A View to a Kill (1985)

To the Summary!
In the final chapter of Roger Moore's Bond, Bond is tasked with stopping a mad man from destroying Silicon Valley.

To the Cast!
Roger Moore - James Bond
Christopher Walken - Max Zorin
Tanya Roberts - Stacey Sutton
Grace Jones - May Day
Desmond Llewelyn - Q
Robert Brown - M
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny

To the Deeper Thoughts!
So, in Roger Moore's final turn (which has nothing to do with the book from whence it got its name), he goes after Max Zorin (played fairly well by Christopher Walken).  Turns out Zorin is stupid rich from making integrated circuits (trained and financed by the KGB (obviously)).  Oh, and he's got a sidekick in May Day.

And that's about it.  There's also an iceberg sub.  Eh, I don't know.  Short of Walken and the Duran Duran theme, there's nothing special about this movie.  Upside?  The Dalton Bond's are coming.  Well eventually, at least.  Because I'm reading the books in the publication order then watching the films in the same, I'll be bouncing back to Connery and Moore a few more times before getting to Dalton.

Goldfinger (1964)

To the Summary!
Sean Connery returns for the third installment of Bond's cinema adventures.  This time, he hunts Auric Goldfinger.

To the Cast!
Sean Connery - James Bond
Honor Blackman - Pussy Galore
Gert Frobe - Auric Goldfinger
Shirey Eaton - Jill Masterson
Tania Mallet - Tilly Masterson
Harold Sakata - Oddjob
Bernard Lee - 'M'
Cec Linder - Felix Leiter
Lois Maxwell - Moneypenny


To the Deeper Thoughts!
I'm fairly certain that this was the first Bond movie I saw.  I know for certain it was the first Connery Bond that I saw.

Third film in, and I dare say that  this one is near perfect.  I'd even argue that its one of the best Bond's ever.  This is the one where we see the elements that we came to know and love through the years.  The flirting with Moneypenny.  The banter with Q.  *sigh*  What a great movie.

I'm really breaking down into fanboy mode here.  Classic Bond is always the best.  And by classic I mean Connery.  True, the others have their moments.  And Craig is the best Bond in my opinion.  But there is something to be said for these classic movies.

Goldfinger

Book seven in the chronicles of James Bond brings him face to face with Auric Goldfinger; a very rich man who is obsessed with gold.

So, as I said, book seven.  I've read some series where by the seventh book, it feels like a bit of a slog.  Yes, even my beloved Wheel of Time fits in there.  But with Flemming, I don't feel that .  Perhaps its the length of the books, being rather short.  Perhaps its the fascinating views of a 1950s man.  Could be any number of things, but its the previous one that really stands out here.  I present to you a quote from the novel, in which Bond muses about a female character that seemingly shows no interest in him.

"Bond came to the conclusion that Tilly Masterson was one of those girls whose hormones had got mixed up. He knew the type well and thought they and their male counterparts were a direct consequence of giving votes to women and ‘sex equality’. As a result of fifty years of emancipation, feminine qualities were dying out or being transferred to the males. Pansies of both sexes were everywhere, not yet completely homosexual, but confused, not knowing what they were. The result was a herd of unhappy sexual misfits – barren and full of frustrations, the woman wanting to dominate and the men to be nannied."

To me, this was just an awkward and weird bit of exposition.  Well, not as weird as later, when he 'cures' Pussy Galore of being a lesbian by... well, I'm sure you can figure it out.  Had I read this when originally published, I don't think it would have bothered me.  But now, in today's day and age... it is a bit jarring.

But its hardly a major plot point of the book; just something I found interesting.

I keep saying this, but I really liked Goldfinger.  As much as Casino Royale I think.  Those would probably be my top two books of the series (so far anyway)  The plot moves along at a steady clip, and the first meeting between Goldfinger and Bond is well done.  I think this is the first time we see a gadget (a homing device that Bond plants on Goldfinger's car)  This is the second time I've read this book, and it was just as enjoyable as the first time.

