Point of View

There are two aspects of point of view to consider here. In technical terms, Golden Gun is written from the third person subjective perspective—an omnipotent voice recounts the story from the point of view of the book's central character, James Bond, including references not only to what he says and does but to what he thinks, feels, understands, wonders, and fears. This voice occasionally injects itself into the narrative, as in the borderline misogynist comments about Mary Goodnight in the book's final chapters. These interjections, on occasion, become an almost distracting commentary on the action, interfering with the straightforward narrative flow of events and experiences. In other words, narration occasionally veers into opinion.

The second aspect of point of view relates to previously discussed issues of context—specifically, the socio-political-philosophical-military context in which the novel, and the other James Bond novels, were written...