Book info

• Title Casino Royale
• Author Ian Fleming
• Year 1953
• Genre Thriller

Meet James Bond, the world's most famous spy. In the novel that introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming's agent 007 is dispatched to a French casino in Royale-les-Eaux. His mission? Bankrupt a ruthless Russian agent who's been on a bad luck streak at the baccarat table. Le Chiffre has been a prime target of the British Secret Service for years. If Bond can wipe out his bankroll, Le Chiffre will likely be 'retired' by his paymasters in Moscow. But what if the cards won't cooperate?

Thoughts

Having worked my way through all the Bond films, I finally set about devouring the books. Starting at the very beginning with Casino Royale, I was surprised at how close the film was to the source material - even down to that horrifying torture scene!

As a book, it got off to a slow start for me. Lots of French words that didn’t make a lot of sense, and that whole report to M that took me several times to read and fully understand. There’s also the full description of how baccarat works, but I’m such a dunce at these casino card games, I couldn’t get my head around that either.

However, once the action picks up, the tense gambling moments, the kidnapping concern, and trying to figure out who is on which side during Bond’s recovery period, it’s the classic JB story we love. I thought there were some surprisingly detailed sections - from physical appearances to very precise descriptions of meals and drinks - an eye for such detail that I think is great. Fleming knew exactly what he was writing and had a clear picture in his head, and that really comes across. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Rating: 4 / 5