Beats the movie to death a stick

The film was a low point in the series, but the book is quite good. A few of the usual stereotypes common to Fleming and his ilk at mid century but a very enjoyable read. It’s interesting to me that the women in the books are so much better characters than those in the movies. Given the times I’d expect the reverse. A good run and it seems Fleming loved trains a lot so a few extra points from me for that as well.

Another excellent performance in the James Bond Celebrity Performances series, this time by actor Damian Lewis (best known for the TV series Homeland). Lewis handles the various American and South African accents with ease. Bond vs. American gangsters is probably not quite as interesting as SMERSH or SPECTRE villians but the reading alone bumps this up a notch or two.

The movie is seemingly over-the-top, but the book is much more grounded in reality. The fights are shorter and more realistic as well as the motives of the villains.

Ultimate snooze fest. I just couldn't get into this book and it took me a while to finally finish. Think I need a break from Bond for now, hopefully 'From Russia With Love' will give me a fresh start.

I love it when Bond spends time stateside. Great descriptions of vintage Vegas to go with the usual dead-on NYC.
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Feeling a little Bond fatigue, but I want to keep going through From Russia, With Love before taking a break.

Diamonds are forever is an oddity. It's the first Bond novel that I think the film is better. The tone of the novel is oddly dark contrasted against the weirdly comical mob characters (perhaps especially so given the lighter-tone of the film). The plot includes the mention of gang-rape, the implication that homosexuals make better killers, and a portrayal of American Blacks as overly sensitive to race. The far less disturbing sections are boring. Most of the airplane sequences, the horse racing section, and the arrival in Las Vegas see Bond ridiculing the mobsters as childlike bullies. Bond even mentions that he's as bored when he arrives in Las Vegas as though he can see the reader leaning against the arm of a chair slowly falling asleep.

The real villains of the piece are Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint who provide the occasional bit of suspense before their final confrontation with Bond. This is the first time Bond faces his main antagonist in a climactic face-off. Now, Kidd and Wint are awesome, but they are only hired guns for the mob. The mob themselves are a hunchback and a wannabe cowboy. One lives and the other leaves the threatening stuff to Wint and Kidd.

Tiffany Case is "Diamond's" Bond girl. She is one of the few things that's better in the novel. She is tough and independent, but working to move past her exceptionally dark past. Bond's affection is fatherly at first, which only serves to make it creepier when she falls for his charm. The other thing that really stands out is the first chapter with the scorpion in the desert, great hook that sets up the reader for a let down. However, it prompted me to pick up [b:The Diamond Smugglers|372361|The Diamond Smugglers|Ian Fleming|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1230995260s/372361.jpg|362299], which is based on the research from this novel and an interview with an officer responsible for catching diamond smugglers. Anyway, skip this one and enjoy the film; it is hilarious and hits almost all the same plot points.

In this fourth installment by Ian Fleming, James Bond finds himself shipped undercover to America to follow the illegal diamond smugglers. Bond must use the unknowing diamond smuggling-extraordinaire, Tiffany Case to infiltrate the operation. Perhaps getting mixed up in American gangs proves to be more than Bond signed up for...


This installment has an overall different flavor than the ones previous, which makes it difficult to rate. Bond is certainly still Bond, but otherwise this novel was a different breed. I knew things were off when Bond didn't find himself in a life threatening position within the first third of the book. It was lacking the suspense the novels normally contain. That being said, this suspense was traded for time spent putting a spotlight on Tiffany Case. Not only do we receive a thorough backstory to this woman, but she also becomes a heroine, rather than a liability for Bond to save and inevitably bed. It was an interesting and welcome change, I just wish it didn't happen at the expense of the thrilling element these books normally hold. Why can't I have both?