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From Russia With Love (James Bond (Original Series) #5)

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 10,263 ratings · 363 reviews

Name: Bond, James. Height: 183 cm, weight: 76 kg; slim build; eyes: blue; hair: black; scar down right cheek & on left shoulder; all-round athlete; expert pistol shot, boxer, knife-thrower; does not use disguises. Languages: French and German. Smokes heavily (NB: special cigarettes with three gold bands); vices: drink, but not to excess, and women.

Every major foreign g...more

Paperback, 259 pages

Published 2002 by Penguin Books (first published 1957)

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Apr 02, 2011 Joel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, audiobooks, seen-on-film, no-mr-bond-i-expect-you-to-die, vote-getters

I am glad to be a man in 2011, because it sounds so exhausting to hear about what life was like in the 1950s. I mean, imagine you are Ian Fleming's James Bond, sexy 1950s super spy: Every time a woman mouthed off to you, you had to take her over your knee and spank her. That sounds awkward! (My lap isn't that big.) And if you were in a relationship and she started to get fat, you'd have to beat her until she lost weight. I don't want to get home from a long day of international espionage only to...more I am glad to be a man in 2011, because it sounds so exhausting to hear about what life was like in the 1950s. I mean, imagine you are Ian Fleming's James Bond, sexy 1950s super spy: Every time a woman mouthed off to you, you had to take her over your knee and spank her. That sounds awkward! (My lap isn't that big.) And if you were in a relationship and she started to get fat, you'd have to beat her until she lost weight. I don't want to get home from a long day of international espionage only to go to work again, physically abusing my significant other! I need some rest too!

I've seen all of the Bond films, but this is the first of the books I've read. I picked From Russia with Love because it forms the basis for my favorite of the films (it was also famously one of JFK's favorite books, if you take "famously" to mean "constantly touted in documentaries about the Bond series and mentioned about six times on Wikipedia"). Reading it both increases my appreciation for the early cinematic adaptations (the first four or five films), which were fairly low-key in terms of Bond's methods and abilities and very much in keeping with, at least, this book's tone, and makes me roll my eyes even more at the gadget porn and lame quip farce the series became once Roger Moore took over. On film and in print, however, just about every iteration of the character already seems about as sociologically and politically outdated as a minstrel show.

Certainly the books are just as casually misogynist as the movies: both on the page and on the screen, Bond is constantly falling into bed with pliant, idiotic women, at least when he's not patting their bottoms and telling them to run along and let the men talk. FRWL has one of the dumber Bond girls -- Tatiana Romanova, a Soviet "spy" who sounds like little more than an office drone, easily manipulated by her superiors into participating in a mission that will require her to literally whore herself out for her country in an attempt to seduce 007. It's part of a larger plot to discredit Her Majesty's Secret Service, but Tatiana is daft enough to assume Bond will come to no harm, even though she is manipulated into participating by Rosa Klebb, the KGB's own sadistic S&M bisexual sex torturing grandma (for a classic example of "deviant" sexuality as an indication of evil, look no further than the ugly old lady who puts on a sexy negligee and tries to fondle an unsuspecting and helpless young girl).

So yeah, you pretty much have to take this entire book, and the mythos of the Bond character, with a whole shaker of salt. I like to pretend I'm watching Mad Men, and this is all sly commentary on gender roles in an unenlightened era, even though I know that's not the case: then and, probably, now, James Bond represented a paragon of masculinity to a lot of men (and maybe some women). The notion that the KGB is able to trick HMSS into getting involved in the plot sounds asinine -- Tatiana is supposed to have fallen in love with Bond from reading his file and looking at a picture; no one from M on down questions this story because women are just that brainless. Bond gets lots of advice on how to complete the seduction -- don't be too nice, women want to be put in their place. And of course, despite knowing she's just on the job, Tatiana instantly falls for James, practically bursting into genuine tears when he starts questioning the motives of her defection (and within a few days is, yes, asking him to beat her if she gets too fat because she is happy in their relationship. Bond: "Certainly, I will beat you."). Writing women: not Ian Fleming's strong suit.

All the series' tropes are on display, including the villain who prefers to monologue about his evil plan before pulling the trigger (though at least there's a somewhat plausible reason for it). Tense action, including a brutal fight to the death in the close confines of a train berth. Mild gadgetry (a nifty trick suitcase) and gratuitous sex (Gypsy catfight! Clothes ripped off! Bosoms bared!).

If you can laugh at the sexism instead of fuming about it, this is still a fun little potboiler with an interesting structure -- the first third is entirely from the Russian point of view, setting up the motivations for the villainous plot and developing interesting antagonists like Red Grant, a sociopathic brute who for some reason only kills during a full moon (hey, at least he doesn't, say, only shoot people with gold bullets or bite them to death with his metal teeth). Bond doesn't even appear until nearly 100 pages in, sulking in a hotel, depressed and bored after the fallout from his prior Case (oh, hidden series pun!). Interestingly, Bond is allowed to be much more human in the books; even in the Connery films, he's a bit of a cartoon, and only the new ones with Daniel Craig have given him an interior life beyond what is happening in his pants (which, of course, prompted a bunch of criticism that the character was being "feminized," which means maybe that the sexism isn't as outdated as I'd like to pretend).(less)

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Mar 31, 2011 Sandy Tjan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, ebook, mystery-thriller

What I learned from this book (in no particular order):

1. The ideal Soviet master assassin is a man who is:

a. the offspring of a German wrestler and a Southern Irish hooker;
b. extremely muscular and hairy;
c. possessed of a high threshold for pain;
d. manic during the full moon; and
e. asexual (“Sexual neutrality was the essence of coldness in an individual”) --- but love to parade around naked.

