Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
PENGUIN 007 (2008), Hardcover, 336 pages
Description
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..
Media reviews
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
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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).” Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member tootstorm
I'm a month late with this one, and I curse myself every day I think to write it and instead slouch down and back in my seat, sticking my belly out to hold a can of cola while playing Deus Ex repeatedly. Damn it! everything! I'm leaving in two days and currently reading Fleming's The Diamond
Review! review! review!
From Russia, with Love [the comma is sexy, damn you] is the finest Bond novel yet, beating even Casino Royale, yet the second most read--when it should be the fifth (I support the idea of reading a series in order! so should you!); of course, those of you who actually keep track of my reviews, which is no one, know I have a certain fondness for...well, train compartment scenes, you could say, get me hot. And the second half of this book takes place entirely on a train. kEwL!!!!118 The first third, which is really great the first time through and gets a lot of praise from fans while I seriously can't imagine it without a permeating and catching feeling of stalling ennui, follows the villains of SMERSH exclusively within Russian borders, and this being as well as the most entertaining and well-written the longest Bond novel yet means quite a number of pages [well, OK, not really, it's only 191 pages, and without that first third, it's actually the shortest in the series...but...but! tiny print!], the villains being shoulder to shoulder to all our classy favorites like Le Chiffre and Drax--no ****ing cowboys in sight (whew).
The despicable wench Rosa Klebb, head of SMERSH, helps set up a plan to humiliate the British secret service (and their country) by setting Bond, Her Majesty's top agent, up to be killed in a juicy sex scandal that no paper would be able to resist (honestly, a bit of a lame revenge on their part; I can't imagine it would even have been that big a scandal, really???), and hires their most brutal assassin, the crackpot, moon-loving Irishman, Red Grant, 's well as forces the services of Russian citizen Tatiana Romanova, the most naive and accidentally-lascivious woman to ever live--after Solitaire perhaps?--, the sort of girl you'd see on all those modern Russian mail-order bride websites that feature no woman not resembling a stunning porn actress unlike reality and m/o/b sites for Thailand (go, go forth and use Google). Mmmm.
M. punches Bond in the face and tells him to get his arse to Turkey (Istanbul) to meet their contact Darko, who says a cuteypie little Russian girl (Romanova) wants to defect (lies!...at least until she meets Bond...of course...duh), run away from Russia and give Britain a tool they'd love to get their hands on...I don't remember what it was, thanks Wikipedia, thanks actual copy being 10 feet away. Bond has brief adventures in a tunnel scene that reminded me quite a bit of the under-the-library parts from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (getting nostalgic here) and gets to see two women beat the hell out of each other while completely naked in a gypsy camp. All in good taste. Fights break out, Darko shows his Turkish ruthlessness, Bond patronizes everyone while praising: the British are elite, the end. Blah blah blah, '50s attitudes. Bond bangs Tatiana while being a complete idiot. I'm starting to really realise how dumb he can be while in the presense of a) (fancy) alcohol, b) free smokes and c) all those model women that throw themselves at him. Pretty much the second Tatiana lays her eyes on Bond, naked in his bed, she, instead of pretending to, truly falls in love and helplessly wants all that manly protection. Haw.
THEN THE TRAIN HAPPENS!
The Orient Express! Once a humble and beautiful, long long long train ride for all, now a shortened and absurdly over-priced tourist attraction (I hope I get to ride the Transsiberian train system before the same happens to that [a new movie called Transsiberia (or something) is coming out]) for wealthy fools.
I won't really spoil much. Wait, yes I will. Darko dies. The villains all lose, or the villainous ones at least do: Tatiana has a good day (but by Bond's ponderings on her future...I don't expect it'll last). Rosa Klebb, the old...absolutely disgusting piece of trash (yes, I cannot get over that scene with her and Tatiana: I shiver just thinking about it. Eugh) hag, leaves us with a cliffhanger. It's all a very satisfying end to the novel. Whatever.
[724]
(EDIT: I like so realize man that I ended this sucker at the point I spent the whole review trying to get to so I could talk endlessly about and bask in the memories of the train scenes. It just took too long and I got tired. I'll think about finishing it properly after I get back from Arizona in mid-August.)
