Reviews with content warning for Torture - Casino Royale

First half of this book was super dull. Lots of explanations on how care games were played… ugh. Then, in an almost abrupt change we get quite intense excitement then torture, followed by an unusual sort of romance…

I was expecting misogyny, but was pleasantly surprised with less than I thought. Though it was still there and annoying.

There were other languages thrown in with no explanation of what they meant. So if you actually wanted to know, you either have to speak it or search it to see. It wasn’t monumentally important to the story but frustrating.

It wasn’t poorly written, just not for me as the target audience.

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ceejeffe's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What an incredibly palatable and accessible spy novel! There certainly was some stereotypical 1950s sentiment but I loved seeing that, even through a modern lense! The romance was in typical Bond-style so it was mostly superficial but it was exactly as advertised!

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catherine_t's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The book that launched a genre and a film franchise, Casino Royale introduces James Bond, British secret agent and a man of large appetites for cigarettes, alcohol, and women. In this first installment, Bond is detailed to gamble against Le Chiffre, a known Communist and suspected member of SMERSH, at the titular French casino. If Bond wins, Le Chiffre will be in serious trouble with his superiors. But Bond begins to realize, as he sits at the baccarat table, that his winning may mean losing...

Honestly, if Casino Royale had been adapted for the big screen exactly, it wouldn't have been a hit. At least a third of the book takes place at the baccarat table. It might be a high-stakes game, but visually, it's a big yawn. There are no gadgets, no sardonic one-liners, and Bond doesn't quite get the girl.

But that's not what's good about the book. What's good is Fleming's utter economy with words. Fleming can set the scene, draw a picture, or sketch a character in a sentence or two. Most people only know the flashy Bond films. You need to go back to the gritty originals, the novels, and see who James Bond really is.

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notunremarkable's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

I grew up on the movies and this is the first Bond novel I've read. Once you get past the "this was written in the 1950s" aspect behind you to get to the really good stuff. The reader is treated to Bond's internal monologue and we get to see that Bond isn't just a ruthless 00 agent. We see him as a human and suffer with him through **spoiler** torture.

It was a quick, fun read. I don't know that I *need* to read any more Bond novels as I prefer the movie adaptation of the character. But it was still a good read.

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vtewok's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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letter_planet's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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madisus's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The book is definitely a product of its time, with plenty of misogyny peppered in. It’s a dark novel, with an interior and introspective Bond experiencing graphically horrific torture.

I found myself appreciating how much the recently resolved Second World War permeates the attitude of Bond and everyone around him, which is harder to extrapolate from the modernized Craig movies. To Bond, his “license to kill” is nothing more than what was expected of him and his contemporaries when they were soldiers. It’s part of the job— yet he still struggles with the concept of heroes and villains and the spy’s role as a servant of the state. It was more than I expected from this first novel.

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ellachandler's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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