Fleming, Ian

Average customer rating:

Fleming has an uncanny ability to make pages-long descriptions of gambling exciting
Sure it's dated, but I'm glad I read it...
A Classic That Bond Fans Have To Read
Good aside from the inevitable sexism
Interesting and Entertaining Reading

Casino Royale (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 014200202X

Book Description

In the first of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, 007 declares war on Le Chiffre, French communist and paymaster of the Soviet murder organization SMERSH.

The battle begins with a fifty-million-franc game of baccarat, gains momentum during Bond's fiery love affair with a sensuous lady spy, and reaches a chilling climax with fiendish torture at the hands of a master sadist. For incredible suspense, unexpected thrills, and extraordinary danger, nothing can beat James Bond in his inaugural adventure.

Customer Reviews:

Fleming has an uncanny ability to make pages-long descriptions of gambling exciting.......2007-06-10

I've read all the Bonds, but not in their original order, so this time I started with the first, Casino Royale (incidentally the title of the next Bond movie). Those who know the character only from the movies will be surprised to find that rather than the wisecracking gadget freak sex machine featured in the films the books present an introspective, fallible professional with a misogynist streak. In Casino Royale, Bond screws up his mission. There's a fairly long discourse on the nature of good and evil, and beyond a couple of scenes, there's not a lot of action (there is one very sadistic torture scene). Fleming also has an uncanny ability to make pages-long descriptions of gambling exciting.

Titan is also collecting the lesser known James Bond strip. These are faithful adaptations of Ian Fleming's novels and, as such, have one up on the movies which seem to only borrow the titles and the occasional set-piece from Fleming's work. My only complaint is that the format of the daily comic strip requires a sort of cliffhanger in each episode, and reading a batch of them at a time can get tiresome (not so with the Modesty Blaise series, perhaps because she was a comic strip creation). Still, like the Modesty Blaise volumes, these are beautifully designed, well-annotated and worth the money.

Sure it's dated, but I'm glad I read it..........2007-05-22

After watching the amazing film adaptation this past year I decided to give the Ian Fleming novel a chance. I'm sure glad that I did, for even though it shows its age through and through it's still a great introductory novel into the world of James Bond. While some have already noted that the action itself is subdued I feel it bares repeating since this novel is all about establishing character, and with that in mind it does a fantastic job.

In `Casino Royale' we meet British Secret Service agent James Bond, newly crowned 007, as he embarks on a mission full of deceit, murder, torture and high stakes gambling. Sent to the Casino Royale to turn the tables on the Russian spy Le Chiffre it appears that Bond has one of those `sitting-pretty' type assignments, but things aren't as easy as they initially appear. First he has to contend with his partner, the beautiful Vesper Lynd. Bond, while a surefire ladies man, prefers to keep their company strictly bedside and struggles with the idea of entertaining and ultimately trusting her. Le Chiffre himself also poses a problem in that he is not only smarter than Bond imagined but also much more determined to end up on top then Bond would have given him credit for.

`Casino Royale' may spend most of it's time in the close quarters of the casino floor but it serves up some very interesting background information on everyone's favorite secret agent. It establishes Bond as a person, not just a pretty face with muscles and brains, but a man stripped to the core with real human emotions and feelings. `Casino Royale' is the book that sets the foundation for the remaining Bond novels. His relationship with Vesper plays a huge part in the man Bond becomes and this novel helps the reader come to better understand this iconic character.

While I personally preferred the 2006 Blockbuster to the novel, mainly because the style of writing is dated and moves a little slow, I will say that it's well worth the read. I myself am now determined to read through the entire Bond series to get a full picture of the man we all love to watch film after film. This is where Bond began and is a must read for any fan of the films that this immortal character inspired.

A Classic That Bond Fans Have To Read.......2007-05-15

After being a fan of Bond for years; and especially watching the awesome movie Casino Royale, I asked myself "why haven't I read the novels yet?" Well, I have just finished Casino Royale, and it is amazing (though different in a lot of ways to the movie). Ian Fleming has an interesting way of writing that makes the entire story really exciting and never gets dull. So, if you have never read a Bond novel, no better place to start than with the first book-this one. It is just a great introduction into the Bond novel universe. I ordered the next book, and after reading this, I can't wait to get all of them. This is great

Good aside from the inevitable sexism.......2007-05-15

Entrenched in the Cold War and highly sexist (which I cannot fault Fleming for), this is a just-fine book that establishes Bond as one of the most potent characters in all of fiction. Fleming's writing would improve and his plots would...not, but this is where it all started, and his characterization of Bond is by far the best part of this book. That itself is well worth the purchase price.

Interesting and Entertaining Reading.......2007-05-13

This being the first of the Bond series (that I had never read), I was interested in checking it out-especially after seeing the recent film. This was a different Bond from the one I had been accustomed to-a little raw and undeveloped and a little too cocky for his own good. Newly promoted to 00 status, the killing part was still fresh to him. He still had not learned how to let his guard down a little when needed and then pick it back up. His relationship with Vesper marks an important development in his psyche that will affect his later dealings with women "on the job". Although different from the movie, the major points of the story are the same. The book was short but it was chock full of all the elements of a Bond novel. I enjoyed it.

Average customer rating:

Another Great Book in the Series
Voodoo Bond
An Exciting, Entertaining Novel
Great Gift
The Second James Bond Adventure

Live and Let Die (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142003239
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Customer Reviews:

Another Great Book in the Series.......2007-06-01

If you enjoyed Casino Royale, then you will also like the next book in the series, Live and Let Die. I don't know what it was, but I think it is just a little less enjoyable than the first book. The reason being the way that Ian writes for the black characters, it is some times hard to read and understand what they are saying. Trying to get the accent of what all black people talk like, according to him, makes some of the lines unreadable. Such as, it will say something like 'I dun no bot dis bose' but worse.

Anyway, still a good story overall, but almost completely different from the movie.

Voodoo Bond.......2007-04-29

Live and Let Die is the second book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. I preferred Casino Royale, but this one is certainly a good Bond story. This time 007 is in the United States trying to deal with the dangerous Mr. Big, the leader of a well-organized mob dealing in drugs and smuggling. Bond is helped in his efforts to learn about Mr. Big's operations by the enigmatic and beautiful Solitaire. As was true in Casino Royale, Bond is also aided by Felix Leiter, the indomitable US CIA agent. The story leads from New York to Florida to Jamaica and has an outstanding ending as Bond once again saves the day under extremely perilous circumstances. The characters in the book are well written, but the book's descriptions of African-Americans are particularly dated since the book was written in 1954.
Read the book and enjoy Bond, but this was not Ian Fleming's best effort. Now on to Diamonds are Forever, the third book in the series.

An Exciting, Entertaining Novel.......2007-03-09

Although the story of Live and Let Die was adapted to the silver screen as the seventh Bond movie (the first starring Roger Moore as the secret agent), Live and Let Die is actually the second book in Ian Fleming's series. It takes place some undisclosed amount of time after the events of Casino Royale, the first book in the series. Bond, eager to exact revenge on SMERSH, the Soviet version of the CIA or MI6, which was responsible for torturing him in Casino Royale, jumps on a mission to engage an American gangster turned Soviet agent codenamed Mr Big. Mr Big apparently uncovered a vast horde of pirate treasure and is illegally spreading the money throughout the United States to fund SMERSH activities. Mr Big is ruthless, cunning and brilliant and, perhaps more importantly, has absolute control over many of the black people in the United States (particularly Harlem) and Jamaica, through his manipulation of the Voodoo culture. As such, Mr Big is as cruel and dangerous an enemy as Bond will ever face.

The story of Live and Let Die (which, by the way, is vastly different from that of the movie) is much quicker paced and action-packed than that of Casino Royale, whose climax occurred at a baccarat table. And, while Casino Royale was certainly an enjoyable novel, Live and Let Die is a much more entertaining read.