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Smugglers [not Bond-related], inspiring me to force myself to exit DX and type out a few paragraphs no matter the quality.Review! review! review!
From Russia, with Love [the comma is sexy, damn you] is the finest Bond novel yet, beating even Casino Royale, yet the second most read--when it should be the fifth (I support the idea of reading a series in order! so should you!); of course, those of you who actually keep track of my reviews, which is no one, know I have a certain fondness for...well, train compartment scenes, you could say, get me hot. And the second half of this book takes place entirely on a train. kEwL!!!!118 The first third, which is really great the first time through and gets a lot of praise from fans while I seriously can't imagine it without a permeating and catching feeling of stalling ennui, follows the villains of SMERSH exclusively within Russian borders, and this being as well as the most entertaining and well-written the longest Bond novel yet means quite a number of pages [well, OK, not really, it's only 191 pages, and without that first third, it's actually the shortest in the series...but...but! tiny print!], the villains being shoulder to shoulder to all our classy favorites like Le Chiffre and Drax--no ****ing cowboys in sight (whew).
The despicable wench Rosa Klebb, head of SMERSH, helps set up a plan to humiliate the British secret service (and their country) by setting Bond, Her Majesty's top agent, up to be killed in a juicy sex scandal that no paper would be able to resist (honestly, a bit of a lame revenge on their part; I can't imagine it would even have been that big a scandal, really???), and hires their most brutal assassin, the crackpot, moon-loving Irishman, Red Grant, 's well as forces the services of Russian citizen Tatiana Romanova, the most naive and accidentally-lascivious woman to ever live--after Solitaire perhaps?--, the sort of girl you'd see on all those modern Russian mail-order bride websites that feature no woman not resembling a stunning porn actress unlike reality and m/o/b sites for Thailand (go, go forth and use Google). Mmmm.
M. punches Bond in the face and tells him to get his arse to Turkey (Istanbul) to meet their contact Darko, who says a cuteypie little Russian girl (Romanova) wants to defect (lies!...at least until she meets Bond...of course...duh), run away from Russia and give Britain a tool they'd love to get their hands on...I don't remember what it was, thanks Wikipedia, thanks actual copy being 10 feet away. Bond has brief adventures in a tunnel scene that reminded me quite a bit of the under-the-library parts from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (getting nostalgic here) and gets to see two women beat the hell out of each other while completely naked in a gypsy camp. All in good taste. Fights break out, Darko shows his Turkish ruthlessness, Bond patronizes everyone while praising: the British are elite, the end. Blah blah blah, '50s attitudes. Bond bangs Tatiana while being a complete idiot. I'm starting to really realise how dumb he can be while in the presense of a) (fancy) alcohol, b) free smokes and c) all those model women that throw themselves at him. Pretty much the second Tatiana lays her eyes on Bond, naked in his bed, she, instead of pretending to, truly falls in love and helplessly wants all that manly protection. Haw.
THEN THE TRAIN HAPPENS!
The Orient Express! Once a humble and beautiful, long long long train ride for all, now a shortened and absurdly over-priced tourist attraction (I hope I get to ride the Transsiberian train system before the same happens to that [a new movie called Transsiberia (or something) is coming out]) for wealthy fools.
I won't really spoil much. Wait, yes I will. Darko dies. The villains all lose, or the villainous ones at least do: Tatiana has a good day (but by Bond's ponderings on her future...I don't expect it'll last). Rosa Klebb, the old...absolutely disgusting piece of trash (yes, I cannot get over that scene with her and Tatiana: I shiver just thinking about it. Eugh) hag, leaves us with a cliffhanger. It's all a very satisfying end to the novel. Whatever.
[724]
(EDIT: I like so realize man that I ended this sucker at the point I spent the whole review trying to get to so I could talk endlessly about and bask in the memories of the train scenes. It just took too long and I got tired. I'll think about finishing it properly after I get back from Arizona in mid-August.)
