Although a trap is suspected, James Bond travels to Istanbul on the promise, from a double agent, of getting his hands on a Russian cipher machine.

After a couple of months of acid reflux issues – leaving energy levels on the low side, I hadn’t been in the mood for anything too taxing or with multitudes of characters to concentrate on. Re-reading Ian Fleming has been the perfect antidote. Damn good, straightforward adventure storytelling.

Most of the books are not without some flaw (Moonraker has a rather preposterous plot, others have overly fantastical episodes – which may include giant octopuses! - and others have such highs as to inevitably be followed by just the occasional periods of dullness – Live And Let Die and Thunderball come to mind). But with From Russia With Love, Fleming, for me, reaches a peak - remaining consistent throughout. It’s solidly constructed, with no straying to anything too fanciful, and has a plethora of crystally well defined characters that linger long in the memory (and we’re not just talking the bad guys here – Bond’s local ally Kerim is just as clearly drawn as the tough Red Grant and Rosa Klebb). Fleming is a master of choosing and describing the relevant detail, and the darkly exotic locale and 1950s atmosphere transfer you a million miles from the realities of today. It’s understandable why the film makers for once didn’t stray too far from the book. It’s consistent, and for me, the best of the series.

Re-acquainting with these books is a real pleasure. This is my third reading. With older eyes I’m seeing lots that I missed before (good and bad), and drastically changing opinion on certain books isn’t something I expected from an oeuvre that I thought I was familiar with – whereas Moonraker has gone down a few notches, the next book (after this one) has risen – The Spy Who Loved Me.

Maybe losing yourself in the nostalgia and distant times of these books (especially in these current CV-19 days) adds to the warmth and charm of re-reading this series.

I accidentally touched four stars when I intend to rate ‘From Russia with Love’ three, but I will let it stand. The action is wonderful - bombings, car chases, shootings, secret underground grotto, gypsy girl-fight with knives - and actual spying, for once, by Turks.

If you have seen the movie, you will know everything about the plot of the novel, the fifth in the James Bond series. For once, the book and the movie are very closely synced. The hot Russian babe Tatiana Romanova - innocent secretary of SMERSH, Rosa Klebb -ruthless Head of the Operations unit of SMERSH (Otdyel II), and Kronsteen - chess champion and the Head of the Planning Department of SMERSH, are all involved in a nefarious Russian Communist plot to shame James Bond by secretly filming him in a sex tape. The sight of a naked James in action shagging a Russian spy will destroy England’s Secret Service once SMERSH has made the video public, or so goes the thinking in Russia’s spy-assassination department. SMERSH is certain the morale of Bond’s fellow secret agents will plummet, and M will palm his face in shock on seeing Bond’s bobbing ass (James would be the top, naturally, I think). To add to the Secret Service’s pain, SMERSH plans to murder Bond by their best assassin, Donovan Grant, Chief Executioner, after the taping. Grant is to make the ass-asination look like a suicide, since Bond presumably will be supposedly emotionally devastated after he has deflowered Tatiana, an assumed serious and unforgivable breach of British manners for England’s upper-crust and the world. In addition, the bait used as an excuse to bring Tatiana and Bond together, a Russian cipher machine, The Spektor! will be offered up as Tatiana’s passport to defect to England. Tatiana will be given one of The Spektors, filled with explosives, to hand over to Bond once he has arrived in Istanbul, where she wants to meet him. The machine will hopefully explode once in M’s hands (M is Bond’s boss).

Gentle reader, I have no doubts now that the worldly and sophisticated author, and survivor of World War II military operations, Ian Fleming, knew he was writing books of pure silliness and farce despite their surface appearance of playing it straight. Unless any of you Goodreads members who are also British tell me different, I am assuming the Brit’s know young military men have unmarried sex, especially those Brits who are athletic adventurers traveling in Europe on the famous Orient Express. Would the reaction to a sex tape starring a handsome and virile British agent boffing a gorgeous naked woman be a source of national horror, even in 1957? Would James be stripped, so to speak, of his High Table privileges? Let me know.