Dr. No (1962)

To the Summary!
James Bond undertakes his first (well, first filmed) adventure.  He heads to Jamaica to investigate Dr. No, a bat guano magnate and seriously creepy dude.

To the Cast!
Sean Connery - James Bond
Ursula Andress - Honey Ryder
Joseph Wiseman - Dr. No
Jack Lord - Felix Leiter
Bernard Lee - M
John Kitzmiller - Quarrel
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny
Peter Burton - Major Boothroyd

To the Deeper Thoughts!
Here we have it folks, the first of a long and (mostly) illustrious film library.  And what a way to start off.  There is pretty much nothing I can find wrong about this movie.  Every time I watch it, I enjoy it that much more.  Its simple in its execution and style.  Not very flashy, but subtle.  This is the movie that launched a fandom.  One I can't wait to share with my son.  I don't really have too much else to say about this.  Its a great place to start in on the Bond series.

Doctor No

So, remember in the last book, how Bond got a case of poison?  Well, he's all better!  Yay!  Of course, he just can't take a vacation.  M sends him to Jamaica for rest... but while he's at it, he should look into the disappearance of a fellow agent, one John Strangeways.

Turns out, Strangeways had been investigating Dr. Julius No, a bat guano magnate on Crab Key.  I'm guessing Strangeways got a bit to close to Doctor No.

Natrually, so does Bond.

Oh, he also does this with the help of his pal Quarrell (see Live and Let Die).  With Quarrell's help, Bond gets into fighting shape and heads to Crab Key.

Once there they meet Honey Rider, an orphan girl who is collecting some shells to sell and make some cash.  Eventually, they are discovered by No's dragon, and Quarrell...well, Quarrell feels the heat. (Bye Quarrell).

Bond and Honey are taken prisoner, where they are treated to a lavish dinner (and plot exposition) with Doctor No.  After said dinner, Bond is taken back to his cell, where he is expected to crawl through Doctor No's maze, perishing along the way.

However, seeing as this is Bond, James Bond, he manages to escape the electric shocks, cold, heat and giant squid, in order to bury Doctor No under a pile of bat guano.  Rescue the girl, mission done and over.

Another solid entry into literary Bond.

James Bond returns in Goldfinger

From Russia With Love (1963)

To the Summary!
James Bond is back!  This time, he's on the hook with SPECTRE for the killing of Dr. No (see Dr. No).  With a mad dog killer hot on his heels, Bond takes the Orient Express to adventure!

To the Cast!
Sean Connery - James Bond
Daniela Bianchi - Tatiana Romanova
Pedro Armendariz - Kerim Bey
Lotte Lenya - Rosa Klepp
Robert Shaw - Grant
Bernard Lee - M
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny




To the Deeper Thoughts!
And here we have Bond movie number two.  Another faithful adaptation of the source material, well to an extent.  There are some differences.  Example: we see the introduction of Blofeld here.  Books; not until Thunderball.  We do have Q, but he's know instead as Major Boothroyd.  So, small differences, but nothing painful (see Moonraker for pain).

I really like this one.  Number two in, and going strong.  Its weird to see Robert Shaw so young and, well evil.  Given my only other exposure to him is Jaws.  We see a quick introduction of Bond's eventual nemesis, Blofeld.

Eh, what else can I say.  Its good, classic Bond.

From Russia With Love

In case you have not noticed over the past couple of books, Bond has been causing some issues for the Russians.  They are not happy with him.  LeChiffre, Mr. Big and Hugo Drax.  Bond kinda screwed them over big time.  And, being Russians, or Soviets if you will, they want to get rid of Bond.

Simple killing will not be enough however.  Oh no, not for the operatives of SMERSH.  They need to discredit Bond.  Shame him.  And, if MI-6 is shamed in the process, all the better.

To his discredit, Bond is know as a bit of a ladies man.  This is how SMERSH plans to take him down.  To do this, they recruit Tatiana Romanova, a beautiful Russian agent.

