Diamanter varer evigt

by Ian Fleming

Paperback, 1963

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Library's review

Sydafrika og USA, ca 1955
En forbryderbande, hvis leder kalder sig A B C, smugler diamanter ud fra en britisk ejet mine i Sydafrika. James Bond sættes på sagen. Kriminalkommisær Vallance fra Special Branch, som Bond kender fra sagen om Tordenkilen, hjælper Bond med at træde ind i stedet for den
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kurer, der skulle smugle en ladning diamanter til USA. Felix Leiter er tilbage (efter et møde med nogle hajer) men med en ødelagt arm og ditto ben. Han er nu ansat ved Pinkerton, men hjælper Bond flere gange undervejs. En pige, Tiffany Case, er med på banditternes side i starten, men Bond vinder hende over på sin side og så får banditterne bank.
Banden hedder Spang banden, fordi den ledes af to brødre, der hedder Spang. Bond smugler diamanterne til USA og får betaling via et tip til et fikset hestevæddeløb. Felix Leiter får jockeyen til at fikse det tilbage igen, men det opdager banden og så får både jockeyen og Bond problemer. Jockeyen bliver forsøgt myrdet med skoldhed mudder og Bond bortføres til bandens mærkelige skjulested, Spectreville. Han klarer på trods af en solid gennembankning at flygte og undervejs i flugten dræber han den ene bror, Seraffimo Spang. Tiffany og Bond tager nu med Queen Elizabeth til Europa. To homoseksuelle lejemordere Wint og Kidd forsøger at dræbe Case ombord på atlanterhavsdamperen, men Bond dræber i stedet dem. Da broderen er død, begynder den anden, A B C, eller Rufus B Saye eller Jack Spang, at lukke diamantrørledningen, men han bliver fundet af Bond og dræbt med en Bofors luftværnskanon.

Nogenlunde god kriminalroman med hovedformålet at få Bond til USA i nogle maleriske omgivelse
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Publication

(Kbh.) Grafisk forlag 1963 G-bøgerne, bind 38

Description

Tiffany Case is the sort of beautiful, devil-may-care blonde who could get a man into deep trouble - if he wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond uses her to infiltrate this gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. Bond is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter...

User reviews

LibraryThing member tootstorm
The fourth novel of Fleming's series of James Bond adventures, Diamonds are Forever is generally regarded to be the biggest flop of the early stories, one of the weaker entries in the Bondverse. It's easy to see why: the story itself is Bond going to America undercover, to investigate the Spangled
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mob and the diamond-smuggling network reaching from Africa to England to the US, because Her Majesty's country is losing money from diamonds being stolen and smuggled from their territory of French Guinea (which became just Guinea 2 years after the book's publication! Wow! So interesting!). Now, after Bond stopped London from the effects of the world's most powerful nuclear missile, and battled the menacing figure of Mr. BIG/Baron Samedi, going up against the mob doesn't seem like much...and it ain't. Two other common complaints with DAF is that Bond travels between too many locations too fast (French Guinea->London->New York->Saratoga->Las Vegas->Spectreville (ghost town)->Los Angeles->cruise ship->F. Guinea--and it's one of the shorter Bond novels), and similarly, there are simply too many villains being introduced, all typical of Fleming's style, and by that I mean that they're...just...strange. Oh, yeah, Bond also says "shaken, not stirred" for the first time here. I had been starting to think that the famous Bond lines were made up for the films strictly.

Diamonds are Forever overall has a more typical noir pulp feel to it, partly due to the lack of a supervillain, and the inclusion of the Pinkertons helping out. Felix Leiter returns to lend his helpful claw to Bond, and has left the CIA and become a Pinkerton man, working as a PI for them. We're also rewarded with one of, I think, the best Bond girls. Tiffany Case! The bond between these two cats feels a little more genuine here (but only a little), and Tiffany is also more fleshed out as a character than what we're used to.

The leading villain of the adventure doesn't make much of an appearance. Only for a brief scene near the beginning, and to die in the last chapter. The Spangled mob is led by the brothers Spang, this man just mentioned and his brother operating from Las Vegas, and the book's biggest detractor. He's just too silly. He dresses up as a classic cowboy, and likes to spend his weekends running a train out of a ghost town he bought, which of course Bond has to go to. Everything related to this Cowboy Man was just too ridiculous for me. The football-torture scene had me just thinking "what? stupid." Despite the surrounding silliness of this particular brother Spang, the Las Vegas (keep in mind: it's the '50s!) and mud bath and cruise scenes have provided some of the best Bond sequences yet. And the reunion of Bond and Leiter is classic.