2. Ugly women are mannish and have breasts that looked like badly packed sandbags, and when they pull ba...more

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Jun 04, 2013 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: British secret agents, Guys who pretend they read Playboy for the articles

Shelves: spy, thriller, audiobook, british-literature

Ian Fleming should get more credit than he does for writing fast-paced tightly-plotted thrillers. A little improbable at times? Sure, but the James Bond of the books is nothing like the superhero of the movies. This is adventure fiction that stays within the bounds of reason, and it's full of (almost) believable heroes and villains and not nearly as many outrageous gadgets as in the movies either. (Bond is actually given a cynanide pill dispenser in this book; he laughs and washes them down the...more Ian Fleming should get more credit than he does for writing fast-paced tightly-plotted thrillers. A little improbable at times? Sure, but the James Bond of the books is nothing like the superhero of the movies. This is adventure fiction that stays within the bounds of reason, and it's full of (almost) believable heroes and villains and not nearly as many outrageous gadgets as in the movies either. (Bond is actually given a cynanide pill dispenser in this book; he laughs and washes them down the drain.)

The plot is basically "Get Bond!" SMERSH wants to kill a prominent rival agent to send a message to all the other intelligence agencies, intimidate double agents, and impress the Kremlin. We get lots of Russian political machinations and the background of all the villains (and the love interest, Tatiana Romanova) before Bond is even introduced. Then to the story: SMERSH lures Bond to Turkey in what's an obvious trap, baited with Romanova and a Russian decoding device, but MI6 sends Bond anyway because the potential payoff is too good to pass up. Bond meets Romanova, is completely taken in by her, and makes several other blunders that will surprise anyone who's used to the cold, flawless cinematic Bond, before he confronts the real enemy, a psychopathic Irish defector who is now SMERSH's top assassin.

I like the original Bond stories; they're still fun despite being so dated. The literary 007 is a much more interesting character than he ever was on-screen. He's still a sexist pig, though, and he's usually one of the less misogynistic characters. Fleming was writing before Political Correctness was a blip on anyone's radar, so the books are chock-full of cringe-inducingly racist and sexist stereotypes. But if you can embrace them as the guilty pleasure they are, I think they are well worth reading, and From Russia with Love is a taut little thriller where the early chapters before Bond even appears are some of the most interesting. (But you'll want to read the rest for the naked gypsy catfight, the lesbian Soviet interrogation specialist and her poisoned knitting needles, the asexual pseudo-lycanthropic serial killer, the Istanbul dungeon crawl, and the Turkish spice merchant who tells Bond how he used his harem to raise his own personal spy ring.)(less)

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May 05, 2013 Xavier Guillaume rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Spy Film Lovers, Those interested in espionage and intrigue

Love it! I've never been much of a James Bond fan until the Daniel Craig films, well...minus Quantum of Solace. Anyway, I recently saw Skyfall in theaters and was blown away. Best Bond film ever! Anyway, I wanted to see if there was a book it was based off of, but unfortunately no...But then I decided, "Hey! Why not try some of the other books anyway? Maybe I'll like it." So I picked up From Russia with Love. I decided on this one, because I'm kind of a russophile. Just the language and the cult...more Love it! I've never been much of a James Bond fan until the Daniel Craig films, well...minus Quantum of Solace. Anyway, I recently saw Skyfall in theaters and was blown away. Best Bond film ever! Anyway, I wanted to see if there was a book it was based off of, but unfortunately no...But then I decided, "Hey! Why not try some of the other books anyway? Maybe I'll like it." So I picked up From Russia with Love. I decided on this one, because I'm kind of a russophile. Just the language and the culture, I love it. I love the cover of this version especially because of the Cyrillic typewriter keys. For some reason Cyrillic is such a sexy alphabet. Perhaps that's why the publisher chose it...to go with the demure-looking woman on the cover. :)

What I loved about it...Ian Fleming does a remarkable job describing a room. He pays such close attention to detail, and in a book about spies and espionage, details are so important. While reading for the first time, I kept paying attention to every single vase on a table, or microphone in the room, as though it would play into some importance later in the book. It was kind of like an interesting game of I Spy. I spy with my little eye freshly painted walls, and a tapestry behind a desk that slightly wavers as though there is a secret room behind it... :)

What else...the characters in the book are intriguing. I love how detailed it gets into the assassin's life, and of course James Bond is so cool, how can anyone not love him?

