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From Russia with Love (1957)

by Ian Fleming

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: James Bond novels (5), James Bond novels - Original Series (5)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,741643,311 (3.77)108
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:

James Bond is targeted for elimination by SMERSH, and the malevolent Colonel Rosa Klebb has set a trap in Istanbul. The bait is the Spektor decoding machine, which is to be delivered by the irresistible Tatiana Romanova. The assassin is Red Grant, a psychopath who has defected from the West. Bond and Tatiana become pawns in a game of cross and double-cross that reaches its deadly finale on the Orient Express.

This audiobook includes a bonus interview with Toby Stephens.

.
… (more)
  1. 00
    Be Shot For Sixpence by Michael Gilbert (SomeGuyInVirginia)
    SomeGuyInVirginia: Sex, international intrigue, broadly drawn villains, and lots of improbable action. Very entertaining.
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» See also 108 mentions

English (61)  Spanish (1)  Hebrew (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (64)
Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)
It is lengthy to start (Bond himself doesn't appear until a third of the way through), and although the first part is an interesting read from a historical standpoint, it's a slow burner. Consequently, contrary to most other reviews, I found it less enjoyable than the others in the series. ( )
  Huba.Library | Feb 18, 2024 |
Fleming had planned to end the series with this story and he goes all in: over-the-top villains, hidden & disguised weapons, brutal fight scenes… SMERSH trains a young female agent to seduce Bond with the idea of ultimately involving him in a scandal that will blacken MI6’s reputation. To bait the trap, the lovely Tanya Romanova promises to defect and is bringing a cipher machine to Istanbul. This story is by far the closest to being “Hollywood” with its action lines, intrigue and local color (Turkey). Toby Stephens played the villain in a non-Fleming Bond movie, Die Another Day and delivered a pitch perfect performance. ( )
  Tanya-dogearedcopy | Feb 2, 2024 |
Much better than the previous three. Only better so far is Casino Royale. ( )
  atrillox | Nov 27, 2023 |
Oh, good lord.

As with a couple of these books, at about 1/4 of the way through I wondered why I don't read these books every year. They are funny, well-written, and just drip with ideas and knowledge of the spy-trade. It's all very fun.

And then there's an interlude in with a Turkish MI6 agent recounts his meet-cute with his first wife (it involved kidnapping her and chaining her below his kitchen table, and then after being unchained by the diplomat's mother, not wanting to leave), and it's like: "Oh, now I remember".

Anyway - even by Fleming standards, the misogyny is off the chain, here, with entirely too much female perspective being written about, and absolutely none of it ringing true in any way.

But, to reiterate, it's really well written, funny, with interesting characters and schemes interacting in novel ways, and extremely plausible observations of the psychology of the male characters all over the place (e.g., it is absolutely plausible the diplomat would believe the story went that way). And the audiobook (which I bounced between that and the kindle), read by Toby Stephens, is fantastic on a number of vectors. He's a very good narrator. ( )
  danieljensen | May 25, 2023 |
Good god this one started out long and boring. Chapter after chapter about Russians in meetings. Thankfully, it mostly redeemed itself with the Darko Kerim stuff, although that was kinda long and drawn out, leaving the actually plot of the book to end up feeling rushed and then left off with a cliff hanger. It was a bit more of the Bond I expected, per say, but I still don’t get what all the hype is about...must be because of the movies... ( )
  MrMet | Apr 28, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)
10 of the Greatest Cold War Spy Novels
“Though Ian Fleming himself had worked in intelligence during the Second World War, James Bond was a fantasy figure in the tradition of Bulldog Drummond, the Saint, and Mike Hammer, and Fu Manchu provided the pattern for Bond’s uber-foes (specifically, in the case of Dr. No, 1962). But in this, his fifth Bond novel, Fleming plays a straight espionage game, with Russia’s counter-intelligence agency SMERSH out to kill Bond in the context of a contrived sexual scandal. The first section of the novel depicts the planning of the mission and the training of Soviet assassin Red Grant. The 1963 film version with Sean Connery is the most faithful of Bond adaptations, rivaled only by On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) and Casino Royale (2006).”
 

» Add other authors (43 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Ian Flemingprimary authorall editionscalculated
Higson, CharlieIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stephens, TobyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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The naked man who lay splayed out on his face beside the swimming pool might have been dead.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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The author is Ian Fleming (1).
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:

James Bond is targeted for elimination by SMERSH, and the malevolent Colonel Rosa Klebb has set a trap in Istanbul. The bait is the Spektor decoding machine, which is to be delivered by the irresistible Tatiana Romanova. The assassin is Red Grant, a psychopath who has defected from the West. Bond and Tatiana become pawns in a game of cross and double-cross that reaches its deadly finale on the Orient Express.

This audiobook includes a bonus interview with Toby Stephens.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary
Double Oh Seven
meets a Russian defector,
but it is a trap.
(yoyogod)

Legacy Library: Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.

See Ian Fleming's legacy profile.

See Ian Fleming's author page.

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