People love to assume readers always think the book is better than the movie. In this case, at least in comparison to Daniel Craig's rendition, the movie is far better. James Bond is and always has been a terrible and arrogant person. As time goes on and we mature as a society, maybe we'll outgrow his personality. But, I have found the book useful in many of my courses at university over the past several years so, it will remain in my library. Also, I give it three stars based on that fact and that Fleming has written a tight little spy novel that is engrossing enough to keep a reader turning the pages. Bond, however, is just a disgusting human being. I don't think he merits half a star. ( )

Interesting and worth reading. Has some pacing issues, and some grammatical idiosyncrasies that make the audiobook flow better than the text (i started in print and switched to audio halfway through), but overall decent ( )

The bonus book for Oct/Nov 2023's Pulp/Noir theme for Biere Library Storytime Book Club!

I've previously done a Bondathon series of potlucks through the movies with grad school friends, but had never actually read any of the novels which is why I suggested it- a short, breezy read that's mostly action (though there's this odd good vs evil discussion between Bond and Mathis when the former is recuperating from torture. I'm surprised that I remember the beats from the 2006 adaptation (which by adapting Bond's introductory novel worked as a soft reset for the new Daniel Craig era), but wooooooof that movie went a long way in modernizing James Bond.

I'd have to read more, but like another of my friends' review said, I can't tell if the misogyny and racism is "of the era" for the 1950s or if this is a Bond/Ian Fleming issue. Vesper is far more on equal footing in the film, and Bond is rough but not as much of a dick if I recall. ("sweet tang of rape" really huh)

also! My bartender husband says the ratios Fleming gives for the Vesper are unbalanced, "no need for vodka, increase the lillet" ( )

it was to my expectations and more loved this book would love to read it again ( )

The first one or two of the Bond novels were new and exciting. The plot and characters seemed real to me, so I liked this one. When they became a series, they lost their appeal, became kinda trite. ( )