Their plan: lure Bond to Istanbul where she will give him a top secret Russian coding machine.  Finding it odd, M sends Bond on his merry way.

Once in Istanbul, Bond gets a crash course in the operations in that area from Kerim Bey.  There's also a dinner with a gypsy family which doesn't fit with the rest of the novel.  But its still a neat sequence.

Most of the action then takes place on the Orient Express.  They are tracked there by a maniacal former British soldier.  Turns out he likes killing... especially on the full moon.  So, he didn't quite fit in with the Brits, so its off to work for the Russians!

So, as you can guess, Bond handily disposes of the maniacal killer.  The story ends with Bond and Romanova in Paris, and the coding machine tucked safely in MI-6 hands.  Except for the part where Romanova's former handler tracks them down and poisons Bond.

Cliffhanger!!

Well, not really.  We know that Bond will be back in the next book.  Actually, at this point Flemming was getting bored with the books and wanted to stop writing, hence the uncertain fate of Bond.  I'm glad Flemming decided to write more.

I really like this one.  Its probably my favorite after Casino Royale.  Nothing I can put my finger on per se.  Just an all around great book.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

To the Summary!
James Bond goes after some hot ice (that's stolen diamonds).  Along the way he runs into an odd pair of assassins   Oh, and Blofeld makes a return.

To the Cast!
Sean Connery - James Bond
Jill St. John - Tiffany Case
Charles Grey - Blofeld
Putter Smith - Mr. Kidd
Bruce Glover - Mr. Wint
Norman Burton - Leiter
Bernard Lee - 'M'
Desmond Llewelyn - 'Q'
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny

To the Deeper Thoughts!
Here we have the triumphant (?) return of Sean Connery to the Bond franchise.  Turns out this will truly be his last outing, but I digress.

Ahh, hell.  Back to digressing.  After a much publicized departure, Sean Connery returns to the role that made him famous.  We also have the return of Bond's nemesis Bloefeld.  Oddly, there was no reference to the previous film where Blofeld is involved in the murder of Bond's wife, but that's for another review.

I like this one.  Even though Connery was basically bribed back to the role, he still put out a pretty good turn.  A bit on the silly side (Bond girl named Pleanty O'toole for one), its still not as bad as some of the later Moore ones.

So, a fitting end for Connery's run as Bond.  Unless you count Never Say Never Again... which I don't.

Diamonds Are Forever

This time, diamonds are at the center of Bond's adventures.  Dispatched by M to Sierra Leone, Bond must find out how and where diamonds are getting smuggled into the USA.  The USA you say?  Turns out the source of the diamonds is a British operation, so M figures it would be good of MI-6 to lend a hand.

Bond takes the identity of Peter Franks, a low player in The Spangled Mob.  Along the way he meets up with one Tiffany Case.  He follows the trail to Las Vegas, meeting up once again with Felix Leiter.

Needless to say, Bond wins the day.  Saves the girl, kills the bad guy.  Just another day at the office.

Moonraker (1979)

To the Summary!
Its Bond!  In SPACEEE!!!!!  Oh, and there's a guy, Hugo Drax who wants to populate the Earth with pretty people.  And there's lasers, bad science, bad jokes, and BOND!  IN! SPACE!

To the Cast!
Roger Moore - James Bond, 007
Lois Chiles - Dr. Holly Goodhead
Michael Lonsdale - Hugo Drax
Richard Kiel - Jaws
Bernard Lee - M
Desmond Llewelyn - Q
Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny


To the Deeper Thoughts!
Le sigh.  This is the movie that triggered my theory of Bond.  There are no bad Bond movies, just some that are better than others.  This is near the bottom of the pile, in my opinion.  I mean, I know that at the time this was made, sci-fi was really taking off (thanks Star Wars!) so I can see why they took Bond where they did.