Meanwhile, Fleming managed to add two more groups of people (in one stroke!) to the list of explicit prejudices the characters in the Bond novels have: intellectuals. Not because they are pointed-headed, gentle reader (pointed heads being an American slander directed at intellectuals). But because all intellectuals are gay! or so the Secret Service believes; and thus the Service rejects hiring intellectuals, especially since the Service believes the Americans will hate British intellectuals. For once, Bond protests against this prejudice, maybe because it is one he does not have very strongly? Or he thinks the benefits outweigh the negatives? Idk. Anyway, Bond appears to like intellectuals even if (or because) they are “pansies soaked in scent”. And bald. I forgot, all the acceptable intellectuals are also assumed to be only the bald gay men, rather than the long-haired gay men. Bond thinks the Americans will be good to go with the bald smelly gay men who are intellectuals, too.

Wait. Did Bond actually toss in yet another backhanded slap at Americans? After five books (start reading the series with book one, Casino Royale, if you dare) of explicit racial slurs, and name-calling and insults directed at most of the nations around the earth, I am definitely having trouble keeping up.

; p

Someone criticized this novel saying it was dated......I am baffled.....that's like reading the biography HAMILTON,and saying it's "dated." History is never dated. This book is based on an organization that was real in Soviet Union, Russia....and yes, historically it used to be Russia,and then the Soviet Union,and then back to Russia,and the novel focuses on a certain time in the history of that country and of England as well. Yes it's fiction. I don't get how it is "dated." ;)

I enjoyed it immensely, but then I was a history teacher for 31 years and a history buff. Historically, this novel was considered to be John F. Kennedy's favorite novel....that's historically. Again, it's fiction.

Read it, enjoy it. Historical fiction, and fun at its best.

I am currently listening my way through the audio books of this series.

Over the years, I've read bits and pieces of various of these, but this time I'm going through them in order. It is very interesting to see the evolution of the Bond character as well as of Fleming's style.

This wasn't my favorite, and the end was a bit confusing until one reviewer mentioned that Fleming was planning on killing off the Bond character--that this was supposed to be the last. Now it makes sense! (And thank goodness he changed his mind!)

Best in the series?

This is the best Bond novel by Ian Fleming (possibly followed by Moonraker). It has high stakes, an intricate plot and the back story of the villains is fantastic. Fleming offers it all here, truly fantastic...

Reading these in order, this is the best so far. Firstly because Fleming is starting to play with the format: we have roughly a third of the book pass before Bond even appears. Secondly, Bond is fallible - he makes a serious mistake in judgement towards the end. Finally, we even end the novel on a cliffhanger.

I do however, wish that Fleming would stop referring to Bond's fringe as being "a comma of black hair" - this has occured at least a couple of times in every book so far and is very lazy writing: at least he's stopped referring to him as looking like Hoagy Carmichael.

The other irritant was the use of odd Russian words - Tatiana keeps saying that people are or aren't "kulturny" - which is never translated for the reader. As she never uses any other Russian words, it's a little annoying as it crops up so damned often.

Those are the only quibbles with this novel. I'm hoping that this increase in quality continues when we move on to Dr No.

Ian Fleming încearcă un pic de proză mai literară, încearcă să fie mai șmecher decât în celelalte cărți, și nu prea îi reușește. Rezultatul e o poveste care se desfășoară pe jumătate fără Bond, destul de subțirică și cu foarte puțină logică. În fine, îi dăm două stele pentru că se putea și mai rău.

4.5 stars- I really enjoyed this instalment in the James Bond collection. The initial focus on Russia had me gripped from the start. As with every Bond book, there are parts that have really not aged well (e.g. hitting a woman if she eats too much). But with that aside, this was an excellent thriller, involving fight scenes with intriguing gadgets. The novel made me experience various emotions and many of the characters are very interesting!

Ian Fleming's 5th James Bond novel sees the Soviet organisation SMERSH engaged in a meticulous plan to assassinate the legendary British secret agent.
The plan to kill 007 takes up a large part of the novel & it's surprising how good the book is when you realise, out of the 208 pages, Bond doesn't even appear until page 78.
Fleming'e characters are as marvellous as ever & I cannot help thinking of the 1963 film version, which is perfectly cast on every level, as I read.
The latter part of the novel, set on the Orient Express as it travels across Europe, is a wonderful slice of another time & another place. I always find this section to be one of Fleming's most absorbing pieces of writing.
This is one of those books that I wish would never end.

