Chapter 3 Summary

After a brief narration of how M breaks up his usual, comfortable lunch routine by unusually ordering a full bottle of wine and of how he ponders his recent decision to put Bond back into service, this chapter focuses on the character of Scaramanga, as portrayed in various reports read by M at his desk. These reports describe Scaramanga as a highly skilled assassin-for-hire with a reputation for exceptional marksmanship and sexual prowess. They also describe him as being a kind of anti-hero, popular because of the outrageous nature of his assassinations and his ability to evade the law. Other reports detail his psychological history, exploring why he became the killer he did, and also offer suggestions that because he's so obsessed and identified with his gun, he's perhaps not as sexually successful as his reputation would suggest. Finally, the various reports suggest...