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LibraryThing member nosajeel
A very fun book, I think the second James Bond I've read, is a genuinely good espionage novel, albeit without any of the gray you find in post Le Carre novels. Plus it is told in a more interesting way than your average Bond story--it begins focused on the villain, expands out to a broader set of
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Russians, and then only shifts the scene to Bond about one-third of the way through. Then the villain is lurking in the background but does not actually appear again until near the very end. The suspenseful trip on the Orient Express as it goes from Turkey through Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, Switzerland and France is especially noteworthy. Some of it, or course, borders on laughable or offensive or both (in this novel, a bare-handed fight to the death by two naked gypsy women, don't ask), but much of that seems like it might have been tongue in cheek from the start. Show Less
LibraryThing member mausergem
A very simple tale told with a lot of finesse.
The SMERSH i.e. the assassins division of the Russian secret service after facing a lot of humiliation in recent times decide to take revenge. The plan is to kill James Bond and tarnish his image in the process. So they recruit a beautiful Russian girl
Of course, James Bond could not let such a opportunity pass and lands up in Istanbul. What follows are facinating scenes of gypsies, honeymoon suite rendezvous and chase on the Oriental Express from Istanbul to Paris.
A book filled with sex and adventure James Bond style.
The SMERSH i.e. the assassins division of the Russian secret service after facing a lot of humiliation in recent times decide to take revenge. The plan is to kill James Bond and tarnish his image in the process. So they recruit a beautiful Russian girl
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to go to the Istambul British secret service opperative and tell him that she is desperately in love with James Bond after seeing his file and want to be with him and will also provide him with the Russian message decoder machine.Of course, James Bond could not let such a opportunity pass and lands up in Istanbul. What follows are facinating scenes of gypsies, honeymoon suite rendezvous and chase on the Oriental Express from Istanbul to Paris.
A book filled with sex and adventure James Bond style.
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
Maybe even 4½ stars. Although his actions are similar to those of the movie character Bond, because you see his thoughts, doubts & concerns, Bond comes across as a much more three-dimensional (and to me, more attractive) man. For example, Bond's appearance in this fifth entry of the series is
I found this one to be much more 'espionage' of the Cold War style, with the first section of the story told from the Soviet perspective. As I like that type of book, it isn't too surprising that I enjoyed this immensely. My favorite for this series so far (but there is a long way to go still!) and such a cliffhanger at the end!!
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introduced while he is mourning the loss of his girlfriend Tiffany Case (from Diamonds are Forever) who has just become engaged to another man and moved back to America.I found this one to be much more 'espionage' of the Cold War style, with the first section of the story told from the Soviet perspective. As I like that type of book, it isn't too surprising that I enjoyed this immensely. My favorite for this series so far (but there is a long way to go still!) and such a cliffhanger at the end!!
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
Like all of the James Bond books this is not a classic of intelligence fiction. However, our hero, rigorously self indulgent, goes through the stages of the heroic journey and, purified by suffering, triumphs over evil, both external, and internal. It is not, in this instance particularly
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interesting. Show Less
LibraryThing member DMatty5
If not the best, certainly among the 2 or 3 best Bond stories. Good plot well presented, the best of the "Bond girls," excellent villians in Rosa Kleb and Red Grant, great locations, the Orient Express, you name it. Terrific stuff!
LibraryThing member debs4jc
A classic James Bond tale, this one features many heartstopping moments as Bond gets in one scrape after another.
This time the Russians are after him...and they devise a plan to use his weakness (women, what else) to get him into a position where they can assasinate him. Enter one of the creepiest
Good stuff for the fan of hair-raising adventures. Fleming was certainly not one to write about women with respect, however, so that may bother some readers. Read the book and then watch the movie--you will be amazed at the differences and have fun trying to figure out which one is better.
This time the Russians are after him...and they devise a plan to use his weakness (women, what else) to get him into a position where they can assasinate him. Enter one of the creepiest
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assassins I have ever read about, and the beautiful Russian girl who is going to entice him. Bond travels to Turkey where the girl is supposedly going to defect and there his adventure start--culminating in a train ride on the Orient Express with several Russian--or are they Russian?--agents on his tail.Good stuff for the fan of hair-raising adventures. Fleming was certainly not one to write about women with respect, however, so that may bother some readers. Read the book and then watch the movie--you will be amazed at the differences and have fun trying to figure out which one is better.
