You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
This has a solid narration performance by actor Rory Kinnear (who has played M's Chief of Staff Bill Tanner in the recent Daniel Craig as Bond films) in this 2nd of the 2014 audiobooks edition of the original Ian Fleming novels. A different narrator appears in each volume of the Celebrity Performances edition.
"Live and Let Die" from 1954 was the 2nd of the books and more than "Casino Royale" set the template for all of the books and the movies to come. That includes a larger the life villain (in this case, gangster Mr. Big) various creepy henchmen (such as "The Whisper" and "The Robber" here). the villain's hideaway lair (an island and a boat here) and of course a diabolical villainous scheme (gold coin smuggling to undermine the USA in this case).
The audiobook includes a 4 minute interview with Rory Kinnear.
"Live and Let Die" from 1954 was the 2nd of the books and more than "Casino Royale" set the template for all of the books and the movies to come. That includes a larger the life villain (in this case, gangster Mr. Big) various creepy henchmen (such as "The Whisper" and "The Robber" here). the villain's hideaway lair (an island and a boat here) and of course a diabolical villainous scheme (gold coin smuggling to undermine the USA in this case).
The audiobook includes a 4 minute interview with Rory Kinnear.
I personally liked it more than the first one, Casino Royale. Perhaps I am more accustomed to the style, but to me it seemed more in line with the movie James Bond. He was a little less misogynistic. On the other hand, the portrayal of the black characters in the book was a little disturbing.
Another delightful adventure with Bond, James Bond.
Bond by numbers. Very silly, and a little bit dull.
Is it dreadful to say I have only read this because I had a copy unread in the house? I need to read through some of these book piles I have had for kicking on ten years now, which is how I've come to this book. It maybe sounds like I had an utterly miserable time forcing myself to read it. If a book is truely bad, I will stop. This one wasn't awful. It's light entertainment, not too complicated and not too long a read. I have grown up with the Bond films, so I will say the usual ridiculous statement: It's not like the film! Well, I saw elements of two films in this one, as I'm sure the CIA agent Felix got his leg bitten off in one of the Timothy Dalton films. And wasn't Solitaire Jayne Seymore with Roger Moore? ANYWAY,... the book.
This is delving into Voodoo from Haiti, although we don't get to go to Haiti. Instead we're away to Harlem in the 50s, then down to Florida and over to Jamaica for the final show down. The plot isn't over complicated, nor are the showdowns and espionage. Mr Big, who many seem to believe is the zombie form of the top guy in the Voodoo religion, is running old golden coins from lost pirate booty into the USA. So Bond and the CIA are off to sort him out. It is very dated writing. I know you have to accept that things are a product of the time, but it was uncomfortable to read every single black person being described as a negro. Anyway, there's a bit of a punch up in Harlem with not a lot actually done/discovered, then they go to Florida where they don't do so much although Bond discovers how they're sneaking the coins into the states, and some sharks get fed. Then it's away to Jamaica, where he has a training week and then does a night swim over to Mr Big's island for the final showdown. And that's it. The sequence when Bond is moving across the bottom of the sea to get to Mr Big's island was possibly one of the best bits as there was so much about the different fish and corals - it created such an image. And an octopus almost has its way with him.
Yeah, light entertainment.
This is delving into Voodoo from Haiti, although we don't get to go to Haiti. Instead we're away to Harlem in the 50s, then down to Florida and over to Jamaica for the final show down. The plot isn't over complicated, nor are the showdowns and espionage. Mr Big, who many seem to believe is the zombie form of the top guy in the Voodoo religion, is running old golden coins from lost pirate booty into the USA. So Bond and the CIA are off to sort him out. It is very dated writing. I know you have to accept that things are a product of the time, but it was uncomfortable to read every single black person being described as a negro. Anyway, there's a bit of a punch up in Harlem with not a lot actually done/discovered, then they go to Florida where they don't do so much although Bond discovers how they're sneaking the coins into the states, and some sharks get fed. Then it's away to Jamaica, where he has a training week and then does a night swim over to Mr Big's island for the final showdown. And that's it. The sequence when Bond is moving across the bottom of the sea to get to Mr Big's island was possibly one of the best bits as there was so much about the different fish and corals - it created such an image. And an octopus almost has its way with him.
