Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming

Live and Let Die (James Bond Series #2) by Ian Fleming — 9780142003237 — ****

Genre: Spy Novel
Time to Read: 10 days (Over the holiday season)

Short Description:
007 is back in action! In Ian Fleming’s second book in the James Bond Series, the FBI has asked for Bond’s help in uncovering a smuggling operation. Mr. Big, a big-time bad-guy in Harlem with a shipping business and property in Jamaica and ties to voodooism, is suspected of smuggling Sir Henry Morgan’s long-lost loot of gold into the states in an illegal operation. The FBI is hoping to use Bond’s expertise, and his familiarity with Jamaica, to uncover the plot and put an end to Mr. Big’s big-time quest to become known as the first major black crime lord in the United States. Mr. Big’s own people fear him, believing he is the zombie of Baron Samedi, voodoo spirit of death, which allows him to keep them under his thumb. His network of African-Americans in Harlem and all over the USA helps him keep an eye on everything that is going on in his world, including the arrival of James Bond, and his possession of the beautiful and magical Solitaire helps him know when he is being duped. When Solitaire reaches out to Bond for help, he gains his source of information and his motivation to put a stop to Mr. Big once and for all.

Live and Let Die is one of my absolute favorite James Bond movies, and although the book isn’t quite the same, it certainly doesn’t disappoint. In fact, I wish the movie followed it more closely. Mr. Big and Kananga’s opium smuggling is a worthy challenge for Roger Moore as 007 in the movie, but I’m not so sure that it tops, or even compares to, Mr. Big’s pirate gold smuggling. Also, Jane Seymour’s depiction of Solitaire is legendary, but the character in the book is far more likable. She’s smarter, gutsier and more seductive than the movie’s innocent depiction of a very different woman by the same name.

The second book in the James Bond series is certainly more full of excitement than the first. Bond finds himself up against a network of people who all operate under Mr. Big’s direction out of fear of his voodoo ties. He swims with hungry sharks, gets in a shootout in a wear house full of tanks of poisonous tropical fish, and is nearly bested by the big man and his men. There are enough differences between the book and the movie that even a fan of the film will be caught wondering how it will all end, and it’s exciting enough to keep the pages turning without the slower start that its predecessor Casino Royale displays.

One word of caution: This book was published in 1954, and political correctness wasn’t in fashion. As a result, Ian Fleming uses an outdated term to describe the African-American characters throughout the book. It is used descriptively, much like modern writers might refer to a woman as a blonde, and isn’t intended to be demeaning, but some may find it objectionable. Beyond that, the material is safe for an audience looking for a fun adventure with a little bit of “naughty” teasing on behalf of the sensual female love interest. I highly recommend it to fans of any of the Bond movies, and to lovers of action, adventure, and spy themed novels.

Check out Ian Fleming’s website!

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Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Casino Royale (James Bond Series #1) by Ian Fleming — 9780142002025 — ****

Genre: Spy Novel
Time to Read: 4 Days

Short Description:
Meet James Bond, British secret agent with a double-O license to kill. In his debut novel, James is facing a man know as Le Chiffre. Monsieur Le Chiffre, the treasurer of a Soviet-backed trade union in France, is in a bit of trouble. After losing money that wasn’t his on poorly timed investments in brothels that were then shut down by new laws, he needs to repay SMERSH (An organization that is out to kill non-Russian spies) before they come to collect. His solution: Call a Baccarat game at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux, France and try to win back the money at the table. James has been tasked with going up against Le Chiffre and bankrupting him so he will fall further out of favor with SMERSH and be wiped out by his own organization. With help from René Mathis of France, the CIA’s Felix Leiter and MI6′s own beautiful agent Vesper Lynd, James  is ready to face Le Chiffre at the table, but can 007 beat him at his own game?