Fleming is a strong writer who is capable of spinning a great tale. He does not waste a lot of time with description or unnecessary banter. Instead, he includes as much as he thinks is necessary to adequately advance the plot, allowing the reader to flesh out the descriptions in his mind. Fleming does, at times, devote a few pages to description, particularly that of Mr Big. His descriptions are beautifully written, telling the reader everything they need to know concisely, clearly and elegantly. Fleming's dialog, too, is pretty strong though he shies away from dialog much like he shies away from description. Often, he turns dialog into a third-person narrative in order to make it more concise. Although his dialog is snappy and realistic, it can, at times, be confusing. It is not always clear who is saying what which can cause the reader to have to re-read a passage to clarify the situation. However, this only happens once or twice and is not a big issue.

Perhaps the biggest complaint one could have with Live and Let Die is that it has become formulaic. The cruel and wicked villain, the smart and beautiful girl who somehow continues to fall into the clutches of the villain, the impossible situations that Bond manages to sidestep, and the general ineptitude of every agent or officer that is not Bond. But it is important to note that, as one of the earliest novels, this formula is not yet as cliche as it becomes over the next few books.

It is important to briefly note what many call a racist mentality present throughout the novel. Certainly, black people are usually portrayed as superstitious, poorly spoken folk, many of whom are working for a terrible black gangster. The use of the word "negro" and "nigger," which are now considered politically incorrect run rampant throughout this book. But those were the words commonly used when the book was written in the 1950s and had no racist connotations at the time. For Fleming, a British writer, telling a story about black people in America is rather difficult and it is surprising and impressive that he manages to avoid many of the typical stereotypes.

Live and Let Die is an exciting espionage thriller, with an admirable protagonist, a wicked villain, a strong plot, good storytelling and snappy dialog. The novel is vastly different from the later film adaptation and so is worth reading even if you did not like the movie. It is definitely one of the best books and a worthy addition to the Bond saga.

Great Gift.......2007-03-09

I did not buy it for myself, but it was a gift for a cousin of mine. And he was very greatfull about it, he says that this series of books (Ian Fleming's James Bond) are the best, even greater than the movies. So at the end I rate this item as a perfect gift for 007 fans.

The Second James Bond Adventure.......2006-11-16

After CASINO ROYALE, James Bond returns in the second 007 adventure, LIVE AND LET DIE, and here you'll find the basic formula that defines this series: globetrotting to exotic locations, larger-than-life villians, intoxicatingly beautiful women.

I'd read all of the Bond novels over twenty years ago as a teen and now I'm rereading them as the opening of the film version of CASINO ROYALE approaches this weekend. (The Ultimate James Bond DVD Collection is also being released--volumes one and two of four came out last week--so these are swingin' days for spy fans!).

One of the things I remembered from reading the Bond novels years ago was that I didn't think Ian Fleming really understood Americans. He saw them as either Texas cowboys or Chicago mobsters. So, as I picked up LIVE AND LET DIE, which has an African-American villian and has Bond visiting Harlem, I was prepared to find the same type of rash stereotyping Fleming had applied to everyone else in the USA.
(I nearly gasped when I saw the title to Chapter Five in these new Penguin editions and couldn't remember that from reading it before. I dug out my old copies and saw that the original Signet paperback and the movie tie-in were both changed to "Seventh Avenue").
But I was relieved that LIVE AND LET DIE wasn't rampant with racism. There are more "n-words" contained in any 3-minute rap song than the entire book and Fleming comes across as someone who's trying to understand what Bond sees in the Harlem sequences. If anyone is offended by his attempts to capture the dialogue in Harlem nightspots, I would ask if Fleming's transcriptions were any less challenging than, say, the closed caption people trying to type out what's heard on MTV's TRL show or VH1's "The Flavor of Love."
For an Englishman to write about Black culture in 1954 and not be riddled with outrageous insults is admirable, so I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone is welcome to disagree with me but I was expecting much worse!

Like the first novel, this one breezes along and the action jumps from London to New York to St. Petersburg to Jamaica. The novels are so different from the movies that they don't interfere with each other.

I've already picked up the next 007 thriller!

Average customer rating:

James Bond #9: Thunderball
A Fleming classic
The first appearance of SPECTRE
Wonderful fiction that is still relevant today!
"I Thought I Saw A Spectre..."

Thunderball (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142003247
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Customer Reviews:

James Bond #9: Thunderball.......2007-02-08

Published in 1961, THUNDERBALL hit the bookshelves a year before Sean Connery debuted in the first film, DR. NO.

The Bond novels have always been very fluid and visual but THUNDERBALL reads as the most cinematic of the stories up to this point. That's for a very good reason: the project began as a screenplay between Ian Fleming and a producer, Kevin McClory, along with a screenwriter, Jack Whittingham. After finishing the short story collection of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY and suffering some health problems that would increase until his death, Fleming wasn't sure what to do with James Bond, especially after trying to kill him off in FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE several books before.

The THUNDERBALL film project appeared to be stuck in development hell, so Fleming took the script and wrote a novel from it. Which promptly put him in court with McClory for the next several years. Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, the producing team who eventually did put 007 on the silver screen, had wanted to make THUNDERBALL their first film but as the court case continued, they moved ahead with DR. NO. The case was eventually settled but probably not to many of the participant's liking since Fleming had to share the rights to THUNDERBALL and another producer outside of Broccoli & Saltzman could legally use the character (which led to the "renegade Bond film" of 1983, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN).

The novel is fun to read because it has so many elements of what made the Sixties Bond films so much fun. A plot that involves saving the free world. The master villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld is introduced. The setting is incredibly exotic and beautiful. Domino is one of the more livelier Bond girls of the novels.

It's nice to have Felix Leiter along but...his condition after being fed to sharks in LIVE AND LET DIE stretches an already-strained believability to almost Austin Powers levels. I could accept him working for Pinkertons in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER but to get back into the CIA for THUNDERBALL...a bit much.

From reading Fleming's biography, I thought it was interesting that he would create SPECTRE about this time, the terrorist organization introduced here. In reality, he was bored with making the Russians his baddies all the time and--I thought this was funny--Fleming believed that the Cold War would be over before he could finish writing FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE!

A Fleming classic.......2007-01-13

This is the original Thunderball novel that was based on a screenplay suggested for the first James Bond movie, and was ultimately filmed as the fourth installment of the series. It's written by Ian Fleming, but also credited to Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham, who sued for the rights later on (all reviews should mention this fact, since McClory never let people forget it).

Like the movie Bond must travel to the Bahamas to stop SPECTRE, who have stolen two nuclear warheads. There are similarities to the book, and there are differences. The character of Fiona Volpe does not exist in the novel, nor does her sequence in the Kiss Kiss Club. Bond and Domino's first meeting is different, and Felix Leiter plays a larger role. Still readers will recognize enough key sequences in the right order to see that the film was a stronger adaptation of Fleming's work than the later movies.

It's a fast, thrilling read, and if it's fun by today's more "sophisticated" standards you can only imagine what a thrill it was back in the 60's. You can sometimes picture Sean Connery's Bond as you read, but other times this Bond is more brooding and human, more reluctant serviceman than debonair spy. What I particularly like about the novel over the book is that there's a greater sense of urgency, and that Bond is never sure if he's actually right as he follows the very circumstantial evidence. On the other hand, the movie definitely brings a greater sense of scale to the final underwater battle.

Great on it's own, or as a companion to the movie. Classic escapist reading.

The first appearance of SPECTRE.......2006-11-28

Two atomic bombs disappear and the free world gets a blackmail letter. Cough up 100,000,000 British Pounds in gold or lots of people and lots of property is going to be destroyed. Now James Bond must use all his skill and luck to found the bombs, defeat SPECTRE and safe the world. And of course, get the girl.
I happen to think SPECTRE, Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion is the base invention in any novel EVER. SMERSH is nothing when compared to SPECTRE. Cold, logic and calm, they make the greatest enemy Bond will ever have.

Wonderful fiction that is still relevant today!.......2006-11-22

This is the first of the three James Bond novels that feature the nefarious Ernst Blofield and Spectre as the villains. The plot is ingenious, and still has relevance for today's world, alas. This novel proceeds at a brisk pace throughout, and always succeeds in holding the reader's interest.