This is Roger Moore's fourth outing as Bond, and he has settled into the role.  Maybe a bit too much.  Moore's interpretation of Bond was always a bit too aloof for me.  But, this again could be the product of the time in which it was made.

But the cheese.  Oh my, the cheese.  I mean, I  know Bond is known for cheese, but this almost gets over the top.  Basic premise is that Hugo Drax wants to kill all the people on the planet, and replace us with his hand picked beautiful people.  A plus to this movie is the introduction of Jaws.  And by introduction I mean his second appearance, the first being The Spy Who Loved Me.  Jaws is an interesting villain, what with his mouth full of metal teeth.  Who also can't seem to die.

*** I've been working on this review for way to long.  Time to call it quits.  Summary:  Moonraker is probably lowest on my list of favorite Bond movies.  Sure, it has its moments, but overall its pretty weak.  Absolutely see it if you are a completionist like me, but not a good one to start with.

Skyfall (2012)

This review is For Your Eyes Only, as it contains massive state secrets, also known as spoilers.

To the Summary!
James Bond faces his most personal attacks yet, as the one family he knows comes under attack.

To the Cast!
Daniel Craig - James Bond
Judi Dench - M
Javier Bardem - Silva
Ralph Finnes - Gareth Mallory
Naomie Harris - Eve
Berenice Marlohe - Severine
Albert Finney - Kincade
Ben Whishaw - Q
Rory Kinnear - Tanner


To the Deeper Thoughts!
Bond, James Bond has returned.  Making a triumphant return to the screen since the lackluster Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig once again holsters the Walther to fight the enemies of Queen and Country.

We join Bond in pursuit of a hard drive that contains a list of all NATO agents embedded in terrorist organizations.  Chasing an assassin through, well over, Constantinople Bond ends up fighting him on a moving train.  His partner in this mission, Eve, is tracking them and finally has a (not clean) shot.  With little remorse, M orders Eve to take the shot.  She misses and Bond is presumed dead.

Cue the opening credits and the requisite song.  All I will say here is that Adele knocks it out of the park.

We rejoin the world of Bond three months later.  He's been hiding in some island country, playing drinking games with scorpions.  That is until he hears about an attack on MI6.  He breaks into M's flat, and declares he wants back in.  MI6 has done the reasonable thing and retreated in the tunnels below London.  Bond is tested, and although he fails, M declares him fit for duty to her boss, Gareth Mallory.  After a fitting out by Q, Bond starts chasing down to clues, and those clues lead to Raul Silva.

Raul Silva.  It is easy to make the argument that he is the now the greatest villain in the Bond film cannon.  He has quite possible the greatest entrance ever.  Descending from an open air elevator, Silva starts telling Bond how best to get rid of a rat infestation.  Short form:  get the rats to eat each other until there are only two left.  And here we have our two rats.  See, Bond was not the first agent that M left for dead.  Silva was once an agent in Hong Kong that went bad, and M turned him over to ensure a peaceful transition of Hong Kong back to Chinese control.  And here we have a similarity to Bond.  Bond could have easily made the decision to get revenge and work for the bad guys, or to set himself up nicely.  As Silva did when he hacked into MI6 and rigged an explosion.  That's right he used a computer to rig an explosion.  Gives you an idea of the kind of bad guy we are facing here.  An enemy who has no known affiliation, and lives in the shadows; who can strike anywhere.

So, obviously Bond has captured Silva and brought him back to the MI6 secret base.  Except, Silva has planned for this.  Q gets to work on hacking Silva's computer, but wait!

Its a trap!

Ahem...

Silva executes one hell of an escape and heads to some governmental building where M is giving testimony as to why MI6 should even still exsist.  Well, the stuffed shirts are about to get a lesson.  Silva barges in and starts shooting the place up.  Bond shows up, and with the help of Eve and Mallory, force Silva to run.  Bond decides to get ahead of Silva, and takes M to his childhood home in Scotland, Skyfall.  Oh, and they get there in THE Aston Martin DB-5.  If you don't know what I mean, go watch Goldfinger and Thunderball.