I have been a fan of the Bond films for years and, despite the fact that the books are almost always a million times better than the movies based on them, this is my first time reading a Bond novel. Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale doesn’t disappoint. The first installment of the James Bond series is full of adventure and intrigue. Bond’s first challenge in the series doesn’t sound all that exciting upon first inspection. He’s playing a card game and hoping to bankrupt a failed entrepreneur into oblivion. Then again, France and America both have people in on the job, and MI6 is willing to risk 20,000 pounds (a fair sum in the late 1940s, early 1950s), so Le Chiffre must be a pretty worthy opponent, even if they’re just playing at an all night card game. In fact, when Le Chiffre’s henchmen get involved, James’s female counterpart gets herself in trouble, and 007 finds himself in the hands of Le Chiffre, himself, things get downright exciting. Despite its length (not quite 200 pages), this little book is packed with enough action that I feel justified in calling it a novel, even though it is probably only considered a novella.

There are only a few small drawbacks to this book. First, Ian Flemming goes into careful detail when writing the reports M reads in the second chapter of the book, to the point where things can get a little confusing with all the code numbers and acronyms that he explains after the fact. Second: There is a fair amount of French interspersed in the dialogue in some scenes that isn’t necessarily translated 100% of the time (if you know basic French, this won’t be a problem, and if you don’t you’ll understand enough from the context that you won’t have to stop and find a translator, but I can imagine some might find it a little flustering). Finally: Le Chiffre causes horrible damage to a very nice car during a chase. I found that scene quite distressing.

I should also mention that, although Ian Fleming’s Bond movies give the impression that the books are full of naked women and raunchy sex scenes, this novel was published in 1953. I’m sure that it was quite racy for its day, but today it would be considered mild at worst. There are some references to sex, but nothing I would imagine that the parents of a middle teen would cringe at. Just simple statements and a little smooching. I would feel comfortable recommending this title to a 15-year-old boy without fear of parental anger after the fact.

I can’t let this review go by without making some comparisons to the 2006 movie by the same title. This is probably the first novel I’ve come across that has been made into a movie that has taken nothing from the story, actually adding things in to increase the length of the film. Unlike most books-turned-movies, I still like the movie after reading it. In fact, reading the book made me want to watch the film again just to confirm the fact that nothing was taken out (I still haven’t found the time to do so, but I’m confident enough to state this as a fact, anyway). A fan of the Bond films will find this one a great introduction to the book series, and I highly recommend that viewers take the leap and join me in becoming readers, as well.

Check out Ian Fleming’s website!

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Pandora’s Daughter by Iris Johansen

Pandora’s Daughter by Iris Johansen — 9780312368043 — ***

Genre: Thriller
Time to Read: 3 Days

Megan Blair is a successful young ER doctor with a shocking secret that has been blocked from her memory since her mother’s death. As a child and then as a teen, Megan heard voices. Now, the voices are threatening to return and take over her life, but she isn’t crazy. The voices aren’t just in her head. They are the whispers of dead coming to her from beyond the grave. Now, she must learn to control them, and discover the memories and the psychic powers that have been dormant inside of her since she was a young teen.

With the help of a handsome and mysterious man named Neal Grady, Megan begins to uncover her forgotten past and discover the magical world that thrives in this one. But can she and Grady unlock the secrets of her abilities before she is destroyed by the man who blames her mother for his son’s death and who, in turn, wants Megan and all those who are like her to suffer as he eradicates them from this wold?

This is the first book I have ever read by Iris Johansen, and I have to say that I am happy that I picked it up. It is an exciting thriller with enough mysticism to interest a fantasy reader, enough action to capture a thrill seeker, and enough passion to enthrall a romantic. In Pandora’s Daughter, magic exists as a subculture in our own world. It is a genetic anomaly that has captured the attention of many over the years. Of course, different people have seen it in different ways. Some have wanted to use it, others have tried to destroy it, and those who possess these abilities have always done all they could to keep their gifts out of covetous hands.

