Nikki Jefford Popular Books

Nikki Jefford Biography & Facts

Thunderball is a 1965 spy film and the fourth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham devised from a story conceived by Kevin McClory, Whittingham, and Fleming. It was the third and final Bond film to be directed by Terence Young, with its screenplay by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins. The film follows Bond's mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world ransom to the tune of £100 million in diamonds under threat of destroying an unspecified metropolis in either the United Kingdom or the United States (later revealed to be Miami). The search leads Bond to the Bahamas, where he encounters Emilio Largo, the card-playing, eyepatch-wearing SPECTRE Number Two. Backed by CIA agent Felix Leiter and Largo's mistress, Domino Derval, Bond's search culminates in an underwater battle with Largo's henchmen. The film's complex production comprised four different units, and about a quarter of the film comprises underwater scenes. Thunderball was the first Bond film shot in widescreen Panavision and the first to have a running time of over two hours. Although planned by Bond film series producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman as the first entry in the franchise, Thunderball was associated with a legal dispute in 1961 when former Fleming collaborators McClory and Whittingham sued him shortly after the 1961 publication of the novel, claiming he based it upon the screenplay the trio had written for a cinematic translation of James Bond. The lawsuit was settled out of court and Broccoli and Saltzman, fearing a rival McClory film, allowed him to retain certain screen rights to the novel's plot and characters, and for McClory to receive sole producer credit on this film; Broccoli and Saltzman instead served as executive producers.The film was exceptionally successful: its worldwide box-office receipts of $141.2 million (equivalent to $1,311,200,000 in 2022) exceeded not only that of each of its predecessors but that of every one of the next five Bond films that followed it. Thunderball remains the most financially successful film of the series in North America when adjusted for ticket price inflation. In 1966, John Stears won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and BAFTA nominated production designer Ken Adam for an award. Some critics and viewers praised the film and branded it a welcome addition to the series, while others found the aquatic action repetitious. The movie was followed by 1967's You Only Live Twice. In 1983, Warner Bros. released a second film adaptation of the Thunderball novel under the title Never Say Never Again, with McClory as executive producer. Plot SPECTRE operative Emilio Largo devises a plan to hold NATO to ransom by hijacking two atomic bombs from a Royal Air Force (RAF) Avro Vulcan strategic jet bomber during a training exercise. To facilitate Largo's plans, SPECTRE operative Count Lippe recruits Angelo Palazzi to oversee the theft of the bombs. With help from SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe, Lippe has Palazzi surgically alter his face to match that of French Air Force pilot François Derval, who is assisting in the exercise. Volpe and Palazzi murder the real Derval, while they are staying at the Shrublands health resort, only for the latter to demand more money. Volpe acquiesces, merely to have him continue with their operation. Following the plan, Palazzi successfully hijacks the bomber, killing its crew, and lands it in shallow waters within the Bahamas. While the bombs are recovered by his men, Largo murders Palazzi for reneging on his original deal with SPECTRE. British secret agent James Bond, recuperating at Shrublands after killing SPECTRE assassin Jacques Bouvar who had faked his death at his chateau, notices Lippe's presence and keeps him under observation, discovering Derval's body. Upon being recalled to London, Bond finds himself targeted by Lippe for trying to interfere. Before he can defend himself, Volpe kills Lippe for jeopardising Largo's scheme. Once back in London, Bond learns that all 00 agents are being put on high alert following the theft of the bombs, after being informed a major city in the US or the UK will be destroyed unless £100 million is paid to SPECTRE within seven days. While in talks with M on his assignment, Bond requests he be assigned to Nassau, Bahamas, to contact Derval's sister Domino, after recognising Derval from the photo given to the agents in their main briefing as the body he found at the resort. Bond meets with Domino, who he learns is the mistress of Largo when he visits a local casino. Both men recognise each other as adversaries and engage in a tense cat-and-mouse game while still pretending ignorance of each other's true nature. Following their initial meeting, Bond meets with his friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter, fellow agent Paula Caplan, and MI6 quartermaster Q, to receive equipment to help with finding the bombs, including an underwater infrared camera and miniature underwater breathing apparatus. Investigating Largo's ship, Disco Volante, he notices an underwater hatch beneath her that intrigues him. The next day, he visits Largo at his estate during the night, only to find that Paula had been abducted and committed suicide before she could talk. Forced to escape, Bond evades Largo's men during a Junkanoo celebration. Volpe catches up with Bond, but is killed when Bond puts her between himself and a henchman aiming for Bond. Suspecting the bombs were brought to the area, Bond and Leiter search for the Vulcan and find it camouflaged underwater, along with the bodies of the crew members and Palazzi. Upon returning to the island, Bond reveals to Domino that her brother was killed by Largo and gets her to help him search Disco Volante. However, Largo catches her in the act and has her imprisoned. Meanwhile, Bond replaces one of Largo's men as SPECTRE prepares to move the bombs, and manages to learn where one of them is being moved to before being discovered and left behind. Reuniting with Leiter, the pair gets the US Coast Guard and US Navy to intercept Disco Volante crew and recover one of the bombs in an underwater battle. Bond pursues Largo and grabs hold of Disco Volante as she sheds the rear half to become a hydrofoil to escape. Bond gets on deck and sends the Disco Volante out of control whilst he defeats Largo's men and fights Largo. In an ironic twist, Largo gains the upper hand and is about to shoot Bond when Domino kills Largo with a speargun in revenge after his hired nuclear physicist Ladislav Kutze frees her. The trio quickly flee Disco Volante seconds before it crashes into rocks and explodes. Kutze vanishes before Bond and Domino are retrieved by a plane with the Fulton system. Cast Sean Connery as James Bond: An MI6 agent assigned to .... Discover the Nikki Jefford popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Nikki Jefford books.