Author Ian Fleming has a spare, lean style of writing that I find very appealing. Unlike today's often bloated thousand-plus page novels, "Thunderball," in common with all of Fleming's work, manages to tell a fairly complicated and always-interesting story in as few words as possible. This style of writing maintains the mystery of what really makes the enigmatic James Bond tick, and of course, this question is half of the fun of these excellent spy novels.

Highly recommended.

"I Thought I Saw A Spectre...".......2005-04-23

In a sense, THUNDERBALL is where it all started and where it all ended for James Bond. Although the novel was not released until 1961, it is based upon a earlier screenplay (MR. KISS-KISS BANG BANG) written by Fleming, Jack Whittingham and Kevin McClory, many elements of which were adapted for the first Bond Films.

(In)famously, McClory and Eon Productions became embroiled in an epic lawsuit that lasted decades over the rights to the intellectual property of SPECTRE and Blofeld. As a result, SPECTRE vanished from the later films, the producers decided never to follow another of Fleming's plotlines (much to the detriment of the movies), McClory was awarded partial rights to THUNDERBALL (which was remade as NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN), and Connery was wooed home for the role, a thumb in the eye of Cubby Broccoli, who had argued with Connery years before. In the end, MGM/Eon bought everybody out, this is all a footnote, and CASINO ROYALE is expected in 2006 with as yet an unnamed actor as Bond.

While not one of the best of Fleming's works, THUNDERBALL has a charming wit that makes it irresistible, especially in its earlier scenes at Shrublands the exclusive health spa where Bond is forced to go for the cure.

Fleming obviously wrote the Shrublands episode with his tongue jammed firmly into his cheek, and has a wonderful time poking fun at critics who find Bond's hedonism distressing. After two weeks of drinking wheatgrass juice and eating pine nut tofu, Bond is feeling absolutely "mahvelous," he has practically turned into "Jim-Bob Gandhi," and his Scots housekeeper May is in tears warning him against the danger of a grown man eating such "bairn's food." Bond patiently explains, with the insufferable air of a true zealot, the difference between "live" foods and "dead foods," and dismisses May with the grumbled imprecation, "Change of life."

But May is right. When called to action, Bond immediately reverts to steak and eggs, black coffee, Morland Balkan cigarettes, and whisky neat. His nemesis, Blofeld, by the way, indulges in nothing.

Not so Emilio Largo, who is a true Roman epicurean. Largo's favorite indulgences are the hydrofoil yacht Disco Volante and Domino Vitali. Bond quickly develops a fondness for the latter as well, a far more explicit fondness than the films ever could describe.

The plot is familiar to everyone who has seen the movies. (Isn't that everyone?) SPECTRE steals two atom bombs and holds the world hostage. Bond must retrieve them.

What makes THUNDERBALL the book so vastly different from THUNDERBALL/NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN is Fleming's style as an author. He is a true "sensualist" as a writer, able to pack a scene with smells, sounds, sights and textures, all while practicing an economy with words that is admirable.

While Fleming's Bond is vaguely sketched by intent, it is Fleming's language that essentially animated the "James Bond Style," far and beyond any one film. This is most evident in THUNDERBALL, the movie that became a book that became two movies. The Bond films merely solidified Fleming's prose. The cinematic Bond is a different character, but wears the same shoes.

A blasted good read!

Average customer rating:

James Bond #7: Lustre Bluster
A solid James Bond novel with a few quirks
Goldfinger: The best film, but FAR from the best novel
The Root of Evil
Better than some would have you think

Goldfinger (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142002046

Book Description

Auric Goldfinger, the most phenomenal criminal Bond has ever faced, is an evil genius who likes his cash in gold bars and his women dressed only in gold paint. After smuggling tons of gold out of Britain into secret vaults in Switzerland, this powerful villain is planning the biggest and most daring heist in history-robbing all the gold in Fort Knox. That is, unless Secret Agent 007 can foil his plan. In one of Ian Fleming's most popular adventures, James Bond tracks this most dangerous foe across two continents and takes on two of the most memorable villains ever created-a human weapon named Oddjob and a luscious female crime boss named Pussy Galore. REVIEW; A superlative thriller from our foremost literary magician. (The New York Herald Tribune)<br/><br/>Auric Goldfinger, the most phenomenal criminal Bond has ever faced, is an evil genius who likes his cash in gold bars and his women dressed only in gold paint. After smuggling tons of gold out of Britain into secret vaults in Switzerland, this powerful villain is planning the biggest and most daring heist in history-robbing all the gold in Fort Knox. That is, unless Secret Agent 007 can foil his plan. In one of Ian Fleming's most popular adventures, James Bond tracks this most dangerous foe across two continents and takes on two of the most memorable villains ever created-a human weapon named Oddjob and a luscious female crime boss named Pussy Galore. REVIEW; A superlative thriller from our foremost literary magician. (The New York Herald Tribune)

Customer Reviews:

James Bond #7: Lustre Bluster.......2007-01-29

You won't find perhaps the most quoted lines from "Goldfinger" in the novel that were heard in the film:

Bond: "Do you expect me to talk?"
Goldfinger: "No, Mister Bond, I expect you to die."

That's because the filmmakers, in this case anyway, wisely decided to rewrite the entire story for their script.

I've been rereading all of the 007 novels and have just finished reading Andrew Lycett's insightful biography of Ian Fleming, so I've been pretty immersed in the whole James Bond experience (why not? It is, after all, 2007). I bought the new special edition DVD collections and can't wait for "Casino Royale" to hit DVD this spring as seeing it several times in the theatres.

Of the first seven novels, I'm standing by "Casino Royale" and "From Russia, With Love" as the best. I liked them 20 years ago and I like them now.

But I would probably put "Goldfinger" with "Moonraker": worth reading but not as good as the others.

The ambitious plot to rob Fort Knox just doesn't come off. Bond himself even sums up the absurdity of it in the film version ("...now you've only got a few hours before the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines show up to make you put it all back"). In the novel, Goldfinger proposes to use a small atomic device to blast the safes of Fort Knox--a explosion that would probably require some serious excavating to get the irradiated gold loaded up and out of there. In the film, he wants to blast the US gold supply with a dirty bomb to increase the value of his own stockpile.

Goldfinger's plan and Lex Luthor's San Andreas land scheme from the first Superman movie are the two great evil plots of hero movies, as far as I'm concerned.
As Bond concedes in the film, "My apologies, Goldfinger, it's an inspired plan."

Although she has the most infamous name of all the Bond girls, Pussy Galore shows up as an afterthought, an undeveloped character whose sexuality is gossiped about and then chucked aside for the obligatory final coupling with 007. Fleming devotes far more time to Bond's golf game with Goldfinger than he does Pussy's character. The movie spends more time fleshing her character out!

Some scenes were actually funny, such as when Oddjob demonstrates his karate by splintering Goldfinger's staircase and fireplace before dinner as Goldfinger admits that he doesn't really care for his house. It was also funny and somewhat racist for Goldfinger to hand over his pet cat to feed Oddjob when kitty got blamed for something. There were actually two foul swipes in this novel: the insistence that Koreans love eating cats and that American Southerners rape their sisters (Pussy Galore asks Bond at one point, "What do you call a little girl in the South who can outrun her brother? A virgin.")

The novel was more interesting this time when I pictured new 007 Daniel Craig in the scenes. The "blunt instrument" Bond makes more sense in this one.

But here's something I've almost never said about any adaption: the movie was better.

A solid James Bond novel with a few quirks.......2006-12-07

First of all, let me disclose that I really like all of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, and I particularly like and admire Fleming's lean, understated style of prose. Fleming is underrated as a writer, and James Bond is more than a comic book cutout character.