I felt as though, however, that because I haven't read #1-4 first, I missed a bit of the backstory concerning Bond's previous missions. It didn't ruin the book of course, or leave me bewildered and confused throughout, but I feel as though I would have understood a few parts more if I read the previous ones.

Do I recommend this book? Well, kind of yes, but with reluctance to whom I'm recommending it. There is one scene where two women fight to the death, and they end up tearing each other's clothes off until they are tearing at each other naked. To say the least, the scene seems like a violent sexualization of women (concerning a man no less), which I suppose some people might find considerably appealing, but some who would find the scene somewhat distasteful. If that does bother you, overall, the book is kind of tame. There are some brief scenes of violence, but the book is more about the intrigue and the plot than gratuitous scenes of sex, death, and mayhem.

Anyway, From Russia with Love is an awesome book, and I'm curious what people think of the ending. It's so surprising, it left me going "WHAAAAAT???" I'm guessing the next one picks up where this one leaves off, because if so, it's kind of hard to not read the next one. Now I see why these books were so popular, and I could totally see people getting into them again. There is kind of an addictive appeal to the books, and I'll probably read them all eventually. :)(less)

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Jan 18, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, middleeast, england

I feel guilty reading these books for a variety of reasons. One, they are sinfully good. Two, they are undeniably racist and sexist. Three, I think I'm reading a first edition (the real owner of these books stole/borrowed them from a distant relative) and they are disintegrating in my hands as I read them. Every time I turn the page it comes away from the binding. Is it sacrilege to destroy a 1st edition Bond book?

The most surprising thing about these books is Fleming's prose. His descriptions...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Steven Peterson rated it 4 of 5 stars

A standard James Bond thriller. The Bond woman this time is an attractive (of course) Soviet female agent. Bond is up against a Soviet spy agency, SMERSH, as he tries to retrieve Soviet technology for Great Britain. A rousing, action-oriented tale. Not great writing, not great plotting, not great characterizations. But a lot of fun! And a quirky ending. . . .

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Mar 17, 2008 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was an unexpected surprise... I started it and within the first few pages, there were boobs and I thought to myself, this is going to be like a trashy romance novel for dudes. And there were parts of it that were. (two naked gypsies fighting to the death? seriously?) There were also parts that got made my feminist sense tingle like spiderman. But on the whole, the book was actually really well-crafted and gripping, with incredibly insightful tidbits that made me stop and say "wow yeah...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Zimraanmhs added it

*************** SPOILER ALERT*****************

This is one of the greatest spy novels, let alone Bond novel ever written. Ian Fleming uses all of his skill, experience and knowledge to mix in all the aspects which make a great novel. This book has suspense, thrills, romance, action and intrigue.
This Bond book portrays the Soviet Union as the enemy, which in the time of publication, wasn't very hard to imagine. Bond has become number one on the USSR's most wanted list, and has to weave and dodge...more

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Jun 08, 2013 Bob Price rated it 2 of 5 stars

The name is Bond. James Bond.

Any time I hear this iconic line, it throws me back to one of my favorite movie series.

From Russia With Love is the fifth James Bond novel by Ian Fleming. I wanted to like it...I really really wanted to like it. And this is a difficult review to write just as this was difficult book to evaluate.

Fleming starts off this book somewhat differently. Instead of focusing on his iconic hero, Fleming shifts the action to give the back story of the book's arch villain, a ru...more

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May 14, 2013 Frank Hughes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not surprising that the book that was turned into the best James Bond film is also the best James Bond novel. This is Fleming at his most self-assured, with a solid plot, a wealth of fascinating characters, and, in Istanbul, a setting that was at the time still remote, exotic, and mysterious. We learn more about Bond's background here, get a more three dimensional picture of him, and see the first tiny chinks in his armor that eventually lead to his near disintegration in "You Only Live Twice"....more

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Mar 28, 2013 Bob Keeney rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've seen all the movies, but the books by Ian Fleming are something else altogether. Forget the cartoonish, over the top James Bond, with all the high tech gadgets. Here, Bond is equipped with his wits (often dimmed with whiskey), his intuition (often flawed) and a briefcase supplied by MI5, which features hidden compartments for bullets and knives. The great thing about this book is how it takes you back to the early 60s days of the Cold War, with the political and social commentary supplied b...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Caren Estesen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-booklist

I recently downloaded From Russia With Love to my Kindle. I'd never read any Fleming novels before, but after reading Robert Caro's The Passage of Power (an amazing book in its own right) state that it was Kennedy's favorite book i was curious to see what drew him to it.

My James Bond knowledge comes strictly from the movies. The first I saw starred Pierce Brosnan as Bond battling Xenia Onatopp, gleefully played by Famke Janssen and the real villain, Sean Bean. Goldeneye was fun because of the ga...more I recently downloaded From Russia With Love to my Kindle. I'd never read any Fleming novels before, but after reading Robert Caro's The Passage of Power (an amazing book in its own right) state that it was Kennedy's favorite book i was curious to see what drew him to it.

My James Bond knowledge comes strictly from the movies. The first I saw starred Pierce Brosnan as Bond battling Xenia Onatopp, gleefully played by Famke Janssen and the real villain, Sean Bean. Goldeneye was fun because of the gadgets, the girls, and the idea that Bond was battling his alter ego. There were Russians involved, but they were just background characters. The real meat was between good vs bad Brit.

