Live and Let Die (James Bond Novels) by Ian Fleming
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Book Reviews of Live and Let Die (James Bond Novels)
Book Review: Great Spy Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
Ian Fleming readers will know what they are getting, and fans of the movie may not. This is the second Bond outing in novel form, the first being CASINO ROYALE. But like the movies, it's unnecessary to see or read them in order. There are a few references to the first novel, mostly vague "from the Royale incident" statements, but nothing major.Bond is darker, less suave than the movie version, and it comes out in this dark novel. It's actually has more to do with the movie For your eyes Only than LIVE AND LET DIE. There's an ocean motif in this one, lots of sharks and underwater perils.
Vivid and exciting. good stuff
Book Review: Another Great Book in the Series
Summary: 4 Stars
If you enjoyed Casino Royale, then you will also like the next book in the series, Live and Let Die. I don't know what it was, but I think it is just a little less enjoyable than the first book. The reason being the way that Ian writes for the black characters, it is some times hard to read and understand what they are saying. Trying to get the accent of what all black people talk like, according to him, makes some of the lines unreadable. Such as, it will say something like 'I dun no bot dis bose' but worse.
Anyway, still a good story overall, but almost completely different from the movie.
Book Review: A pretty good James Bond book...
Summary: 3 Stars
Ian Flemings goes into some wonderful tangents when telling this story. In fact the exploration of Bond's thoughts in this novel are what I will never forget, and Bond's thoughts are something we are not privileged to uncover from movies. During a plane ride Bond thinks philisophically about living and dying (hence the title?) and his viewpoints on life are quite compelling! Also, because much of this novel takes place on American soil, it's fascinating to hear Bond's opinion about American society, and how it compares to Europe, his conclusions are quite accurate even by today's standards.
It's very important to keep something in mind when reading this book. many of the characters are Haitian, and Fleming refers to them constanlty as "Negroes." At the time this was written, it was not particularly racist to use that term in England, so be weary that there are frequent racial overtones according to today's politically correctness.
Let me make a few comparisions to the film, because I'm sure most of you have seen it. James Bond is pitted against a very formidable adversary, Mr. Big, whose character is far more impressive and intimidating than the one seen in the film's version. Actually Mr. Big is a combination of both the main bad guy characters in the film, he's Mr. Big from the movie and also Baron Samedi (the character played by the guy from the old 7-up commercials) rolled up into one. Tee Hee (The guy with the metal hook) is hardly mentioned in the book, he's not even a factor. A scene from the film "License to Kill" is in this book involving Bond's friend Felix, I was a bit surprised it came from this novel. And don't expect any motor boat chases or alligators, there are none. But there are Sharks, and you will be surprised that a major scene from For "Your Eyes Only" actually comes from the book Live and Let Die, it's actually the climactic ending, I was very shocked...
Book Review: The first of the great evil Bond characters, but
Summary: 3 Stars
I plan to read the stories in sequence, which is a good thing otherwise I would have later wondered about the character of Felix Leiter when he appears in upcoming stories. As a believer that Sean Connery is the only true Bond, I also believe that Ian Fleming is the only true Bond author. However, this book is the first to expose some of Fleming's less desired qualities. He was a strong racist, and he gives this character flaw to James Bond. It was not as much the use of the N_____ word, but the author's philosophizing about the black person's place in society. And heaven forbid if the female of Bond's desire for this book were actually a full blooded black. If this were a different book, I probably would not have continued especially after the chapter titled, N____ Heaven. However, I saw this book much as a did when I read Gone With the Wind. It's an excellent book for its genre, mixed with the author's ignorance of sociological/historical issues. It's like when I attend a prize fight. I know that it's wrong, but darn I like it.
That said, the story line is fast paced, and I enjoyed reading about the character's observations of the U.S. Atlantic coast region from the 1950's perspective. There is a lot of death and Bond and his friends do not escape from much of this brutality. What is particularly appealing is the development of Bond's first great evil antagonist, Mr. Big. The story gives the reader better insight into Bond's abilities and vulnerabilities. This is what I like from the books that are not much noticed in the movies. Overall, a good read, but with a lower rating from me due to the racism.
Book Review: The Fleming 'sweep' commences...
Summary: 3 Stars
This was the second Bond novel overall, but the first to feature the blueprint for the Bond novels and films to come. Unlike the superb "Casino Royale" which was almost exclusively kept to one location, LALD is a globe trotting epic dragging Bond from NYC to the Caribbean and incorporating nerve shattering adventures in planes, trains and even finishes up as a sea faring thriller. Amongst all of this, somehow Fleming finds time to establish a number of classic 007 motifs - the decadent hotels, iconic villain, sidekick villians, mastermind death plots, development of Felix Leiter's friendship with Bond, the briefing from M. To cap it off, Q branch also rates it's first ever mention, and the beginnings of the novel's gadgetry fixations begin here. LALD is most notable as being the first of it's form and it must have hit readers powerfully with it's freshness on first release. This was 007 as we now know him - brave, resourceful, invincible - master of any skill or body of knowledge. For me, and most Bond readers, familiar with the genre, it's a good read, not a great one, because it skimps on Bond's psychology which ultimately gives a level of excitement and depth that the movies can't equal (although they certainly have different advantages over the books). You need look no further than "Casino Royale" for the thrill of getting inside James Bond's mind and for enjoying his enigmatic and self centred ethics. This read is much more straight forward and dare I say it, predictable good fun. It deserves it's accolades because it was there first.