Goldfinger as a novel has some appealing attributes. The scene in which Bond plays a game of golf with Auric Goldfinger (with the stakes higher than they seem) is a masterpiece. Goldfinger the villain is an ingenious character. The reason I deprived this novel of two stars is first of all that the ending is tacked on almost as an afterthought. Sorry, it just didn't work, and it almost seemed like Fleming reached his page limit, and realized that he needed to wrap up the novel in the next twenty or so pages. Secondly, "Operation Grand Slam" involving a hodgpodge of criminals, seemed highly underdeveloped, and SMERSH would not have dared have a Soviet vessel upload the goal and hightail it to Russia. Nor would it have involved the sweepings of the US underworld in such a plan. It just did not work. Now mind, the idea of robbing Fort Knox is brilliant, and Fleming could have made it work. But here, in my opinion, it did not.

All these criticisms aside, I enjoyed "Goldfinger" the novel, and I recommend it, along with all of the other Bond novels, to anyone who enjoys good writing, a suspension of one's critical facilities for an afternoon, and, of course, James Bond.

Goldfinger: The best film, but FAR from the best novel.......2005-04-22

Very rarely does a film improve upon the source novel. I wrote a review of one, King's Ransom, which was made into a vastly superior film by Akira Kurosawa called High and Low. Goldfinger, the film, is one of the classic Bonds -- my favorite, to be sure. The novel, in contrast, is too long, is illogical in some parts, offensive in others and makes the reader realize what a superb job screenwriter Richard Maibaum did in adapting it for the film. These weaknesses stand out in particular:

First, the behavior of villain Auric Goldfinger is completely illogical during the torture scene. You might remember the terrific laser beam scene in the film where Goldfinger, played by Gert Frobe, threatens to slice James Bond, played by the great Sean Connery, in half. In the film, Bond gets out of the mess by bluffing, making Goldfinger believe that he knows all about Operation Grand Slam, Goldfinger's plan to blow up Fort Knox. Goldfinger reasons that he can keep the CIA and the British Secret Service at bay by keeping Bond alive and making them think that Bond is his guest, not his prisoner.

The novel, in contrast, has Goldfinger threaten Bond with a saw. Bond doesn't mention Operation Grand Slam and has been a constant thorn in Goldfinger's side. Goldfinger has Bond dead to rights and, unlike in the laser beam scene in the film, has no logical reason to spare his life. However, just before Bond is about to be sawed in half, Goldfinger inexplicably spares him and forces Bond to pose as his secretary. There's a running joke that Bond villains seal their own fate by devising elaborate ways to kill him that allow Bond to escape. However, Goldfinger's action in this scene in the novel completely defy logic and cripple the story's credibility. Bond novels are an escape from reality -- an adult comic book -- but this plot development makes absolutely no sense.

In the novel, Goldfinger's plan is to rob Fort Knox of its gold supply. Fleming, unlike Richard Maibaum, apparently never realized how logistically impossible this is. Connery rightfully points out in the film that to rob Fort Knox would require a whole fleet of trucks and several days to complete. Maibaum's plan, while still fantastic, makes more sense -- detonating a nuclear weapon in Fort Knox to irradiate the U.S. gold supply and drive the value of his own supply up ten times over.

In the novel, Pussy Galore begins as a hardened lesbian who has no interest in Bond whatsoever. Of course, by the end of the novel, Bond has "heterosexualized" and overwhelmed her with his masculine charms. It's a very 1950's view of homosexualtiy -- that is, that a homosexual could be "cured" of his/her sexual desires like it was a disease. The attitude seems very backward and ignorant by today's standards.

The film strongly suggests Pussy's lesbianism, but it also shows Pussy, played by Honor Blackman, flirting suggestively with Bond. Blackman's Pussy may have lesbian tendencies, but she clearly also has a strong attraction to the opposite sex. When she falls for Bond, it makes sense, unlike in the novel. Bond still converts her, but the conversion stressed is more along the lines of Pussy joining the good guys rather than going from staunch lesbianism to being a Bond girl.

The film has a lot of Asian villains. Harold Sakata is terrific as Goldfinger's superpowered Korean henchman Oddjob, Burt Kwouk (Kato in the Pink Panther films) is Mr. Ling, a Chinese nuclear scientist who supplies Goldfinger with the bomb and most of Goldfinger's henchmen are Korean. However, the film, for the most part, avoids extreme racial stereotyping. Many of the villains are Asian, but there's no suggestion that simply being Asian is a source of evil. Asians would later play a prominent heroic role in You Only Live Twice.

The novel, in contrast, is vicously racist in nature. The nadir of this being Bond's statement that Koreans "are lower than apes." It's hard to believe that even in the pre-civil rights era of the 1950's, this statement could slip by without triggering a major protest from an Asian rights group. Today, it seems so ugly and hateful that I immediately lost a lot of respect for Ian Fleming. This is his hero who believes these vile things, so clearly what Bond believes, Fleming believes -- there's no way to separate the two. One wonders which other racial groups Fleming was bigoted against. It's a disgraceful moment in the Bond saga and a shameful comment on Fleming's view of the world.

Novels like Casino Royale, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice are classics and rank among my favorite novels. Goldfinger, however, falls way short of that standard. When I finished Goldfinger, I was left wishing that I had not read it and instead had left my impression of the story to the vastly superior film. The novel not only disappointed me, it made me think much less of Ian Fleming as a person.

The Root of Evil .......2004-10-02

Both this book, and the later film, are entertaining stories. If you read the book you can understand the film and the changes made from the book. James Bond again works as an enforcer for an Official Monopoly the Bank of England. They want to eliminate the competition in the sale of gold. Gold is "the most valuable and most easily marketable commodity in the world", and "gold is virtually untraceable". "Gold attracts the biggest, the most ingenious criminals." You can review the history of imperialism for thousands of years, since Imperial Rome. Bond is to investigate the activities of Goldfinger, as suspect in gold smuggling.

The book begins by telling of as assignment in Mexico to stop the shipment of heroin to England by unofficial means. Arriving in Miami, he meets an American millionaire who wants his advice. Bond finds out why: Junius is losing thousands playing two-handed Canasta. Bond discovers the cheating method, and turns this around; this is his introduction to Goldfinger. [Fleming's detailed observations shows his skills as a former foreign reporter and intelligence agent.] Back in England Bond is assigned to investigate smuggling gold from Britain to India (reversing the effect of 19th century imperialism?). Goldfinger is the suspect; he uses a chain of shops to buy Old Gold (a euphemism for stolen goods?). The problem is to find the method used in smuggling so it can be ended. Goldfinger is also suspected of being a paymaster to Soviet spies, and thus a target for counter-espionage. Bond and Goldfinger play a game of golf. [Fleming shows his skill for details and knowledge of the game and course.] Once again Bond outwits Goldfinger by out-cheating him.

Bond follows Goldfinger to France, and on to Switzerland. There is a complication in "Miss Tilly Soames:, and they are caught spying on Goldfinger. Bond offers to work for Goldfinger to save his life and Tilly's too. To further the plot, this offer is accepted! They are flown to New York to be used in Goldfinger's next bold and illegal project, so audacious as to be unthinkable: robbing Fort Knox of its gold! The rest of the book tells how this plot is put into action, and how it fails through the heroic efforts of James Bond. The story continues with Goldfinger's escape from Fort Knox, and his later reappearance in a hijacked airplane. There is a miraculous escape. Oddjob is rejected, Goldfinger no longer needs his millions. Bond survives the crash of a Stratocruiser at sea. And so ends another fantastic story from the mind of Ian Fleming. Was this character inspired by Sir Harry Oakes?

To learn more about Ian Fleming you can read "Ian Fleming The Spy Who Came In with the Gold" by Henry A. Zeiger. His last chapter tries to explain the popularity of the Bond novels. Perhaps Bond is a heroic figure who can always win against adversity [like The Lone Ranger?]. Does Fleming deliberately and systematically excite and satisfy the worst instincts of his readers? Or does Fleming play to the faults of mankind, who like to read about places and activities that would be strange to their lives? John Le Carre (cover name) says that Bond is a mirror of contemporary maladjustments. Ian Fleming seems like a later version of John Buchan. Fleming's politicization of the enemy recalls the novels of E. Phillips Oppenheim. Note how often the Bond villains are parvenus fighting against the Establishment [a reflection of the sun setting on the British Empire?].