The newer Bond films are much better. I don't think it's a matter of acting; Daniel Craig is fine if a little rougher than Brosnan.The point of the Bond movies aren't about delivery of lines, though. They're gadgets and guns, well-choreographed fight scenes and Judi Dench pursing her lips. So how could the medium of what started it all, the actual Ian Fleming novels, specifically From Russia With Love, reset my understanding of Jack Kennedy's favorite book?

From Russia With Love has something that modern spy novels and movies from today don't have: restraint. This version of James Bond is a romantic. He's supposed to be able to handle a gun, be a good knife thrower, studied basic judo moves and withstand a lot of pain. Yet in the first major fight scene of the book he nearly is killed when his opponents get the drop on him. At the end of the book, small toad-like Rosa Klebb has the last laugh when she kicks him with a trick boot (a knife protrudes that is tipped with poison). Yes it's a gadget, but I like that this thoroughly unpleasant creature gets to wield it. Bond keels over and the story ends.

Despite having an impressive number of skills--gun slinging, knife throwing, judo and high pain tolerance--Fleming doesn't fall into the trap of making Bond unbreakable. The reason that book works so well is that the reader gets the feeling that Bond has an equal chance of dying as he does living. Bond is intelligent, athletic and cunning. But all it takes is for his opponents to have those abilities as well and the danger is suddenly real. It doesn't matter how good looking he is. After all, Rosa Klebb, head of Smersh, is small and toad-like. Yet she's the one who wields what could be Bond's death blow. (We all know it's not since there are plenty more books in the series.) The point is Fleming makes sure Bond knows that his luck, the most important part of his bag of tricks, will one day run out.

What is most refreshing about reading From Russia With Love is that Bond sees himself as a soldier for M. There is no being reluctantly good at his job (Jack Bauer in 24). There isn't the idea that he is crazier than his adversary (Carrie Mathison in Homeland). Bond has a job that he enjoys, but understands it's still a job. That kind of restraint hasn't been done in a long time, making it a quaint trait of yesterday's spies.(less)

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Jan 22, 2013 Benjamin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book caught me by surprise. I have been reading, on and off, the James Bond books, in order. This is number five. So far, I have really enjoyed Casino Royal and Moonraker. Both had some interesting action, and both had a fun twist in the end that made the book entertaining. Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever, on the other hand, left me wanting something more. No twist, episodic action, formulaic plots, they were easy and entertaining reads, but nothing that I would recommend to a fri...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Will rated it 2 of 5 stars

"Bond tried the handle of the door. It was unlocked. He slipped the pass key into his coat-pocket. He pushed the door open with one swift motion and stepped in and shut it behind him.

It was a typical Ritz sitting-room, extremely elegant, with good Empire furniture. The walls were white and the curtains and chair covers were of a small pattered chintz of red roses on white. The carpet was wine-red and close-fitted.

In a pool of sunshine, in a low armed chair beside a Directoire writing desk, a l...more "Bond tried the handle of the door. It was unlocked. He slipped the pass key into his coat-pocket. He pushed the door open with one swift motion and stepped in and shut it behind him.

It was a typical Ritz sitting-room, extremely elegant, with good Empire furniture. The walls were white and the curtains and chair covers were of a small pattered chintz of red roses on white. The carpet was wine-red and close-fitted.

In a pool of sunshine, in a low armed chair beside a Directoire writing desk, a little old woman sat knitting.

The tinkle of the steel needles continued. The eyes behind light-blue tinted bifocals examined Bond with polite curiousity.

'Oui, Monsieur?' The voice was deep and hoarse. The thickly powdered, rather puffy face under the white hair showed nothing but well-bred interest.

Bond's hand on the gun under his coat was taut as a steel spring. His half-closed eyes flickered round the room and back to the little old woman in the chair.

Had he made a mistake? Was this the wrong room? Should he apologize and get out? Could this woman possibly belong to SMERSH? She looked so exactly like the sort of respectable rich widow one would expect to find sitting by herself in the Ritz, whiling the time away with her knitting. The sort of woman who would have her own table, and her favorite waiter, in a corner of the restaurant downstairs - not, of course, the grill room. The sort of woman who would doze after lunch and then be fetched by an elegant black limosine with white side-walled tyres and be driven to the tea room in the rue de Berri to meet some other rich crone. The old-fashioned black dress with the touch of lace at the throat and wrists, the thin gold chain that hung down over the shapeless bosom and ended in a folding lorgnette, the neat little feet in the sensible black-buttoned boots that barely touched the floor. It couldn't be Klebb! Bond had got the number of the room wrong. He could feel the perspiration under his arms. But now he would have to play the scene through.

'My name is Bond, James Bond.'"(less)

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Dec 24, 2012 Eligah Boykin jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the more suspenseful of the original thirteen novels published by Ian Fleming. It has a tight construction to it and the cat and mouse game between Bond and the hired assassin from SPECTRE is particularly edge-of-your-seat business. Everything has this air of authenticity about it and plays like Fleming was using a report from the offices of her Majesty's Secret Service as a plot outline.

