a pot of tea. But it's revealed to be his girlfriend. "You're useless in the kitchen. Why don't you go back to bed?" The theme of gender bending begins that early. 6. In the sixties there was a lot of hysteria in the tabloid press about homosexuals being spies (Guy Burgess, The Vassal case, we didn't know about Blunt yet) and the newspapers were publishing stories along the lines of "How to spot a homo." Michael Caine's pitch perfect playing the embarrassment of Palmer being a straight working-class lad of his time. He's mocking Hallam not for being upper class but for being gay.

Great interview

Great interview! Looking forward to book #4, even without Artemis...

Glad you stopped to tell the viewer about the spoilers ahead. I’m halfway through the book. Will be back after finishing the book. Great interview.

Looking forward to reading his new book.

Bloody hell that ended quick.. I was all settled in for hrs of chit chat .. hahahaha

EVERYONNNNNE!!!

Was a good interview a tad short. Would have liked to hear more. Gary Oldman is a very likeable fella. For me Leon (the Monologue) phenomenal. Thank you. Loving Slow Horses great writing and performances.

This would have been so much better if you had had a thumbnail of the book you were discussing. … halfway through I forgotten the title and had no idea what you’re talking about. Consequently i had to abandon your review.

It appears you folk cannot discuss this movie without spending most of your time discussing Bond.

Great interview. Thank you

Fabulous. Thank you.

Really interesting, thank you. 🙏

Wonderful, thank you.

Sounds like Michael Portillo.

Bloody great actor, Churchill was fantastic

I thoroughly enjoyed the book but there's a small anachronism - at one point a character makes a late phone call and "expects an answering machine", but those barely existed before the 1980s! Unless 1950s Hungary was far in advance in this area 😄

LOVE Slow Horses. Addicted. I would be interested in the books; has anyone read them? - are they the same as the TV series in terms of characters and plot, or is there a fair degree of deviation? I

Why was the conversation so brief? It ended abruptly.

Lamb and River carry the show. Other characters are boring

Such a shame The Peacock and the Sparrow is read by Pete Simonelli on Audible AKA Sebastian York. Great narrator, but you can't unhear all those racey romances he voiced.

Thank you so much!! I needed this answer!

Fantastic program for avid reader who has been remiss in spy genre. I expect to review this dozens of times as I inform myself on these authors I do not know.

I went from the streaming series to the library & Mick Herron's dialogue in the books is brilliant! READ them!

My favorite Bond film, but I find the film to be an improvement over the book. I've read the book, and I've found the descriptions went too far (some are not really necessary and just redundancies like the Michelin tires and the measurements) that it made my reading a bit slow, too many foreign languages too moreso than Casino Royale, the romance was half cooked or underdeveloped for me to buy, this was supposed to be Bond's greatest love but Fleming never gave any thoughts to the romance, he'd just made Bond like "Well, I need to be married by now and well, there's this girl,well, I will marry her", no sincerity, I mean, Bond's romance with Vesper and Tiffany in the previous books are more convincing because Fleming put a lot in them, the romances are fleshed out. Tracy was also not fleshed out as a character, Fleming didn't wrote much about her, we haven't got to know more of her unlike the previous Bond Girls, we've only got to know her based on the third person view, but she's not fully developed, I don't know who she really was as a character aside from being a depressed, troubled, and frustrated spoiled brat girl, sure, she had driven Bond out coincidentally from the situation against Blofeld, but that's not enough for me to buy her as Bond's one true love and would make her stands above the rest, I don't even know her that much. Blofeld was such a mysterious character, but his menace had been reduced a bit, especially, expecting more after his descriptions in Thunderball, but here, he'd just became a frustrated, reclusive weirdo wanting a title and using beautiful girls to destroy the Agriculture of Ireland and UK. The middle section was a bit slow either, it's full of build up but the pay off failed to land the stick because Bond and Blofeld didn't have any confrontation, and didn't have much action it. The ending was tragic though, so gonna give it that.

I think it’s Fleming’s best.

Many thanks to one and all for this podcast on RUclips! OHMSS is my personal favorite of all the Bond thrillers. It's so literate, and I still marvel at how deftly ILF managed to get 10 (!), lovely young ladies from the UK into that "Eagle's Nest" high atop a mtn in the Austrian Alps and keep them plausible!! And of course, what a romantic, tragic ending ...

Have a great Christmas and a smashing 2025 This truly is my favourite Fleming book - in my head Connery influenced the Scottish element of Bond’s heritage and for that reason alone it is awesome …oh, and surely OHMSS also counts as a Christmas movie 🎄

Short answer is yes - best movie too 😮

good

Book ordered.

Wonderful! Thank you.

Fantastic interview Shane. Biffy sounds a wonderful character

Great interview

Hi there... I just wanted to stop by and say how much I admire your dedication and passion for books. Your content is always so engaging and inspiring! In fact, I recently featured your channel in a video on my own BookTube channel, highlighting some of the most amazing creators in the community-and, of course, you had to be on that list! 😊 Thank you for everything you do to make BookTube such a vibrant and welcoming space. Keep up the incredible work-you’re making such a difference in the bookish world! Warm regards, Kris (from SmartBookWorms)

Great video thanks

Well done Shane! That was a fantastic interview! I can't wait to read Tim's biography of Biffy! He sounds like an absolutely fascinating man!

This is on my Christmas list - just finished A Small Town in Germany on my "John LeCarrethon" of all the novels (and related movies, TV, radio adaptations and podcasts etc) so will be reading it next (after Christmas) - looking forward to it (got some ASTIG podcasts etc to enjoy first) Comment @iandouglas805 2 weeks ago Enjoyed that a lot! Working my way through JLC’s work but will have to buy this. Loved Steven’s story about meeting the great man. 3 Reply

I am currently listening to mr tates to catch a spy on audio book. It is narrated by the author. It’s a brilliant book I recommend it

It's true - his skills lent themselves 100% to the life of a spy. Definitely someone I'd invite to dinner... Thanks to Shane and James for this insight into his life. And of course, Reilly - Ace of Spies was written by Lockhart's son.

I have read the novel. I am preparing my review. It is glorious. So happy for him so happy for myself. Happy for all fans. A wonderful story hoping for more to come.

--> Black Turtleneck under Trenchcoat please. ;) Great review Shane !

Strangely. I am sure I went to the LCP with one of JLC's sons. I think it was Stephen. I met JLC there. But as a dim 19 year old who only discovered George Smiley et al a decade later I had no idea who he was. I'd heard of JLC from the Alec Guinness series but I'm sure he didn't call himself JLC at that meeting.

And I thought Control found Toby squatting in a factory in Vienna at the end of the war. Not smiley? Or was that changed in the 2011 film. I must re read

It took me 100 or so pages before I could let go of the expectation that this novel was written in the style of Le Carre. It definitely is not. Le Carrie's voice does not resonate at all. However, Harkaway has done something very impressive, albeit something which takes some getting used to. He is able to sound like an acolyte of Le Carre telling a story Le Carre told him. Or maybe Peter Guillam recounting tales of Smiley. I really liked this novel. I will never stop dipping back into the originals - especially TTSS and TRH but I really hope Harkaway produces more.

Why is Roy Bland replaced by the same character with a different name in Karla's Choice. Is there something legal about the name. ? ..... oh wait. You just explained it. Phew

Not the first smiley story - sixth.

How’s about some Modesty Blaise- Peter O’ Donnell please 🙏

My brain read this title as ‘A woman’s life in Gaza’. I got a very different, but equally fascinating interview 😂

Great interview.. Have ordered Karla's Choice after listening to this video