Rating: 
Summary: One of the weaker Bond novels.
Review: Ian Fleming got into a habit early on in his career as a novelist. He would churn out one Bond novel a year, during the summer, at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica. This kind of routine can be deadening when one writes without inspiration, and, unfortunately, that's what apparently happened when he wrote "Goldfinger."This isn't a bad novel, but compared with the better Bond books, this is pretty weak. The plot seems hastily assembled, is far-fetched, and the ending seems rushed and improbable, even for Fleming. That said, it does have its good points. The villain, Auric Goldfinger, is one of the most fully realized characters Fleming ever created, and Oddjob is certainly a menacing strongman. The early chapters, where Bond teaches Goldfinger a lesson and then trails him across Europe, are mostly good, but the golf game goes on WAY too long and seems indicative of Fleming's general lack of ideas here. The last several chapters are a mess; the whole idea of robbing Fort Knox wasn't that great to begin with. All in all, "Goldfinger" is little more than a mediocre addition to the Bond series.
Rating: 
Summary: James Bond battles the man who loves gold. -Auric Goldfinger
Review: Returning in the 7th thriller by Ian Fleming, James Bond is back again, and he is up against one of his most evil adversaries ever-Auric Golfinger. Goldfinger is a short, ugly man with a large body. Golfinger who has a pechant for gold, has devised the catstrophic Operation Grand Slam. He is planning the worlds largets heist. He is planning to take the gold from Fort Knox! The story begins as a friend of Bond has informed him that he plays canasta with a man called Goldfinger. He has also told him that Goldfinger cheats at cards and that he will pay Bond if he finds out how. Bond discovers that a girl called Jill Masterson works for Goldfinger spy's through bioculars over the card game and informs Goldfinger via transmitter what the cards are. Bond forces Goldfinger to confess and lose a considerable amount of money. He then goes on a vaction with Jill. Bond is later informed by M that Goldfinger steals or attains any market that will increase his amount of gold, and also works for SMERSH. Bond then duels Goldfinger in a game of golf, where Goldfinger cheats again, until the end where Bond gets the upper hand and tricks Goldfinger into using the wrong ball and losing the game. Bond is invited to Goldfinger's mansion where he meets Goldfinger's Korean manservant Oddjob. Oddjob has a cleft palate, and his hands and fingers are all muscle on both sides. He also carries a deadly bowler hat which can be thrown to slice off whatever it hits. Bond leaves and meets Tilly Masterson who tells him that Goldfinger had her sister Jill killed by painting he entire body gold. Bond and Tilly are captured and totured. Bond is then informed by Goldfinger of his deadly scheme of Operation Grand Slam to steal the gold in Fort Knox. Bond becomes the secretary of Goldfinger and is introduced to the hood's convention helping Goldfinger, including Miss Pussy Galore, who has a certain distaste for Bond. Bond leaves information on the evil plot to Felis Leiter on a plane and the plot is foiled. Tilly is killed, but Goldfinger, Oddjob and Pussy Galore escape. They all come face to face once again on an airplane where Pussy Galore changes sides to help Bond, and they kill Goldfinger and Oddjob. Bond then gives a lesson of TLC to Pussy Galore and the story ends. A monster of a story for Ian Fleming, which is exciting, but filled with some holes in the plot. Not the place to first start reading James Bond, but for avid readers of the series all will love this thrilling tale of James Bond!
Rating: 
Summary: Could be better....missing something
Review: This book isn't necessarily bad, but Fleming was in way over his head while writing it. The plot is similar to the film in which Bond tangles with a supervillain out to rob Fort Knox (though in the film Goldfinger just wanted to ruin all the gold, not steal it) and his Korean caddy, but few can deny that the film is not only better but much, much easier to believe. In a scene in the film, Bond discusses just how ludicrous it would be to attempt such a robbery of Fort Knox...well, in the book, Goldfinger tries to concoct said robbery. Anyway, the book is seriously flawed. First off, Ian Fleming is not a great writer and when he tries to sell a bunch of scenes in which Bond starts feeling remorse and sickness about all the killing in his life, it's as flat as a wet martini. Le Carre did it much better. I dig the dark edge to Bond's character but the scenes are too many and are too long. Second, Goldfinger is this ruthless SOB who won't be pushed around by anybody, but Bond pisses him off not once but twice, embarassing him and stealing a chunk of his $ as well as one of his ladies. And yet Goldfinger, rather than throwing him to the canibalistic Koreans (Fleming was most definitely not PC by our standards) sucks up to Bond and tells him all about his scheme to knock off Fort Knox, giving him a completely useless job as a secretary, then feigning surprise when, shockingly, Bond betrays him. Third, I don't buy Goldfinger as SMERSH's treasurer. We hear a couple of very long speeches about him and then suddenly at the end of a chapter it's revealed that there's a chance Goldfinger finances SMERSH. I don't know, I just don't buy it. Four, the ending was no good. The book was getting a little long (thanks in no small part to an overview of EIGHTEEN HOLES OF GOLF) and I'm sure Fleming hastily thought up an ending where in a span of about three hours a lesbian (Pussy Galore, who in this book is a tough New York gangster who talks like the Katharine Hepburn character in "Bringing Up Baby" when she's pretending to be a man...Fleming's gift was never dialogue) becomes straight, falls in love/lust with Bond, becomes a total lackey to Goldfinger despite her anger towards men (she's his freaking stewardess!) and rolls off into the sunset with Bond. That said, it's still a solid, entertaining read, much duller than some of the other books (Dr No is my favorite, Live and Let Die is solid as well as From Russia..., and I love the card game scenes in Moonraker and Casino Royale) but nonetheless fun. I particularly like the scene with five different gangs stuffed together on a train, driving into a town that's just been poisoned....or has it? Anyway, read it, but don't expect too much out of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and exciting at times.
Review: This is the first 007 story that I have read. After reading some of the other reviewers' takes on the believabilty of the book, I have to shrug my head a bit: it's fiction. Yes, a lot of it is not quite believable, but those moments move the story on to the next stage. It is interesting to me that the filmed versions of 007 really do not deal with his darker side as much. He is a dated cosmopolitan sophisticate who also has some rather funny ideas of women and masculinity. A bit of the homophobic language worried me, but then, as someone else has written, the book is dated and Ian Fleming should be allowed to have his voice. I recommend this book as a good story. Perhaps it is one of Fleming's weakest, but I think he keeps the reader's attention and works out a good plot, even with its silliness and good humor at times.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and exciting at times.
Review: This is the first 007 story that I have read. After reading some of the other reviewers' takes on the believabilty of the book, I have to shrug my head a bit: it's fiction. Yes, a lot of it is not quite believable, but those moments move the story on to the next stage. It is interesting to me that the filmed versions of 007 really do not deal with his darker side as much. He is a dated cosmopolitan sophisticate who also has some rather funny ideas of women and masculinity. A bit of the homophobic language worried me, but then, as someone else has written, the book is dated and Ian Fleming should be allowed to have his voice. I recommend this book as a good story. Perhaps it is one of Fleming's weakest, but I think he keeps the reader's attention and works out a good plot, even with its silliness and good humor at times.
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