The final battle at Skyfall is nothing short of epic.  Devising some pretty cool bobby traps (including said car) Bond, M, and the groundskeeper Kincaid, fight off the first wave of Silva's men.  But then Silva shows up in a helicopter with more.  Losing ground fast, Bond blows up the castle, taking out the helicopter and more of Silva's men.

Tracking Kincaid and M to the onsite chapel, Silva corners M.  He attempts to get M to kill themselves, but at the last minute Bond shows up, kills Silva and declares: "Last rat standing."

And then it got dusty in the theater.  Having been shot earlier in the battle, the stress and blood loss are too much for M, and she dies.  Side note: just prior to the movie, my wife and I were talking about who should replace Judi Dench as M.  We get that answer very soon.

And so begins my favorite sequence in the film.  Bond is standing on the top of MI6 as Eve shows up and presents him with a ceramic bulldog that used to sit on M's desk.  Eve suggests that perhaps its a message from M to Bond to take a desk job.  Bond states that it is quite the opposite.

Walking into a room with a familiar coat rack, Eve says she is not cut out for field work, and that she is taking another assignment.  Oh, and her last name is Moneypenny.  And then the door.  The door with the leather padding from so many Bond films opens, and you see that first glimpse into The Office.  Tanner (M's Chief of Staff) walks out, and tells Bond "He's ready to see you."  Bond walks in to see Mallory behind the desk as the new M. M tosses a file at Bond and says: "We have work to do."

This has got to be the best of the Criag Bond's, and quite possibly one of the greatest of all.  If Casino Royale was a bump, and Quantum of Solace was a (weak) set, then this is the spike.  Bringing back familiar elements (Q, Moneypenny) and setting up a new world of evil for Bond to fight, this movie declares that Bond is back.

Also, this is the 50th anniversary of the Bond film franchise.  So, there were subtle reminders and tributes throughout.  A few of my favorites:

1. Q telling Bond to return the gear in one piece, and that they don't do exploding pens anymore.  Hell, all the exchanges between Q and Bond were fantastic and reminded me of past Bond movies. (Goldeneye, et al.)
2. Bond escapes from some Komodo dragon's in a very familiar way (See Live and Let Die)
3. The Aston Martin DB-5.  Need I say more?

There were many others, but these are my favorites.

Skyfall is a hell of a movie.  I think its the first that has a chance of some acting Oscar nominations, especially for Javier Bardem.  He just plays Silva with the right amount of sinister, mixed with the right amount of crazy.  He approaches the edge of campy, but then steps back.

I LOVE this film.  It is a high note for the franchise.  I can only hope the next chapter can carry this wave of momentum.

Moonraker

Keeping things close to home after his adventures on the other side of the Atlantic, James Bond is set on the path of wealthy inventor Sir Hugo Drax.

One slow day in the offices of MI6, M invites James Bond, 007 to join him for dinner and cards at the most exclusive of clubs, Blades.  Turns out there is a prominent player that has decided to cheat at Bridge.  Which is odd, because he's loaded and something of a national hero.  Turns out he's good at designing missiles, and went a created one heck of a missile for the United Kingdom.  So why cheat?  After enjoying an excellent dinner, Bond proceeds to take quite a bit of money from Drax.  Because that's what Bond does.

Turns out that there's been some shenanigans at Drax's base.  Bond is sent out to investigate under the guise of becoming Drax's new head of security.  He will be helped by Gala Brand, a Special Branch agent who is already working undercover at Drax's base.

And clearly, because this is Bond, nothing is at is seems.  As Bond digs deeper into the mystery of the base he learns that England is about to get one heck of a blow dealt to it.  See, Drax is not the upstanding British citizen that he claims to be.  Turns out, Drax is actually a former German officer that managed to get into this high position by effectively switching bodies with a British civilian.  So obviously, the missile is not going to be a harmless test fire.  Oh no, fellow readers.  Drax has reprogrammed it to land in the middle of London carrying a nuclear bomb.  Cause that's what evil madmen do.

