The beginning of this book through the end of the card game is awesome. He takes a game I knew nothing about and makes it clear and suspenseful and tense. The last part of the book, the bits about Vesper, are pretty much worthless. The ending is obvious and the Bond character falls flat. So just read the book til the card game is over, then stop. It really was just ok, and one of the few instances where I loved the movie and was meh about the book. ( )

Not exactly what I expected, but an interesting glimpse into the male psyche from the early 1950's.

http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2009/10/c... ( )

I read this in two sittings in a doctors waiting room and on a park bench in the Czech Republic. Really enjoyed it to. I think if you've grown up watching the James Bond films every bank holiday monday you might be in for a bit extra from the books. There's something cruel, even psychotic about the character that you get from the books but you don't really get from the films. I guess the exception is the two recent reincarnations, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, where the character has a cold streak that you get from the books. I'm not sure how well these have aged with the non-pc language but that's sort of interesting in itself - this pretty normal stuff in it's day but now looks misogynistic and racist in places. Interesting how social attitudes change.

Most interesting for me was the moral debate about the nature of good and evil being just different perspectives. Sort of deep for a thriller that fits in your back pocket. ( )

I've tried to write this review four times and have erased all of them. What it boils down to is that this book is boring. Too much talk and not enough action. It's a short novel, easily read in one sitting and yet I fell asleep twice while reading it. I am so glad that I had previously read (and enjoyed) Moonraker and Dr. No else this book would have put me off Fleming entirely. ( )

It's difficult to read a James Bond without comparing it to the movies and I was astounded by the differences! Bond as a misogynistic, fallible, emotional (under that tough exterior) man was a discovery! I was also surprised by the lack of action, basic story line and character development but great attention to aesthetic details. In general I enjoyed the book and this other side of Bond but it was definitely not what I was expecting. ( )