Casino Royale - A Review
Sweepy the Cat
Halifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
Casino Royale is the place to start when looking for Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. This novel was released in 1953 and was the starting point of an enterprise that would gain worldwide recognition. Inspiration for these books partly came from his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during WW2. Casino Royale was particularly influenced from his time in a Lisbon casino called Estoril Casino, which had a number of spies of warring regimes due to Portugal's neutral state. This is the first time I have read a James Bond novel or any of Ian Fleming's work. I started it early evening and finished it the same night as it did have me enthralled with Fleming's quick pace and suspense filled action within the Casino. The man known as 007 is sent to defeat a villain known as Le Chiffre in a game of Baccarat in order to ruin the credibility of the Ruskies. The setting is the luxurious Casino in the grand, old French town of Royale. Bond, being an expert gambler and player thinks he'll have no trouble taking down Le Chiffre, but doesn't bargain on forces working against him from his own side.
I'm not sure if Ian Fleming originally planned this to be the first of a series but he does a good job of introducing us to all of the familiar characters. His writing style is short and terse and to the point. Despite being set in the 50's there isn't really that much in the book that dates it terribly. I saw the cast from the 2006 movie in my head, but don't expect the movie to be similar. The first hour of that film was pretty much new story and everything afterwards (save the sinking houses in Venice) is true to Ian Flemings book.
***** / *****
I'm not sure if Ian Fleming originally planned this to be the first of a series but he does a good job of introducing us to all of the familiar characters. His writing style is short and terse and to the point. Despite being set in the 50's there isn't really that much in the book that dates it terribly. I saw the cast from the 2006 movie in my head, but don't expect the movie to be similar. The first hour of that film was pretty much new story and everything afterwards (save the sinking houses in Venice) is true to Ian Flemings book.
***** / *****
Comments
Casino Royale is a short and quirky novel---structurally flawed in my opinion, with an extended 'third act', something it ironically shares with the subsequent Eon film---but it is chock-full of what Kingsley Amis would eventually call the 'Fleming Effect.'
The two men in straw hats, the card game, Bond's thoughts as his Bentley hurtles down the dark road toward his capture by Le Chiffre, the torture sequence, Bond's resolve to go after SMERSH at the end, the denial in his harsh "The bitch is dead" remark...it all wonderfully lays the foundation for what comes---both in print, and a 46-year run (so far!) on the Big Screen.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Take the initiative. Learn the craft. Communicate your own ideas---yourself---to others. You don't need to pilfer other people's sentences; you're more than capable. Give yourself a chance.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM