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Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in my head for this one, but I'm not upset about it. This book was a lot more entertaining than the first. Casino Royale is essentially just watching Bond gamble. There is some good action in Live and Let Die that is entertaining in the James Bond kind of way.
One thing I have noticed about these books so far is just how much they humanize James Bond. The movies make him out to be this cool headed badass that no one would be wise to mess with and would just as soon take a woman to bed than save her from a villain. So far the books really delve into his thought processes and some of the things that go through his mind when his plan isn't necessarily working out. They really put a different perspective for me on the character in general.
Again, this books is decades old, and it shows. The chauvinism of the first book has almost entirely been replaced by racism. Even with the incredibly stereotypical "negro" characters and their almost unintelligible speech, Live and Let Die was a classic Jame Bond adventure that was both fun and entertaining.
One thing I have noticed about these books so far is just how much they humanize James Bond. The movies make him out to be this cool headed badass that no one would be wise to mess with and would just as soon take a woman to bed than save her from a villain. So far the books really delve into his thought processes and some of the things that go through his mind when his plan isn't necessarily working out. They really put a different perspective for me on the character in general.
Again, this books is decades old, and it shows. The chauvinism of the first book has almost entirely been replaced by racism. Even with the incredibly stereotypical "negro" characters and their almost unintelligible speech, Live and Let Die was a classic Jame Bond adventure that was both fun and entertaining.
Despite incredibly outdated racial terminology and viewpoints on display, this sequel hits hard enough with a threatening, interesting villain and a lead character who isn’t a side-character in his own story. Whereas the first novel is a complete dud, this sequel meets the bare minimum expectations of a story of this type.
The second book of the original Bond novels by Ian Fleming shows a definite change from the first. There is more action, more perilous situations, more attempts on Bond’s life, and definitely more sexy scenes (but no actual sex). In short, it is more “Bond”. The plot surrounds the pursuit of “Mr. Big”, an agent of SMERSH and an underworld voodoo leader who is suspected of selling 17th century gold coins in order to finance Soviet spy operations in America. For Bond, it’s a great assignment because it allows him to pursue his personal goals of eliminating a branch of SMERSH as well as allowing a trip to Jamaica, a country with which he is very familiar due to a previous posting.
The supporting cast is awesome in this one, not only with Mr. Big, an intelligent and conniving villain, but also with Felix Leiter (Bond’s counterpart in the CIA), and “Solitaire”, the beautiful fortune-telling girlfriend of Mr. Big. I say they are awesome, not because they are in any way original, at least for what we have all been exposed to in the 21st century, but because they are all so…”Bond-like”. These sorts of characters, after all, are one of the primary draws to Bond in the first place and this second book in the series really starts to develop this “type”. As for Bond himself, he comes across as a much more human character than he was in [b:Casino Royale|3758|Casino Royale (James Bond, #1)|Ian Fleming|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327865694s/3758.jpg|2503304], definitely more likeable. And his friendship for Felix Leiter really shows in this novel, providing the personal nature of his quest to stop Mr. Big, beyond the actual mission assigned to him by M.
Readers need to understand what they are getting into with this book, however. It was originally written and published in 1953-54, back when race relations in the US were going through some major change. It was the time of forced busing/integration and the year before Rosa Parks stood her ground. So when reading this over 50 years later, readers need to understand just how much the culture has changed and try to read from that historical perspective. Fleming’s observations (through Bond’s eyes) of blacks, in general, are far different than we would see from a writer today. There is some occasional use of the “N” word and other stereotypical language but, of course, it’s no shock to the characters of that era. So if that sort of thing offends you, then I would recommend steering clear of this novel. Hopefully, that won’t be an issue because this one, in my opinion is the more definitive origin, at least in style, of the entire Bond-verse than Casino Royale.
The supporting cast is awesome in this one, not only with Mr. Big, an intelligent and conniving villain, but also with Felix Leiter (Bond’s counterpart in the CIA), and “Solitaire”, the beautiful fortune-telling girlfriend of Mr. Big. I say they are awesome, not because they are in any way original, at least for what we have all been exposed to in the 21st century, but because they are all so…”Bond-like”. These sorts of characters, after all, are one of the primary draws to Bond in the first place and this second book in the series really starts to develop this “type”. As for Bond himself, he comes across as a much more human character than he was in [b:Casino Royale|3758|Casino Royale (James Bond, #1)|Ian Fleming|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327865694s/3758.jpg|2503304], definitely more likeable. And his friendship for Felix Leiter really shows in this novel, providing the personal nature of his quest to stop Mr. Big, beyond the actual mission assigned to him by M.
Readers need to understand what they are getting into with this book, however. It was originally written and published in 1953-54, back when race relations in the US were going through some major change. It was the time of forced busing/integration and the year before Rosa Parks stood her ground. So when reading this over 50 years later, readers need to understand just how much the culture has changed and try to read from that historical perspective. Fleming’s observations (through Bond’s eyes) of blacks, in general, are far different than we would see from a writer today. There is some occasional use of the “N” word and other stereotypical language but, of course, it’s no shock to the characters of that era. So if that sort of thing offends you, then I would recommend steering clear of this novel. Hopefully, that won’t be an issue because this one, in my opinion is the more definitive origin, at least in style, of the entire Bond-verse than Casino Royale.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
It's an exciting story that very much fulfils what I think of when I think of Bond - guns, villains, women, martini etc. Although I preferred it to Casino Royale, I did feel very uncomfortable with the level of racism and sexism. I just don't feel they have aged well, so I think sadly this will be my last Bond read (from Fleming anyway). The narration worked very well though.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No