Rent: Casino Royale (James Bond Novels)

This is the only James Bond book I've read so far and it will not be the last. The best James Bond movie and a fantastic James Bond book. Very classy and exciting. The only flaw for me was I didn't entirely understand the concept of Baccarat and since that was a huge chunk of the book, I was a tad confused at some crucial parts of the story. Other than that it's definatly worth a read.

The man known as 007 is sent to defeat a villain known as Le Chiffre (the number) in a game of Baccarat in order to ruin the credibility of the Ruskies. The setting is the luxurious Casino in the grand, old French town of Royale. Bond, being an expert gambler and player thinks he'll have no trouble taking down Le Chiffre, but doesn't bargain on forces working against him from his own side.

I'm not sure if Ian Fleming originally planned this to be the first of a series but he does a good job of introducing us to all of the familiar characters. His writing style is short and terse and to the point. I often find myself reading books that waffle on and on with nothing in particular to say but Casino Royale wastes no time in getting to the important stuff. It's urgent, but still never feels underwritten. It's a perfectly balanced style and I hope that the rest of the books feel the same.

Despite being set in the 50's there isn't really THAT much in the book that dates it terribly. I saw the cast from the 2006 movie in my head, but don't expect the movie to be similar. The first hour of that film was pretty much new story and everything afterwards (save the sinking houses in Venice) is true to Ian Flemings book.

A good read and very fast paced.

Read the books, discover the real (colder, harder) Bond. I'd heard this somewhere, so thought I'd give these re-issues a try. Considering most Bond films are overlong, the books are refreshingly short. You won't spend weeks reading this. After a hard day pour yourself a small Johnnie Walker and enjoy ten or fifteen pages of old school escapism.....

Casino Royale gave birth to an iconic 21st century `hero', or to be precise, a murky morally ambiguous assassin and spy - James Bond. In fact, I will be controversial and say that Bond, in Ian Fleming's first outing, is nothing short of a classic psychopath, though a pyschopath with a fine taste in food, drink and classic cars (a guzzling 4 litre Bentley, not the famous Aston Martin). Not that he being like this is bad, in any other context Bond would be villivied and hated, but as a defender of British and western interests and safety, the context becomes justified, we don't want our spys or assassins soft hearted. We need them cold and steeley, ready to stick the knife in (quite literally) when others won't.

But psychopath or not, he works for Her Majesty's Secret Service - MI6 is not mentioned in the book, because, I think, MI6, in real-life, only became a popular name for Britain's foreign/international secret service later on (MI5 is the domestic/national secret service). But I am digressing (already).

Prior to reading any of Fleming's Bond books I had seen the all the films, and after watching the new Casino Royale decided to give the book ago. I was reluctant at first; I always find that after watching a movie, I find the book that inspired it a dull chore. However, the exception are the Fleming books, and in particular Casino Royale. Because of the time difference, a different enemy (SMERSH, the Soviets), and a slight difference in the plot, the book is worth reading if you are a fan of that particular movie or the Bond movies in general.

The plot is fairly simple, and avoids the gigantic climax of an underground base and megalomaniac villain. Instead we have the service's best card player, Bond, trying to bankrupt Le Chiffre, a man who `invests' the murky SMERSH's money - the idea being that once Le Chiffre is bankrupted at the Casino Royale, who will turn to the British secret service for protection, after losing SMERSH's money. However, the plot isn't that simple as Le Chiffre isn't a man who likes losing, and will go to any lengths to win.

Instead of the Texas Hold `Em Up poker played in the 2006 film, the game is Baccarat. The game is fairly explained in detail, but it is a fairly complex game. I will not go and reveal what other differences there are between the original book and the film, as it will ruin the surprises and the quirks of the post-war era setting. However, Bond's two killings - in which he gains his double-O status, seems a lot more exciting and brutal, even than in the movie. One is a sniper killing of a Japanese cipher in New York that involves ingenuity and skill, and the other is a Norwegian double-agent that doesn't go very well, and very unglamorous, involves a knife rather than the safety of the distance of a smoking gun.

Judging by the book, it is surprising that anyone has to wait around to kill Bond, as he himself seems determined to kick the heavenly bucket - he smokes seventy cigarettes a day, never stops eating and enjoys boozing from dinner time.

The love scenes are very tame now, but considering that the book was published in the early 1950's they are quite racy for the time, and definitely not what you would see in any of the silver screen versions of James Bond. In fact, the book is dripping in sexual motifs and metaphors.

I always knew that Bond was born from a murky muddled era of the cold-war, where heroes were not always white and the villains not always black; however, I was surprised on how cold and detached Bond is in his first outing. The very last sentence of the entire book is a shocking case of his coldness at work. But it is Bond himself who questions this moral dilemma of what makes somebody a hero and somebody a villain.

I am looking forward to collecting all the books, in particular these Penguin versions, as they have new front covers with stylish, almost hard-boiled typed artwork.

if you've ever enjoying a bond movie, it's worth going back to the original source. our hero has more complexity in print, female characters are more than eye candy and fleming's rich detail (on technical matters, exotic settings and even the menu) pull the reader into the story. we're alongside 007, not simply looking up at him.