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A review by jzapattack
Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
3.0
I actually liked the story of this book better than Casino Royale. The plot was suspenseful, and the villain was very intimidating. It seemed like a lot more actually happened than in the first book, which had a few action scenes but focused a lot more on the lavish lifestyle of a spy. I was surprised that the story was so centered on the supernatural, with voodoo and zombies being featured heavily, and that vibe made it feel unique compared to other spy stories I've read or watched.
There were also less moments that made Bond seem like a sex predator, although you still kind of get that vibe from him. But the uncomfortable rapey stuff is replace by uncomfortable racist stuff. I get that the '50s were a different time, and to some degree Ian Fleming was probably influenced by the society he grew up it, but it's difficult to think very highly of a book that casually treats a race of human beings as an alien species. I would definitely have enjoyed the book a lot more if I wasn't cringing at racist comments every other page.
There were also less moments that made Bond seem like a sex predator, although you still kind of get that vibe from him. But the uncomfortable rapey stuff is replace by uncomfortable racist stuff. I get that the '50s were a different time, and to some degree Ian Fleming was probably influenced by the society he grew up it, but it's difficult to think very highly of a book that casually treats a race of human beings as an alien species. I would definitely have enjoyed the book a lot more if I wasn't cringing at racist comments every other page.