Casino Royale by Ian Fleming: 52 in 52 Book #23

 

Continuing my Bond streak I decided I should head back to the book that started it all: Casino Royale. Set at the beginning of Bond’s double 0 career, this book excited me and provided entertainment and excitement on every page.

As anyone who’s seen the film would know, the plot of the story involves Bond trying to disgrace rich SMERSH supporter Le Chiffre by winning against him at cards. However, in the book the game is baccarat which I found vastly more interesting to Texas Hold’em. Accompanied by French and American agents René Mathis and Felix Leiter and Secret Service agent Vesper Lynd, Bond travels to a French casino to complete this goal.

Vesper Lynd is a particularly intriguing character, not least because of her almost bipolar personality changes. She leads you, and Bond, on through the entire novel right up until the last words of the last chapter. She is the ultimate Bond girl.

This book has all the quintessential points a decent Bond story should: a car chase, a beautiful woman for Bond to seduce, a show down between Bond and the main villain. It grips you with the plot and the twist at the end is both shocking and heart-breaking. The novel also gives ground to Bond’s character development in later novels including why he hates SMERSH and his outlook on the world.

Anyone who even vaguely considers themself a Bond fan needs to read this book. It is the point at which it all began and has been my favourite Bond novel so far!

 

 

Kat

Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming: 52 in 52 Book #22

Continuing with my collection of Bond audiobooks, I started listening to Diamonds Are Forever to kick off the beginning of my latest placement and thus the start of long commutes. Every evening for the past week or so I have spent my journey home delving back into the world of espionage and following James Bond through another assignment.

So did I enjoy this instalment? Yes and no. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my previous acquaintances with Dr No and Goldfinger but I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as those Bond novels. Not to say that I didn’t like it. On the contrary, the excitement and action was some of the most thrilling, especially towards the latter end of the novel with a train chase. The ever changing scenery from London to an American race course, Las Vegas casinos to an old Wild West town and a cruise ship was constantly engaging and ensured you never got bored or dared lapse your concentration or you would miss an entire section of the plot.

I also loved the characters. Felix Leiter, one of my favourite Bond characters, makes an appearance and true to form, makes you laugh and stimulates some of the more interesting action scenes. Tiffany Case, the obligatory Bond girl, is another amazing character. Named after the jewellery case her father left as a parting gift for her mother after the disappointment of having a daughter rather than a son, Tiffany is a changeable, adaptable and interesting character. She has a lot more depth than quite a few of the other Bond girls and you feel genuinely interested in her and her interactions with Bond.

However, having finished the novel, I was left wanting. There is so much action in the middle section of the book that the less than climatic ending seems somewhat odd and ill thought out. It was almost like Fleming got to the last chapter and thought “Ugh, I guess I have to wrap this all up.” And put as little effort in as he could get away with. It is a stark contrast to the rest of the book which lives up to the high calibre of the series.

I would definitely recommend this book, despite the ending. It has some interesting twists and turns and keeps you hooked and wanting more. Just don’t expect that absolutely, mid-blowing epic ending and everything will be awesome!

 

 

Kat

The Man with the Golden Gun – Ian Fleming: 52 in 52 Book #8

Following on from my Dr No review , I stuck my next audiobook into the CD player in my car for the long commutes to and from work. It is another Bond novel, as I got three Bond audiobooks – Dr No, The Man with the Golden Gun and Goldfinger – in an offer. The Man with the Golden Gun turned out to be a thrilling way to start and finish my day.

As with Dr No, I have never seen the film The Man with the Golden Gun and therefore cannot compare the two. Jim tells me they are good films and along with Goldfinger, I plan to see all three before too long.

The Man with the Golden Gun starts rather dramatically with Bond attempting to kill M after being brainwashed by the Soviet secret service. After recovering from this brainwashing, M decides to make Bond prove himself. He does this by sending Bond to assassinate a gunman in the Caribbean: Scaramanga. Mr Scaramanga is a bloodthirsty individual who has killed several agents previously usually using the titular golden gun.

The following novel is a thrilling escapade with Bond having to use his wits to avoid Scaramanga identifying him for who he really is and killing him. There are others out for Bond’s blood and conveniently they have gathered with Scaramanga in a hotel in Jamaica. The ensuing espionage, shooting, bluffing and murder make for an excellent spy and adventure novel.

Compared to Dr No, The Man with the Golden Gun was a lot shorter. This length difference wasn’t very noticeable but the difference in action was. The Man with the Golden Gun had less adventure and physical action than its predecessor and occasionally lacked the enthusiasm of the other novel. That said, I still enjoyed very word, just not as much as Dr No.

A quintessential Bond novel, The Man with the Golden Gun is complete with sneaking around, gun fights, a Bond girl and an eccentric villain. Every Bond fan should read this novel.

 

Kat