Ian Fleming

Live and let die

Casino Royale

Striking Bond reissues, published to coincide with the release of the new Bond film: Casino Royale Fabulous new jackets to appeal to a new generation of Bond fans Fresh introductions for every title in the series, from a list of famous Bond enthusiasts including Jeffery Deaver, Mo Hayder, Charlie Higson and Val McDermid

Tobias V. Langhoff

I confess I'm not a big Bond buff. I've never read any of the novels before, and I've seen only a handful of the films (mostly the Pierce Brosnan ones). I'm not sure what to think of this book. It's an uneven novel; parts of it were entertaining, but surprisingly little. The pacing of the story is also strange. Mostly I think it just hasn't aged very well.

The first part of the novel takes place at the casino, and spends a good amount of time on the crucial card game Bond has to win against another spy. This was an intriguing beginning of the story, and I liked it. It's suspenseful, slow and methodical.

After the gambling has concluded, the second part of the novel is more action-oriented. Bombs go off, there's a car chase, and Bond ends up being tortured by his enemy. Perhaps disappointingly, Bond is rescued by a deus ex machina and not by the ingenuity I seem to recall from the films. This was the novel's weakest part to me.

The third part, after the rescue, was a bit more interesting again, and contains the best dialogue: Bond discussing the nature of good and evil with a colleague. Then, however, Bond wants to quit his spy life, which is perhaps just as well for the MI6, since he apparently loses all his detective skills and becomes completely oblivious for the rest of the book.

Then there's the misogyny, which surprised me. I mean, I've seen Bond movies. I thought for sure that this book would have a couple of semi-sexist jokes (and the classic "cunning linguist" joke from Tomorrow Never Dies is actually really funny!). Instead, it has Bond literally talking about how women are dumb bitches who should stay at home cleaning the house instead of getting mixed up in dangerous things. It's a bit jarring, to say the least.

I think I'll check out the Craig movie, as I'm interested to see how they transform this book to the big screen. I'm not sure I'll revisit Fleming's novels though.

In the first James Bond novel, originally published in 1953, 007 takes on Le Chiffre, a French communist and paymaster of the Soviet murder organization SMERSH, as the suave agent becomes involved in a high-stakes game of baccarat, enjoys a fiery love affair with a sexy female spy, and endures torture at the hands of a master sadist. Reprint.

A James Bond Novel

Briar's Reviews

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming was a truly marvelous classic.

I can totally understand why this book is considered one of the classic and first spy novels. It felt exactly like what I would expect a James Bond book to be - full of thrills, surprise twists and turns, double agents, alcohol, gambling and pretty women. 

My favourite part of this book is that it wasn't exactly like a James Bond film - this James Bond made errors along the way and wasn't the perfect spy. He was headstrong and did what he thought was best (even if it wasn't the best plan). It made Bond feel like a real person. 

I also really enjoyed the writing style. Mr. Fleming's writing felt elegant and perfectly placed for a spy thriller. I was enchanted along the ride and loved the word choice. It felt more royal, like the English Secret Service should be. On top of that, the heroes, heroine and villain all feel like actual people instead of characters. It was the way and tone of Ian Fleming's words that made it feel so real instead of just written words. 

That being said, it was a lovely read. I would highly recommend these books to those who love thrillers and want to see the history of the genre. I found the book really intriguing. I might not continue reading the series but I did really like it book. It was a nice change from my normal read.

Three out of five stars.

'Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles' In Casino Royale, the first of Fleming's 007 adventures, a game of cards is James Bond's only chance to bring down the desperate SMERSH agent Le Chiffre. But Bond soon discovers that there is far more at stake than money.

Colleen

3 Stars
 
*An iconic but dated character who needs some serious time in anti-harassment seminars*


There is no doubt that James Bond is one of the most iconic fictional characters in existent. I’ve seen most of the movies but had never read the series before. I’m working through by TBR backlog, so I decided to give it a go.

It’s easy to see why this story grabbed people’s attention. It was certainly racy for the times with lots of sex and violence and dialogue that wouldn’t have made it past most 1950’s censorship. 


  "Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles." He laughed. "But don't let me down and become human yourself. We would lose such a wonderful machine."

Casino Royale has all the hallmarks one exspects from a Bond story: spies, sex, gambling, glamor, overly obvious bad guys, violence, car chases, and a whole lot of alcohol. In between the excitement though, there were certainly some dull moments. The play by play of the gambling was a bit too clinical and in-depth. It killed the momentum of the story for a while.

There were several comments of sexual objectification of women. I wasn’t that surprised given that Bond is essentially made to be this ideal male fantasy of the tough, alpha man who gets any woman he wants. So I shrugged it off. But then I got to this quote:


  “And now he knew that the conquest of her body, because of the central privacy in her, would each time have the sweet tang of rape.”

