Having never read an Ian Fleming book, I decided it was time and no better place to start than with his very first novel, Casino Royale written in 1952. I will admit I am a fan of the James Bond movie franchise, in particular the more recent films featuring Daniel Craig as Bond.
The book introduces us for the first time to James Bond, one of MI6’s secret service elite who holds the 007 badge. Unlike the licenced to kill mantra we have become accustomed to in the movie space, Fleming in the book describes the 00 concept as meaning “that you’ve had to kill in cold blood in the course of some assignment.”
The villain of the story is Le Chiffre a Russian operative based in France who is willing to risk his paymasters’ money at the card tables. Hearing of this MI6 dispatch Bond, the best gambler in the Service to the French Casino in Royale-les-Eaux to outplay Le Chiffre and shatter his Soviet cell.
The story contains the usual Bond characters including would be assassins; brutal torturers; double agents and a beautiful female counter-part.
Knowing that Bond was going to succeed in his mission, did I still enjoy the book? Yes, I did immensely and am looking forward to reading the next installment in Fleming’s Bond series. Whilst at the beginning I found the use of French language phrases distracting, having not studied high school French, the story line kept me engaged. As I progressed through the chapters I became more enthralled with Bond and the evolution of his character. Bond in this book is edgier than some portrayed in the Bond movies, prior to Daniel Craig stepping into the role.
Casino Royale was a triumph for Fleming when it was first published almost 65 years ago. What I found interesting is that at no time did I feel as though I was reading a story set in the 1950’s era. The story could have been set in any time period since then. A triumph for Fleming and a triumph for me in finding a new author whose subsequent works I look forward to reading with eager anticipation.
