Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
If you care to struggle past Fleming's dated, puerile racism, you can marvel at how Bond -- a postwar English civil servant -- thoroughly enjoys American central heating. It's WARM! In every ROOM! And the hotel will bring food right to your room FOR YOU!
Best Bond book. Gives you the chills and leaves you satisfied.
5/5 Stars [1.27.10]
_________________________________________________________________________
The king of espionage is back, and in the second title of the series, James Bond is out for blood!
The British spy is sent abroad, away from mother Europe to New York City. He is assigned to investigate Mr. Big (Buonaparte Ignace Gallia), a Jamaican-American who runs his network and operations out of east coast United States and the Caribbean. Mr. Big is the lord of all crime lords, he is believed to be the incarnate of Baron Samedi (mythic voodoo priest), and he is a member of SMERSH (the Soviet terrorist union that serves to destroy and deter world counter-intelligence with the goal of undermining the U.S.S.R.). The British are interested in a jewel smuggling operation run by Mr. Big that could possibly be financing SMERSH. Bond sets out across the Pacific Ocean in a charter, with a professional mission to crush the smuggling ring, but also to personally avenge the death of his former lover, Vesper Lynd, who was blackmailed and eventually killed by SMERSH.
There is a ton more action in this novel, but James Bond’s character is lacking from the character that was introduced in Casino Royale. In Royale, Bond falls for a woman and retires from work… and then he is broken. From that moment on, he is a man on a mission to exterminate terrorism in the world. He will be ruthless and cold-hearted in the name of revenge. And so, the character that we see in Live and Let Die is the next logical step: all he has is the job, and he values his duty above all else. While reasonable, this makes for a less intriguing character. And, obviously, I am not (re)reading these books for anything more than adventure and subtle eroticism, it is going to be interesting charting how far Bond gets away from the man he was when we are first introduced to him.
That being said, when I read Bond, I expect adventure, blood, and a mean villain. This installment has all of those things.
⅘ Stars [9.16.14]
5/5 Stars [1.27.10]
_________________________________________________________________________
The king of espionage is back, and in the second title of the series, James Bond is out for blood!
The British spy is sent abroad, away from mother Europe to New York City. He is assigned to investigate Mr. Big (Buonaparte Ignace Gallia), a Jamaican-American who runs his network and operations out of east coast United States and the Caribbean. Mr. Big is the lord of all crime lords, he is believed to be the incarnate of Baron Samedi (mythic voodoo priest), and he is a member of SMERSH (the Soviet terrorist union that serves to destroy and deter world counter-intelligence with the goal of undermining the U.S.S.R.). The British are interested in a jewel smuggling operation run by Mr. Big that could possibly be financing SMERSH. Bond sets out across the Pacific Ocean in a charter, with a professional mission to crush the smuggling ring, but also to personally avenge the death of his former lover, Vesper Lynd, who was blackmailed and eventually killed by SMERSH.
There is a ton more action in this novel, but James Bond’s character is lacking from the character that was introduced in Casino Royale. In Royale, Bond falls for a woman and retires from work… and then he is broken. From that moment on, he is a man on a mission to exterminate terrorism in the world. He will be ruthless and cold-hearted in the name of revenge. And so, the character that we see in Live and Let Die is the next logical step: all he has is the job, and he values his duty above all else. While reasonable, this makes for a less intriguing character. And, obviously, I am not (re)reading these books for anything more than adventure and subtle eroticism, it is going to be interesting charting how far Bond gets away from the man he was when we are first introduced to him.
That being said, when I read Bond, I expect adventure, blood, and a mean villain. This installment has all of those things.
⅘ Stars [9.16.14]
2.5 stars
I read and loved Casino Royale last week, and decided to jump right into the second in the series. I definitely did not like this as much. I have never seen the movie, so I did not have any expectations. It just seemed less plausible than Casino Royale. Between the voodoo and the speech of the black characters (with the exception of Mr Big), it did come off as pretty racist. The plot just did not do it for me. It made me think of Austin Powers more than James Bond. I will continue to read the series and hope that this was just a bump in the road. I really like the James Bond character in the books. He seems a little more human than he's portrayed in the movies.