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LibraryThing member polarbear123
The fifth Bond tale and it could have been the last. Certainly the most polished adventure yet for Bond, the story is well written and Fleming really has found his way into an accomplished writing style by this time. Bond does not even appear in the book until almost half way through but this is no
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bad thing. The Russian agents are interesting, as are the descriptions of their backgrounds by Fleming. In many ways this book is closest to the film adaptation of it (so far, I am reading them in order here!) and the character of Rosa Klebb is totally unforgetable - was she included in Nintendo 64's Goldeneye? I don't think so. Taut, and full of suspense this really does have a shock ending so I will have to get straight on to Dr. No without further ado! Show Less
LibraryThing member kcshankd
My only previous Fleming book was Casino Royale, and I almost quit reading it and the series by an otherwise 'throwaway' line that highlighted in screaming form Fleming's causal misogyny. That of course was on display again here, but it is the James Bond series. One knows what they are in for - and
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Fleming mostly delivers. I'll be reading deeper into the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member kishields
Of course it's bound to be pretty silly, but I enjoyed this quite a bit and found it much wittier than when I read it as a teen. Bond is more sympathetic than he might appear in many of the movies and there's a surprise ending that Fleming lived to regret apparently. Overall, a short, entertaining
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read with plenty of twists and turns as well as local color during a train ride on the Orient Express. Show Less
LibraryThing member ponsonby
One of the best Bond books with its intricate build-up of Soviet preparations for an assassination, the events when Bond goes into the field, and his developing relationship with the Soviet agent sent to seduce him. Better than the film, which ridiculously cast a sophisticated Italian in the role
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of the near-innocent Tania. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stevil2001
This reads like the ultimate James Bond novel. Not in the sense that Fleming has outdone himself, or perfected the formula-- I still reckon that Casino Royale is the best of these, and I don't see any sign of formula yet, neither the one from the films nor one of the books' own-- but in the sense
The format is a bit different than what we've seen previously. Bond doesn't show up for the first third of the novel, which instead details the inner workings of SMERSH, the Soviet counterintelligence organization. (Does SMERSH ever make it on screen? All of the film adaptations I've seen so far have excised the Russians for various reasons, and "SMERSH" is a dumb-sounding word, even if it was kind of a real thing. But if SMERSH makes it on screen ever, it must be in the film of this book, so I guess I'll see soon.) Here, Fleming's obsession with minute details serves him well: instead of carefully delineating meals or weaponry, we get the operations of Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence. I don't know if real Soviet intelligence organizations operated like this, but I would believe they would. It's a cold, clinical world where everyone does what they're told out of either total fear and paranoia or psychopathic glee.
Fleming times his switchover perfectly: exactly at the point where I was like, "Okay, where's James Bond?" the action switches to England. Honestly, the middle third of the novel is probably the weakest. Well, sort of. Bond goes to Istanbul, and we get to meet Kerim, the Head of T (MI6 operations in Istanbul), and he is a very entertaining character: he runs the Cold War as a sort of game, business, and family operation all in one. On the other hand, there's actually not a whole lot of relevance that happens in this section-- when Bond and Kerim go to see some gypsies, it has the sort of page-filling feel of the horse races in Diamonds are Forever. Lots of local flavor and color, but it's not really put to much use. Honestly, most of these Bond novels so far have been kind of weirdly plotted, except for Live and Let Die; I wonder if Fleming will get better at this as the series goes on.
The interest of all the local color is of course undermined by Bond's disgust at foreigners. Right from landing in Istanbul, it's all matter-of-fact racism from him: "So these dark, ugly, neat little [customs] officials were the modern Turks. He listened to their voices, full of broad vowels and quiet sibilants and modified u-sounds, and he watched the dark eyes that belied the soft, polite voices. [...] They were eyes that kept the knife-hand in sight without seeming to, that counted the grains of meal and the small fractions of coin and noted the flicker of the merchant's fingers. They were hard, untrusting, jealous eyes. Bond didn't take to them." Like, holy cow, Bond, even their "modified u-sounds" are evil? Bond likes Kerim, but of course Kerim's mother was English. It's this stuff that prevents one from fully engaging in the otherwise lavish descriptions of "exotic" Istanbul. Will I have to put up with this casual racism the whole rest of the series?