Best Seller Nikki Jefford Books of 2024

  • Spellcaster Wild Card synopsis, comments

    Spellcaster Wild Card

    Nikki Jefford

    Winning the show means living forever. It is the golden ticket to fame, fortune, and a place among the vampire elite.Being remade isn't on my wish list. I like being me, and with n...

  • Mating Games synopsis, comments

    Mating Games

    Nikki Jefford

    When resistance turns to desire, all bets are off.Beautiful and vivacious wolf shifter, Jordan spurns the match her father is pushing between her and the swaggering mammoth, Raider...

  • Bear Claimed synopsis, comments

    Bear Claimed

    Nikki Jefford

    Love made her crazy. A reckless act of passion sealed her fate.There is only so much rejection a woman can take. Taryn has lost patience with her brother's best friend. He said he ...

  • Moon Cursed synopsis, comments

    Moon Cursed

    Nikki Jefford

    Time is running out for Elsie.Elsie's coven always believed that she was moon cursed. Promised to the bear shifters before she was ever born, the witch wolf shifter has until her t...

  • Evil Red synopsis, comments

    Evil Red

    Nikki Jefford

    L.A. is one tough city, especially when sharing a trailer with four thieving sisters.Valerie's plans for a better life and Hollywood grandeur are interrupted after a fateful stabbi...

  • Duplicity synopsis, comments

    Duplicity

    Nikki Jefford

    Graylee Perez cheated death… and now death is coming to collect.Life's not perfect for "Lee" 2.0, but pretty darn close. She's alive at least! And she has the best boyfriend in the...

  • Whiteout synopsis, comments

    Whiteout

    Nikki Jefford

    Life on the run is no winter picnic, especially when Aurora's partner sees himself as the sheriff, not the outlaw.It's a catandmouse game across the Last Frontier with agents and v...

  • Bad Blood synopsis, comments

    Bad Blood

    Nikki Jefford

    Aurora returns from boot camp to a new assignment, an unwelcome roommate, and the increasingly amorous attentions of a certain vampire hunter.College is starting, and so is Aurora'...

  • True North synopsis, comments

    True North

    Nikki Jefford

    Aurora has spent the past year fighting for survival, freedom, and justice. Now she's about to face the biggest battle of her life. Field agents are turning up dead and everyone is...

  • Primal Bonds synopsis, comments

    Primal Bonds

    Nikki Jefford

    Language, custom, and ancestry forge seemingly impassable barriers between a woman and a bear shifter, but words cannot stand in the way when it comes to the language of the heart....

  • Three Kings synopsis, comments

    Three Kings

    Nikki Jefford

    Life will never be the same for Melarue Heiris.Two Fae princes vie for her affection, and her sister doesn't like it one bit. But this isn't Aerith's story. Sure, Mel might have go...

  • Holiday Magic synopsis, comments

    Holiday Magic

    Nikki Jefford

    Every day is a gift worth celebratingespecially when you've died not once, but twice.Ever since giving up her powers, Lee has had to adjust to life without magic. It's never been h...

  • Holiday Crown synopsis, comments

    Holiday Crown

    Nikki Jefford

    Dahlquist is brimming with gifts and good cheer. While King Liri spends the holidays with his queen in the mortal realm, it's up to a certain elf and her brood to rule.It's all fun...

  • The Forever Princess synopsis, comments

    The Forever Princess

    Nikki Jefford

    Never underestimate a Fae princess in pink.It started out as a dare. Get the name and number of the cute guy at the club. I don't back down from dares . . . and I definitely don't ...