Bond escapes the trap, saves the girl and saves the day.  Moonraker is probably one of my favorite of the Bond books.  Well written, and with a... I was going to say plausible plot.  I think that's slightly inaccurate.  Given today's lens of plausibility that is.  I can see this when it was first written and the tech, and fears of Nazi uprisings and Soviet Russia takeovers how this would be completely plausible.  Given how much I like it, its really sad what they do to this book with the movie; but that's a rant for another time.  Third book in, you still don't feel as if you NEED to read the previous books to catch up with whats going on.  So, if you have not yet, pick up a Bond book.  You won't be disappointed.

Live and Let Die (1973)

To the Summary!
Roger Moore makes his debut as the MI-6 agent, James Bond.  Bond travels to the states to track down what happened to three fellow agents.  What he discovers is... the undead!  And heroin...

To the Cast!
Roger Moore - James Bond
Yaphet Koto - Kananga/Mr. Big
Jayne Seymour - Solitaire
Clifton James - Sheriff Pepper
Bernard Lee - M
Lois Maxwell - Moneypenny

To the Deeper Thoughts!
Roger Moore has not always been a Bond that I held in high regard.  But Live and Let Die is not the reason I think this.  Those movies come later.  Here though, Moore plays Bond very well.  James bond is tasked to go to New Orleans and check out why some of his fellow agents have been... liquidated.  He stumbles across the operation of one Mr. Big, a gangster who owns a series of restaurant/night clubs called 'Fillet of Soul'.  Obviously, these are fronts for the criminal organization.  At one, he meets the fortune teller Solitaire, whom Mr. Big uses to see the future.  But, this being Bond, he eventually, uh... removes Dr. Quinn's Solitaire's fortune telling abilities.

Now, about that undead business.  See, Kananga (who is the dictator of a random island in the Caribbean) is actually Mr. Big, the crime boss.  So since he is one and the same, he grows poppies on his island.  (I'm getting to the undead!)

Ok, its taken me way to long to finish this one up.  Short version:  Roger Moore does really well in his first outing as James Bond.  Its one of my favorites and the closing scene is just perfect.

Oh, and there really arn't any undead.  Just a crime boss playing on local superstitions.

Live and Let Die

Building on his own personal experiences, Ian Flemming sends James Bond to the USA and Jamacia.  His mission:  track down the source of gold pieces being smuggled into the USA.

Arriving in NYC, Bond is teamed up once again with his best  pal Felix Leiter of the CIA.  Their target:  Mr. Big; a crime lord based in Harlem whose reach extends all the way to Jamaica   And that's where Bond comes in.  Being a British territory, Jamaica can't be touched by the CIA, hence Bond's involvement.  The theory that MI6 and the CIA come up with is that Mr. Big has found the lost treasure of the pirate Henry Morgan.  And just what would Mr. Big be using this gold for?  Why, to fund Soviets of course!  Since this money could also go towards SMERSH, well this just gives Bond a chance to strike back a bit at those that caused the death of Vesper from the previous book.

The adventure starts in Harlem, where Mr. Big has the town sown up tight.  From the moment Bond and Leiter enter Halrem, there every move is tracked by Mr. Big.  Upon capture, Mr. Big have a heart to heart with the assistance of Solitaire, Mr. Big's fortune telling lady friend.  Bond escapes un harmed and plans his next move to Florida.  Once there, Bond and Leiter track down a lackey of Mr. Big.  Turns out  Mr. Big is indeed smuggling in gold.  Rather ingeniously too.  Sink some boxes of gold into tanks of poisonous fish, and no customs agent is going to think twice about sticking their hand into the tank.

