Bond is the epitome of cool. The hype for No Time to Die continues to build. This was a glamorous thriller which brought us from London to New York to Las Vegas to Sierra Leone.

On top of that, it was a well-researched critique of post-war American consumerism. It’s interesting to get a contemporary perspective on that period in American history from an outsider looking in. Having said all that, Fleming still uses some very “not ok” language that was probably dodgy even back then. Nonetheless, thoroughly enjoyable read as per.

Fleming is such a piece of shit

Diamonds are being smuggled from Africa through to the American Mafia. Who do you call in to smash this nefarious ring? James Bond, naturally.

Yes, somehow James Bond is called upon to do what the FBI and the CIA are apparently unwilling (or unable) to do. Of course, in this modern age of witnessing just how little the federal government can accomplish (and accomplish well), it is really no surprise the James Bond can, singlehandedly, do more than any agency of the American government can do. Ian Fleming was just ahead of his time.

Anyway, like the other Bond books (that I've read) in this series, this one was reasonably enjoyable. I'm enjoying getting to know the "real" James Bond, since up to now, I've only been familiar with the movie version. Mr. Bond is really much more about the work than he is about the ladies and I rather prefer that.

Carry on!

Diamonds are Forever, originally published in 1956, became the seventh film in the Bond franchise in 1971, starring Sir Sean Connery and Jill St. John as Tiffany Case and Lana Wood as Plenty O’Toole, although Plenty did not appear in the novel, but then again the movie adaptation takes a few elements from the novel, but goes off sometimes in an entirely different direction. Quite a bit of the plot in the novel is discussed below. Given that much of it is revealed in the movie which everyone has seen, the plot is no secret.

Diamonds are Forever, the novel, does a shout-out to Spillane’s Mike Hammer at one point and it is perfectly appropriate because this novel, for the most part, has a feel as if it is a hardboiled detective novel rather than an international spy novel. The over-arching plot, though, is a diamond smuggling operation that smuggles diamonds directly from the mines in Africa, through worker’s mouths to dental extractions, on to London where they are then smuggled into the largest market, the United States. The Brits have captured one such newly-hired courier and Bond is to take his place and smuggle the diamonds to the States, where his job is to find out who is behind the operation, that is, he is not ordered to take action, to kill, to blow up, to do anything other than, find out who is behind it all. At the time, we are told, most of all gem diamonds are mined on British territory and ninety percent of all diamond sales carried out in London. It is a huge business for the British at fifty million pounds a year and they want to hang on to it. The Americans do not care, because it does no harm to the American business system. These diamonds are sold in the open when they get to America at the House of Diamonds on 46th Street. This has nothing to do with thwarting Soviet ambitions.

So Bond’s job is not to take on the Soviet spies, but to take on the Italian mob in America and he does not think much of them in comparison, describing them as a “lot of Italian bums with mongrammed shirts who spend the day eating spaghetti and meatballs and squirting scent over themselves.” When Bond gets to America, he meets a tall, hatchet-faced man with a square bulge in his hip pocket and thinks: “Mike Hammer routine. These American gangsters were too obvious. They had read too many horror comics and seen too many films.” He is later told that the Mob is not to be taken lightly and that he should not think he can ask for a lawyer or the British Consul if he gets in bad with the Mob. “Only law firm out there’s called Smith and Wesson.”

Bond’s first contact with the pipeline is the incredible Tiffany Case (who in the movies is played by Jill St. John) who invites him into her hotel room where she sits, half-naked astride a chair, with her spine arched and arrogance in the set of her head and shoulders. Before he entered, “Bond had had no picture in his mind of the Miss Case who was to shadow him to America. He had taken it for granted that it would be some tough, well-used slattern with dead eyes – a hard sullen woman who had ‘gone the route’ and whose body was no longer of any interest to the gang she worked for. This girl was tough all right, tough of manner, but whatever might be the history of her body, the skin had shone with life under the light.” She also tells him that they are on the job and she could take care of herself. She is one of the most fascinating of the “Bond girls”and, of course, ultimately falls for Bond as they all do. Nevertheless, by the end of the story, Bond falls for Miss Case and even puts her up in his London apartment.

She inquires about him to determine how best to smuggle the diamonds and, when Bond says he plays golf, decides they will be smuggled in golf balls. Bond is shadowed through customs and across the Pond since this are diamonds after all. In New York, he joins the gang, the Spangled gang, named after the two brothers running it, the Spangles, and who have a huge operation including racetrack betting at Saratoga and one of the most luxurious hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. He also runs into his old buddy, Felix Leiter, now with the FBI, who are not working together, but are running parallel operations against the Spangles. Leiter also gives Bond the sordid background behind Tiffany Case. Leiter, by the way, drives a “Studillac,” a Studebaker with a Cadillac engine, special transmission, brakes, and rear axle.

To collect his money, Bond first goes to the racetrack in Saratoga where he is to take a payoff on an arranged race. While there, he takes a hot mud bath at a resort and witnesses what happens to a jockey who does not follow orders closely. At this point, he also meets a pair of men who would dog him to the end of the novel, Wint and Kidd, two tough operators who looked like nobodies, but who had no qualms about the work as long as it paid well.

In Las Vegas, Bond is paid off by a gorgeous casino dealer at the Tiara, Miss Tiffany Case. And, he gets to use his gambling skills he first displayed in Casino Royale as he ignores orders and plays to win at Roulette. There are great scenes here as Bond tangles with the Spangle Mob and even manages to blow up a train.

As so often happens in these Bond stories, even when you think it is all over, there is still another harrowing scene and that is certainly the case here as Wint and Kidd follow Bond and Case onto a transatlantic cruise liner with orders to ….