  • Entangled synopsis, comments

    Entangled

    Nikki Jefford

    A resurrection spell gone wrong…Hiding her powers was never a problem for seventeenyearold Graylee Perez. Not until her diabolical twin sister decided to go on a rampage that could...

  • Born Wild synopsis, comments

    Born Wild

    Nikki Jefford

    For three years humans forced the pureblooded wolf shifter to fight his own kind…After escaping his human captors, Wolfrik returns to Wolf Hollow covered in scars and hostility. He...

  • The Dark Pretender synopsis, comments

    The Dark Pretender

    Nikki Jefford

    Betrayal is a heavy price to pay for a kingdom, especially when you lose the crown. But no loss is greater than love.AlokLife as an exiled prince in Frostweather is as bleak as the...

  • Night of the Living Dante synopsis, comments

    Night of the Living Dante

    Nikki Jefford

    The bite. The blood. The kill. The rush.Dante has just been assigned Aurora Sky's mentor. Before they ever meet, he goes on a mission up north in the Alaska interior with his old p...

  • Enchantment synopsis, comments

    Enchantment

    Nikki Jefford

    Resurrected. Duplicated. And now . . . Enchanted.Barcelona. Summer escape. Or so Graylee Perez thought until her old adversary, Adrian Montez, brings his magic show to Spain.How is...

  • The Golden Prince synopsis, comments

    The Golden Prince

    Nikki Jefford

    Never cross a Fae prince. And for Sky's sake, don't fall in love with one determined to ruin you.CrispinLark Elmray is a showoff and a shameless flirt. The highborn females don't u...

  • Hunting Season synopsis, comments

    Hunting Season

    Nikki Jefford

    Better to be a hunter, not prey.Ever since her partner was kidnapped, Aurora Sky has been on a personal mission to get him back. To do that she needs the vampire responsible for de...

  • Stolen Princess synopsis, comments

    Stolen Princess

    Nikki Jefford

    A supernatural Cinderella meets Mr. Darcy…With her family on the verge of losing everything, Aerith Heiris competes in an elven tournament to become a princess of Faerie. More like...

  • The Ice Twins synopsis, comments

    The Ice Twins

    Nikki Jefford

    Taking the hero's road is a hard one, especially when a prince's first duty should always be to his future princess.RoninReed and I have loved Zelie for years, but the age gapand h...

  • Night Stalker synopsis, comments

    Night Stalker

    Nikki Jefford

    Fane Donado's always been a grablifeby theteeth kind of vampire.When his friend Cassie requests help to investigate suspicious vamp deaths in the Caribbean Islands, Fane hops the f...

  • Forever Free synopsis, comments

    Forever Free

    Nikki Jefford

    When all paths to escape lead straight off a cliff…No place is safe for a woman in a fallen world, and no one knows that better than Sparrow.The wolf shifters used her as bait, and...

  • Northern Bites synopsis, comments

    Northern Bites

    Nikki Jefford

    Love bites.Probation sucks.Thanks to Dante's recklessness, Aurora is now partners with Valerie: the redheaded, backstabbing vixen.Dante is in full flirt mode. Fane's tactics are mo...

  • Renegade Red synopsis, comments

    Renegade Red

    Nikki Jefford

    Goldilocks (aka Silvereyes) and Little Red Riding Hood (aka Artillery Rose) put the fear in the forest in these outlandish fairytale retellings.As reported by Justin Slinger, wolf ...

  • Animal Attraction synopsis, comments

    Animal Attraction

    Nikki Jefford

    Is love too great a risk in a savage new world?Rafael has never intended to settle down or take a mate. He knows firsthand how a mate bond can destroy a family. This world is too s...

  • False Queen synopsis, comments

    False Queen

    Nikki Jefford

    Sorcery. Treachery. Civil Unrest. Dahlquist isn't ready for a human queen.Aerith thought she was done with crowns, gowns, and, most importantly, Faerie. But oh no. She's in the thi...

  • Wolf Hollow synopsis, comments

    Wolf Hollow

    Nikki Jefford

    Love Against All OddsThe future of Wolf Hollow is in the hands of their single shifters to claim mates and rebuild their pack after a devastating attack leaves them vulnerable.Sash...

  • Spellbound Trilogy Box Set synopsis, comments

    Spellbound Trilogy Box Set

    Nikki Jefford

    Cheating death comes at a price…Teen witch Graylee Perez knows to keep her head down and her powers hidden. Unfortunately, her twin sister's popularity and jealous outbursts threat...

  • Stakeout synopsis, comments

    Stakeout

    Nikki Jefford

    Noel Harper got a second chance at life when the government recruited her as an undercover vampire informant. Since the day they brought her back from the goodasdead, she has wante...