Live And Let Die, the second James Bond story, was written by Ian Fleming in 1954.
SUMMARY: Gold coins from the lost treasure of Bloody Morgan, are being shipped from a secret location in Jamaica, to New York. These coins are being sold on the streets to fund the Russian organization, Smersh. James Bond has a heavy burden on his shoulders in this big city and tropical adventure. He must find the source of the secret of the treasure to uncover a communist spy ring in New York, run by a voodoo criminal mastermind; and continue his personal mission to cripple Smersh.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed the second James Bond story just as much, if not more so than the first book. Live & Let Die was thrilling from start to finish. The threats James Bond faces were dire and sometimes horrifying. Ian Fleming did great work with the second installment of James Bond, expanding the spy adventure to the streets of New York City, and to the tropics of Jamaica.
There are many characters in this book that were written extremely well. Some characters from Casino Royale come back for the second book, such as Felix Leiter and M. Some of my favorite characters from this book would have to be ‘The Robber’ and Quarrel. The Robber was an excellent henchmen, he was hard edged, not easily pushed around and was full of surprises. Quarrel, was a helpful friend to Bond.
It appears that James Bond has evolved a bit since Casio Royale. In the previous book, he viewed women as a burden, especially on the job. In this book, his attraction for Solitaire was immediate, and felt a connection with her as soon as they made eye contact. Who is Solitaire? She’s a voodoo psychic medium, who was taken by the villain of the story, Mr. Big. She was to marry him against her will. Bond also has a solid friendship with Felix Leiter, an agent of the CIA. Something happens to Leiter in this novel that enrages Bond further into his hatred of the Russian organization, Smersh.
The villain, Mr. Big, was written so well. His presence was overreaching, he was everywhere. He is an intimating force, even though he isn’t present through much of the story. The fear that he instills in the streets with tales of Voodoo magic, plays to his advantage. He has people/goons everywhere, eyes and ears that watch and listen to the happenings in the streets. He’s an extension of Smersh, though we don’t get into those connections too much at all. He appears to be his own man, his own boss, with his own goals.
The tension between Mr. Big and James Bond is great. Mr. Big, really lays down the law, telling Bond how things are going to be. Much of the conversation in the book is well written. The only dialogue that has potential to be a little cheesy, would be some of the conversations between Bond and Solitaire. Overall, the dialogue was good. Fleming did very well with descriptions of people and locations.
The Voodoo aspect of the story was very interesting and worked well. The book basically has two parts, the big city, and the tropics of Jamaica. I’m not much a fan of the tropics, but Fleming had me hooked with the oceanic climax of the story, full of sharks and barracuda. Live & Let Die is a fun James Bond adventure for sure.
Do I recommend Live And Let Die? Yes! However, if your sensitive to cultural differences and historical events, you’ll probably be offended.
Rating: This book receives an A+