I like the characters in this novel, I enjoyed the plot, the antagonist is wonderfully mad and the four most important characters in the story are lovable, but in some ways hatable. I did, however, run into a few things that didn’t appeal to me. All of the characters seem to use the expression “Damn it,” repeatedly. I’m not one to complain about “bad” language, but it just becomes old and redundant. They say “damn it!” when they’re in trouble. She says “damn it” when she’s angry at him, and he often says “I want you, damn it!” I just wish she had limited it to one character’s favorite expression, or found some synonyms that would express the same things. Then, perhaps it wouldn’t have gotten so old, damn it!

The sexuality in this book runs a little too rough for my tastes in some situations, too. A little…crude? “I want you (damn it), and I know you want me, and one of these days I’m going to stop resisting…” blah, blah, blah. The main male character says something of that nature a lot. Starting around the early-middle of the book, and going until the end. There isn’t any erotic content, it’s just a little uncomfortable to me. The “I won’t take no for an answer because I know you really want me, too” attitude he occasionally displays doesn’t sit well with me (In my opinion, even if a man is magically linked to a woman and he knows exactly how she feels about him, he has to take “no” for an answer. It would be wrong not to.). That, and he threatens not to take no for an answer for a long time, but doesn’t act until she says yes, so it’s an empty, pointless threat. Just a way to create sexual tension between the characters. Redundantly. I think she could have done better by changing it up a bit every now and again.

Over all, I really did enjoy Pandora’s Daughter. It was an exciting book that kept me reading to find out what would happen next. I am tempted to rate the book higher, but those elements that I dislike were too strong for me to do so. I expect that I will read more of Iris Johansen’s books in the future. Perhaps I’ll select one that is a little more popular among her titles (this one ranks somewhere toward the middle of her books when her titles are sorted by “best selling”) and hope for the best!

Check out Iris Johansen’s website here!

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The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter

The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter — 9781439199084 — ****

Genre: Thriller
Time to Read: About one week
Publication Date: 8 March 2011

Short Summary:
The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter is a story about a legend passed down through time. The Altar is said to be a fountain of youth that has been guarded by women of the same family for generations. The quest for the altar and its promise of unending youth has been the obsession of many. It has caused betrayal, heartbreak, assassination and conspiracy almost from the beginning. Now, a young woman has discovered that her bloodline flows from the generations of keepers of the Altar of Bones, and her estranged grandmother has tasked her with protecting it from covetous hands. Her quest takes her from America to Paris, then on to Budapest and beyond, running from the Russian mob, the KGB and an American “kingmaker,” all of whom covet the secret that she has been charged with keeping.

First off, I have to say that this is an amazing book! I must admit that it took a little while for me to really get into it, because it jumps around a bit in the beginning, from the present day to the 1930s and back again, changing characters and generations before seeming to settle on one character, then jumping again and finally introducing the main character. Once I got passed that point, however, I really got caught up in the story.

The Altar of Bones by Philip Carter is one of those books that are very difficult to put down. It is chalk-full of adventure and excitement. Car chases, gun battles, spies and betrayals. There is a crazy but beautiful female assassin (who somewhat reminded me of Xenia Onatopp from the James Bond movie GoldenEye), a greedy old mogul who has been declared an American Kingmaker, an assassination cover-up, and a race to find this fountain of youth in order to protect it from the Russian mob, the KGB, and other covetous hands. It also takes a few pages out of history, providing flashbacks to a presidential assassination, the tragic end of a doomed movie starlet, and a harrying escape from a Russian labor camp.

The two main characters are easy to admire. The friendship between them develops naturally throughout the story, instead of being forced upon them, and while they are both slightly “super” human, they aren’t so over-the-top that they seem fake. The “bad guys” have enough human traits to be realistic antagonists, instead of just purely evil villains. The magic behind the story feels like folklore, which I find gives it more believability than your typical magical sub-plot. When added together, this makes the entire story easy to get lost in, and to believe, at least on some level.

