udey

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“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Monday, August 2, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

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“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

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“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

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“SIGNED FIRST EDITION
Different Cover Image”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 0 stars

“SIGNED FIRST EDITION”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“So Fleming rescues the series with this second book on James Bond. The first one (Casino Royale) had its moments of excitement but compared to the second one, it was pathetic.

"Live And Let Die" is an awesome adventure. Again SMERSH raises its communist head, this time in USA. But the Russian angle is not much explored. What Mr. B.I.G. does for Russia remains unclear except for hints about his vast obedient army of blue-collar workers.

Mr. BIG is a gigantic black man who uses the inherent fear of Voodoo among the blacks to pretend to be the Zombie of the evil Baron Samedi (Prince of Darkness and ruler of the dead). He is actually a scholarly man with great intelligence, tact, skills and creativity.

There is Florida as the entry point for smuggled gold and Jamaica as the origin.

Thrown in is a gorgeous "corker" of a damsel named Solitaire who seems to know what she wants. And CIA agent Felix Leiter who we enjoyed in the first book returns as a liaison between FBI and MI6. Many other wonderful characters, especially the black gangsters Tee Hee Johnson and The Robber. Friends include the Cayman islander and Bond's trainer/factotum named Quarrel.

The pirate Bloody Morgan or rather Sir Henry Morgan plays an important role - the long dead pirate's treasure being the point of investigation.

This book is a real page-turner. The descriptions of Voodoo and that of the scenery in New York, Florida and Jamaica bring everything to life. The adventure in the corals and the damned voracious barracuda are also exciting.

So I am happy to say, the series got a lot lot better right away with the second novel.

Comparision with the movie:
There are crucial differences with the movie version starring Sir Roger Moore as Bond. In the movie Mr B.I.G. is revealed to be a Prime Minister of a Caribbean island who also is a New York gangster. Baron Samedi is a different person, a henchmen in the movie. However in the novel Mr BIG is a legitimate businessman whose criminal activities remain to be proven and he is "Baron Samedi".

Also the death of Tee Hee Johnson happens simply in the book. There are no crocodiles in the novel. Instead there are sharks and barracudas and giant squid and poisonous sea creatures. So the daring stunt performed in the movie is completely absent - no crocodile farm - instead the book shows a "worm-and-bait factory" which has exotic fish used for smuggling gold.

So no unlike the movie, Mr BIG is not attempting any Voodoo sacrifice with dances and rituals in the novel version - though he does offer the flesh of Bond and Solitaire to the "sharks and barracudas" who play important symbolic roles in Voodoo - a myth which the locals believe and fear.

Anyways, the book is much different but with similar plot lines and characters. I would say the book is more cruel and more realistic than the movie version.


Very thrilling and I look forward to the other books in the series.”

udey wrote this review Friday, March 26, 2010. ( reply | permalink )