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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “To be what started it all, it was an odd book. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I just re-read a few years back as the movie was coming out. It still amazes me that this started one of the most famous franchise of books and movies ever. The story is great. The characters are great....” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “I read the James Bond saga in my teen years, a long time ago, and now thought to revisit what I remember hailed as a leading series in the genre. |
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“ A wildly fast-paced, tense book that you will sling through in one sitting. I sat down to read this while doing several loads of laundry and, honestly, the book was finished first (not because I was engrossed or anything, ahem). I've never read any of the James Bond books, and have been wanting to for awhile, so this was a great entry, starting from the beginning and all. My only gripe is that the book is clearly a reflection from a bygone era, and the language, attitudes and gender roles reflect that hugely. It can be a shock, which is a distraction from the overall story, but it's important to remember where and when the author was writing from. Altogether enjoyable. ”
wurd nurd wrote this review 3 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Read this a long time ago (probably more than 40 years). Reread this book now for a summer book club. I found it disappointing, if there were a 2 and half stars I would have given it that. ”
Stella M wrote this review 8 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Not my normal genre, so let me tread carefully here. I was expect the excitement of a Bond film and it just wasn't there. A lot of time spent in the casino with only gambling action. A lot of inaction overall. Still, I will read another in the Bond series.”
Abracadavey wrote this review 4 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“I re-read this again after many years. Ian Fleming was a better writer than I remembered. I used to find that he went too far describing what women were wearing, but that did not stick out as much on this re-reading. This is a good spy novel with the cruel James Bond as the protagonist -- not the James Bond of the films. This JB is no comedian. A short novel, but the action ends well before the end and then drags a bit as JB is involved in an annoying romance. Add a star if you are really into cards and find play-by-play descriptions of gambling exciting.”
KinksRock wrote this review Sunday, April 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I picked up a copy of Casino Royale from the Amazon Kindle Daily deals. I'm not a Bond fan but I enjoyed the Daniel Craig reboots, especially Casino Royale so I thought I'd give the source material a try. Because I've seen the movie a handful of times, I couldn't help but constantly refer to it as I read this. Fortunately for me they are a pretty good match.
Michael J Amos wrote this review Sunday, April 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Casino Royale is a quick, pulpy read about our favorite British secret agent. It tells of his mission to subvert the efforts of Le Chiffre who is effectively an investment banker for several spy and terrorist organizations associated with communism. Le Chiffre has done poorly on investments and is attempting to win back the required money through gambling. James is to gamble against Le Chiffre and ensure the money doesn't go back.
There are several twists and turns that make it the spy novel it is but the novel is really an origin story We know that James is well trained and field tested but his philosophy has not been set. We get to see the infantile Jame who believes in black and white and that he is on the side of white. Later we see James mature as he tells Mathis that there is not black and white but us and them and sometimes us looks very much like them. Finally we a see the cold, brutal James that is necessary for the series, the James Bond for which everything is very personal and yet also a game.
My only complaint about this story (both film and book) is the weird epilogue that is the wrapping up of Vesper's story. I think this part of the story is incredibly important for developing the character for the series but it just seems tacked on to the book. All of the action has resolved. The good guys have won, the bad guys are vanquished. Yet we have 100 pages of James recovering from his ordeal. Again, the series can't be itself without this character building but it seems like it should have been better integrated to the story.
As I mentioned in the beginning of the review, I constantly used the film as a touchstone for this book, it was inevitable. The film and the novel have far more in common that different. If you enjoyed the film, you really should read this book. If you've never see the movie, read this book then go see the movie. If you watched the movie and didn't like the story (nevermind the nonsense about who plays James) this book will not work for you.
For me this was a lot of fun to read.”
“With Skyfall now in the theaters, I got it in my head to read the novel where Bond is introduced in 1953, Casino Royale. Casino didn't work all that well for me but what I did find very interesting is how well the screen writers for the Daniel Craig film version of Casino Royale captured key elements of the novel. I would recommend the novel IF the reader is interested in seeing how the film version with Daniel Craig compares and contrasts to Ian FlemingâÂ's written work. SPOILER ALERT if you haven't read the book or seen the film yet then youâÂÂll want to stop here. In both the novel and the film, Bond often comes across as a bit of an amateur, involved in what the character Le Chiffre refers to as playing "Red Indians." Interesting, too, how the film Vesper Lynd character chooses her suicide as a form of penance rather than the novel Lynd who kills herself in a romanticized attempt to protect Bond. The screen writers also transferred Bond'ÂÂs emotional turmoil after a particularly grueling torture session from the novel, and later when Bond realizes that his associate and lover, Lynd, has betrayed him. These vulnerabilities in the Bond character are a humanizing balance against the internal dialog in the novel that reveals how Bond objectifies women and the opposition -- an internal dialog that the screen writers must address with simple toss-away lines and then rely upon Craig to convey (which I feel Craig does well). One of the remarkable aspects of the novel for me was BondâÂ's reflection on identifying villains such as two he killed to receive his "ÂÂ00" status. Bond'ÂÂs ambivalence as expressed in 1953 seems applicable today: "You see when one'ÂÂs young, it seems very easy to distinguish between right and wrong, but as one gets older it becomes more difficult...patriotism comes along and makes it seem fairly all right, but this country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date. Today we are fighting communism. Okay. If I'd been alive fifty years ago, the brand of conservatism we have today would have been damn near called communism and we should have been told to go and fight that. History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts." And History does race forward -- 50 years after the introduction of James Bond to the world. ”
TheBobK wrote this review Monday, March 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I read the James Bond saga in my teen years, a long time ago, and now thought to revisit what I remember hailed as a leading series in the genre.
DWWilkin wrote this review Monday, March 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The past just doesn't live up to the reread. This is a short book, 144 pages. But by the middle of the book it is really over. And to get there we are treated to pages of explanation on Baccarat. Why?
We see an era of Spy work that is ill defined, and certainly in our knowledge of the current way things must be done, Bond is ill equipped at this craft.
He is certainly not up to the movie versions of his image. Without having met his French counterpart, he seems to become quite chummy with the man, as do the agent sent from London, and the American. All who are not good enough at their job to help Bond when he is trouble at the fateful game.
And as I said it is over half-way through and then we are treated to a many page diatribe about how Bond, remember this is BOND, is about to give it all up.
Now the book takes on the psychological and the foolish as we have the device of the girl to get Bond to stay in the service. But we also have the Russian Assassin allowing Bond to live since he has no orders to kill the man.
Fleming, who had some experience in the war with espionage, you would think would have made his character just a little more credible. Bond in the first book, now as an adult with years of seeing how spies have to prepare and operate in this large chess game they play, does not hold up. This is the end of the reread for me.”
“I love James Bond! Great stories! Great character!”
Phyllis Chaffin wrote this review Friday, March 15, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I just love the book. It was interesting and fun to read right to the final sentence. The James Bond in the book is much different then the movie version. In the book James Bond is much more human and does not always win over the bad guys. It is hard to imagine the book is over fifty years old. This is one of the better books I have read lately. I will read more Ian Fleming my new favorite author. ”
bevenh wrote this review Thursday, February 28, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The 1st James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, published all the way back in 1953. Some of the references are very dated, but the book holds up. I first read this one back in the '60's (bought it for the cover price of 60 cents! A terrific suspense filled read. Surprisingly, the recent movie of the same name stuck very closely to this novel - except for the much needed updates of course. I've got a whole box of all my old JB novels which I recently found in a box in storage. I'm very much looking forward to re-reading the rest soon.”
Mark Petersen wrote this review Wednesday, February 20, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
