Live and Let Die
by Ian Fleming
published
May 27th 2003
(first published 1954)
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
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binding
Paperback, 240 pages
characters
isbn
0142003239
(isbn13: 9780142003237)
description
Beautiful, fortune-telling Solitaire is the prisoner (and tool) of Mr. Big - master of fear, artist in crime, and Voodoo Baron of Death. James Bond ha...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 882)
Read in October, 2008
recommends it for:
Fans of the Bond movies
Why have I never read a James Bond book before? I've watched and enjoyed most of the movies, but for some reason I had never read any of the original Ian Fleming novels. Well now I have, and it won't be my last. “Live and Let Die” was dated, fast paced, exuberant, and tons of fun. It also revealed all kinds of new facets of Bond's personality that don't come through in the films, particularly the older ones. If you like the movies but have never read a James Bond book before, I suggest ...more
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I love the classic James Bond books... the character is so much more vivid than in the movies. But truthfully, I did not enjoy this one as much as I had hoped. The most vivid passages in this book are Ian Fleming's descriptions of food, cars, jazz, and women and, overall, give the impression of an aging hedonist revelling in the missed opportunities of his youth. Bond seems more metro-sexual yuppie and less bad-ass spy. He is promptly discovered and captured during every act of subterfuge an...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
people who love adventure or espionage thrillers.
With the latest Bond movie right around the corner, I decided to go back and read some of Ian Fleming's old Bond books. I started reading Live and Let Die in college, but couldn't get into it at the time. I always preferred the later Bond books, which were more fanciful and action-packed. This one (the second in the series) is pretty exciting for such an early entry and has a very different feel to the first book Casino Royale. Where Casino Royale felt more like a one-off character study of a se...more
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Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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I read all the Ian Fleming James Bond novels in middle school and high school, and this year decided to revisit a few. They're all tinged with out-of-date attitudes about sex and race, but for the post-Civil-Rights-era reader, LIVE AND LET DIE, with its uptown negro voodoo king villain, induces more cringes per page than any other. One highlight: a fascinating scene in which James Bond, reconnoitering a Harlem juke joint, eavesdrops on the young black couple at the next table, just to practice h...more
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Read in January, 1984
recommends it for:
Bond fans, interest in racial stereotypes circa 1950s
I learned that Fleming had some racial issues in terms of cultural perspectives, or at the very least his character James Bond did. This is not the only Fleming Bond novel with vivid depiction of racial/racist perspectives held by the protoganist, with various books referring with varying degrees of lurid disdain to Koreans, Japanese, certain East European countries, etc.
And, it's a Fleming Bond book, vivid depiction of people and places, an almost heavy-handedly masculine plot-movement, and...more
And, it's a Fleming Bond book, vivid depiction of people and places, an almost heavy-handedly masculine plot-movement, and...more
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For the first time since I was a teenager I am working my way through the Bond books (this one is of course number 2.) It certainly is more of a whole novel than Casino Royale, which felt like an introduction.
Modern commentators have often mentioned the very 1950s attitudes towards race, and there are more than a few points where you can get PC. But then - for better or worse - it is a product of its time. The scenes in Harlem are not actually drawn that well, and he does better in Jamaica, ...more
Modern commentators have often mentioned the very 1950s attitudes towards race, and there are more than a few points where you can get PC. But then - for better or worse - it is a product of its time. The scenes in Harlem are not actually drawn that well, and he does better in Jamaica, ...more
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This is Fleming's second Bond book, and quite an exciting and quick read/listen. Bond is still recovering from his Casino Royale adventure when he's thrust into this Jamaica-to-Harlem treasure scheme. His good friend Leiter, the Texan CIA agent, joins the adventure, and he's a worthy companion. Trevor pointed out that Fleming's evil mastermind character starts to take form in this novel--the description of how the mastermind will do away with Bond in a terrifically creative fashion before he act...more
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Read in September, 2008
Fresh out of Casino Royale, Bond is assigned to investigate the movement of gold coins believed to be funding the evil Russian organization SMERSH. From NYC to Florida to Jamaica, Bond traces the doubloons to the crime machinations of Mr. Big, a voodoo daddy based in Harlem. Along the way there are smugglers of poisonous fish, bombs on a train, and an angry octopus beneath a coral reef. Zombies are promised but are never delivered. Instead we get a (possibly) psychic hottie named Solitaire. I'll...more
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Read in November, 2008
The Fleming novels are a much more human interpretation of the bond character. Yes he still gets the job done and gets the girl(s) but there are consequences and prices to pay for decisions and goals - they take their toll on the hero and are much more evident than what we see in the movies. Much less action as well. I love these books.
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Read in June, 2008
Picked this up as part of the Times newspaper's promotion in the run up to the publication of Devil May Care.
This is the first time I have read a Bond story, traditionally I have always just watched the films.
I was pleasantly surprised by the use of language and description Fleming uses, although of course there is still some terminology that makes the modern reader wince.
I also didn't realise that the films were quite different from the books, even Live and Let Die, which is one of ...more
This is the first time I have read a Bond story, traditionally I have always just watched the films.
I was pleasantly surprised by the use of language and description Fleming uses, although of course there is still some terminology that makes the modern reader wince.
I also didn't realise that the films were quite different from the books, even Live and Let Die, which is one of ...more
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This is the first Ian Fleming I have read and I really liked it. His books a very accessible. Now I know why he has had almost everything he wrote adapted to film. But the strange thing is that the book is nothing like the movie. Maybe the plot is about the same. But the tone and pacing are completely different. James Bond is actually an interesting, likable character. Not just some two-dimensional stereotype. I might just pick up everything else Fleming wrote. The closest thing to this...more
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Fleming's writing-style and story-telling greatly improved between Casino Royal and LALD. Unfortunately, the first third of the book, in which Bond is in Harlem, is one of the most racist things I've ever read, and the entire book divides blacks and whites into two camps: those whose decisions and actions are based on "instinct" and emotion (blacks); and those whose decisions and actions are based on reason and intelligence (whites). It's disgusting, in terms of race and gender (as e...more
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much better than the move. I am enjoying the Bond books. this one was very good.
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This is a decent Bond book, with some good points but plenty of bad points as well. Bond travels to America to kill an agent of SMERSH in revenge for the events of "Casino Royale." While it's good to see Bond get some payback, the villain of "Live and Let Die" seems miles removed from the SMERSH operative in Casino Royale. However, Felix Leiter's fate (used in the film "License to Kill"), intense action, and the death of the villain make this worth a read.
NOTE: ...more
NOTE: ...more
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Read in May, 2008
Well I liked this one better than Casino Royale. I felt there was a better storyline. Still not much detail about what or how Bond thinks. I want to get into his head and see what makes him think or feel what he does. I can't stand Leiter and am hopeful that he won't be back. Who knows maybe he will. I felt the girl, Soltaire, wasn't fully developed. Although I'm getting the idea that Mr. Fleming doesn't care for female charactes but realizes that they are a "necessary evil." I'm going...more
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My favorite of the novels, yeah the racism is a bit uncomfortable but the parts in harlem and miami are really cool and the end in jamaica is flat out the best, i love the part where he trecks underwater to the island! Solitaire is one of my favorite bond girls and mr Big is definitely my favorite villain. I personally like seeing bonds spy lifestyle almost more than the action filled parts, international flights, expensive hotels, muscle strength training on the jamaican shoreline, exotic fish ...more
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