Better than some would have you think.......2004-09-24

Growing up in the UK of the 1970s and 1980s I was much inspired by the movies of James Bond (on television every Bank Holiday) and would scour second-hand book tables at the local village fete every year looking for old Bond novels. I had heard lots of talk about how `Goldfinger' was the definitive James Bond movie - the blueprint for every feature film that followed in the hugely popular series. Yet it never seemed to appear on British television.
So, it was with much anticipation that I dived into a copy of the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. I was not disappointed.
Much maligned by Bond fans in general, I actually list `Goldfinger' as one of my favorite of all the Fleming James Bond books. It has all the elements I love - the trademark `Fleming sweep' keeps the novel moving at a fast pace, the villain is deliciously colorful and dastardly and the structure is impressive. Split into the three sections: Happenstance, Coincidence and Enemy Action (Goldfinger's theory on his three meetings with 007), the structure is more clearly evident and works well within the overall framework of the book.
The plot of the novel follows the same path as the movie, except in one crucial detail. In the 1964 movie, Goldfinger (in cahoots with the Chinese) plots the detonation of a nuclear device inside the gold depository at Ft. Knox. In the novel Fleming has the villain scheming to steal the gold - a highly impractical scheme but still an enjoyable caper.
I remember upon first reading the novel how impressed I was with the chapters revolving around the game of golf. I find the colorful description and the game of wits between Goldfinger and James Bond especially suspenseful. It's interesting to note that these scenes in the movie are also among my favorites in the series (and even inspired Sean Connery to take up the game of golf).
`Goldfinger' is well worth a read. It's fast moving, has some great characters and a well drawn plot structure. I am frankly surprised it has received such a drubbing on amazon and Bond sites. Pick it up!

Average customer rating:

Pulp, Good Pulp
Island jaunt
James Bond #6: Back to Jamaica
Dr NO is still Number ONE
The Classic Bond novel

Doctor No (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142002038

Book Description

James Bond travels to the Caribbean to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a secret service team. As he uncovers the astonishing truth about strange energy waves that are interfering with U.S. missile launches, he must battle deadly assassins, sexy femmes fatales, and even a poisonous tarantula. The search takes him to an exotic tropical island, where he meets a beautiful nature girl and discovers the hideout of Doctor No, a six-foot-six madman with a mania for torture, a lust to kill, and a fantastic secret to hide.

Customer Reviews:

Pulp, Good Pulp.......2007-04-13

I'm not a big Bond film fan, I like the occassional one, but I thought I would give one of Fleming's novels a read.
As my first Bond Novel I found Dr. No to be a pleasant surprise. It's a bit pulpish but it suits the story.

Island jaunt.......2007-02-08

Given what I felt was a weak Bond movie, I was somewhat skeptical about the value of this particular Bond book. But the reason the movie was weak -- a franchise which had not yet hit its stride -- is not true of the book. Fleming clearly was in good command of the actions of his hero in his sixth Bond adventure. The unusual factor in this particular volume is that as Bond's featured nemesis becomes more cartoonish, his ultimate aspirations are actually quite a bit tamer than previous world dominators. Dr. No simply wants to help the Soviets hinder the American rocketry program from his hidden outpost in the Caribbean. Hell, even bin Laden has more on his mind than this guy. But it's a story well-told, with an excruciating torture scene that Bond survives. Why was Bond allowed the escapable torture tunnel when his Jamaican predecessor ended up with a swift and logical bullet to the head? Yes, well, that's why that agent, Strangways, does NOT have a series focused on his adventures.

James Bond #6: Back to Jamaica.......2006-12-17

Did Ian Fleming want to kill 007 at the end of the previous novel, "From Russia with Love"? In the final paragraphs of that book, Rosa Klebb kicks out the deadly poisoned spike in her shoe and jabs Bond before she's thrown into a laundry basket and hustled away by Mathis and his assistants.

So I was curious as to how Fleming would resurrect Bond for the next novel, "Doctor No." He does a decent job of explaining away how 007 survived, but there is no mention of what happened to Tania--which is something I'm curious about as I read the novels this time. (At the beginning of "From Russia with Love," Fleming describes the demise of Bond's relationship with Tiffany Case from "Diamonds are Forever").

Although Bond delivered the girl and the Spektor cipher machine--and survived his encounter with Red Grant, the total psycho killing machine--he's treated as if he screwed up and sent to Jamaica to look into the disappearnce of another agent. A little job in the sun that shouldn't take much effort.

Well, this is James Bond we're talking about here, so we know he isn't going to get much of a holiday out of the piddling little assignment.

"Doctor No" has the lean, fluid style that keeps the story moving. It's set in the Caribbean where Fleming lived and wrote all of the Bond novels. I focused more on his description of Doctor No while trying to keep the image of the painfully-Caucasian Joseph Wiseman out of my mind (he was the actor who played No in the film version).

I would put this novel in the same category with "Diamonds are Forever": a strong action story with a couple of over-the-top moments that, although they worked while reading it, look a little strange with some afterthought. In "Diamonds", it was the Italian gangster who liked to dress up like a cowboy in his own private Wild West town. In "Doctor No", it was the obstacle course and giant octopus fight.

The best novels are "Casino Royale", "Live and Let Die", and definitely "From Russia with Love."

I wasn't that wild about "Moonraker."

Next up: "Goldfinger."

Dr NO is still Number ONE.......2006-02-17

The basic frame of all the James Bond books and movies. It was the book chosen by the owners of the film rights to introduce the character to the screen - and they kept rather close to the essentials ... the tough but sophisticated Bond, the alluring female lead who becomes his companion and usually savior, the gruff but proud M and so on. Probably the best example of the movie being as good as the book - certainly not true of the later cartoonish movies which are seldom as good as the original Fleming stories.

The Classic Bond novel.......2005-10-31

Dr. No is the classic Bond adventure novel. It has the suspense, the adventure, the exotic hideout, the interesting plan for world domination, and of course the girl. The story begins like all the other 007 rendezvous' in the Secret Service Headquarters and ends quite the same as well with Bond having saved the world and gotten the girl.

All the classic characters tell their story in this book. There is of course, audacious, adventurous, witty, and never boring James Bond, or as he says Bond... James Bond. The Bond babe that is found on the beaches near Jamaica is named Honey. She is different, interesting, at some times helpful, and you know the other thing. The original villain in Dr. No is obviously Dr. No. He has his times of genius, his psychotic thoughts, and his strange story of how he came to where he is now and all the mean things that people did to him. Nothing new there but nevertheless an interesting character.

This book is definitely a page-turner. It is packed with action, loaded with suspense, and never boring. Like any other 007 novel there are interesting twists and turns, death attempts, murders, and all the other stuff that makes the Secret Service so exciting. If you want an easy read that doesn't spend 30 pages talking about waterfalls and orchids this book is good for you. It's definitely not a classic but it sure is a Bond classic.

Average customer rating:

Bond Saves England
Underrated . . .
Moonraker - best so far
Excellent James Bond adventure
Rocket Man

Moonraker (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142002062

Book Description

Moonraker, Britain's new ICBM-based national defense system, is ready for testing, but something's not quite right. At M's request, Bond begins his investigation with Sir Hugo Drax, the leading card shark at M's club, who is also the head of the Moonraker project. But once Bond delves deeper into the goings-on at the Moonraker base, he discovers that both the project and its leader are something other than they appear to be.

Customer Reviews:

Bond Saves England.......2007-04-30

Moonraker is the third book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Many of the usual facets of a successful Bond tale are in place. We have an evil villian, Sir Hugo Drax. We have a beautiful British agent who falls for Bond's charms but resists him in the end. Plus, we have 007 and his normal supporting cast. In this story, Bond is charged with investigating Sir Hugo because M thinks the rich industrialist cheats at cards at M's private club. The British private club atmosphere is described beautifully, and Bond turns the tables on Drax in a bridge game to be remembered. From there Bond is assigned to be in charge of security at Drax's Moonraker project, Britain's new ICBM-based national defense system. As usually happens once Bond arrives on the scene, things are not what they appear to be on the surface. Moonraker actually is a devious plot derived by an ex-Nazi officer to have an atomic warhead landed on London. Bond manages to sort things out and save British civilization in the end, but only after much travail.