The last third of the novel is better, though. Like in Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever, we have Bond protecting a woman while on a slow-moving form of transport; the Russians really have figured out what it takes to make him fall in love with someone. It's tense and Fleming keeps the tension escalating throughout. If this part is done on screen as is, I can see it being really intense and captivating. I'm still impressed by how much Fleming makes you feel the pain Bond is in, and how hard it is for Bond to do things that look simple on screen-- like grab a gun while wrestling an opponent-- in a way that's completely captivating.
I'd place this in the middle of the Bond novels thus far: not as good as Casino Royale or Moonraker, but better than Live and Let Die or Diamonds are Forever. I'm interested enough to keep reading, at least.
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that it feels final. Charlie Higson's introduction indicates Fleming toyed with killing Bond off in this novel, but even if I didn't know that, you can see how this book looks back at the trends and tropes of the earlier Bond novels and exploits them. Basically, the Russians note Bond's predilection for vulnerable women (seen in four of the five novels so far) and exploit it, staging a defection of an attractive young female cipher clerk in order to implicate Bond in a scandal. I'm curious to see where the novels go from here: is this trope done with, or will Fleming just keep using it anyway?The format is a bit different than what we've seen previously. Bond doesn't show up for the first third of the novel, which instead details the inner workings of SMERSH, the Soviet counterintelligence organization. (Does SMERSH ever make it on screen? All of the film adaptations I've seen so far have excised the Russians for various reasons, and "SMERSH" is a dumb-sounding word, even if it was kind of a real thing. But if SMERSH makes it on screen ever, it must be in the film of this book, so I guess I'll see soon.) Here, Fleming's obsession with minute details serves him well: instead of carefully delineating meals or weaponry, we get the operations of Soviet intelligence and counterintelligence. I don't know if real Soviet intelligence organizations operated like this, but I would believe they would. It's a cold, clinical world where everyone does what they're told out of either total fear and paranoia or psychopathic glee.
Fleming times his switchover perfectly: exactly at the point where I was like, "Okay, where's James Bond?" the action switches to England. Honestly, the middle third of the novel is probably the weakest. Well, sort of. Bond goes to Istanbul, and we get to meet Kerim, the Head of T (MI6 operations in Istanbul), and he is a very entertaining character: he runs the Cold War as a sort of game, business, and family operation all in one. On the other hand, there's actually not a whole lot of relevance that happens in this section-- when Bond and Kerim go to see some gypsies, it has the sort of page-filling feel of the horse races in Diamonds are Forever. Lots of local flavor and color, but it's not really put to much use. Honestly, most of these Bond novels so far have been kind of weirdly plotted, except for Live and Let Die; I wonder if Fleming will get better at this as the series goes on.
The interest of all the local color is of course undermined by Bond's disgust at foreigners. Right from landing in Istanbul, it's all matter-of-fact racism from him: "So these dark, ugly, neat little [customs] officials were the modern Turks. He listened to their voices, full of broad vowels and quiet sibilants and modified u-sounds, and he watched the dark eyes that belied the soft, polite voices. [...] They were eyes that kept the knife-hand in sight without seeming to, that counted the grains of meal and the small fractions of coin and noted the flicker of the merchant's fingers. They were hard, untrusting, jealous eyes. Bond didn't take to them." Like, holy cow, Bond, even their "modified u-sounds" are evil? Bond likes Kerim, but of course Kerim's mother was English. It's this stuff that prevents one from fully engaging in the otherwise lavish descriptions of "exotic" Istanbul. Will I have to put up with this casual racism the whole rest of the series?
The last third of the novel is better, though. Like in Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever, we have Bond protecting a woman while on a slow-moving form of transport; the Russians really have figured out what it takes to make him fall in love with someone. It's tense and Fleming keeps the tension escalating throughout. If this part is done on screen as is, I can see it being really intense and captivating. I'm still impressed by how much Fleming makes you feel the pain Bond is in, and how hard it is for Bond to do things that look simple on screen-- like grab a gun while wrestling an opponent-- in a way that's completely captivating.
I'd place this in the middle of the Bond novels thus far: not as good as Casino Royale or Moonraker, but better than Live and Let Die or Diamonds are Forever. I'm interested enough to keep reading, at least.
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LibraryThing member antiquary
This Bond starts on the other side, with the Soviet Russians --and a North Irish psychopath who had defected to them to satisfy his lust for killing people -- setting up a plot in which in an attractive young Russian woman is to lure James Bond into a position in which he can be killed.