The fascinating thing is that while being one of the longer novels, it was one of the easies...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Jerome rated it 3 of 5 stars

Once introduced to the plot, Bond basically blunders through, oblivious to anything resembling tradecraft or even common sense, and comes across as an arrogant amateur. And his admiration of Darko Kerim seems ill-placed given that the man laughingly admits to kidnapping and rape in his misspent youth. Haha, what a rake...

The writing is generally lazy. Every character who encounters Tatiana has to compare her to a young Greta Garbo (including herself admiring her reflection in a mirror!). Nash co...more Once introduced to the plot, Bond basically blunders through, oblivious to anything resembling tradecraft or even common sense, and comes across as an arrogant amateur. And his admiration of Darko Kerim seems ill-placed given that the man laughingly admits to kidnapping and rape in his misspent youth. Haha, what a rake...

The writing is generally lazy. Every character who encounters Tatiana has to compare her to a young Greta Garbo (including herself admiring her reflection in a mirror!). Nash constantly calls Bond "old man" until it's as tiresome to the reader as it is for 007 himself.

All said, don't get me wrong. It's not a bad book, not even a bad Bond novel, but it's hardly the best in the series. The Orient Express and Turkey sequences are suitably exotic and the ending is not to be missed, so it's worth a look at least.

Darko Kerim is a fascinating charcter, if one ignores his gross male chauvinism (of course the entire James Bond series is not excatly politicially correct). He is also a first-rate agent and runs an excellent network. But only a MADMAN would make him the HEAD of the British spy agency in Turkey. A local man, with his own agenda which is not neccesarily in accord with the diplomatic and political interest of the United Kingdom, who is at least half a criminal and gagnster, who conducts private alliances and vendettas with Soviet agents and gypsy tribes. To let such a man run completely free of supervison? Total, irresponsible madness. There should be a regular properly trained British agent on the spot, to keep a close watch on him and his family members. And since there was no such agent, what do they do? Blow up the soviet Consulate in retaliation for the detah of the partriach! British agents blow up a Soviet consulate. A ring of Turks financed and affiliated to the British Secret Service just undertake this kind of major major major interntional provocation on thier own as a private revenge, of course without any authorisation from London or bothering to let London know they were going to do it. And the story just goes over the incident for one page, notes the fact and goes on with the plot.

If they Soviets had a gram of sense, they would have discarded the whole plot against James Bond, since they just got a hundred times better one handed to them on a platter. An opportunity to throughly emabarass the British Secret Service (much more than the whole carefully concotted plot could possibly have done), create a major diplomatic row between Britain and its NATO ally Turkey, a major scandal inside Britian. At the very bare minimum, Her Majesty's Government would demand M.'s head on a platter, and he would fully deserve sacking for letting these Turkish kids play with fire near the powder keg.(less)

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May 30, 2012 Ian rated it 3 of 5 stars

"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 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 le...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Two Bibliomaniacs rated it 3 of 5 stars

We knew going into this one that it would be difficult to ignore the expectations set by the movies franchise. Still, there were questions we needed answered... Would Ian’s Fleming’s Bond live up to the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig? Would literary Bond’s Martini be ordered with the same confidence and single-mindedness as seen on screen? Would Bond’s ability to escape during a prolonged and overly detailed bad guy exposition be just as satisfying in novel form? Hmmmm...

Ea...more We knew going into this one that it would be difficult to ignore the expectations set by the movies franchise. Still, there were questions we needed answered... Would Ian’s Fleming’s Bond live up to the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Daniel Craig? Would literary Bond’s Martini be ordered with the same confidence and single-mindedness as seen on screen? Would Bond’s ability to escape during a prolonged and overly detailed bad guy exposition be just as satisfying in novel form? Hmmmm...

Early on, James Bond is identified as the target of a well organized Russian organization bent on taking over the world. *cue thematic and equally ominous laughter* Add a highly attractive female as bate and it would seem that the fate of MI6’s favorite child would be all but sealed. Not so fast! Foiling the plan will take every bit of Bond’s survival instincts and award winning smile. Will he perish in his attempt to save the world? The ending might just surprise you....

We are happy to report that the literary James Bond met our expectations. Yes, there were a few things we questioned, like why was our hero found wallowing in a profound state of paperwork when he was finally introduced? What the heck! He’s supposed to be out shooting bad guys and playing games of high stakes poker, not filing TPS reports... Still, our overall experience was positive and for the most part Bond was just as cool a character in page form as he is on the screen, although he does get injured a little more. Oh, and some of his one-liners were a bit lacking.

Once From Russia with Love got going, the plot was very suspenseful and filled with a cast of great bad guys (and girls). The scenes on the Orient Express were especially entertaining, although between Ian Fleming and Agatha Christie, this train doesn’t seem like the safest way to travel. Anyway, we thought it was awesome that the highly trained, efficient, no personality, assassin had a copy of a P.G. Wodehouse novel at one point. Actually, the only parts of the novel that annoyed us was the occasional politically UN-correctness. At one point the female lead actually encouraged James to beat her if she ever ate too much and got fat. Really?

