Live and Let Die
James Bond series, book 2
Ian Fleming

Bond has never met an adversary like Mr. Big, a gangland kingpin who uses voodoo to control his vast criminal empire. And Bond has never met a woman like Solitaire, the beautiful Creole fortune teller Mr. Big keeps under lock and key. When a crooked trial of smuggled gold leads through Mr. Big's New York City hideout to SMERSH headquarters in Moscow, 007 flies to America to investigate. The racket will take him from the streets of Harlem to the Florida Everglades, into and out of Solitaire's arms, and deep beneath the waters off a secret Jamaican island where nothing but danger and bloodthirsty sharks await.

First and foremost, I have to say that when reading this novel please understand that it was written in 1954. So when themes like segregation are dealt with and when certain words are used to describe African Americans, it was the norm back then. Words that might shock us to read or hear were used freely then. So be prepared for some old fashioned language that if heard today would be offensive.

That being said, I liked this novel a lot. Much better than Casino Royale. But then again since Casino Royale was the first of the Bond novels, it's possible that Fleming was just cutting his teeth with that novel. This one impressed me and is definitely better than the film.

Bond becomes more fleshed out on this book and so do the villains. The plot is solid and engaging and I have to say that the shoot out in the poisonous/dangerous fish room is my favorite scene out of the book.

Fleming doesn't hold back and both Bond and his allies don't walk through this novel with ease. They encounter many problems and life threatening issues. It's nice to see a main character who gets into trouble and isn't perfect.

All in all I quite enjoyed this book and would recommend it with the caveat that some of the language will probably be offensive to a modern day reader.

My rating: Four out of five snails.