Review: Live and Let Die

Live And Let Die
(James Bond novel #2)
by Ian Fleming
Spy Thriller
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

James Bond is not a superstitious man, but it’s hard not to feel unnerved in the presence of Mr. Big. A ruthless Harlem gangster who uses voodoo to control his criminal empire, he’s also one of SMERSH’s top American operatives. Mr. Big has been smuggling British pirate treasure to New York from a remote Jamaican island—and funneling the proceeds to Moscow. With help from Solitaire, Mr. Big’s beautiful and enigmatic Creole fortune-teller, and his old friend Felix Leiter, 007 must locate the crime lord’s hideout, sabotage his operation, and reclaim the pirate hoard for England.

From the jazz joints of Harlem to the shark-infested waters of the Florida Everglades, Live and Let Die sends Bond headlong into the exotic.

Review:

This is the second installment of James Bond's ongoing adventures, and after the lackluster excitement (for me) of the first book Casino Royale, I was hoping this one would have something more of the magic of James Bond.  Unfortunately it didn't.  Bond's interest and sort of romance with Solitaire was much more interesting than the relationship in the first book, but I still felt the lack of real connection between them, since it was mostly mutual, instant physical attraction.  Which of course one must always expect with these Bond novels, but I just don't feel very invested in the Bond girl when she is so weak and transparent.

The only really interesting aspect of the story must be in the mission and the mystery behind the Bond villain. The villain, Mr. Big, is pretty unsettling but I was a little surprised by how he is so powerful, yet he always seems to attack everyone around Bond, when he had so many opportunities to do away with Bond.  I didn't understand why James Bond was so lucky to get off so easily.  Turns out, he's not that smart.  And as for Bond's resourcefulness in this mission, I felt like that left a little to be desired.  His luck is really the most astonishing thing about him, and not his skill as a spy. At least in this story.  The story is further marred by the really tedious descriptions throughout of what really amounts to lots of different fish in the sea (all super dangerous, man-eating, villainous ones by the way), and the different cities that Bond travels through.

James Bond too often makes really bad decisions and was too often caught by Mr. Big to really shine in this installment.  Couple that with some really excruciatingly slow pacing at times (especially near the end when things should really start becoming intense) and this might be the least enjoyable James Bond novel for me.

Review: Casino Royale

Casino Royale
James Bond novel #1
by Ian Fleming
Spy Thriller
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

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.

Review:

I did enjoy this book overall, but unfortunately I had a whole lot of issues with the story, the writing and the characters.  I find it so weird how James Bond is not really likable.  Maybe admirable, but he's so cold-blooded and analytical that he has so little warmth and whenever he expresses any affection it seems very grudging and tempered by  irrational criticisms of another's character.  I'm mostly referring to his attitude towards women.  There's very little humor to make up for his lack of chivalry so I find it unbelievable when women fall for him.  But his personality is very distinct and he gets the job done, so I suppose there is an allure there.

The story itself is pretty flimsy and it's hard to really imbue drama in a card game.  The writing is very straightforward which doesn't help to lend any flair to such an uninteresting mission.  Of course there are a few twists to liven things up after the card game, however those twists are pretty predictable.  There wasn't as much evidence in here of Bond's cleverness and resourcefulness either to help make this story more exciting so that the only draw to the plot I think is the suspense of not knowing the Bond girl's secret.  Although I did have an idea of what it must be.

While my review of this book isn't glowing, I think there is a charm to reading the original books and comparing them to the film incarnations.  I'm sure this isn't the best Bond novel, but it is intriguing to see how Ian Fleming started off this iconic character and see how the world of James Bond can grow.

** This audiobook was narrated by Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey if anyone was curious!

Review: On Her Majesty's Secret Service

On Her Majesty's Secret Service
(James Bond novel #11)
by Ian Fleming
Spy Thriller
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

A Lancia Spyder with its hood down tore past him, cut in cheekily across his bonnet and pulled away, the sexy boom of its twin exhausts echoing back at him. It was a girl driving, a girl with a shocking pink scarf tied round her hair. And if there was one thing that set James Bond really moving, it was being passed at speed by a pretty girl.

When Bond rescues a beautiful, reckless girl from self-destruction, he finds himself with a lead on one of the most dangerous men in the world—Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. In the snow-bound fastness of his Alpine base, Blofeld is conducting research that could threaten the safety of the world. To thwart the evil genius, Bond must get himself and the vital information he has gathered out of the base and keep away from SPECTRE's agents.

I normally like to read series books in order, but I saw this particular Bond book was narrated by David Tennant... well I had to listen to that one first.  This is the first time I've ever read a James Bond novel, so I wasn't sure how I would like it.  I liked it!  And now I can listen to the other audiobooks in this series - there was a project that had different well-known British actors each read a Bond novel.  Unfortunately the one read by Tom Hiddleston is the last one!

Review:

This book does have a specific allure that is very of it's time.  James Bond is not really the most likable character - he is charming and endlessly resourceful, but his treatment of women leaves much to be desired and he can be rather judgmental.  But the adventures he gets up to, and the thrill of the suspense is really addicting, so even if I was shaking my head at various points,  I really enjoyed the gripping story.

The piecemeal way in which Bond tries to get at the sinister and equally resourceful Blofeld made for an interesting plot structure.  Pure luck and basic detective works helps him infiltrate Blofeld's home base, and Bond's undercover work as Sir Hilary was pretty ingeniously done.  The cleverness of the story and the way Bond handles the dangers that comes his way is the highlight of this book.  Although his easy manipulation of women is really a bit depressing!

This book features Teresa di Vicenzo or Tracy (and later Tracy Bond).  As this is the only book where Bond gets married, I was expecting Tracy to be much more of a stand out character.  Although after Bond's seemingly impetuous proposal, he does think over why he would like to marry her, it seemed pretty flimsy reasoning to me and I was hoping for a stronger female character in Tracy.  Her only redeeming point it seems is that her driving skills are excellent.  Which must be very important to Bond according to the many descriptive passages about cars (and alcohol, and card playing) in this book.

I'm definitely planning to read more Bond stories as this is the first one I've ever read, and it was really enjoyable despite my grousing over characters.  The fun is in the suspense and the danger and in Bond's wry commentary.  This particular book had a very heartbreaking ending as well which was surprisingly emotional given how much I was not taken with the romance.