We do hope to continue reading more James Bond in the near future and thanks to a rare helpful tip from our research department, will be giving Casino Royale a try next, which is supposed to be book 1 in the series. Any other James Bond aficionados out there?
(less)

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Oct 06, 2011 Devlin Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-companions

This book is very special to me for one particular reason...it was the first book I had bought with my own money when I was a child. It was, of course, the cover that compelled me to purchase it, I think most of us are guilty of judging a book in this manner. I used to while away the hours in a local bookshop. I would walk up and down the isles dreaming of all the wonderous adventures each tome held within. Then, I saw the spy section of the shop. The covers, the titles, all left me in awe of wh...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Dfordoom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: spy-fiction

Recently I’ve found myself involved in an extraordinary number of discussions on the topic of James Bond, and more specifically on the subject of Ian Fleming’s original novels. Since it as years since I’d read any of the novels I got hold of a copy of From Russia with Love (one of the bond novels that I’d never read) and sat down and read it.

Fleming’s spy novels are not quite as I’d remembered them. While they certainly emphasise a fairly glamorous and action-packed side to espionage I found thi...more Recently I’ve found myself involved in an extraordinary number of discussions on the topic of James Bond, and more specifically on the subject of Ian Fleming’s original novels. Since it as years since I’d read any of the novels I got hold of a copy of From Russia with Love (one of the bond novels that I’d never read) and sat down and read it.

Fleming’s spy novels are not quite as I’d remembered them. While they certainly emphasise a fairly glamorous and action-packed side to espionage I found this one to be darker than I’d remembered.

And while the 1960s espionage thrillers of people like John le Carré and Len Deighton were in many ways a reaction against the glamorous depiction of spies it’s worth pointing out that Fleming was just as obsessed as they were with making the background as authentic as possible. While an organisation like the Soviet SMERSH (an acronym for Death To Spies) which served as Bond’s nemesis sounds lie something goofy the author made up it wasn’t. SMERSH really did exist.

One thing that was more or less as I’d remembered it was Fleming’s somewhat bizarre attitude towards women. It’s long been rumoured that Fleming’s sexual tastes were a trifle outré. The scene where the two gypsy girls must fight to the death to decide who gets to marry the man they both love tends to support this.

But once again it’s not quite that simple. The mistakes Bond makes in this adventure come about because he is unable to treat the Russian spy Tatiana as a mere sex object. He goes and falls in love with her.

And while there’s a pulpiness to the content at times the style isn’t really pulpy. Fleming was more than just a hack.

Overall From Russia with Love was a rather better book than I’d been expecting. Yes there is sexism there that will make modern readers a bit uncomfortable, but compared to the sexism in some of the other crime and espionage writers of the 50s (Mickey Spillane comes to mind) I think it’s possible to overlook it and still enjoy the ride.
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Aug 12, 2011 Jonathan Mckay rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoy James Bond films, and while awaiting the debut of Quantum of Solace, found From Russia with Love on the shelves of Kelly’s lake cabin I picked it up, curious to see how Ian Fleming’s character compared to those of the films. One look at the book and it is clear that Ian Flemings novels opposite to the political-military thrillers like Hunt For Red October and the book is marketed as a mystery. Yet the book contains no enigma- the Soviet plot to kill Bond is revealed in the exposition. Pe...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Joshua rated it 4 of 5 stars

An oh-so-innocent Russian cipher clerk is recruited into a SMERSH plot, being told that she would feed England false information after "defecting". Little does she know that the actual plan is to humiliate MI6 by staging a murder-suicide between her and her escort, James Bond.

This is technically a review of the Simon Vance audiobook, but it's an unabridged reading.

The Good:

Action scenes: Fleming writes them so well. That penultimate scene with the top SMERSH killer is my favorite scene in the b...more An oh-so-innocent Russian cipher clerk is recruited into a SMERSH plot, being told that she would feed England false information after "defecting". Little does she know that the actual plan is to humiliate MI6 by staging a murder-suicide between her and her escort, James Bond.

This is technically a review of the Simon Vance audiobook, but it's an unabridged reading.

The Good:

Action scenes: Fleming writes them so well. That penultimate scene with the top SMERSH killer is my favorite scene in the book.

Feel: It has that compulsively-readable, fast-paced, insubstantial, not-probable-but-not-quite-absurd, spy thriller feel.

Villians: Red Grant and Rosa Klebb do rank up there. I must admit that Grant, with the exception of his absurd full moon urges, is one of the most menacing villians I've read.

The Bad:

Bond Acts Like A Tool: From reading Casino Royale, I knew that there was a certain quality of fatalism to Bond. However, in this book he acts with such little care. Although a lot of his risky actions were justifiable, there were some points where it is obvious that Fleming needed to keep the plot going. The biggest example of this was when Bond, despite escorting a defector and some extremely valuable cargo, decides to complete a train ride which he knows has a trap somewhere, because he, by his own admission, is perversely curious to see what it is. Nice way to put England first, James.