I read and loved Casino Royale last week, and decided to jump right into the second in the series. I definitely did not like this as much. I have never seen the movie, so I did not have any expectations. It just seemed less plausible than Casino Royale. Between the voodoo and the speech of the black characters (with the exception of Mr Big), it did come off as pretty racist. The plot just did not do it for me. It made me think of Austin Powers more than James Bond. I will continue to read the series and hope that this was just a bump in the road. I really like the James Bond character in the books. He seems a little more human than he's portrayed in the movies.
Another OK spy novel from Fleming. This one is very different from Casino Royale, and you can start to see where the James Bond character comes from, with his globehopping and dashing adventures, and the bad guys with their way too elaborate plans to kill him. This one is also much more ridiculous. Entertaining and fun enough, though.
Rating: 3.5* of five
It's the 1973 first outing by Simon Templar...I mean Roger Moore!...that I review here.
Holy pimpmobile! I'd forgotten this was the blaxploitation Bond flick. Appallingly racist. Horrifyingly insultingly so. And may I just say, "INTRODUCING JANE SEYMOUR" is the most chilling phrase I've ever in all my life seen on a movie screen?
Introducing. Jane. Seymour. As in, "not seen on the big screen before?" She was in some other stuff...but nothing as big as Bond. And the horrible thing is that Jane Seymour's character is only able to tell the future as a tarot reader while she's a virgin. Does that clue you in on what Bond's gonna do?
But all that comes after Bond's first African-American love interest. He sleeps with her while in a pale-blue loser suit. With a white belt. Wearing a wife-beater under it. Oh gawd, the seventies.
Then Bond condescends to pop Jane's cherry and takes away he rpowers, which the sexist sociopath clearly doesn't believe in; things go further and further downhill as Geoffrey Holder does a horrifying turn as a voodoo priest in the most ridiculous half-white makeup...well.
So of course Bond solves the identity puzzle, rescues now-slutty Jane from her life of luxury, and brings down the (black, of course) drug dealer. Then Geoffrey Holder laughs his unique laugh as we head for the credits.
Wow. Forty years really makes a lot of difference in how things look. I never liked Simon Templar...I mean Roger Moore!...as Bond. From the get-go, I found him too TV for the role of the big screen's biggest baddest spy. What was charming and roguish in other performances was slippery and oleaginous in Moore's performances. But I had no memory of how revoltingly racist this film was. I shudder to say it, but I was probably blind to it because it was...ulp...the way I saw the lily-white privileged Republican world I lived in.
*gaaak*
Well, that's enough of that. The dumbest car chase ever put on film takes place in an alternate New York where there are only Chevrolet Caprices, Chevrolet Impalas, and Cadillac Eldorados on the roads. Except one elderly Ford truck, which the lone Chevrolet Biscayne in New York, carrying Bond, hits head-on and somehow Bond isn't even scratched despite not wearing a seat belt. Yeah! Now that's the Bond we all love!
And the title tune. Oh my goodness, the title tune. It's one of the indelible memories of 1973, along with the Rayburn Committee hearings and the Energy Crisis. Pretty good tune. But earwormy as all hell! Once in your mind, it ain't a-comin' out easy.
"Enjoy."
It's the 1973 first outing by Simon Templar...I mean Roger Moore!...that I review here.
Holy pimpmobile! I'd forgotten this was the blaxploitation Bond flick. Appallingly racist. Horrifyingly insultingly so. And may I just say, "INTRODUCING JANE SEYMOUR" is the most chilling phrase I've ever in all my life seen on a movie screen?
Introducing. Jane. Seymour. As in, "not seen on the big screen before?" She was in some other stuff...but nothing as big as Bond. And the horrible thing is that Jane Seymour's character is only able to tell the future as a tarot reader while she's a virgin. Does that clue you in on what Bond's gonna do?