The final act takes us to Jamaica.  Once there, Bond meets up with some local back up and gets with the taking down of Mr. Big.  He does some sneaky SCUBA diving into the lair of Mr. Big, and promptly gets captured.  Never fear!  Even though it looks like Bond and Solitaire are going to be literal fish food, this is not to be the case.  Turns out while Bond was doing the sneaky SCUBA, he planted a mine on the hull of Mr. Big's ship.  Just when you think there will be no more Bond adventures, the mine goes boom, Mr. Big becomes dinner for sharks, and Bond gets the girl.

A strong second outing for Mr. Flemming and his dashing hero.  Delving into a little mysticism and gangsters, this is a little different than the previous adventure.  I like this one just as much as Casino Royale.  A nice thing about Mr. Flemming's writing is that you don't need to start with the first book in a series.  One could easily read this one first and not feel like you've missed anything.

James Bond returns in Moonraker.

Casino Royale

So, back in the 50's, there was this British guy who had done some pretty awesome stuff during World War II.  What did he do with this experience?  He went on to write some of the best spy fiction there is to be read.

Ian Flemming introduced the world to James Bond, here in Casino Royale.  James Bond of the literary world is NOT the James Bond you see as portrayed by Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.  Even Sean Connery doesn't truly accomplish the translation of Bond from book to screen.  Fear not, I will not analyzing the role of each Bond actor.  Well, not here anyway.  Look for that in posts about the movies.

Ian Flemming's Casino Royale is our introduction to the world of James Bond, 007.  Bond is a cold blooded professional.  He has two kills to his credit, which is what earned him the 00-status; permission to kill for Her Majesty.  M (Bond's boss) details Bond to travel to Royale-Les-Eaux in Northern France.  There he is to play high stakes baccarat, with the goal of bankrupting Le Chiffre.  Le Chiffre is a major player for SMERSH, the Soviet anti-spy agency.  SMERSH is loosely translated to 'death to spies.'  Warm, loving group; right?

Throughout the book, we are also introduced to Bond's very particular habits.  As he states (and this is me paraphrasing) since he has little else in the world, he takes an almost perverse pleasure in food and drink.  And boy, does he.  The precision with which he orders is fascinating, and I think gives a real good look into what the 50's were like.

So, needless to say, Bond makes it to the game.  After some troubles, he is able to defeat Le Chiffre.  But, that's not the end of the story.  Le Chiffre orchestrates the kidnapping of Vesper Lynd, the finance representative from MI6, who was in control of Bond's money.  Fun fact: Bond, the cold hearted bastard, starts falling for Miss Lynd.  Bond chases after Vesper, and is caught himself.

He is then tortured by Le Chiffre.  Le Chiffre is in deep with SMERSH and REALLY wants the money Bond won from him.  Just as Bond is sinking into deep despair and acceptance of his fate, a gunman walks in and dispatches Le Chiffre.  Turns out SMERSH caught up with Le Chiffre, and Le Chiffre's time had run out.  Bond is saved because the SMERSH agent had no orders regarding Bond.

After this experience, Bond decides to quite MI6 and marry Vesper.  Too bad; so sad.  Looks like Vesper was a double agent for SMERSH!  Racked with guilt, she takes one too many sleeping pills and ends her misery.  In a letter left for James, Vesper details how her lover had been captured by SMERSH, and how they were using him as leverage to get Vesper to work for them.

Bond, understandably pissed decides to NOT retire, and communicates to MI6 that Vesper was a double, and that 'the bitch is dead.'

Not gonna lie.  That closing line is one of my favorites.  Leading up to those lines, we see a Bond who has a new, albeit personal, mission: stop SMERSH.  This will be a minor and sometimes major plot point in the following books.

I really enjoyed this first entry in the Bond literary saga.  Its well written, and at under 200 pages, moves quick.  Even the description and execution of the baccarat game is fascinating.  Clothes, cars, food and locales are described in a way that makes you feel as if you were there.  Any fan of the movies should give at least this first entry a read.  Or, if you are fans of modern thrillers check this out.  Being written in the 50s gives this an almost fresh feel after years of reading Clancy, Cussler, and the like.

James Bond returns in Live and Let Die.