The Bizarre:

Misogyny and Racism: Fleming was very much a product of his time. One of his characters casually mentions that the Turks are unfit for civilization and that they are only happy when they have a Sultan around to rule them. And then he goes on about how he once tamed a wild girl by chaining her naked to his table. Perhaps if I was Turkish or a woman, I would find this all offensive, but I am neither, so I just find it funny as hell.

That Gypsy Women Semi-Naked Duel To The Death Scene: Did that scene have any (non-erotic) reason for being written? Any at all?

All in all, it's not perfect, but I think it was worth the read. I recommend it to fans of fast-paced thrillers.
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May 08, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone interested in Bond, or just generally up for a spy thriller.

Shelves: mystery-and-espionage

As the story goes, Ian Fleming's fifth Bond novel was going to be his last. The first four of his spy series had not been as well received and popular as he'd like, so his intention was to end on 'From Russia With Love,' with James Bond finally meeting his match and dying in the end.

Fleming spent more time writing and re-writing this epic than any of his other novels, and it shows. There is so much brilliant exposition, and the prose is tip top. It is about 150 words into the novel before Bond e...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Jeffrey rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have watched plenty of James Bond movies but never read any of the books, so I decided to start with this one. The Bond of the books is definitely different from the film incarnation - and is very much a creature of 1950s upper-class Britain - but once you adjust your expectations for a certain degree of fifties-style serious un-PC-ness and "white man's burden"-style view of other cultures, I'd say the books are much more enjoyable than the movies. Bond comes across not as a superman character...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Arjun Mishra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature

You can tell that Fleming intends this particular book to be his masterpiece of the Bond series. I am not so sure that it is the best one (then again, I am only halfway through the Fleming series), as I thought Casino Royale and Moonraker to be on par with this. However, the methods he employs in setting the scene, the story; the strength and effort he puts in describing new characters and treachery; the sheer intrigue that is accomplished by creating a plausible backstory; it all really does cu...more You can tell that Fleming intends this particular book to be his masterpiece of the Bond series. I am not so sure that it is the best one (then again, I am only halfway through the Fleming series), as I thought Casino Royale and Moonraker to be on par with this. However, the methods he employs in setting the scene, the story; the strength and effort he puts in describing new characters and treachery; the sheer intrigue that is accomplished by creating a plausible backstory; it all really does culminate in something that could be the masterpiece of the series. The overt USSR aspect of it also sets it in that direction, as no matter where Bond is taken on his myriad of adventures, the USSR is the lingering enemy behind all scenarios. Mr. Big from Live and Let Die is after all, a USSR agent of sorts. SMERSH has featured throughout the series. Here they are in full-throttle. The chief executioner of SMERSH reveals himself as a lunatic killer but a poised and careful one, like a genetic and professional killer. The internal politics and activities of the USSR apparatus are revealed to us and this provides insight into how Fleming's USSR characters operate. They are always fearful and obsequious to the state. Life and body are in full service to the state, whereas Bond and M16 have a voluntary, yet definite connection to service.

Perhaps a symptom of the masterpiece attempt was Fleming's neglect of getting to Bond until the 70th page. It was an audacious attempt and I would daresay that he succeeded. We should be well-acquainted with Bond by now to know what he is doing. When he is in England, he is itching for some work because being a civil servant with desk work is the antithesis of his existence. After a mission, he is reconciling his female difficulties and close calls on his life, and vacationing somewhere English people find romantic. Otherwise, he is directly engaged in a mission. Despite his predilection to avoid routines in favor of not being predictable, he has established a fairly routine life with predictable activities. Breakfast is the same and even though the story is fascinating by itself, breakfast is where Fleming shines. The psychological insight into Bond's interaction with May and his insistence on the same products from the same place every day is like Bond's rapport with bartenders and his drink, which he named Vesper.

Fleming had to create a new friend for Bond, as M was largely missing other than in name and Felix is for American missions. Darko takes that role, and he is shown to be a maestro within the Turkey region. Turkey plays a perfect setting for this seduction, as it is a major battleground between the USSR and the West. Of course, it was designated a NATO ally to much criticism during the Cold War because it was strategically necessary. It also was the recipient of aid from the Truman Doctrine to stave off Communism, along with traditional enemy Greece. Fleming does not seem to take too kindly to Turkey, though. He extols a few aspects of the country, but he avoids its history and foundations, leaving his depiction of Turkey as belligerent Gypsies. He also indulges the classic Orient Express, which is a staple of murder stories like these. I must say that I was severely disappointed in Bond for many reasons here. He almost fell out of the protagonist lenience gaze that he is afforded into pure idiocy. What is he doing so seamlessly and moronically being seduced by a SMERSH agent? It looks like a transparent set up. I am surprised that M and Bond fell for it, even as Darko advised him to deny it. It results in the death of Darko and then Bond inexplicably allows the chief executioner to board the train with him and become his confidante, despite his egregious awkwardness and inability to connect with Bond on the majority of English customs (perhaps because he has anti-social personality disorder, but that is an anachronism). If this leads to Bond feeling that he is severely out of touch with his spy instincts, I am okay with the intrigue this otherwise confounding situation delivers.