Underrated . . ........2007-03-27

Moonraker, the third entry in the James Bond saga, tends to be overlooked by those unfamiliar with Ian Fleming's original novels, largely because almost none of it has made it to the big screen. Practically the only thing it shares with the laughably bad 1979 movie (arguably the worst Bond flick ever) is the title. And the book is even a bit of an anomaly within the series, but nevertheless it's an important book in the Bond canon.

In the first Bond Novel, Casino Royale, Fleming was clearly just starting out both as a novelist and as a chronicler of Bond's adventures. The second Bond book, Live and Let Die, is much more solid and action-packed, and gives us both a Bond and a Bondiverse that are more fully developed. But it's in Moonraker that Fleming really delves into Bond's personality, his background, and his day-to-day life in England. Then, just as we're developing a feel for the daily grind of a 00 agent, Sir Hugo Drax enters the scene . . .

Drax is the most human of all of the bond villains. Mr. Big, Dr. No, the Spangs, and of course Blofeld, often come off as larger-than life megalomaniacs or set-piece villains. But Drax--though he's certainly villainous--is a very down-to-earth one, being lecherous, nasty, tough, smart, and boorish. He, like Bond, is a three-dimensional character, and as such has no villain-equal in the series, except for perhaps Auric Goldfinger.

The plot, too, is more life-sized than those of the later canon. Escapism? Yes, put of an almost-believable kind, especially when set against the backdrop of the postwar U.K. (this is the only Bond novel to take place entirely in England) and the tensions of Cold War Europe. About the plot I won't reveal more, but Moonraker is the most life-sized Bond books and still well worth reading.

Moonraker - best so far.......2007-01-28

Perhaps the most notable thing about this installment of the James Bond thrillers is that almost no part has been used in the famous film series; the 1979 picture employs the title, the name of the villain and his rocket, but otherwise there are actually more (if fleeting) similarities to be found in the 2002 entry "Die Another Day." With that in mind, one would expect this to be a purely forgettable pulp novel with few redeeming qualities. Yet, in reality, the reverse is actually true.

Although the bridge showdown of "Moonraker" lacks the tension of the baccarat in "Casino Royale," the two sequences do share Fleming's skill with pacing, and the scheme of Bond infiltrating Drax's rocket project is both more believable and more cohesive than either previous novel. The scope of the novel is simply smaller; there are no exotic settings, no mad bombers, and no pet sharks, all of which keeps Bond grounded a little bit more firmly in reality. As usual, it all starts to drag a bit once Bond sets his eye on the girl of the piece, undercover policewoman Gala Brand, but even then there are some very fine adventure set pieces during the countdown to the rocket launch. Plus, the sexism is held relatively in check, with most of Fleming's narrative sneer reserved for the Germans - a reasonable enough target in 1950s Britain.

This has been my favorite of the Bond thrillers so far, and I'm already most of the way through the fourth, "Diamonds are Forever." Although the other books have their individual merits, this would be the one of the four I would recommend to a casual, first-time Bond reader.

Excellent James Bond adventure.......2006-12-27

Moonraker is a solid James Bond thriller. It contains one of the best scenes in all of the James Bond universe--when Bond is taking on Sir Hugo Drax in a high-stakes card game at "Blades." This chapter, in my opinion, is a literary masterpiece, and it really adds insight into the James Bond persona as well as the British upper class.

No spoilers here, so this will be a short review, but basically this novel has everything that James Bond afficianados look for in a 007 tale. Highly recommended.

Rocket Man.......2006-11-24

I've been rereading all of the 007 novels leading up to the release of the new movie of "Casino Royale" (by the way, the new movie rocks) and giving Ian Fleming another look. I'd read them as a kid 20 years ago and wondered how they read now.

"Moonraker" was the third book and I wasn't as excited as I'd been with "Casino Royale" and "Live and Let Die."

"Moonraker" plays out completely in London and the English coastline so the exotic aspect of 007's usual settings was missed, for me anyway. The first third of the novel reads too much like "Casino Royale"'s scenes at a gaming table, except that Bond isn't playing for high stakes to ruin a Russian bagman but to only expose a member at M's gentlemen's club as a card cheat.
(That Bond would later chase the villian who's kidnapped the girl, crash, and then also be captured was also reminiscent of "Casino Royale").

I also found it rather odd that a crew of Germans--not just atomic scientist Germans but an entire team of Germans handling everything--were working unmonitored on England's new missile defense system just one decade after WWII. It reminded me of the Monty Python sketch where a "Mr. Hilter" and his "school chums" are staying in a English bed and breakfast and plotting WWIII. That Bond, like everyone else in "Moonraker," wouldn't see that red flag was hard to get around.

Gala Brand, an undercover operative posing as Drax's secretary, isn't included in the first third and then she spends time ignoring Bond to keep her cover so Fleming doesn't give himself much time to turn her into a real Bond girl. By the end, you realize (as Bond did) that she had a whole unknown life before their little adventure that was greater than their "bonding" experience.

I did admire how Fleming anticipated the threat of nuclear terrorism, particularly when M explains their new job security: "These politicians can't see that the atomic age has created the most deadly saboteur in the history of the world--the little man with the heavy suitcase." (p. 240) Fleming published "Moonraker" in 1955 and we live in greater fear of those "little men with the heavy suitcases" in 2006!

Was "Moonraker" worth reading? Yes, definitely. Was it as well done as the first two? I don't think so.
It's part of the 007 experience so I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it!

Diamonds Are Forever (James Bond Novels)

Average customer rating:

The Best Bond Book
A Gem for Bond
Just Not That Exciting
Splendid writing!
Fun untill the end.

Diamonds Are Forever (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142002054

Book Description

Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, devil-may-care blonde, stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa to London to the United States. Bond uses her to infiltrate this gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. Agent 007 is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice maiden herself.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Bond Book.......2007-05-09

I've read all of Ian Fleming's Bond books and they are all great (with the exception of "casino royal"). But this is the very best one! The action sequences in it keeping you on the edge of your seat! i would sugest that you read this book! its fast paced and you wont want to put it down until the very end.

A Gem for Bond.......2007-04-30

In Diamonds are Forever, Ian Fleming weaves the fourth tale of his James Bond adventures. The story leaps from Africa to London to New York to Saratoga to Las Vegas and gives 007 a chance for a romantic voyage on the Queen Elizabeth with Tiffany Case, this book's love interest. Bond's mission this time is to infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring and determine how diamonds worth millions of pounds were managing to bypass the British economy. The villains in this book are not as memorable as in many of the other Bond books. They range from prototypical mob figures to a Las Vegas ganglord who likes to dress up as a cowboy. Bond both takes and hands out copius amounts of physical abuse. However, as you might expect, in the end 007 wins.

Just Not That Exciting.......2007-04-14

One almost gets the impression that both Ian Fleming and Bond were coasting on their reputations in this book. The plot is about comparatively low stakes for a spy novel, the pace is leisurely, Bond is oddly passive (Felix Leiter and Tiffany Case save the day as often as Bond does) and not particularly clever (at one point he almost blows his mission because he apparently got bored waiting for something to happen to move it along), and the villains and action sequences are just not that memorable, at least not in a good way. Strangely enough, that means that the book suffers in comparison both to the movie (which, while hardly five-star, had some quirky, memorable moments) and John Gardner's later Bond novels, which dig deeper into both the characters and the settings of the world of 007. While not actively bad, DAF does little to show you why Bond became a literary or cultural phenomenon. Donald J. Bingle, Author of Forced Conversion.

Splendid writing! .......2007-01-26

I really enjoyed the book because it moved at a pretty fast pace and was very well-written. It was the first of the Fleming novels that I read, and I plan on reading more of them. I highly recommend this book to any Bond fan!