Fleming’s fifth James Bond adventure is probably his best. Starting with SMERSH hit man Donovan Grant’s humble beginnings, Fleming builds his story. The Soviet Union needs to squelch the victory parade of the British intelligence system by scoring an embarrassing hit on some highly thought of agent – like James Bond. With months of planning, the plot is hatched. A beautiful Russian woman will seduce Bond and, unbeknownst to her, set him up for a hit, thus embarrassing Britain in particular and The West in general. The plot develops from there.

This has to be my favorite Bond book for several reasons. First, it gives us a reasonably realistic view of Russian motivation and modus operandi. It may seem fantastic, but recent history of assassinations outside of Russia are no less fantastic and brutal, just modernized. Second, there are no science fiction/deus ex machina gimmicks to spice up the story – it is pretty much a straight-forward, well-told spy/thriller story. Third, we learn a lot about Turkey, especially Istanbul. Fourth, we are reminded of the presence and importance of this part of the world. Fifth, there could be a love story somewhere there. Last, who could dislike a good story which includes a ride on the old Orient Express, not in the glory days, but still working its way through Europe from Istanbul to Paris with some sense of pride, however tarnished.

I am not a huge Bond fan, but it makes for good semi-serious reading in this troubled time. All-in-all, a good story, well-written.

Review | From Russia with Love, Ian Fleming | 4.5 Stars I love Ian Fleming. I really do. He’s got a gift for storytelling, he has the English language wrapped around his little finger, and perhaps most importantly, the man has an impeccable sense of style.
 
That being said, From Russia with Love had a love to live up to. This book is undoubtedly a modern classic. It’s probably the most famous in the James Bond series (possibly because JFK once mentioned it was one of his favorite novels; looking back on it JFK’s love of 007 probably makes more sense than the public originally realized). I have to admit, when I cracked it open I was a little afraid of being disappointed by it.
Thank God, I was so many levels of wrong.
 
From Russia with Love is undoubtedly the best in the series so far. It takes the finesse of the four previous novels, kicks it up a notch and delivers one of the most smashing spy thrillers I’ve ever read.
 
Time for me to gush about how riotously spectacular this book is.
 
First off, the title is an absolute home run. No discussion.
 
After that, the first 100 pages take the reader deep inside the sinister planning cabinet of SMERSH, and it’s clear from Fleming’s knowledge and confidence as a writer that he’s got experience to support the kind of detail that from any other writer would feel speculative at best. Interestingly, Bond himself doesn’t even appear until about a third of the way through the book. As a reader, you feel his absence acutely – not because the story’s boring, but because you have a growing sense of dread as the trap being laid out for him begins to take shape.
 
From the very beginning of Bond’s part of the story, there’s a sense of inevitable doom, and as each page turns the SMERSH plot seems to slowly close around him, like a venus flytrap. He doesn’t stumble blindly into it, of course, but nor does he fully understand what he’s walking into. For those of us who already know and love Bond, those who are meeting him for the first time and especially, I would imagine, those who were reading it when it was first published without the comforting knowledge that there would be a sequel, ‘tension’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.
 
But that alone isn’t what makes this book wonderful. It’s also perhaps the most geographically rich book in the series (so far). Bond is no stranger to exotic locales, but his adventures in Istanbul are almost more akin to the hi-jinks of an Indiana Jones movie than the city-slicker, money-to-burn explorations of the first four books. From rat-infested tunnels below the city to a naked wrestling death-match in a nearby gypsy camp, From Russia with Love is a story stepped in rich cultural detail.
 
And then there’s the train. Oh, the train. I may be a little biased here, because I LOVE trains, but all the action on board the Orient Express is made much more exciting by the sheer forward momentum of the journey. I could go on about this for ages, but I won’t.
 

