Casino Royale

Sometimes I forget that the only reason I'm writing this blog is to keep track of the books I've read as a sort of personal record of my life of reading. As a few more people have started reading this blog I've developed a degree of pressure-induced writer's block, fearing that my little reviews aren't "good enough" for public consumption. Well, I've decided that that's not my problem! I'm just gonna write little reviews that are rambling and make no sense, and if anyone else wants to read them that's fine by me. And with that said, onto Casino Royale!

Right after I read this book I wrote up the following just to remind myself how I felt about it: "I loved it. It was exciting and sexy and alluring. Basically it was everything James Bond is, but before Bond became burdened by the weight of being a pop culture icon. It was raw and rich, and fantastic. Great action, interesting characters, cool cars, lots of baccarat. A delight to read." I still stand by all those things, which I will elaborate on below.

So Casino Royale is the first James Bond book. It was written by Ian Fleming, and it introduced the world to the suave super-spy that we all know and love. And ya know what? It's amazing!!! I genuinely loved this book. It was an absolutely thrilling read, and I really couldn't put it down. I don't often read books that are sixty years old and expect them to be page-turners, but this one really was. It's all the best parts of James Bond, but free of all the silliness that has grown up around the bond legend over the last 50 years. I say if you're a bond fan, read this book!

The story is actually really simple. There's this bad guy name Le Chiffre who is a big whig with a Soviet spy ring called SMERSH, but who has a bit of a gambling problem. He's got some bad debts that he's hoping to repay by hosting a big baccarat tournament at Casino Royale, winning, and then paying off his debts so SMERSH never knows about his financial indiscretions (which would probably lead to his death, since he was gambling with SMERSH's money). Well M over at MI6 gets wind of this, and decides they're going to beat Le Chiffre at his own game in order to take out a top level SMERSH operative and deal a blow to SMERSH's operations in Europe. So Bond goes, they play baccarat, action and adventure ensue. It's great! It's an uncomplicated plot that is driven by the compelling character of Bond. Bond in the novel is just like Bond in the movies, but even more hardcore. He's a sexist, chauvinistic egotist who loves fast cars and beautiful women, and who uses his license to kill with a cold liberality whenever he deems it necessary. What's cool about the book, though, is that we get to see what Bond is thinking beneath his shiny veneer of tuxedos and martinis. So even though Bond is even more hardened on the outside, he is simultaneously more human than he ever appears in the films. This duality rings true with human nature in general, as I think duplicity is somehow inherent to everyone. We are all trying to appear to be one thing while within we are plagued by doubts and fears about who we are and who we want to be.

Beyond the human themes and compelling characters, this book also has a lot of great action. It has car chases, fight scenes, torture, bombs, mystery, intrigue...all the good stuff! It's a guy book through and through, but it manages to be cool while still being deep, a rare trick in the 50's, and even rarer now. I loved the book, and I think anyone who likes the Bond films will really enjoy reading Casino Royale. It is, after all, Genesis for the Bond universe, and with such a strong start I find it unsurprising that Bond is still going strong sixty years later.

Score:9/10
Read this book if: You feel like having danger for dinner, death for breakfast, with a dry martini on the side and a splash of humanity thrown into the mix. Shaken rather than stirred, of course.
Don't read this book if: You're a female. Bond's sexism might be offensive. Otherwise it's awesome!