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Casino Royale (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Ian Fleming (Author) "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning ..." (more)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Casino Royale (Penguin Modern Classics) + Live and Let Die (Penguin Modern Classics) + Moonraker (Penguin Modern Classics)
Price For All Three: £17.97

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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (3 Jun 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141187581
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141187587
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 24,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #15 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > F > Fleming, Ian
    #48 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Thrillers > Spy Stories

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Product Description

Product Description
Introducing James Bond: charming, sophisticated, handsome; chillingly ruthless and very deadly. This, the first of Fleming's tales of agent 007, finds Bond on a mission to neutralize a lethal, high-rolling Russian operative called simply 'Le Chiffre' - by ruining him at the baccarat table and forcing his Soviet spymasters to 'retire' him. It seems that lady luck is taken with James - Le Chiffre has hit a losing streak. But some people just refuse to play by the rules, and Bond's attraction to abeautiful female agent leads him to disaster and an unexpected saviour.

About the Author
Born in London in 1908, Ian Fleming worked variously as a banker and journalist before serving in the British Naval Intelligence during World War II. He published his first novel CASINO ROYALE in 1953 and thus started the astoundingly successful James Bond novels and films. Fleming died in 1964.
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The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bond takes a chance and wins an audience, 5 Feb 2006
By F. Orion Pozo "Orion Pozo" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is the first James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming so it provides a delightful view of the character before he became an iconic figure. While Bond is particular about getting his drink right and which car he drives, they are not the same drink and car we have come to identify with him from the movies. Also, although his boss is a mysterious character referred to as M, there are no Moneypenny or Q in sight. Without Q's inventions Bond relies more on his wit than his toys to stay alive.

Originally published in 1953, Casino Royale takes a young Bond who is questioning rather than convinced of the righteousness of his tasks and puts him in what I see as an improbable situation. Le Chiffre, a French Communist labor leader, was embezzling union funds to purchase a string of whore houses only to have them closed when they are outlawed by a new law. He needs to earn back his lost funds and decides to do it through casino gambling. Eager to discredit Le Chiffre before SMERSH hitmen can kill him, Bond's superiors send him to Monte Carlo to beat Le Chiffre at Baccarat. The game between these two is described wonderfully so that even someone who has never gambled can get caught up in the excitement. However it is hard to believe that the British government would bankroll someone to defeat an enemy agent at a game of chance that wasn't fixed.

Unlike the movies, much of what is in Bond's mind is revealed in this novel. His sexism is fully-developed with thoughts like this: "These blithering women who thought they could do a man's work. Why the hell couldn't they stay at home and mind their pots and pans and stick to their frocks and gossip and leave men's work to men?" Even with an attitude like this, he manages to develop a romantic interest in his partner Vesper Lynd.

This first Bond novel is exciting and well-written. The premise seems far-fetched, but once past that it is an enjoyable introduction to the greatest spy in 20th century literature.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Bond - basic, bitter and brutal., 13 Feb 2007
By P. W. H. Bradley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The first Bond book will come as something of a shock if you have only watched the films. None of the film 'basics' are to be found - no Moneypenny, no Q, brief reference to a male 'M', and nothing by the way of gadgets. This is a new 00 and although he's a sophisticated, intelligent gambler he's new to the spy racket and somewhat uncertain. This makes a change from the buffoon as played by Moore for example, and is much closer to the Connery version. (Craig plays him as a thug, which he certainly isn't in this book.)

There are several shocking moments - when you realise that Bond has a scar down the right hand side of his face, his 70+ a day cigarette habit and a quite shocking reference to 'the sweet tang of rape'. This really is NOT the Bond we think we know - he's far harsher, more cruel and his dislike, even hatred of women, comes out very clearly.

This is Bond at his most basic, bitter and brutal, yet still compelling. The storyline is actually very dull, and the book is short, to be read in a couple of hours maximum. The secondary characters are quite poor, and if this was a 'one off' title it would have sunk without a trace. However, as an introduction to the whole Bond saga it is worth reading. If you have anything more than a passing interest in Bond, this should be right at the top of the list of books to read, but beware - you're in for some shocks, and not all of them nice ones.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly different portrayal of a legendary double-O, 15 Sep 2006
By Philip Murray (Consett, County Durham United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Casino Royale was my first adventure into the literary world of James Bond 007 after a childhood of following the films and collecting the videos. After the increasingly-cheesy adventures of the more recent films the world of Casino Royale was refreshingly cold and callous, with the Soviet context metonymically constructing harsh, paranoid undertones.

In this novel Bond is depicted as a cool, collected, steely man; a direct contrast to the Bonds of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. His chauvinistic-attitude and callous state-of-mind amplifies the edge-of-seat feeling which runs throughout the novel; from its detailed introduction to its amazing twist of a finish.

I enjoyed this novel immensely, despite its shortness and seeming lack of in-depth characterisation for some of the secondary characters. Although the plot seemed silly and unrealistic from the blurb on the cover I was pleasantly surprised with how easily I believed it; leaving me shaken and not stirred (in direct contrast to how Bond really likes his Martini) by this rollercoaster of a book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Nobody Does It Better ... Than Fleming
"Devil May Care" either made Fleming aficionados leap from their chairs and gleefully skip down to the shops to pick up a copy, or make them sob uncontrollably into their first... Read more
Published 19 days ago by David Jones

4.0 out of 5 stars Bond : The Beginning
Like most people it seems, I picked this up long after watching most of the films, including the recent Casino Royale movie. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mandrake

1.0 out of 5 stars In a time capsule or just poor
Force yourself to remember that this was written in the Cold War and treat it as such. Mr Fleming clearly saw his own world being threatened and so Bond's mission is that it is... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Officer Dibble

4.0 out of 5 stars A Darker Bond Than Was Expecting, In A Good Wat
The story of the first Bond sees him having only just recently become a double-O and is sent to gamble against and hopefully bankrupt Le Chiffre, a French Communist labour leader,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Simon Savidge "savidgeread...

5.0 out of 5 stars Sucked into the world of 007!
Wow! Having seen all the films I was already a fan of James Bond. But then I read Casino Royale, the first time I'd read one of the books and....well, what a difference! Read more
Published 6 months ago by ceb 123

4.0 out of 5 stars Fleming's excellent start -
Children have grown up over the past twenty years with James Bond a common fictional name, one that is immediately recognised, regardless of one having read the books or even seen... Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. E. Griffiths

5.0 out of 5 stars In the beginning there was Casino Royale ...
I have all the Ian Fleming 'James Bond' books and this one is the best (with 'On Her Majestys' Secret Service' a close second). Read more
Published 18 months ago by LXIX

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction To Bond
This is an enjoyable adventure story and a very quick read (just over 100 pages). It serves as a good introduction to the character of James Bond. Read more
Published on 30 May 2007 by DAZ

4.0 out of 5 stars I'd been expecting you, Mr Bond
Good tale of gambling, romance and treachery, introducing a certain obscure secret agent. The Bond character and Fleming's talent for character, description and post-war... Read more
Published on 9 May 2007 by Toby Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars How Bond should be
This is the second James Bond book I read, after reading Thunderball about 4 years ago and finding it nothing special, thus giving the other books no attention... Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2007 by Mr. Clark Gillies

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