LibraryThing member Traveller1
"Bond. James Bond". How many times have we heard those powerful words echo out of the movie and television screen? The Bond saga is long running and successful franchise, which I have watched over the course of my life, and one which I have long held a mild hankering to investigate further by
After having reading several of the novels I can say that they are certainly entertaining, but not something I ever expect to re-read. The Bond of the novels is less the action hero and more failable than the Bond of the movies, thus perhaps, more realistic.
Ian Fleming wrote the 'Bond' novels in the 50s. They are creatures of there time, as are most things. From the perspective of two post-Cold War decades the caricature of the Russians, as a single, hard, cold, and ruthless group, dedicated to the overthrow of the west comes shining through. The reality, a ruling class of old men and their cronies and lackies, desperate to hold on to their prerogatives, mired in a corrupt sea of bureaucracy, is never shown.
What was noticeable by its absence was 'God'. There is no religious moralising, and nary a reference to organised religion. Bond finds it necessary to kill and maim lots of people, and destroy lots of things, and do nasty deeds, but what moralising there is is presented as a combination of pragmatism and humanism. He does what he does as this is what he must do to achieve what he must, with regret, but always with the necessary ruthlessness and despatch. I have not read a great deal of non-sf material from this period so I am unaware of how common this is, but it was a little surprising, certainly different from the inherent xian moralising, the constant xian moralising, of Victorian era writing.
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reading the novels upon which it is based. After having reading several of the novels I can say that they are certainly entertaining, but not something I ever expect to re-read. The Bond of the novels is less the action hero and more failable than the Bond of the movies, thus perhaps, more realistic.
Ian Fleming wrote the 'Bond' novels in the 50s. They are creatures of there time, as are most things. From the perspective of two post-Cold War decades the caricature of the Russians, as a single, hard, cold, and ruthless group, dedicated to the overthrow of the west comes shining through. The reality, a ruling class of old men and their cronies and lackies, desperate to hold on to their prerogatives, mired in a corrupt sea of bureaucracy, is never shown.
What was noticeable by its absence was 'God'. There is no religious moralising, and nary a reference to organised religion. Bond finds it necessary to kill and maim lots of people, and destroy lots of things, and do nasty deeds, but what moralising there is is presented as a combination of pragmatism and humanism. He does what he does as this is what he must do to achieve what he must, with regret, but always with the necessary ruthlessness and despatch. I have not read a great deal of non-sf material from this period so I am unaware of how common this is, but it was a little surprising, certainly different from the inherent xian moralising, the constant xian moralising, of Victorian era writing.
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LibraryThing member clq
From what I can remember, From Russia With Love seems less Bond'y than the previous Bond-books I've read. It reads a bit like an Agatha Christie novel with added brutality, more ruthless characters, and a very elaborate setup. For a thriller I'd have liked it to have been a little more thrilling
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than it is, and much of the time the story just seems to be rolling along without much in terms of twists and turns. It's a solid story, however, primarily thanks to the solid (and rather lengthy) setup. The characters are sufficiently likable/dis-likable, and even on my Kindle it felt like a good old-fashioned paperback thriller. I didn't love it, but it was enjoyable, and I put it down with a smile. That's more than can be said for some of the previous Bond-books. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bridgey
Bond is an assassination target of SMERSH in his 5th outing as the super spy. The first third of the book details the reasons why the Russians want Bond eliminated (mainly because of the past trouble he has caused, and they want to show up the secret service). A plan is hatched which will enable
The film is pretty true to the book (unlike the previous books) and we start to see the introduction of gadgets in the form of his attaché case.
The first two thirds of the book are fine, with plenty of action and espionage, however the last third for me just dragged. I never really expected the book to turn into almost a romance novel and struggled to get through it.
I have been reading the series in order and have to say that unlike any other books before, I actually enjoy the films a lot more, or maybe I am just too influenced by watching them over to years to have an unbiased opinion.
Anyway, Dr No is up next, it will be interesting to see how Bond gets out of the fix he finds himself in at the end of FRWL.
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the Soviets to capture Bond in a scandal large enough to make a mockery of all that the 007 rank stands for. We meet a variety of interesting characters - such as Rosa Kleb (surprisingly an ugly lesbian) and Donovan Grant (Smersh chief executioner & lunatic).The film is pretty true to the book (unlike the previous books) and we start to see the introduction of gadgets in the form of his attaché case.