Overall, a step down, but only barely, from the last two. Still a worthwhile read.

F.V.: 70%

[583]
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LibraryThing member JBreedlove
Another good Bond book. A human, beaten but tough and persevering spy in the wilds of southern Nevada of the early 1950's. Again not the cartoonish Sean Connery. When reading these books I think of the newer blonder less suave Bond.
LibraryThing member Zare
One more gem from the pen of Ian Fleming. After reading several original novels I have to say that nobody depicts James Bond in a manner Ian Fleming had (I am yet to read few newer James Bond novels written by other authors to see how close they have come to the original :)). He is shown as human
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being, with his fears, mistakes (for which he pays quite a price), morals, quite a streak of vengeance and complete recklessness in his character, but always a complete professional - what has to be done is done, no regrets and no remorse (except only, as it is case in this novel, a reflection on why people always tend to do the things the hard way using violence). I have to say that Daniel Craig's James Bond is very, very similar to the one presented in Fleming's novels (at first I was truly skeptic about him playing James Bonds but I am truly glad I was proved wrong).

James Bond has infiltrated an international diamond smuggling organization with a goal of identifying all components of "the diamond pipeline" - all the key players. As it is usually the case in James Bond novels things do not go smoothly and James Bond finds himself yet again fighting for his very life.

If you are looking for great adventure and great characters read this one (better yet, if you can, do read all of the Fleming's novels :))

Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member LizaJane38
This is my 4th Bond book this year (working on reading all of them). I've read reviews that call Fleming a sexist and a racist. I have to disagree on both counts. Racial issues are not really relevant in this story, but there is a "Bond girl" in every story. Fleming spend a fair amount of time
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describing these women. They are strong, beautiful and independent and Bond has feelings for each of them. They are very different from the women in the movies.

That said, I enjoyed this book as much as the first 3. The action is tense and the descriptions are spot on.
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LibraryThing member clark.hallman
Diamonds Are Forever, first published in 1956, was the fourth James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. James Bond is a British Secret Service agent in the MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6) agency that deals with foreign intelligence. In this novel James Bond (007) goes undercover to
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investigate a diamond-smuggling operation moving uncut diamonds from Sierra Leone to the United States. It turns out that the smuggling is headed by two mobsters, the Spang brothers. Bond infiltrates the smuggling ring and a beautiful woman (Tiffany Case) is his first contact on the job. Eventually Bond meets the mob bosses, learns about their fixed horse racing game in Saratoga, and then their completely corrupt gambling environment in Las Vegas. He also uncovers the details of their diamond smuggling activities. Of course, he blows his cover and violence and death ensue. Even so, Bond manages to enjoy his relationship with Tiffany. This book has the usual high-living, high-glamour, high-crime milieus that are part of the 007 genre. It also has the requisite violence and heroic actions by Bond that is expected by Fleming’s fans. I enjoyed this novel very much, even though I had previously read four other James Bond novels by Fleming and I have seen most of the movies. I saw the Diamonds Are Forever movie a very long time ago and I must confess that I don’t remember much about it. Anyway, I highly recommend that reading these books is worthwhile even if you have seen the movies. If you really want to know James Bond, you should consult his creator by reading the Ian Fleming books. However don’t expect that these books can match the explosive special effects that recent 007 movies provide.
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LibraryThing member Bridgey
Diamonds are Forever - Ian Fleming ****

Bond's fourth outing under the pen of Ian Fleming has found him investigating a diamond smuggling pipeline. In order to find the source Bond must pose as a gang employee, working undercover where he must fool everyone, even the beautiful Tiffany Case. Although
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the bad guys are not as memorable as say Goldfinger, or Hugo Drax we meet the brilliantly named Shady Tree and the duo Kidd & Wint.

There is a fairly distinct lack of action in the first half of the book, and once again there is not a lot of a resemblance to the film. When the action does come though it is thick and fast. We see a much more tender side to Bond than film goers would be used to. This is not a womanising secret agent but rather a man who will allow the right woman close to him. A welcome return comes in the form of the previously 'at deaths door' Felix Leiter.

All in all a good novel with a relatively sound plot. It has left me wanting more Bond, although I can't help wishing that a few gadgets would make an appearance in the books as well as the films.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
This 4th entry in the James Bond series is still a good thriller but suffers in places from its age (originally published in 1956). For example, Bond smuggles a gun into the US by just wearing it in an underarm holster when he flies over from England - back then there was no such thing as airport
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security or metal detectors. His attitude about organized crime in America is also a product of the 50s and was a more serious irritant to this modern reader.

