A review by catherine_t
From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

James Bond has interfered with SMERSH's plans one time too many. Now they're out for revenge. Baiting the hook with a beautiful young woman and a Russian encryption machine, SMERSH lures Bond to Istanbul. Will 007 manage to escape their clutches?

Ian Fleming novels are a guilty pleasure of mine. His Bond is a cruel, hard man, not the charmer of the films. But Bond lives in the hard, cruel world of postwar Europe and the long slide into the Cold War. I enjoy the books as historical fiction, though they were current at the time they were published. I wouldn't want to meet this Bond in a dark alley, unless he was firmly on my side of the fight.