Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best
Review: This was a great book to start the series off with. Then comes LIVE AND LET DIE what another great one. If you think the bond books is great you should read "The Chronicles of GIS" another great spy book series-i can't wait for the next sequal!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: I'm not the world's biggest fan of the James Bond movies, although I do enjoy them a bit. I've seen a handful of them in the cinema, and will gladly watch one on TV on a Sunday afternoon if there's no football on. But I'd heard good things about the novel series that the movies were based on and I was curious to see how James Bond worked in print. I'll probably read more books in the series, because I liked the style, but my overall impression of CASINO ROYALE, the first James Bond novel, was negative.The plot revolves around the need for government agent James Bond to beat a Russian spy decisively at the Baccarat table in a ritzy casino/vacation resort. It doesn't get much more complicated than that, although the sections of the book involving the initial stakeout and the game itself are satisfying and competent. They seem to be very influenced by the pulp thrillers that had come in years past, though they bring little new to the table. They're fun though. My main problem came once the initial conflict has been resolved, all the way at the two-thirds point. The final third of the book involves a bizarre romance and an even stranger set of ruminations on good vs. evil. This section is, to be frank, childishly inept, and ruins any good will I had stored up from the casino plot. Yes, deliberations on what separates agents working for the "good" guys and spies working for "evil" governments is an interesting idea and one which has sparked numerous thought-provoking debates and discussions. But this isn't one of them. James Bond himself isn't terribly developed yet; I assume his persona would become better established in subsequent novels. He's humorless, moody and drab. I never really felt there was enough to get a grip on the character. The rest of the cast are sketchy as well. Of course, since most of them are lesser agents who only show up when they have a plot point to fill, that's to be expected. Bond's love interest receives more characterization from her slinky portrait on the cover than from anything that appears in the pages. To be honest, I'm faintly surprised to hear rumors of Hollywood producers wishing to film this (on the premise that it's the last James Bond novel that hasn't been faithfully adapted to the screen). It seems to me it would be rather dull after the excesses recently displayed in the movies. There's only one explosion, a relatively tame car chase sequence, no helicopters, jet-planes, or space vehicles. In short, it's comparatively tame. Hopefully they'll adapt the better parts of the book (the gambling and casino intrigue) and cut out the bad (the last sixty or so pages). Merging the book's successes with the better-established characters may result in an entertaining film, but it has its work cut out for it if it wants to be great.
Rating:
Summary: Fleming's Firstborn
Review: "Casino Royale," which appeared in 1953, was Ian Fleming's first published novel. It introduced readers to James Bond, a character who is now firmly ensconced as an icon in the popular imagination. So how does it hold up now, 41 years later, after the character of Bond has been reduced to a self-regarding poseur in film after film? Unfortunately, not that great, especially when compared with the stronger novels in the series. Here we have Fleming finding his voice, and also feeling out the character of Bond, who is not fully realized. The brilliant descriptive gifts that Fleming shows later in the series (it is already more pronounced in the second novel, "Live and Let Die," published in 1954), the ability to bring characters to vivid life, to capture the tension of Bond's life as an agent--in other words, the techniques that a novelist acquires with practice--are seen here in rather primitive form. The plot is disjointed, with the villain eliminated only two-thirds of the way into the book. And the last third--well, it contains some writing that is downright embarrassing, especially compared with the talent Fleming shows in later works like "Doctor No" and the magnificent "You Only Live Twice." Again, this is an apprentice novel. As for the character of Bond, he is most unappealing here. He lacks the humor and personal likeability that Fleming gave him as the series progressed; here, he is a humorless, dour, arrogant man, and when Fleming injects the last chapters with bogus melodrama, it makes Bond even less interesting. That is not to say that "Casino Royale" doesn't have its good points, but they are relatively small compared to its shortcomings. This is worth reading for Bond fanatics only.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for its genre
Review: Having grown up as a fan of the movie series, I decided to actually read one of the Fleming books. I was happy I did so. I enjoyed it far more than I had anticipated, thinking it had the strong potential to be extremely dated, given current political global realities (not to mention the realities of "political correctness"). Having rarely dipped into the espionage genre, I suspect Fleming was one of the first Cold War spy writers, and from that aspect alone, it makes this an interesting read. But the story, as well, is great fun. This is NOT heavily character-driven stuff. We don't know a great deal about this character, James Bond, from Fleming's writing, no delving into his childhood, why he became a spy, what motivates him. None of the ingredients that LeCarre might include. But perhaps that's the point. Bond is a man of mystery, as deep and mysterious to the reader as he is to his compatriots. The plot is a fun one: Bond must outlast the Soviet spy based in France, Le Chiffre, in a game of bacarrat. Fleming's pacing and suspense are well doled out. The chapters are short and the ending has a twist. What could possibly be better on a cold winter's night. Pass the gin and olives.
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