The first two thirds of the book are fine, with plenty of action and espionage, however the last third for me just dragged. I never really expected the book to turn into almost a romance novel and struggled to get through it.
I have been reading the series in order and have to say that unlike any other books before, I actually enjoy the films a lot more, or maybe I am just too influenced by watching them over to years to have an unbiased opinion.
Anyway, Dr No is up next, it will be interesting to see how Bond gets out of the fix he finds himself in at the end of FRWL.
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LibraryThing member andy475uk
Incredibly slow to start (Bond himself doesn't make an appearance until a third of the way through) and although the first part is an interesting read from a historical perspective, it means it's a slow burner. Consequently I found it to be less enjoyable than the others in the series so far
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(contrary to most reviews). Show Less
LibraryThing member DuffDaddy
SMERSH, the Soviet counterintelligence agency, plans to commit a grand act of terrorism in the intelligence field. For this, it targets British secret service agent James Bond. Due in part to his role in the defeat of Le Chiffre, Mr. Big and Hugo Drax, Bond has been listed as an enemy of the Soviet
An offer of the Spektor is subsequently received by MI6 in London, ostensibly from Romanova, and contains the condition that Bond collects her and the machine in Istanbul. MI6 is unsure of Romanova's story, but the prize of the Spektor is too tempting to ignore and Bond's superior, M, orders him to go to Turkey and meet her. Bond meets and quickly forms a comradeship with Darko Kerim, head of the British service's station in Turkey. Kerim takes Bond to a meal with some Gypsies, in which Bond witnesses a brutal catfight, interrupted by an attack by Soviet agents. In retaliation, Bond helps Kerim assassinate a top Bulgarian agent.
Bond duly encounters Romanova and the two plan their route out of Turkey with the Spektor. He and Kerim believe her story and in due course she, Bond and Kerim board the Orient Express with the Spektor. Bond and Kerim quickly discover three MGB agents on board travelling incognito. Kerim uses bribes and trickery to have the two taken off the train, but he is later found dead in his compartment with the body of the third agent, both having been killed by Grant. At Trieste a fellow MI6 agent, "Captain Nash", arrives on the train and Bond presumes he has been sent by M as added protection for the rest of the trip. Tatiana is suspicious of Nash, but Bond reassures her that Nash is from his own service. After dinner, at which Nash has drugged Romanova, Bond wakes up to find a gun pointing at him and Nash reveals himself to be the killer, Grant. Instead of killing Bond immediately, Grant reveals SMERSH's plan, including the detail that he is to shoot Bond through the heart and that the Spektor is booby-trapped to explode when examined. As Grant talks, Bond slips his metal cigarette case between the pages of a magazine he is holding in front of him and positions it in front of his heart to stop the bullet. After Grant fires, Bond pretends to be mortally wounded and when Grant steps over him, Bond attacks him: Grant is killed, whilst Bond and Romanova subsequently escape.
Later, in Paris, after successfully delivering Tatiana and the Spektor to his superiors, Bond encounters Rosa Klebb. She is captured but manages to kick Bond with a poisoned blade concealed in her shoe; the story ends with Bond fighting for breath and falling to the floor.
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state and a "death warrant" has been issued for him. His death is planned to precipitate a major sex scandal, which will run through the world press for months and leave his and his service's reputation in tatters. Bond's killer is to be SMERSH executioner Red Grant, a psychopath whose homicidal urges coincide with the full moon. Kronsteen, SMERSH's chess-playing master planner, and Colonel Rosa Klebb, head of Operations and Executions, devise the operation. They persuade an attractive young cipher clerk, Corporal Tatiana Romanova, to falsely defect from her post in Istanbul, claiming to have fallen in love with Bond after seeing his file photograph. As an added incentive, Tatiana will provide the British with a Spektor, a Russian decoding device much coveted by MI6. She is not told the details of the plan.An offer of the Spektor is subsequently received by MI6 in London, ostensibly from Romanova, and contains the condition that Bond collects her and the machine in Istanbul. MI6 is unsure of Romanova's story, but the prize of the Spektor is too tempting to ignore and Bond's superior, M, orders him to go to Turkey and meet her. Bond meets and quickly forms a comradeship with Darko Kerim, head of the British service's station in Turkey. Kerim takes Bond to a meal with some Gypsies, in which Bond witnesses a brutal catfight, interrupted by an attack by Soviet agents. In retaliation, Bond helps Kerim assassinate a top Bulgarian agent.
