Rating: 
Summary: Solid and suspenseful Bond novel.
Review: Ian Fleming's fifth James Bond novel, "From Russia, With Love" (1957), remains one of the most popular and exciting in the series. Here we see all the attributes that made Fleming such a remarkable thriller writer--the brilliant descriptive passages, the superb characterization, the ability to inject tension and suspense into the narrative until the inevitable explosion of violence. "From Russia, With Love" has it all, and then some.The plot is among Fleming's most ingenious. SMERSH, the Soviets' dreaded counterintelligence agency, hatches to a plot to kill Bond and humiliate the British Secret Service. Using an unwitting girl and a valuable piece of Russian hardware, the Russians lure Bond to Istanbul, setting the plot in motion. Along the way, we meet the grotesque Rosa Klebb, head of torture and murder for SMERSH, and Red Grant, SMERSH's chief executioner. Grant, in particular, is a chilling character, a bloodthirsty psychopath with a lust for killing. When Bond crosses his path, Fleming produces some of the most gripping writing of his career. Fantastic stuff. All in all, "From Russia, With Love" is a superb thriller, though I found the narrative rather slack during Bond's time in Istanbul. That minor quibble aside, this is a must-read for Bond fans and one of Fleming's finer accomplishments.
Rating:
Summary: Solid and suspenseful Bond novel.
Review: Ian Fleming's fifth James Bond novel, "From Russia, With Love" (1957), remains one of the most popular and exciting in the series. Here we see all the attributes that made Fleming such a remarkable thriller writer--the brilliant descriptive passages, the superb characterization, the ability to inject tension and suspense into the narrative until the inevitable explosion of violence. "From Russia, With Love" has it all, and then some. The plot is among Fleming's most ingenious. SMERSH, the Soviets' dreaded counterintelligence agency, hatches to a plot to kill Bond and humiliate the British Secret Service. Using an unwitting girl and a valuable piece of Russian hardware, the Russians lure Bond to Istanbul, setting the plot in motion. Along the way, we meet the grotesque Rosa Klebb, head of torture and murder for SMERSH, and Red Grant, SMERSH's chief executioner. Grant, in particular, is a chilling character, a bloodthirsty psychopath with a lust for killing. When Bond crosses his path, Fleming produces some of the most gripping writing of his career. Fantastic stuff. All in all, "From Russia, With Love" is a superb thriller, though I found the narrative rather slack during Bond's time in Istanbul. That minor quibble aside, this is a must-read for Bond fans and one of Fleming's finer accomplishments.
Rating: 
Summary: The best Bond story ever.
Review: In this novel the Soviet murder organization SMERSH sets out to disgrace and assasinate Bond. To accomplish this they use the sexy Corporal Tanya Romanov to lure Bond into a deadly trap.
Rating:
Summary: The best Bond story ever.
Review: In this novel the Soviet murder organization SMERSH sets out to disgrace and assasinate Bond. To accomplish this they use the sexy Corporal Tanya Romanov to lure Bond into a deadly trap.
Rating:
Summary: Is Rossii S Luboviy
Review: It's Bond. It's good. First (and still the only) Fleming book I read. I read it without stopping, wanting to know what will happen on the next page. Everything is written felt very real, almost like I was watching it. I am trying to write a Bond novel myself, and this book helped me a lot with my story. The characters seem like normal people, Darko Kerim with his strange way of life, Tanja with her black velvet ribbon, and Rosa Klebb, who nearly made Bond ...(ugh he couldn't be an angel, and he also couldn't be a devil). Bond is at his very best.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Bond Novel
Review: Jack Kennedy was right! This is one of the best spy thrillers ever. Bond travels across grim, war torn early 50s Europe to steal a decoding device not knowing that he is a pawn in a morbid game of human chess courtesy of an elite Russian death squad. All the villians feel authentic (unlike the more comic book style villians in the later books) from the shadowy manipulators in the Soviet high command to the cold, psychopathic assasins in the field. Ignore the movie which distorts the book's plot and ruins the mood with weak attempts at humor.
Rating:
Summary: Fleming at his best!
Review: Lovers of the Bond films [particularly those under 30] should take time to become familiar with the novels that inspired the best Bond films. From Russia With Love leads the pack in that regard! The 1963 film was relatively faithful to the novel and once you have read it you will see why. Fleming was a master at describing locale, action, and mystery. This novel also contains two of the best Bond villians. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The best Bond Book
Review: Of all the Ian Fleming books I've read, none was more entertaining than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Bond and SMERSH
Review: SMERSH, the special section of the KGB dedicated to eradicating Western spies, has had enough of James Bond. To eliminate him, SMERSH musters the talents of three top agents: the pyschological genius of Kronsteen the chess master, the sadistic imagination of Rosa Klebb, and the muscle of Donovan "Granitski" Grant, an "executioner" who loves his work. Together they build a trap for Bond in Istanbul and bait it with an irresistible young woman who claims she wants to defect. Will Bond take the bait? Can he escape before the trap springs? Buy this book when it is back in stock! Great 007 book to read!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not perfect
Review: So far all the reviews on this page have given this book 5 stars. I'm gonna have to break the streak and give four for a few reasons. I have read all of Raymond Bensons Bond books, and this was the first Fleming book I've read. I have to say that after all I've heard about Fleming I'm rather dissapointed. First of all, the first 100 pages were totally based on how they're gonna kill Bond. Come on! That could have been covered that in 10, and that would have been more than adequate. Second, of the Bond books I've read, this one has the least action. But, it had several strongpoints. Good character development, and it comes together in the last 50 pages. I suppose this is how Bond was meant to be. This book, despite its few weaknesses, is a must read for any Bond fan that wishes to see how Bond was meant to be. Oh, and I've just started on Doctor No. I'm 40 pages in and I'm hooked.
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