13 replies to this topic

[Agent 76]

Hello my fellow Bond fans
I need some advice here...I want to ask you wich book you think is the best to start the discovery of Fleming's Bond books?

Thanks

[Mister Asterix]

I have two schools of thought here:

1. Casino Royale - Start at the beginning. This is one of Fleming

[Qwerty]

Go with Casino Royale, and then continue with Live and Let Die and onwards in order, but don't expect them to be extremely close to the films!

Truthfully, I can say that if you start at the beginning, you are offered CR, LALD and MR as your first three, and all three of them are truthfully some of the very best books ever. Some say the fourth, Diamonds Are Forever is a bit of a letdown, but I still love it.

Really, every Fleming novel is either oustanding or great, and I think that you'll enjoy whichever you choose.

Enjoy!

[Brix Bond]

I actually read Moonraker first however I then went on to read Casino Royale which I felt to be far superior and more intense. The baccarat game is so well written because it's done in such a way that you don't have to have ever played the game to know what is going on. Start with Casino Royale to break you in.

I'm reading them in a funny order though. I read (in this order): Moonraker, Casino Royale, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, OHMSS and I'm going to start You Only Live Twice as soon as it arrives from eBay.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

Casino Royale or Moonraker, I'd say. I also like Mr.*'s suggestion of From Russia With Love.

I'd steer clear of Live And Let Die, though, because some may find it confusing, since it is very different from the film.

[Turn]

I also think Mr. *'s suggestion is a fine one, particularly because FRWL is my favorite book. Enough like the film to enjoy, but with enough variants to make it interesting. That's one of my favorite things about the Fleming books -- reading them and noting the differences between the book and movie versions and what may have worked in the movie version that wasn't included.

My advice would be decide what you want to get out of reading the books. Do you want to read them all or just get a sampling of the Fleming Bond? Reading them in order would give you an appreciation of how the character develops as the series goes on.

[Agent 76]

Thanks for the advice guys!

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Easy, start off the original, Casino Royale. It's the first and the best, too. I've read it twice.

[booyeah_]

No offence to 00-zero, but I'd definitely recommend Live And Let Die. Fleming built the novel with both an interesting story and a great villain(Mr. Big). The scheme involving pirate's gold was clever and better than the LALD movie's, although that wasn't so bad. Still, it's an easy and fun read that featured several elements that made it to film.(FYEO and LTK)

[Qwerty]

I agree with both points by Double-Oh=Zero and booyeah_ in that is isn't much like the film itself, but it is a fast paced and thrilling read that always grabs you and never lets up. It was one of the hardest for me to put down. Highly recommended.

[1q2w3e4r]

If you've watched the films and you read LALD, it follows pretty easily. YOu can see where the writers have pulled ideas from the book and thrown them into other films. Hell LTK is probably a more faithful adaptation of the book than the film LALD.

I'd start with Casino Royale, work your way through in order.

[philbowski]

Definitely start with Casino Royale and read them in order. From Russia with Love is very good indeed but Bond doesn't appear until nearly half way through, which may turn a fan of the films away from the literary Bond.

[Turn]

From Russia with Love [/i]is very good indeed but Bond doesn't appear until nearly half way through, which may turn a fan of the films away from the literary Bond.

That's a good point. But when I read FRWL, I didn't even notice it as it's so involving in the assasaination planning that I didn't even worry about Bond not being in the action until later. That makes knowing what he is to encounter that much more harrowing and makes this my favorite book.

[philbowski]

That's a good point. But when I read FRWL, I didn't even notice it as it's so involving in the assasaination planning that I didn't even worry about Bond not being in the action until later. That makes knowing what he is to encounter that much more harrowing...

I totally agree, I just would recommend starting with CR.