Yeah, light entertainment.
The second of the Ian Fleming Bond book. Originally published in 1954 and picks up shortly after the events of Casino Royale. There are some issues with this book that I think needs to be addressed before the review, so lets get to those then talk about the book.
This book is really dated and it shows. Fleming is a brilliant writer and chooses his words carefully but his treatment of black people in this novel is often at times cringe worthy in today's world. From the constant calling them negros and negresses to how he writes their dialog and describes them. The first Bond book, Casino Royale was a much better book and did not show its age like this one. This book was written in a different time and era, with that being said it can be read with the understanding that this sort of behavior was perfectly acceptable almost 70 years ago.
This story takes Bond to New York, Florida, and Jamaica. Rare gold coins are appearing on the market and a black American gangster named Mr. Big is suspected of being the mastermind. Bond must work with the FBI, and CIA to bring down this smuggler. Mr. Big uses the practices of Voodoo to scare people into protecting and helping him and the beautiful Solitaire and fortune teller/ psychic to tell him what the future holds keeps Mr. Big always one step ahead of law enforcement agencies.
This is the second book but the eighth movie and they are very different. Anytime I read a novel that has been made into a movie I leave a little space to compare the two. Events in this book actually happen in other Bond films. Felix is fed to sharks to sharks in this book but we don't see that happen in the films till much later in License to Kill with Timothy Dalton as Bond. This is Roger Moore's first Bond film. Another scene is when Bond and Solitaire are dragged behind a boat to be killed, this shows up in later Roger Moore Bond film. The events of the story itself are also changed and there are charters in the film that are absent from the book like like Rosie and Sherriff Pepper. Besides the Mr. Big and a few other things the film is much different than book.
If you want to read the original novel of Bond or you are just huge Bond fan is really the only reason I would recommend giving this novel a read.
This book is really dated and it shows. Fleming is a brilliant writer and chooses his words carefully but his treatment of black people in this novel is often at times cringe worthy in today's world. From the constant calling them negros and negresses to how he writes their dialog and describes them. The first Bond book, Casino Royale was a much better book and did not show its age like this one. This book was written in a different time and era, with that being said it can be read with the understanding that this sort of behavior was perfectly acceptable almost 70 years ago.
This story takes Bond to New York, Florida, and Jamaica. Rare gold coins are appearing on the market and a black American gangster named Mr. Big is suspected of being the mastermind. Bond must work with the FBI, and CIA to bring down this smuggler. Mr. Big uses the practices of Voodoo to scare people into protecting and helping him and the beautiful Solitaire and fortune teller/ psychic to tell him what the future holds keeps Mr. Big always one step ahead of law enforcement agencies.
This is the second book but the eighth movie and they are very different. Anytime I read a novel that has been made into a movie I leave a little space to compare the two. Events in this book actually happen in other Bond films. Felix is fed to sharks to sharks in this book but we don't see that happen in the films till much later in License to Kill with Timothy Dalton as Bond. This is Roger Moore's first Bond film. Another scene is when Bond and Solitaire are dragged behind a boat to be killed, this shows up in later Roger Moore Bond film. The events of the story itself are also changed and there are charters in the film that are absent from the book like like Rosie and Sherriff Pepper. Besides the Mr. Big and a few other things the film is much different than book.
If you want to read the original novel of Bond or you are just huge Bond fan is really the only reason I would recommend giving this novel a read.
Still lucks our Bond through another caper. I, personally, am not quite a fan of the more gory details, but that is me.
Live and Let Die is not a Bond film I am overly familiar with, having only watched it a couple of times. Whilst is was different to Casino Royale in which I didn't have a perfect frame reference I didn't enjoy this book as much. I found some chapters dragged on and although this is book 2 in the series I didn't feel any sort of continuity except for the use of CIA agent Felix Leiter. It was interesting to see Quarrel from Dr. No in this book though. However, the racism (obviously indicative of the time) can be a bit uncomfortable to read. I hope the next book is a bit more interesting.