Diamonds are Forever is not a typical espionage story. It involves no State secrets, no counterspies, no secret codes. Yet, Fleming offers here a terrific tough, action-packed read that stands near the top of his Bond novels.

This is a perfect example of why men shouldn’t be allowed to write women characters.

This becomes routine - something dangerous happens, Bond gets the job, gets the girl, kills the bad guys in spectacular fashion. By now, Fleming no longer wants to impress with his vast knowledge of high-class fashion and tastes, instead, writes a very down-to-earth Bond, that simply works.

Routine, good routine, and now I wonder why I can't remember a thing from the movie with the same name. However, while forgettable, the story is enjoyable, and meeting Leiter again feels like Bond is not the loner I imagined he would be, instead, he's more relatable. All in all, good entertainment prose.

Hmm this is turning into a yearly re-read I see. I was once again confused by one part of the ending so that's a good sign re: future re-reads - if I forget absolutely everything I can enjoy the re-reading more i GUESS. The middle part of DAF (together with, you know, almost all of LALD) might be my favourite Fleming-Bond-writing because it's just Bond & his pal faffing about at the horse races. Good times.

Added: "It reads better than it lives." -2021

Added: "And he had had luck and three good friends, Felix and Ernie and Tiffany." -2022

3.5 stars. It was pure coincidence that I was finishing up Diamonds are Forever today when news broke about the death of Sean Connery. He was the quintessential Bond who defined the role on film, and even though Craig’s dark, introspective Bond has become my personal favorite, Connery remains the first, the best, and the most iconic. He was a talented actor far beyond the Bond films, and his legacy is assured. He will be missed.

Now onto the fourth Fleming novel I have read. I am reading the Bond books in order, but it has been seven years since I read the amusing and enjoyable Moonraker. Like that novel, this one is very different from the film. In fact, I have discovered that the only way to enjoy the Bond novels is to pretend I haven’t seen the movies a hundred times.

What struck me was Fleming’s language, which is crisp, precise, and laser-focused on describing the movements, actions, and settings of each chapter -- perhaps even to a fault, as it feels like a great deal of set-up for brief moments of action. This seems different than the previous Bond novels, which I remember were less subtle in their depiction of spy work.

Diamonds is my least favorite Bond novel so far, but it is still a pleasurable read. I hope to pick up the habit of reading one Bond novel per year in the fall (much as I try to do with Du Maurier, Hilton, Doyle, and Highsmith), so I can work my way through the books without having to wait another six years before reading the next one.

Bond slips into the diamond smuggling market and the American mafia.

Not a bad installment in the Bond series. I don't recall ever seeing the movie version, so I can't say if they parallel much or at all, but I can say that Diamonds Are Forever makes for a fine little read.

It's not exactly the most exciting spy thriller ever. In fact, there were a number of spots through out the book that had me ho-humming. It seems like Fleming wanted to flex his prose muscles a bit with this one. There are some nice descriptions of characters and places, but they do tend to slow down the action a bit. Or perhaps there just wasn't all that much action to begin with. I guess there was a shoot out and a tense, butt-clenching moment during a hot mud bath scene, but that didn't really even involve Bond.

There are also some racial issues with Diamonds.... I was listening to this on audiobook and during a moment when I wasn't paying the closest of attention, I thought I heard a distressingly racist passage. Racist dialogue is one thing, but when the writer includes it in the narrative it's an entirely different thing. I don't know, I could be wrong. I didn't bother going back to verify. Maybe I should have, but ya know, I just didn't feel like wallowing in that kind of mire. If I were black, I'd probably just stay away from the Bond series all together. For example, I know "negro" was once acceptable, but its usage comes from an error of an era that ought never to have happened and one that needs to be burned, buried and put in the past forever.

Going to use this same review for all the James Bond books I read several years ago. Why did I keep reading them if I hated them so much? Because I kept hoping for ONE good book with ONE woman valued for more than just her body. And anyone out there can tell me it was a reflection of the times, but I throw that argument out. I've heard it used a lot for slavery, for example, but that fails too because there were always abolitionists, just like there have always been feminists, even if that word didn't necessarily exist back then.

Amazon was practically giving away these Ian Fleming books, so I'd bought them all. And ultimately, I hated myself for it. They are such sexist filth. Sure, I like the "good guys" winning as much as the next, but in every one of them, it felt like it was at the expense of some woman (the "Bond girl's") identity where she's reduced to nothing but an objectified and glorified sexual being whose sole purpose is to make James Bond look good. Ew. I would've known better (I hope) had the cover been one of the more semi-pornographic ones that seem to be more common, but the Kindle series I'd bought had very unrevealing cover art. UGH. And remarkably, I hadn't watched any of the older Bond movies - only started with Daniel Craig versions which I thought was just dumb sexist typical Hollywood. In retrospect, I should've known better!

March 2019
I really enjoyed this a lot. Once again the book is far superior to the film with Fleming's excellent writing. Damien Lewis is just brilliant with the narration, a real master at the different accents throughout.

This was more like the 007 we love from the movies. Though still not there and too focused on different modes of gambling. The slowish pace remains the issue though the writing is getting better compared to the previous books and which is to be expected. Bond again travels to USA and does work undercover for some time and then the 007 appears. Nice Femme Fatale (Tiffany Case) but none are deadly so far.

So now onto the next adventure, you can start your Bond journey too and then Keep on Reading.

People who don't read generally ask me my reasons for reading. Simply put I just love reading and so to that end I have made it my motto to just Keep on Reading. I love to read everything except for Self Help books but even those once in a while. I read almost all the genre but YA, Fantasy, Biographies are the most. My favorite series is, of course, Harry Potter but then there are many more books that I just adore. I have bookcases filled with books which are waiting to be read so can't stay and spend more time in this review, so remember I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.