You Only Live Twice
Are the Bond movies better than the books on which they’re based? That’s not just a matter of opinion; it’s nearly apples and oranges. What we can say for sure is that they’re different. Take the women of James Bond, for example. Even in the movies based directly on Fleming novels, the Bond Girls have a tendency to mutate during adaptation. The changes start at the beginning: in the novel Dr. No, Honey Ryder’s full name is Honeychile Ryder. But that’s just a small difference compared with what would come later: In Goldfinger the book, Pussy Galore was an American gang leader (in charge of the Cement Mixers, a group of lesbian burglars) rather than an English aerial-acrobatics expert. And in the book version of You Only Live Twice, Kissy Suzuki and James Bond actually conceive a child, even though she keeps it a secret from him.