I would recommend this book to any fans of the genre. It is exciting, rock ‘em sock ‘em at its very best. There were a few points where I, as a woman, said to myself: “This is clearly written by a male author,” which isn’t something I generally run across (sometimes I find that a book is clearly written by a female, but generally books feel gender-neutral to me when written by either men or women), and some female readers may not enjoy this one, especially if they select it to give the genre a try for the very first time. Over all, however, Philip Carter’s The Alter of Bones is an exciting, mile-a-minute page turner that any action fan is bound to enjoy.

(I should note that this review is based on a proof copy of the book. It will be on store shelves on March 8, 2011. This is Philip Carter’s first novel, so I cannot refer you to any of his other works while you wait, but please add it to your list for the spring and keep on reading!)

Check out Philip Carter’s author site at Simon & Schuster!

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Agent X by Noah Boyd

Agent X by Noah Boyd – 9780061826986 — ****

Genre: Thriller
Time to Read: About a week
Publication date: 8 February 2011

Short Summary:
When former FBI Agent Steve Vail arrives in Washington D.C., he is hoping to rekindle a cooled romance with the FBI’s assistant director Kate Bannon, but instead finds himself helping her on a highly sensitive case. The FBI has been contacted by an officer at the Russian embassy–a man who has identified himself only as “Calculus”–who has intel on a number of American agents who are working as spies for the Russian SVR. Shortly after providing the FBI with clues that will lead to the identity of the first double agent, Calculus was whisked away to Moscow, leaving the FBI to believe that he has been compromised. Still determined to discover the names of the traitors in their midst, the FBI asks Vail to help Bannon follow the clues and uncover the names of the spies before they can be eliminated by their Russian handlers.

Following the clues–but not necessarily the rules–Vail begins to uncover the names of those double agents. He and Bannon are in a race to catch the traitors before they can be eliminated, and find themselves risking their own lives to unravel the mystery before it is too late.

 

I haven’t read many “thriller spy-novels,” as I have described this book, but after reading Noah Boy’s Agent X, I can’t say why that is. This is any James Bond fan’s genre, and as a Bond fan, I will be sure to read more like this one in the future.

Agent X isn’t all edge-of-your-seat action, nor is it all puzzling mystery or attempted romance (on the part of the hero Steve Vail). It is a captivating novel that draws you in with the aid of all of those techniques and keeps you reading–sometimes laughing, sometimes wide-eyed with suspense–until the very end. An attentive reader will be able to unravel some of the mystery on his or her own, but there are enough twists and turns to prevent total predictability, leaving just enough clues to make the reader want to read on, thinking: “So, am I right?”

Steve Vail is a great hero, and an excellent character. He is imperfect, and that makes him seem more real than even the great Agent 007. He isn’t described as the strongest, smartest, bravest and most attractive man on the planet. He isn’t infallible, and as hard as he keeps trying, he doesn’t always get the girl (in his case, there is just one girl: Kate Bannon). The rest of Noah Boyd’s characters are equally imperfect, and are, therefore, perfectly believable.

I would highly recommend this title to anyone who is a fan of the thriller/spy novel genre. A fan of James Bond or The Da Vinci Code will thoroughly enjoy Agent X for its spy novel mystery and action that is peppered with gunshots and explosions plus a there-but-not romance that manages to deepen the story rather than soften it.

I should note that this is not Noah Boyd’s first novel. Steve Vail and Kate Bannon also appear in The Bricklayer: a novel I have yet to read. If my review of Agent X intrigues you, I would suggest giving Noah Boyd’s first book a try while you wait for this one to be available in stores (on February 8, 2011). I plan on picking up The Bricklayer as soon as it is available in trade paper on December 28th, and if I had to wait much longer than that, I’d probably have the mass market in my hands or a hardcover on order right now.

Check out Noah Boyd’s author page at Harper Collins Publishers.

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