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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
It's interesting to read this while keeping in mind that it was written in the 1950s. Some people would see this book as racist and offensive if seen by today's standards. The story is quite different from the film so the journey of discovery I am currently on is still interesting.
way too racist to get any further into :/ v low quality anyways
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the second installment of James Bond's ongoing adventures, and after the lackluster excitement (for me) of the first book Casino Royale, I was hoping this one would have something more of the magic of James Bond. Unfortunately it didn't. Bond's interest and sort of romance with Solitaire was much more interesting than the relationship in the first book, but I still felt the lack of real connection between them, since it was mostly mutual, instant physical attraction. Which of course one must always expect with these Bond novels, but I just don't feel very invested in the Bond girl when she is so weak and transparent.
The only really interesting aspect of the story must be in the mission and the mystery behind the Bond villain. The villain, Mr. Big, is pretty unsettling but I was a little surprised by how he is so powerful, yet he always seems to attack everyone around Bond, when he had so many opportunities to do away with Bond. I didn't understand why James Bond was so lucky to get off so easily. Turns out, he's not that smart. And as for Bond's resourcefulness in this mission, I felt like that left a little to be desired. His luck is really the most astonishing thing about him, and not his skill as a spy. At least in this story. The story is further marred by the really tedious descriptions throughout of what really amounts to lots of different fish in the sea (all super dangerous, man-eating, villainous ones by the way), and the different cities that Bond travels through.
James Bond too often makes really bad decisions and was too often caught by Mr. Big to really shine in this installment. Couple that with some really excruciatingly slow pacing at times (especially near the end when things should really start becoming intense) and this might be the least enjoyable James Bond novel for me.
The only really interesting aspect of the story must be in the mission and the mystery behind the Bond villain. The villain, Mr. Big, is pretty unsettling but I was a little surprised by how he is so powerful, yet he always seems to attack everyone around Bond, when he had so many opportunities to do away with Bond. I didn't understand why James Bond was so lucky to get off so easily. Turns out, he's not that smart. And as for Bond's resourcefulness in this mission, I felt like that left a little to be desired. His luck is really the most astonishing thing about him, and not his skill as a spy. At least in this story. The story is further marred by the really tedious descriptions throughout of what really amounts to lots of different fish in the sea (all super dangerous, man-eating, villainous ones by the way), and the different cities that Bond travels through.
James Bond too often makes really bad decisions and was too often caught by Mr. Big to really shine in this installment. Couple that with some really excruciatingly slow pacing at times (especially near the end when things should really start becoming intense) and this might be the least enjoyable James Bond novel for me.
This is definitely written in the 50s and shows. However train part was very cool
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great Bromance between Bond and Leiter.
Live and Let Die definitely a product of its time but it doesn't resign the fact that Fleming was prejudiced to his core and it is weaved through every page of his writing. It feels gross to read. Any black or female character is a charactature and the white British man is always heralded as being smarter, more effective and more civilized. James Bond is an icon because of books and stories like this but the cost of how it portrays anyone other than non-white men seems too high and not worth the price. Shockingly, according to the forward, this isn't even the most racist edition of the book thanks to some pretty heavy revisions. I can't imagine what the original read like.
It's not enough to say it's a trope of the genre or of Bond fiction because that diminishes the stories that are told, even of Fleming's time that don't rely on the stereotypes depicted here. Even if it's considered a classic, choose something else. Horowitz has written great bond stories set in this same period that feel true to the post war spy era and don't leave you feeling slimy afterwards.
It's not enough to say it's a trope of the genre or of Bond fiction because that diminishes the stories that are told, even of Fleming's time that don't rely on the stereotypes depicted here. Even if it's considered a classic, choose something else. Horowitz has written great bond stories set in this same period that feel true to the post war spy era and don't leave you feeling slimy afterwards.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism