Ian Fleming in general

Part of what makes the Bond novels so readable is, of course, the Villains. I haven't been able to choose – or really wanted to choose – a single one of them because in a way there is only one, his individual exemplars in each adventure being a single imperfect aspect of a Platonic Bond Villain, just as the girls are each a single imperfect aspect of a Platonic Bond Girl. There's also the problem that the impact of the Bond villains is, from a literary point of view, softened by the fact that at first it's impossible to read their names without seeing the faces of the actors who played them in the film versions, generally with a certain ...  Read the complete review

If you have ever seen a Bond film (and who hasn't?), you will barely recognise him as he is portrayed in the original novels. If you come to any of these novels expecting a 'book-of-the-film', you will be sorely disappointed, but don't give up - if you keep reading and you might just find something more entertaining than you originally expected. The books make effortless reading, short punchy sentences, devastatingly simple plots, and a satisfying shortage of pages mean you finish the things in no time at all. Fleming is not shy of repetition - you'll find yourself reading about Bond's 'cruel smile', 'dark comma of hair' ...  Read the complete review

Anyone born in the past 50 years has grown up with James Bond. I have no idea what happened when the first film (Dr. No) was released but Im glad that it took off with such success to launch the generations of films that have followed. Mr Bond tho started life much earlier. Ian Flemming had written nearly all of the stories before Dr. No was written and so the James Bond of the books is a hugely different man from the films, he's set some 10 years earlier after all! If your a bond fan then try the books, some wont get on with them because they're not action spy with gadgetty enough for them, others (like me) will love them, whether your getting hold ...  Read the complete review