Fun untill the end........2006-10-29

I've been reading the Bond books in succession and so far this is the one that has made me the most hungry for a late night snack. It's good to see Bond brake away from martinis to enjoy a Miller Highlife. This book gives the best glimpse of Bond at leasure. Traveling from England to Las Vegas with a stop in New York State, Bond has time to enjoy food, women and horse racing. This has been the best at comparing Bond's style with Amercan style of late 50's. Fleming's view of gangsters is closer to Damon Runyon than Mario Puzo. It is all fun but turns anticlimactic in the end. The book could have ended when they get on the Queen Mary.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (James Bond Novels)

Average customer rating:

If you want to go old school
James Bond #11: The Spy Who Loves
Gambling, sex, violence, and drinking meet again in another classic bond book
Coming Face To Face
Number 11 is lucky for Fleming

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142003255
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Customer Reviews:

If you want to go old school.......2007-06-22

I enjoy reading spy novels, so I decided to go old school and read a Bond story. It took awhile for me to get into the book. Today's spy novels start with action, and the pace picks up from there. Not so with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It starts slowly and is, at times, a little confusing. But once I got into the rhythm of Fleming's style, I enjoyed the book. Is it the best spy book I've ever read? No. Do I have a greater appreciation of the Bond stories? Yes. If you love to read spy novels, you should read at least one Bond book to round out your experience. After all, Fleming practically started the genre. But if all you want is to read the novel version of a Bond movie (although who could have liked the movie version of On Her Majesty's Secret Service?), then move on because you'll be disappointed. The books were written well before the movies. More thinking, less gadgets, and certainly less action.

James Bond #11: The Spy Who Loves.......2007-04-11

This is definitely one of the better Bonds since, like CASINO ROYALE and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, the more formulaic elements are so well integrated in the story.

What I loved about FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE was that the obligatory romance was the actual scheme of SMERSH to ensnare and kill 007. The characters were well-drawn and Bond doesn't come off as such an indestructible superman. His heart is broken in CASINO ROYALE, confused in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and then shattered in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. (It's also very cool that we learn that Bond annually visits the grave of Vesper Lynd as well as still checks into Casino Royale as well).

We meet Ernst Stavro Blofeld again, not because of some grandiose world-conquering plot, but because he wants the respect and nobility of a title. The College of Arms angle of the story should be the dullest part of the story but Fleming actually makes it interesting by revealing the desire of everyone--except James Bond--to be "somebody."

The biological warfare passages may seem dated but I like revisiting the 007 books while keeping them in context: they must have been fantastic reads in the 1950s and 1960s. These books really anticipated the very modern threat of what Fleming referred to as "the man with the suitcase"...which contains an atomic device. Blofeld's plot in this book to attack England through its livestock with a virus is certainly something to think about in this day of Mad Cow and Bird Flu epidemics.

Although I'm only quibbling, I wished there had been more development between Bond and Tracy, the only woman to ever become Mrs. James Bond. After reading the novel, I felt as if I saw more of her in the movie! (The movie version of OHMSS is also one of the best).

Gambling, sex, violence, and drinking meet again in another classic bond book.......2007-01-25

I recently started reading all of the Bond novels and overall have enjoyed them a lot. While Flemings writing style is consistently solid the plots and characters differ greatly. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (number 11 in the series) shares with Casino Royale the title of My Favorite Bond Novel.

The plot is interesting and not *too* far-fetched (for a bond book - some are very cheesy), the characters are very likable and Fleming really nails the mood of "European decadence". This book, like Casino Royale and a few others metes out a healthy serving of bond's classic vices laced with action.

If you like less-than-serious action novels, then I would highly recommend this. Perfect for a long flight or drive

Coming Face To Face.......2006-11-16

This is probably Ian Fleming's most interesting and personal James Bond novel. This book precedes "You Only Live Twice" as it sends James Bond on a mission to track down the head of SPECTRE. This is a very well written novel and is very interesting trying to fathom what Fleming had been contemplating for his hero at that time in his life. I found this absorbing novel very difficult to put down once I started reading it as I did with its follow-up. If you do decide to read it I recommend that you read it before "You Only Live Twice." I will go one step further, if you read both of these novels then read "The Man with the Golden Gun" after you finish "You Only Live Twice." These three novels make up a sort of trilogy. One hint: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is very close to the movie version. "You Only Live Twice" and "The Man with the Golden Gun" movies have very little at all to do with the Fleming novels in any direct sense of plot and conflict. So don't be discouraged. I have read these three novels several times over.

Number 11 is lucky for Fleming.......2006-07-24

The eleventh installment of Ian Fleming's wildly popular James Bond series is considered by many fans as the absolute best. Without doubt, Fleming wrote this early 1960s thriller at the height of his creative powers and it ranks as one of the greatest espionage novels ever made.

'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' is the second Bond novel in a trilogy focusing on 007's personal war against Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of terrorist group SPECTRE who was first seen in 'Thunderball' and made his last appearance in 'You Only Live Twice.' It was eventually adapted to the big screen in 1969, featuring a single James Bond appearance by George Lazenby.

In OHMSS, one of the darkest Bond novels written, 007 has been tracking SPECTRE operations and finds himself at a dead end. While on the French Riviera, he becomes certain that Blofeld's group has been liquidated and prepares to resign from his duties. Bond catches an unexpected lead, however, after meeting a young woman during one of his favorite visits to Casino Royale.

His encounter with Teresa di Vicenzo (known as 'Tracy' amongst friends) leads to a one-night stand and an abduction by her father, Marc-Ange Draco, a Corsican mercenary who has dealt with several European governments. Bond becomes quasi-friends with Draco, who asks him to keep watch over the clinically depressed Tracy in exchange for locating Blofeld's hideout in the Swiss Alps. Overwhelmed by snowdrifts, pretty women, and menacing ski lodge workers, 007 poses as a heraldry officer and discovers the early stages of a biological terrorist operation aimed at wiping out the British agricultural industry.

While never toeing the borders of high literature, OHMSS is a finely-crafted popular novel that offers rare amounts of emotion besides whirlwind action scenes. The novel's plot is actually slow to develop, building gradually like a percolating coffee pot; but this actually makes room for characters to be explored in unusual depth. The relationship between Bond and Tracy, focused upon in the end chapters, is well-grounded and has a decent amount of chemistry.

Fleming's writing style is very approachable, with the exception of brand names and European vacation spots that he reels off constantly; this will be confusing to readers not in tune with early 1960s pop culture. Knowledge of these items, however, is not required for enjoyment of the story. OHMSS is well-paced overall, with engaging action sets, humorous narration, and dialogue that is never flat. Bond fans and readers of espionage/crime novels should find it a great time-killer.

The current Penguin edition weighs in at 259 pages. It is printed in easily-readable type with attractive cover art.

Average customer rating:

Short Stories About Adventure
The Shorter Files of a Spy's Life
Nice crisp James Bond short stories!
don't sell quantum of solice short
A Worthy Effort From Fleiming

For Your Eyes Only (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142003220
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Customer Reviews:

Short Stories About Adventure.......2007-04-12

This book has five short stories that were originally written for magazines. Some of them were later used in the "James Bond" series of films. Note the similarities between "Quantum of Solace" to "The Hildebrand Rarity". This is a good sample of Fleming's works.

"From A View To A Kill" tells of the killing of a dispatch rider outside of Paris to steal his official messages. James Bond is called to solve this mystery after the experts were stumped. The search dogs found nothing, but there was a problem by a deserted campground. Bond searches and finds some hidden marks on some trees. By waiting and watching in camouflage he discovers the secret. The pages tell how this threat was neutralized.
"For Your Eyes Only" tells how a property in Jamaica went up for sale. Eventually this news reached London and M. sends James Bond to take care of this problem. But someone else has the same idea. They cooperate to get rough justice in the Adirondacks.
"Quantum of Solace" tells how James Bond was sent to Jamaica to stop arms sales to the Cuban rebels (Bond's sympathies were with the rebels). Bond planted firebombs on the arms ships. Later Bond has a conversation with the Governor, who explains what keeps a marriage together. He then tells a very interesting story about a married couple and their fates.
"Risico" is about a risky business that will involve James Bond. It is to stop the Italian connection that is bringing narcotics to England. Bond learns more form his target, and sails to visit a foreign port. Mission accomplished. But what happened afterwards?
"The Hildebrand Rarity" has James Bond vacationing in the Seychelles (to scope out the islands for M.), Milton Krest explains how charitable foundations are used to dodge taxes on the rich. Krest explains how he acquires rare specimens. [The dollar figures dates this story.] Krest will use a chemical to capture the rare fish. Krest has great wealth, power, and the pride that goes with it. There is a problem that night but Bond makes it go away. Who could have misplaced that rare poisonous fish?

