Rating: 
Summary: This guy really could write !
Review: Ian Fleming is not a cheap besteseller author. He really has his own style, a credible character (Bond, in the books, has almost nothing similar with his partner in the movies!)a good plot.
Rating: 
Summary: 007's exciting mission!
Review: Live and Let Die is the best book since Moonraker. Bond is sent to New York in Harlem were he meets the Drug Lord Mr. Big, and with the help of his friend Felix Leiter it makes it even more exciting to read. Buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Literary James Bond comes into his own
Review: Live and Let Die was Ian Fleming's second book to feature the secret agent and future icon, James Bond and although the book directly follows up on the storyline started in the previous Casino Royale (i.e., Bond's initial motivation is revenge against the Soviet Smersh for the events at the end of that novel), Live and Let Die is in many ways a different animal entirely and a fairly good harbringer of the future emphasis on adventure and exotic villians and lovers that would dominate the series. Whereas the Bond introduced in Casino Royale was, at times, surprisingly niave, Live and Let Die's James Bond is more in line with the death defying superspy that most think of when they here the term "007." Still, the Bond seen here is still much more vulnerable and, at times, much more ruthlessly unlikeable than the Bond film character -- an aspect the keeps this book rooted in reality and, in my opinion, makes the literary Bond far superior to his movie doppleganger.The plot of Live and Let Die will probably be problematic for some politically correct readers. James Bond travels from Harlem to Jamaica in pursuit of Mr. Big, a gangster and Soviet agent who also happens to be black and, at one point, proclaims that his goal is to be the first "great Negro criminal." Mr. Big's criminal organization is, as well, made up totally a blacks and a great deal of time is spent explaining that Big keeps his organization in line by exploiting their belief in voodoo. Obviously, this is the type of stuff that makes some readers uncomfortable but one gets the feeling that Fleming would have enjoyed making them squirm. When taken out of context, the book's plot can certainly sound like some '50s version of the infamous racist screed, the Turner Diaries, but upon actual reading, it becomes obvious that the book -- if, at times, showing the accepted stereotypes of the time it was written (even I cringed at Fleming's attempt to write dialect), is not itself meant to be racist -- i.e., Big is a villian because he's evil and not because he's black. And for that matter, he's also a very memorable and formidible villian -- every bit the equal of such later heavyweights as Blofeld and nowhere near as pathetic as Royale's Le Chiffre. As well, Mr. Big's intricate scheme and the execution of it actually makes sense and Fleming maintains an admirable atmosphere of suspense and danger throughout the book. Fleming's style here improves on the occasional awkwardness of Royale and he gives the reader a well-paced adventure filled with memorable characters and some startlingly strong action sequences. (One need only compare this book's underwater scenes with the more languid scenes in Thunderball to see how well Fleming pulls them off.) To go into any more detail of the plot would be unfair to the reader because most of the twists are genuine surprises (especially if one is expecting the book to be anything like the film). This is a book full of remarkably strong scenes and writing -- amongst the most vivid are the fate of Felix Leiter, the painful torture inflicted on Bond in Harlem, and Fleming's hilariously dismissive view of Florida retirees -- and it is a must read for anyone who wants to discover what made James Bond such an icon in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: The Fleming effect starts here
Review: No doubt "Casino Royale", the very first Bond novel, was excellent. But the second time around, 007 came in a much polished style. "Live and Let Die" is so full of inventiveness and grace one is caught from the first page to the very last in an incredible ride of enjoyment. All's there: fun, action, suspense, humor, romance, adventure... And above all, what critics called "the Fleming efect" (that gusto and masterful use of detail to make the situations and character look real) debuts here. The use of such details turn things classy yet ordinary at once, distant yet close, onerous yet accesible to everyone's fantasies. And the Jamaica setting began the tradition of exotic locales for 007 travels. Sorry that Felix Leiter (the CIA ally character) was semidisposed by the villain's sharks, but his coming back in subsequent books showed he lost none of his wit and charm. The plot is so good it makes the film version look even worst of what it may seem to casual moviegoers. The real and better Bond belongs to books.
Rating:
Summary: Razor sharp excitement
Review: One of the fastest and most action filled of the Bond novels coupled with Fleming's sharp and clear prose.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, with one BIGtime caveat...
Review: So the Bond saga continues, in this the second book of the series. I'm finding Bond to much more multifaceted in the books when compared to the films...and I do love those films! His "relationship" with Solitaire is nicely done here, and the finale...if filmed the way it was written...would have been one of the more thrilling moments in cinema history.
The problem here, which will be insurmountable to many people's sensitivities, is the mid-50's pre-civil-rights attitude towards minorities. Political correctness, I feel, will one day be looked back upon by historians in nearly the same way as McCarthyism. It's an embarassing movement in American civil thought.
That being said, the tone towards Africans/Black/whatever the proper term currently is...is antiquated to say the least, and may be offensive to many.
The novel itself is a lightning read, much like Casino Royale, and you will wish for the day that these books...not just their titles...will be made into movies.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, with one BIGtime caveat...
Review: So the Bond saga continues, in this the second book of the series. I'm finding Bond to much more multifaceted in the books when compared to the films...and I do love those films! His "relationship" with Solitaire is nicely done here, and the finale...if filmed the way it was written...would have been one of the more thrilling moments in cinema history.
The problem here, which will be insurmountable to many people's sensitivities, is the mid-50's pre-civil-rights attitude towards minorities. Political correctness, I feel, will one day be looked back upon by historians in nearly the same way as McCarthyism. It's an embarassing movement in American civil thought.
That being said, the tone towards Africans/Black/whatever the proper term currently is...is antiquated to say the least, and may be offensive to many.
The novel itself is a lightning read, much like Casino Royale, and you will wish for the day that these books...not just their titles...will be made into movies.
Rating:
Summary: Bond Returns
Review: The second book in the James Bond series is definitely better than the first, "Casino Royale". The pace is quicker and the characters are much more intriguing, particularly Bond's nemesis, Mr. Big. In addition, Bond does some globe-trotting, whereas in "Casino Royale" the action takes place in basically one locale. While "Live and Let Die" has it's dark moments, it is a bit more light-hearted than its predecessor. The best part of this book has to be the ending, in which Mr. Big meets his fate. Truly spine-tingling! A must read for James Bond fans.
Rating:
Summary: Bond Returns
Review: The second book in the James Bond series is definitely better than the first, "Casino Royale". The pace is quicker and the characters are much more intriguing, particularly Bond's nemesis, Mr. Big. In addition, Bond does some globe-trotting, whereas in "Casino Royale" the action takes place in basically one locale. While "Live and Let Die" has it's dark moments, it is a bit more light-hearted than its predecessor. The best part of this book has to be the ending, in which Mr. Big meets his fate. Truly spine-tingling! A must read for James Bond fans.
Rating:
Summary: An Ian Fleming Classic
Review: This book describes Bond`s attempt to recover a pirate`s treasure hoard from a SMERSH operative, based in Harlem and the Caribbean. Ian Fleming is in top form as usual.His sense of humour is wonderful(eg:" He disagreed with something that ate him"). He also manages brilliantly to convey the superstitious awe of Voodoo, through a reference to a book by the well-known travel, Patrick Leigh Fermor. It is this desire of his to educate the reader with regard to the real world that makes Ian Fleming so enjoyable to read.
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