Another symptom of the masterpiece is the conclusion. After all, there is a cliffhanger as opposed to a resolution. Any series of possibilities are bound to happen. I am excited for Dr. No. (less)

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Apr 29, 2013 El rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: james-bond, late20th-centurylit, library-borrow

From Russia With Love, movie trailer.

My Bond project continues with From Russia With Love, the second Bond film and the fifth Bond book (and yes, this out-of-order thing is totally starting to bug me... but I will prevail!).

So most interesting, in the movie the group that's after Bond is the non-specific SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion), whereas in the book it's the very, very Soviet organization SMERSH (...mumble mumble mumble something Rus...more

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Sep 26, 2010 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

I did enjoy this. I enjoyed Kerim Bey's character and the way Flemming describes the streets of Istanbul. I love the fact that Flemming includes within his characters the prejudices of the time; the brutal mysoginy he describes and the ammorality lend real personality to the story, book and characters. Unfortunately, people can't appreciate that these discriminations lend a reality to the novel, usually a reality that they can't come to accept and is almost ever-present in the Bond series; they...more

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Apr 02, 2009 F.R. rated it 5 of 5 stars

With 'From Russia With Love' I thought I'd reached a book which would be close to the film. As such I was somewhat surprised by the first 100 or so Bond-less pages. And yet, that opening worked very well. Fleming has spent the last four books building up the character of James Bond, and so can take time away to show the rest of his universe. Besides, much like Harry Lime in the film of 'The Third Man', the fact he's constantly being talked about means he's actually always there.

This is the best...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Cory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

This was a re-read -- I remember reading it on its own many, many years ago for a university course about spy fiction, with a professor who got very excited about Rosa Klebb (for some reason known only to himself, but it was really rather off-putting). The thing about this one out of the Bonds that I've read so far is that this time Fleming's attention to detail and verisimilitude is pointedly aimed at Russia, and for all I know he's making it up, but it feels very, very real. Bond is his likeab...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Paul Lyons rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ian Fleming's fifth book in his James Bond series was a difficult read for me...and I can't say I enjoyed it very much. For "From Russia With Love"...Fleming choose to experiment a little with the format he first established in 1953 with "Casino Royale."

Unlike the previous four Bond books, Fleming choose to alter the structure completely...setting up the Russian SMERSH antagonists first...then not introducing James Bond to the story until page 97 (!!). Needless to say, I spent the first part of...more Ian Fleming's fifth book in his James Bond series was a difficult read for me...and I can't say I enjoyed it very much. For "From Russia With Love"...Fleming choose to experiment a little with the format he first established in 1953 with "Casino Royale."

Unlike the previous four Bond books, Fleming choose to alter the structure completely...setting up the Russian SMERSH antagonists first...then not introducing James Bond to the story until page 97 (!!). Needless to say, I spent the first part of the book confused...then once I realized what Fleming was doing, I found myself anxious for 007 to make his entrance. I would probably admire the idea of what Fleming did more...if the second part of the book paid off what was promised in the beginning. Was all of that elaborate set-up with the exploration of the politics and inner-workings of SMERSH necessary, I wonder? Did it help enhance the book's "Part II"? I am not sure that it did...

As much as I admired elements of the book...such as the "Kerim" character, as well as the vicious monsters Red Grant, and Rosa Kleb...I too often found myself bored with the story...especially the scene at the Turkish gypsy camp, and the overlong Turkish underground sequence, with the rats and the periscope. Fleming's previous books all had a great, tight, suspenseful pace to them...Even the lackluster "Diamonds Are Forever" moved along at a steady, easily digestible pace. Yet this time around, Fleming not only altered the structure of his 007 story, he also altered the style of prose he choose to convey his tale...and not for the better.

Worse, the book has no ending! It just ends on a cliffhanger...with the supposed death of James Bond (by Rosa Klebb's poisonous book-knife)...making one feel undernourished, and unresolved by story's finish. A most unsatisfying ending indeed. Granted, the book suffers by comparison to the superior 1963 Terrence Young film FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE...which uses many of the story elements of the book...yet thankfully alters the pace and the structure into a more satisfying suspense-thriller.

Kudos to Ian Fleming for writing this book, as it gave birth to probably the greatest James Bond movie ever..yet as a book, I was left feel bored, disappointed, and unsatisfied.

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About Ian Fleming

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Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond and chronicling his adventures in twelve novels and nine short stories. Additionally, Fleming wrote the...more

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Quotes from From Russia with Love

“But I am greedy for life. I do too much of everything all the time. Suddenly one day my heart will fail. The Iron Crab will get me as it got my father. But I am not afraid of The Crab. At least I shall have died from an honourable disease. Perhaps they will put on my tombstone. 'This Man Died from Living Too Much'.” — 19 people liked it

“Just as, at least in one religion, accidia is the first of the cardinal sins, so bordom, and particularly the incredible circumstance of waking up bored, was the only vice Bond utterly condemned.” — 4 people liked it

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From Russia With Love (James Bond (Original Series) #5)

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