However, Bond as a character continues to be more interesting and more human than he was in the movies. And who knew that he was actually falling in love with all those girls?!
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LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
More a gangster caper than Bond's usual espionage work, but still a good read. Nice appearance by Felix Leiter, looking more like a Bond-villain's henchman from one of the films than one of Bond's most trusted allies.

I wonder whether 'Spectreville' has any significance for the later stories?
LibraryThing member bookswamp
Bond no. 4, 1956; the Spangs and Tiffany Case, the diamond courier, set in the US, working with Felix Leiter
LibraryThing member ptdilloway
Kind of a nondescript entry in the series. Bond vs. smugglers with a lot of help from Felix Leiter and Tiffany Case.
LibraryThing member comfypants
The first half of the book is essentially James Bond On Vacation, and is extremely boring. Eventually we find out that Bond is just as bored as we are, and he decides to do something about it. Once the action gets going, it's very good.
LibraryThing member Leischen
Below average Bond. Action is surprisingly low in this one. Bond takes on the Spangled Mob who M thinks may be more dangerous than the Russians. M would be wrong on that count, There may be mobsters tougher than SMERSH but it ain't the Spangs. Bond follows a smuggling operation to a colorless Vegas
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where the bad guys dress as cowbys and beat him up.
The action peters out about 3/4 of the way through the book.
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LibraryThing member DuffDaddy
British Secret Service agent James Bond, 007 is sent on an assignment by his superior, M. Acting on information received from Special Branch, M tasks Bond with infiltrating a smuggling ring running diamonds from mines in Sierra Leone to the United States. Bond must travel as far as possible down
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the pipeline to uncover those responsible. Using the identity of Peter Franks, a country house burglar turned diamond smuggler, he meets Tiffany Case, an attractive go-between who developed an antipathy towards men after being gang-raped as a teenager.

Bond discovers that the smuggling ring is operated by "The Spangled Mob", a ruthless American gang run by the brothers Jack and Seraffimo Spang. Bond follows the pipeline from London to New York, where he is instructed by Shady Tree to earn his fee through betting on a rigged horse race in nearby Saratoga. At Saratoga Bond meets Felix Leiter, a former CIA agent working at Pinkertons as a private detective investigating crooked horse racing. Leiter bribes the jockey to ensure the failure of the plot to rig the race. When Bond goes to pay the bribe, he witnesses two homosexual thugs, Wint and Kidd, attack the jockey.

Bond calls Shady Tree to enquire further about the payment of his fee and is told to go to the Tiara Hotel in Las Vegas. The Tiara is owned by Seraffimo Spang and operates as the headquarters of the Spangled Mob. Spang also owns an old Western ghost town, named "Spectreville", restored to be his own private vacation retreat. At the hotel, Bond finally receives payment through a rigged blackjack game where the dealer is Tiffany Case. However, he disobeys his orders by continuing to gamble in the casino after "winning" the money he is owed. Spang suspects that Bond may be a 'plant' and has him captured and tortured. However, with Tiffany's help he escapes from Spectreville aboard a railway push-car with Seraffimo Spang in pursuit aboard an old Western train. Bond re-routs the train to a side line and shoots Spang before the resulting crash. Assisted by Leiter, Bond and Case go via California to New York, where they board the Queen Elizabeth to travel to London. However, Wint and Kidd observe their embarkation and followed them on board. They kidnap Case, planning to kill her and throw her overboard. Bond rescues her and kills both gangsters; for precaution, he makes it look like a murder-suicide.