Which was a total “OH Hell NO!” moment. I always knew James Bond was a player, but that took it to a whole new level of skeevy. I never quite got past the ick-factor of that moment, so it kind of soured the rest of the book. This might be one of the rare times when I prefer the movies to the book. And I don’t know whether or not I’ll continue on with the series. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Having watched a lot of Bond movies, it was fun to read the first Bond novel. It was a fast, easy read. I’m not sure if I’ll read anymore though. It’s written from a dark worldview without many themes of hope, redemption, etc.

Phil Smith

Kamil Pomykała

Really hard read. When you write book to flex on your French

The first 007 adventure by Ian Fleming - now with a new introduction by Anthony Horowitz, author of Forever and a Day Le Chiffre is a businessman with expensive tastes - and SMERSH's chief operative in France. As his dissolute lifestyle threatens to ruin him, his only hope of survival is to risk his paymasters' money at the baccarat table. Across from him sits James Bond, the finest gambler in the British secret service. Bond's mission- to outplay Le Chiffre and shatter his Soviet cell. Amidst the opulence of the Royale-les-Eaux casino, the two men face each other in a game with the highest stakes of all.

Sian Wadey

I thought it best that my first foray into the written word of James Bond be Casino Royale, seeing as it's the first and one of the books for World Book Night 2013. I've seen the recent film version starring Daniel Craig (not the David Niven spoof) so I had a vague idea of the plot and certain characters. 
The character of James Bond isn't always what you expect. He views women as sex objects, or something that 'gets in the way' which the film has used but softened to a degree. Bond has also put a deposit down on a Morris Minor, which is so un-Bond-like that I had a bit of a giggle at that. 
Ian Fleming is a great writer. By the end of the novel I felt like I knew the characters, and he explains the card game very well. I had no problem following the game and the tension as Bond and Le Chiffre played was brilliant. I felt myself clenching my hands as the stakes grew.
Overall, a brilliant read and I can't believe it took me so long to read it! I can't wait to get onto the next.

Robin Sturm

Bryan Maniotakis

This aged ok, minus the blatant 50s sexism.

Grace O'Callaghan

I have mixed feelings on Casino Royale. On the one hand I found it enjoyable in that I never read thrillers and mysteries so it had that page turning element. But at the same time I think it’s a very dated book that definitely doesn’t hold up to today’s standards.

If you’ve watched the movie, it’s fairly similar in terms of its plot. However there were enough differences that I enjoyed reading and that both the book and the movie stand on its own.

I will say I did struggle to get into it at first but once the pace picked up I was hooked. 

Even though it is about poker and gambling I felt like the author explained it enough that I understood what was going on.

James Bond does feel like the Bond from the films but I do think the book version felt more emotional and real to me. Yes I didn’t really like reading his sexist thoughts but they weren’t so common that I couldn’t stand him.

Vesper is a character that I prefer in the film. She has more agency and personality in the movie whereas book Vesper is quite dull and doesn’t really know what’s going on.

The ending did surprise me quite a bit so I’d suggest reading the book even if you watched the movie.

The reason why I can only give it three stars is that overall I had a good time in terms of the plot but it just wasn’t a fun time reading about stereotypes and sexist language as well as flat characters except Bond. I’m definitely not someone who thinks we should cancel books we don’t agree with, but I think you have to go into the book shifting your expectations in order to enjoy it more.

Introducing James Bond: charming, sophisticated, handsome; chillingly ruthless and very deadly. Spymaster M has sent Bond on a mission to neutralize a lethal, high-rolling Russian operative called simply 'Le Chiffre' – by ruining him at the baccarat table and forcing his Soviet spymasters to 'retire' him. It seems that lady luck is taken with James – Le Chiffre has hit a losing streak. But some people just refuse to play by the rules, and Bond's attraction to a beautiful female agent leads him to disaster and an unexpected saviour . . .

Olivera Mitić

How this became as popular as it is is quite beyond me. 

For starters, wow, that misogyny. Bond was repulsive to read about and he made it on the list of my most hated male characters ever. He was prepotent, unrelatable and generally dislikable for me. Personally, this was my first exposure to anything James Bond related, since I've never even as much as dipped my toe into the franchise, but after having read Casino Royale, I highly doubt I ever will. 

The writing didn't stand out whatsoever, and the story on its own wasn't memorable at all. I had problems with the pacing, but I also found it to be quite dense and boring at times, which really shouldn't be what you get out of an espionage thriller. 

People claim that the books get better as you go on in the series, and I might check out the next installment. In case it actually isn't any better, I'm giving up on Bond, which I don't consider an especially hard thing to do. 

In the meantime, I'd rate this 1.5/5 stars, but I did round it up to 2 stars because I was feeling generous (AND BECAUSE GOODREADS STILL DOESN'T HAVE THE HALF STAR RATING OPTION. JUST SAYING).

Jack Alexander Bailey

A really strong start to the James Bond series 😃 The novel is dramatic, sleek and well-crafted 😃

If you have an interest in the 007 movies and are interested in picking up the novels, there's no better place to start than the first one! 😊

Roger Dean Olden

Ben Nathan

Fun read. Had a good time with it. Couldn't help but picture all the people in the movie and the updates that came with that. That said, I think the movie is better :-o

Casino Royale Live and let die

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