Bond duly encounters Romanova and the two plan their route out of Turkey with the Spektor. He and Kerim believe her story and in due course she, Bond and Kerim board the Orient Express with the Spektor. Bond and Kerim quickly discover three MGB agents on board travelling incognito. Kerim uses bribes and trickery to have the two taken off the train, but he is later found dead in his compartment with the body of the third agent, both having been killed by Grant. At Trieste a fellow MI6 agent, "Captain Nash", arrives on the train and Bond presumes he has been sent by M as added protection for the rest of the trip. Tatiana is suspicious of Nash, but Bond reassures her that Nash is from his own service. After dinner, at which Nash has drugged Romanova, Bond wakes up to find a gun pointing at him and Nash reveals himself to be the killer, Grant. Instead of killing Bond immediately, Grant reveals SMERSH's plan, including the detail that he is to shoot Bond through the heart and that the Spektor is booby-trapped to explode when examined. As Grant talks, Bond slips his metal cigarette case between the pages of a magazine he is holding in front of him and positions it in front of his heart to stop the bullet. After Grant fires, Bond pretends to be mortally wounded and when Grant steps over him, Bond attacks him: Grant is killed, whilst Bond and Romanova subsequently escape.
Later, in Paris, after successfully delivering Tatiana and the Spektor to his superiors, Bond encounters Rosa Klebb. She is captured but manages to kick Bond with a poisoned blade concealed in her shoe; the story ends with Bond fighting for breath and falling to the floor.
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LibraryThing member amnesta
One of JFK's top 10 favorite books (Life magazine article)
LibraryThing member brettjames
For once, I agree with JFK...
LibraryThing member comfypants
Bond is a pawn in a Russian plot, which is an interesting way to tell a James Bond story. Unfortunately most of the middle of the book is unrelated to the plot, and is gets a bit too pulpy. Sexist (of course that goes without saying), and so racist that it makes "Live and Let Die" seem enlightened
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by comparison. Show Less
LibraryThing member clark.hallman
In this, the fifth James Bond book, SMERSH unfolds a complicated and effective plot to kill Bond and discredit him and the Service. The action takes place in Istanbul and on the Orient Express, where Bond narrowly escapes death and saves his lover. This book devotes many interesting pages to SMERSH
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and other Russian operatives when they plan the assassination. I enjoyed it, but the ending is a cliffhanger. Show Less
LibraryThing member tyroeternal
This entry to the Bond series is currently in a close race with Casino Royale for my favorite story. The characters were enjoyable and the story was quick and enjoyable. Ultimately the ending was the best part for me. Beginning with the next story in the series (Doctor No) was a special treat after
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just having met the surprise ending. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBreedlove
Another good James Bond read. Again similar to the movie but with more depth. Once again not a cookie cutter plot similar to previous in the series. There is so much more depth to Bond in these books.
LibraryThing member bookswamp
bond. no 5, 1957; Moscow and SMERSH, Rosa Klebb and beautiful Tatjana Romanova (sometimes Mr. Fleming was not too inventive with names...) as well as nice Kerim with his efficient sons from the embassy in Bulgaria (sacrificed in the end as all "nice" agents must be). Even the times of the Iron
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Curtain seem to be more harmless as the present "open" situation of the world has turned out. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1957-04-08
Physical description
336 p.; 8.74 inches
ISBN
071815388X / 9780718153885
Local notes
James Bond is a marked man. SMERSH – the Russian organization dedicated to wiping out foreign spies – has targeted him for elimination. Fiendish Colonel Rosa Klebb and her top assassin lay a sting for Bond in Istanbul – and they have the perfect bait in the irresistible Tatiana Romanova, whose orders are to seduce 007 and leave the rest to her superiors. But when the trap is sprung, Bond and Tatiana become pawns in a deadly game of cross and double-cross.
Penguin 007 series.
Penguin 007 series.
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