But all that comes after Bond's first African-American love interest. He sleeps with her while in a pale-blue loser suit. With a white belt. Wearing a wife-beater under it. Oh gawd, the seventies.
Then Bond condescends to pop Jane's cherry and takes away he rpowers, which the sexist sociopath clearly doesn't believe in; things go further and further downhill as Geoffrey Holder does a horrifying turn as a voodoo priest in the most ridiculous half-white makeup...well.
So of course Bond solves the identity puzzle, rescues now-slutty Jane from her life of luxury, and brings down the (black, of course) drug dealer. Then Geoffrey Holder laughs his unique laugh as we head for the credits.
Wow. Forty years really makes a lot of difference in how things look. I never liked Simon Templar...I mean Roger Moore!...as Bond. From the get-go, I found him too TV for the role of the big screen's biggest baddest spy. What was charming and roguish in other performances was slippery and oleaginous in Moore's performances. But I had no memory of how revoltingly racist this film was. I shudder to say it, but I was probably blind to it because it was...ulp...the way I saw the lily-white privileged Republican world I lived in.
*gaaak*
Well, that's enough of that. The dumbest car chase ever put on film takes place in an alternate New York where there are only Chevrolet Caprices, Chevrolet Impalas, and Cadillac Eldorados on the roads. Except one elderly Ford truck, which the lone Chevrolet Biscayne in New York, carrying Bond, hits head-on and somehow Bond isn't even scratched despite not wearing a seat belt. Yeah! Now that's the Bond we all love!
And the title tune. Oh my goodness, the title tune. It's one of the indelible memories of 1973, along with the Rayburn Committee hearings and the Energy Crisis. Pretty good tune. But earwormy as all hell! Once in your mind, it ain't a-comin' out easy.
"Enjoy."
Number 2 in the James Bond series.
Delightful read, though it sets a new benchmark for political incorrectness.
Delightful read, though it sets a new benchmark for political incorrectness.
From IMDb:
007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.
007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.
This was my second Bond novel, following on from reading of Casino Royale. I’m not going to run through the plot in this review rather I’ll touch on a few points which occurred to me as I made my way through the text.
Firstly, I rated Live and Let Die more highly than Casino Royale: it had more action, was more compelling, contained more escapist adventure and was for me, much more exciting. It also contained Bonds first encounter with sharks which I love from the movies (sadly they never had lazers or bombs strapped to them, oh well!)
The book, especially the first half, suffers from the time period in which was written, i.e. before the civil rights movement had made any significant progress and before feminism became prevalent. So, be prepared for its very racist, demeaning and misogynistic attitude, for example: Fleming (as opposed to Bond) frequently refers to African-American characters as 'negroes' and he also uses the terms 'nigger,' and 'jap'. So it often made me wince as I vocalised this unacceptable prejudicial language in my mind but if you manage to get past this then you’ll find that in this tale Bond (and to a certain extent Felix Leiter) becomes a much more rounded character: his irritations, doubts and worries make him seem more human. Also, I guess that after I had finished it made me glad that as a society we have come a long way since the 1950s. Wikipedia makes a couple of relevant points here:
… academic Jeremy Black has pointed out that "the frequency of his references and his willingness to offer racial stereotypes [was] typical of many writers of his age". [1] Writer Louise Welsh also observed that "Live and Let Die taps into the paranoia that some sectors of white society were feeling" as the civil rights movements challenged prejudice and inequality. [2]
It was also interesting to see Quarrel being introduced as a character, I recall he was in the movie Dr No. The introduction of Quarrel made me realised that the movies were actually filmed in an alternative sequence to the published novels. Live and Let Die also made me aware that these novels are more violent than most of the earlier movies. Additionally, the plot of Live and Let Die seems to have been used in three Bond movies: Live and Let Die (obviously), For Your Eyes Only (keelhauling) and Licence to Kill (Felix Leiter being turned into shark bait and the warehouse shoot out).