 
Once Bond is off the train and ostensibly out of danger, it’s still almost impossible to relax, and with good reason – it all seems a little too easy. SMERSH isn’t quite so easily duped, and to the very last page, Bond and the reader are both waiting for the other shoe to drop – which it finally does, with (possibly) fatal results. The ending is a cliffhanger of the highest degree. The only reason I’m not already reading Dr. No is because I left it on the mainland and won’t be back there for another two weeks.
 
Really, I could stop here, but I think it would be remiss to write a Bond review without mentioning the girl. Tatiana Romanova is not, at first, too terribly different from the other women who have come and gone in James Bond’s life (Fleming clearly had a penchant for women with blue eyes). But unlike the other girls, the reader gets a much more intimate idea of what’s going on her head. She appears before Bond does, and you can’t help but wonder when she’s going to realize that she’s being lured into a trap as much as Bond is. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get to see much action. This is really a shame, because Fleming goes out of his way to explain how intelligent she is. I for one would have liked to have seen her take a more active role in the story, considering she’s unconscious or absent for the most crucial scenes in the book (this is honestly all that’s keeping me from giving this one a five-star rating). I liked her, though, and in the end the story really isn’t about her – she’s just another one of SMERSH’s pawns.
 
So. From Russia with Love is unquestionably worth a read, whether you pick it up as part of the series or if it’s the only Bond book you ever crack open. There’s a little something for everyone – and even if sweeping international espionage  isn’t your style, prepare to be sucked in by the inimitable style of Fleming’s prose. Here’s one of my favorite passages, just to whet your appetite:
 

It should have been the Arabian Nights, but to Bond, seeing it first above the tops of trams and above the great scars of modern advertising along the river frontage, it seemed a once beautiful theatre-set that modern Turkey had thrown aside in favour of the steel and concrete flat-iron of the Istanbul-Hilton Hotel, blankly glittering behind him on the heights of Pera.
 
–From Russia with Love, Ian Fleming

 
4.5 stars.

The Orient Express
2 March 2020

tThis book was pretty awesome, particularly how Flemmig actually set the action up. For one thing, Bond doesn’t come into the picture until a third of the way through the book, though he is, of course, mentioned numerous times since what Flemming is doing is setting everything up behind the Iron Curtain first. In fact, come to think of it, that is a very Homeric thing to do (since we don’t get to meet Odysseus until book 5 for the Odyssey).

tUnfortunately, this isn’t the first one, and the other catch is that it came before Dr No, and I discovered that it ended on a cliff hanger. Fortunately, when I discovered that Dr No comes after it, the discussions between Bond and M at the beginning of that book now make a lot more sense. It also makes me wonder whether some of the discussions between Bond and M in this book references from the book that came before this one (Diamonds are Forever). Actually, I have that one as well, so I guess that is the next Bond book I’ll be reading (yeah, going backwards).

tSo, the Russians have had a few setbacks, and they want to score a big victory over the West. Well, they decided that not only embarrassing, but killing, one of their major operatives would probably be the way to go. Of course, they needed to actually set the scene, that is lure the agent out so that they can put him in a position where they can pretty much control the narrative.

tYeah, just sending an assassin to England to shoot Bond in his apartment probably isn’t going to work because, well, they aren’t able to control the narrative. So, they have to bring him out of England and put him in a position where they can create the story so that it can then be leaked to the Western media, particularly the left-wing newspapers (though it is interesting that even some of the more hard core right-wing newspapers are considered to be left-wing by some people). That way not only can they create a huge scandal, but also get rid of one of their best agents as well.

tOkay, maybe killing him was going a little bit too far, but embarrassing him, and exposing him, probably wouldn’t work as well. The thing is that many of these spies aren’t known among the general population, and even if they score a big victory for their side, they never receive any acclaim for it. This a little odd though because it isn’t as if Bond isn’t known – he certainly lets everybody know his name, and because of his strikingly handsome appearance, it is more likely than not that he could be spotted out of a crowd.

tAnother thing I noticed was that this book was actually pretty close to the movie as well. This is the one where most of the film is set on the Orient Express, which is certainly a train that one could easily film a spy thriller on, though that probably has a lot to do with Agatha Christie. The other thing was that I loved the character of Kerim, though I suspect that his attitude, especially towards women, wouldn’t go down all that well today.