The Shorter Files of a Spy's Life.......2007-02-01

One of the things I appreciated about "For Your Eyes Only," Fleming's collection of five stories of minor episodes in the life of James Bond, is how the filmmakers were able to weave various story elements into the 1981 movie of the same name. The murdered Havelocks of "For Your Eyes Only" connected to the rousing drug battle in "Risico".

The last story is classic Bond: the studly spy savors the opportunity to comfort a brand-new but incredibly hot widow on a sea cruise--even as he wonders whether she was responsible for her late husband's ghastly death. Now that's the 007 we've known and loved.

Perhaps the most interesting story is "A Quantum of Solace"--because it's hardly an action-packed story of espionage at all! Bond listens to an old man tell the gossipy story of a civil servant's melodramatic marriage/divorce, and Fleming makes it work. I found the story even more interesting now that I've read Andrew Lycett's excellent biography of Fleming and learned that Fleming included details from the lives of his friends in the Caribbean.

I also learned from Fleming's biography that he suffered a massive heart attack around this time, so it will be interesting to see if this affects his writing from here on. Next up: "Thunderball".

Nice crisp James Bond short stories!.......2006-12-17

I have always enjoyed short stories, and when the short stories are James Bond short stories authored by Ian Fleming, what's not to like? Here, there is very little not to like; these James Bond stories (well, one of them is really not a James Bond story, but it's OK) move along quickly and crisply, and feature Fleming's trademark spare, lean style of prose.

In my opinion these stories give the reader some idea what the workings of the British Secret Service might be like, and some insight into the character of James Bond, one of the more ambiguous characters in literature. I happen to really like all of the James Bond stories, and I think that Fleming deserves more credit than he gets by critics of literature. James Bond is one of the great figures in action literature, and if the James Bond movies make him into a cartoonish character, that is not true of the novels and stories that Fleming authored. These are great stories.

Highly recommended.

don't sell quantum of solice short.......2006-11-15

of the stories in this novel, the quantum of solice is the most thought provoking. Action-packed, not here. Solice is simply brilliant like a good phyc. movie. The characters in Solice are flawed and life-like. This story hits hard because I know these people I went to school with them, I worked with them. Your eyes is a good book, but I find myself picking it up only to read Solice, which is not about action or spies, but revenge and redemption. Not murderous revenge, but love revenge.

A Worthy Effort From Fleiming.......2005-08-24

I have read all of Fleming's 007 novels and this is perhaps his weakest work, but it is still enjoyable and entertaining to read.

FYEO is a collection of 5 short stories. The stories can be summed up as follows:

FROM A VIEW TO A KILL - Bond sets out to find and destroy the secret hideout of a spy ring that has eluded the top security brains of fourteen countries.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY - Bond is on an "unofficial" mission to assassinate a professional killer (and former Nazi) who murdered the personal friends of M.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE - Bond learns the strange secret of one of the guests at a dinner party held at the Governor's house.

RISICO - Bond gets set up by a dope dealing agent of SMERSH.

THE HILDEBRAND RARITY - Bond becomes party to sudden and ghastly murder aboard a luxury yacht that is returning from finding one of the rarest species of fish.

I enjoyed all of the stories expect FROM A VIEW TO A KILL. That particular story has absolutely nothing to do with the same titled film except the Parisian setting and its title.

While these stories do very little for the continuation of the Bond series they do give some insight into Bond's human side. For fans of Bond it is definitely a must read. But for anyone looking for their first Bond to read I definitely recommend choosing another Fleming novel. The novels blend the action and character of Bond much better than a short story can. They also create much greater suspense. My personal favorites are CASINO ROYALE, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, DR. NO, and THUNDERBALL.

The Spy Who Loved Me (James Bond Novels)

Average customer rating:

Surprisingly great novel
An Unconventional 007 Story
Dan read the Spy Who Loved Me
A minor classic. James Bond with a twist!
An offbeat approach that doesn't quite work

The Spy Who Loved Me (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Men's Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0142003263
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly great novel.......2007-05-15

When I found out that the content of this novel was entirely different from the content of the Moore flick, I decided to read the novel, and boy, am I glad I did. This is a moving, exciting, totally absorbing book, with terrific characterization and surprising tenderness. I couldn't have asked for a better "light" read, and I recommend it to just about anybody.

An Unconventional 007 Story.......2007-03-18

Having recently read Andrew Lycett's excellent biography of 007 creator Ian Fleming, I found rereading "The Spy Who Loved Me," his tenth James Bond novel, a very unconventional story.

James Bond doesn't appear until page 100. The novel is told from the perspective of Vivienne Michel, a Canadian woman traveling across the USA after two devastating relationships. "Viv" is an strong, sympathetic character--considering that her creator was generally the type of cad who broke her heart! She remembers her deflowering (Fleming had lost his virginity the same way) and her career before fleeing to America (like Fleming, she worked for a newspaper).

But she's a tough, resilient woman, just the type of female who would appeal to a secret agent like 007. Drawn into an insurance scam at a remote New England motel and menaced by two repellent thugs, Viv is threatened with rape and murder until a mysterious Englishman gets a flat tire on a nearby road.

"The Spy Who Loved Me" was an interesting experiment in Fleming's writing that didn't pay off for him. He discouraged any reprints and considered destroying all unsold copies. Who knows what other directions and what risks Fleming might have made if "Spy" had succeeded. In fact, when the producers of the Bond films were looking for their next entry in the series, the Fleming estate allowed them to use only the title of this one.

Reading the novel now in 2007, it appealed to me because Viv's painful past relationships and her determination not to be bitter reflect many women I know now--or wish I knew.

It was also fascinating that the unfeeling men in her past resembled the author more than the main characters. Viv was the strong, beautiful woman he wished he had. And James Bond, as usual, was the dashing super stud he wished he was. Just like the rest of us.

Dan read the Spy Who Loved Me.......2007-02-13

I enjoyed the book. However, the end was to open, I would have liked more details about the relationship.

A minor classic. James Bond with a twist!.......2007-01-15

I did not expect to like this novel. It is told in the first person by a woman who encounters James Bond. Not a promising perspective. But actually, this novel works splendidly, and we get an opportunity to get insight into the elusive James Bond character.

Fleming's writing is as crisp as ever in this novel, and if you can forgive a slightly slow start, this piece rewards the reader with what becomes a fast-paced and thoughtful story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and once I got into it, I could not put it down until I finished it. Highly recommended.

An offbeat approach that doesn't quite work.......2006-11-15

Ian Fleming wrote this novel in a deliberate attempt to do something different with James Bond. There are no super villains or world-threatening conspiracies; and Bond himself does not appear until two-thirds of the way through the book. Told in the first person by the female lead, it's readable enough but seems rather pedestrian compared to the usual Bond super-saga.

Fleming himself was not at all pleased with this book and in fact refused to sell the paperback rights to it; the paper edition didn't appear until after his death. When he sold the film rights, he specifically stipulated that Eon Productions would not attempt to film this, but create another story with the same title.

As the Bond films progressed, they had less and less to do with Fleming's plots anyway; by the time Eon got around to The Spy Who Loved Me they would undoubtedly have wanted something more spectacular in any case. Still, it's interesting that the author so disliked the results of his work.

For true-blue fans of Bond, this is a passable read; but there's nothing here that develops the character of Bond in any way. We learn nothing new about him. So if you decide to skip this and proceed directly to the vastly superior "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", you won't miss much.

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