Live and Let Die also seemed to set the “Bond Blueprint” which was absent in Casino Royale; this is:
M briefs Bond about a mission > Bond visits exotic locations > a beautiful woman falls for Bond > romance ensues and then she gets into trouble after which Bond has to rescues her > lots of action ensues with Bond killing /fighting dastardly villains and henchmen > the story finally reaches a climax with the chief villain meeting a sticky end.
So, in summary a pacey tightly written period spy thriller which really is a great page-turner despite the undesirable elements which I’ve mentioned earlier.
Next up: Moonraker!
[1] Black, Jeremy (2005). The Politics of James Bond: from Fleming's Novel to the Big Screen.University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6240-9
[2] Benson, Raymond (1988). The James Bond Bedside Companion. London: Boxtree Ltd.ISBN 978-1-85283-233-9
Firstly, I rated Live and Let Die more highly than Casino Royale: it had more action, was more compelling, contained more escapist adventure and was for me, much more exciting. It also contained Bonds first encounter with sharks which I love from the movies (sadly they never had lazers or bombs strapped to them, oh well!)
The book, especially the first half, suffers from the time period in which was written, i.e. before the civil rights movement had made any significant progress and before feminism became prevalent. So, be prepared for its very racist, demeaning and misogynistic attitude, for example: Fleming (as opposed to Bond) frequently refers to African-American characters as 'negroes' and he also uses the terms 'nigger,' and 'jap'. So it often made me wince as I vocalised this unacceptable prejudicial language in my mind but if you manage to get past this then you’ll find that in this tale Bond (and to a certain extent Felix Leiter) becomes a much more rounded character: his irritations, doubts and worries make him seem more human. Also, I guess that after I had finished it made me glad that as a society we have come a long way since the 1950s. Wikipedia makes a couple of relevant points here:
… academic Jeremy Black has pointed out that "the frequency of his references and his willingness to offer racial stereotypes [was] typical of many writers of his age". [1] Writer Louise Welsh also observed that "Live and Let Die taps into the paranoia that some sectors of white society were feeling" as the civil rights movements challenged prejudice and inequality. [2]
It was also interesting to see Quarrel being introduced as a character, I recall he was in the movie Dr No. The introduction of Quarrel made me realised that the movies were actually filmed in an alternative sequence to the published novels. Live and Let Die also made me aware that these novels are more violent than most of the earlier movies. Additionally, the plot of Live and Let Die seems to have been used in three Bond movies: Live and Let Die (obviously), For Your Eyes Only (keelhauling) and Licence to Kill (Felix Leiter being turned into shark bait and the warehouse shoot out).
Live and Let Die also seemed to set the “Bond Blueprint” which was absent in Casino Royale; this is:
M briefs Bond about a mission > Bond visits exotic locations > a beautiful woman falls for Bond > romance ensues and then she gets into trouble after which Bond has to rescues her > lots of action ensues with Bond killing /fighting dastardly villains and henchmen > the story finally reaches a climax with the chief villain meeting a sticky end.
So, in summary a pacey tightly written period spy thriller which really is a great page-turner despite the undesirable elements which I’ve mentioned earlier.
Next up: Moonraker!
[1] Black, Jeremy (2005). The Politics of James Bond: from Fleming's Novel to the Big Screen.University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6240-9
[2] Benson, Raymond (1988). The James Bond Bedside Companion. London: Boxtree Ltd.ISBN 978-1-85283-233-9
I wish I could give it three and a half stars instead of four, but I did like it better than Casino Royale. Good listen, not overly complicated, kept me interested but predictable.
Not one of his better plots and he'd have to hit it out of the park to make any part of the racism/sexism in this book palatable. Barely finished it. Useful to have read if you plan to go through the whole series but if you're looking for greatest hits, I'd give this a solid pass.