Cold War spy thriller featuring 007 and Mr. Big— the latter being the Black American voodoo supervillain smuggling pirate treasure in from Jamaica. Rory Kinnear was fine if a bit unenthusiastic at times but understandable given some of the racist stuff in there. ( )

I fully believe books are of their time and should remain as originally written, but have to admit even I blinked a time or two at the racist and sexist remarks. But then these books will never translate well to modern day, but such is the Bond universe, too. As a sign of the times, they have to be regarded as such, and no longer taken seriously. I also rolled my eyes when Bond faints from having a pinky finger broken. Fine, anyone might faint from pain, but Bond’s a secret agent and should have trained to withstand a certain amount of torture; later on in the book he undergoes worse with stolidness. This being only the second Bond instalment I’ve listened to, it amazes me how bad Bond is at blending in (also apparent in the films). It seems a running flaw of Fleming’s work that his undercover agent seldom truly works undercover. The reading was good to excellent in parts, though I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book either through the reading or story. ( )

I think I’m expecting too much from these books. Not really what I thought Bond was. Not bad, but just not what I thought it was. ( )

Its not like the order of the books or reading all of the series matter too much, but my ocd side says I had to read it. After chapter 2 I hated that part of me that much more... ( )

It's been a while since I read these. I don't remember them being plot-thin. This is the voodoo themed one set in New York City (rather than the movie's New Orleans) and Jamaica. Fleming's description of race is interesting and bit jarring to modern ears. Felix gets fed to the fishes -- I didn't recall this happening so early in the series. Like later Bond and virtually all "hero" stories, Mr. Big manages to kill many people around Bond, but fails to dispatch him directly. Instead he lectures Bond on his own genius and describes his creative plan to do him in. ( )