Case subsequently informs Bond of the details of the pipeline. It begins in Africa where a dentist would pay miners to smuggle diamonds in their mouths which he would extract during a routine appointment. From there the dentist would take the diamonds and rendezvous with a German helicopter pilot. Eventually the diamonds would go to Paris, and from there to London. There, after telephone instructions from a contact known as ABC, Case would then meet a person to explain how to smuggle the diamonds to New York City. After returning to London, Bond flies on to Freetown in Sierra Leone and then to where the next diamond rendezvous takes place. With the collapse of the rest of the pipeline, Jack Spang (who turns out to be the mysterious ABC) shuts down his diamond smuggling pipeline by killing its participants. Spang himself is killed when Bond shoots down his helicopter.
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LibraryThing member JoeKingman
Diamonds, a fixed horse race,Las Vegas, the mob, a steam locomotive, and of course, Bond.
LibraryThing member jmaloney17
This is one of the original James Bond stories. I love the movies and own them all. The book is very different, which is not at all surprising. I still enjoyed it. I do intend on rewatching the movie soon, so I can better see the differences between the two. It has been awhile since I watched this
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particular movie.
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LibraryThing member brettjames
A good romp, for sure. Fleming, bored with spies, sends Bond after American gangsters. The results are mixed, as Fleming doesn't manage any depth to the bad guys. Still, the description of a trans-Atlantic flight in 1956 is worth the price of admission.
LibraryThing member drneutron
It's not bad, but not one of my favorite Bond books.
LibraryThing member benuathanasia
Another excellent Bond novel. His American friend seemed a bit out of place, but it WAS nice to see James relying on and trusting another wholeheartedly. Another layer of humanity for the ubermensch alpha male.
LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
007 gets inserted into the diamond smuggling pipeline in this one. The pipeline coming from mines in Africa, into England (where Bond slips in) and then to the United States. Add Felix Leiter, and then shake things up, not stir! It's not the most exciting story, and the first hundred pages or so
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have very little action. But it revs up at the end and wraps up pretty satisfactorily! I'm curious to find out if Ms. Case is mentioned in the next book!

“We’re both traveling bad roads and all bad roads lead to bad towns.” Which in this story means Las Vegas - ol’ Sin City itself!
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LibraryThing member antiquary
Although he is normally a spy, Bond is sent undercover smuggling diamonds from Africa for American gangsters. Much of the book takes place in the western US.
LibraryThing member lamour
Bond is assigned to follow a diamond smuggling ring from London to the
USA to find out who is organizing it. Part way along, he decides to speed things up by disobeying his Mafia handlers which almost gets him killed a number of times. After the deaths of six gangsters, he stops the diamond
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trafficking from Africa to New York and Las Vegas plus rescues a very beautiful woman from a life of crime.

It has been years since I last read a Bond novel but still found it a fast and fun read.
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LibraryThing member Ghost_Boy
After reading Moonraker I was hoping this one didn't drag like the last books. This one was better then I thought. Not as good as Live and Let Die, but this one was interesting to me. The biggest reason I liked this was because I've actually been to Saratoga before. Never realized Bond had been up
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to Eastern United States before. The other thing I liked was the horse racing and auction scenes. Not a fan of either activity, jut nice to see something other then card playing.

In this book I liked the Bond Girl better then Moonraker. Tiffany Case to me had an easier name to remember and also a more clever one. She also had a better backup story as well. The Bond Villain in this one was a little confusing. He had several allies which made it good for a spy novel, but just ended up getting confused.

If you are a fan of the movies I highly recommend these novels. But try to read them in order and not in the movie order. Also be aware the movies aren't really like the novels. The are some similarities, but several differences.
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LibraryThing member aadyer
Whilst this may not be Fleming strongest work, it does have his hallmarks of action, adventure, pacing, and a cartoonish sense of fun. This is James Bond versus the American gangster genre. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler would’ve done this proud. Tiffany case is a more interesting bongo
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than we’ve seen for some time and her backstory makes her the typical born girl with a huge degree of emotional hurts.

Unfortunately Flemings rather limited understanding of emotional connection becomes very evident here. The chapters and sections that are related to when bond and Tiffany become a couple are nauseatingly naive and unpleasant. I think if you can get past those and accept this is a tiny part of the book, you will enjoy that.
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LibraryThing member ekerstein
In Bond's latest adventure, he goes undercover in the US to infiltrate a diamond-smuggling group. Personally, I didn't find this book as interesting as the others. The plot wasn't organized around a central mystery, like Moonraker, for example, so I think it lacked some of the propulsion that one
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wants in a good novel.
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LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
One of two Bond books I read on the beach in Cancun over the holidays this year. Always a great time. The movies are fun of course, but the novels are more enjoyable for me. The usual Fleming issues are here—sometimes sub-par dialogue, period racism, ridiculous American characters—but he was a
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tremendous describer of things and places and people. Not as great as others, but still much fun.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1956-03-26

Physical description

187 p.; 18.4 cm

Local notes

Omslag: William
Omslaget viser to mænd og den ene skyder med en pistol mod den anden på nært hold
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Oversat fra engelsk "Diamonds are forever" af Grete Juel Jørgensen
På omslaget er forfatteren stavet Jan Fleming
James Bond, bind 4
G-bøgerne, bind 38

Pages

187

Library's rating

½

Rating

(592 ratings; 3.5)

DDC/MDS

823.914
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