Mr. Fleming realized that after World War II, England was no longer the world power it once was and lets it all out on the page in a dialog which must have been torturous to write between Bond and the head of the Japanese Secret Service.

An unusual entry in the series since it is narrated by a French-Canadian woman and not James Bond

James Bond, agent 007 of British Secret Service, returns to London from a vengeance mission in Helsinki and resumes the boring duties of the 00 section. Soon enough he gets a new mission, this time in Berlin to break a drug trafficking cartel.

It seems to me Mr. Fleming had some stories in his head and somehow tried to tie them up into a common character (Bond).

The story is, of course, dated and some of it seem downright laughable or cringe worthy if not keeping in mind the attitudes at the times towards women and minorities.

This book is fun and silly and it seems that Mr. Fleming had a good time cutting down a character he almost seemed bored of writing.

James Bond is assigned an undercover investigation of a diamond smuggling operation from Sierra Leone to the United States.

About: From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming is the 5th novel in the series featuring English spy James Bond, 007. The book was published in 1957 and is considered one of the quintessential Cold War novels. 253 pages Publisher: Fine Communications Language: English ISBN-10: 1567310532 My rat­ing for From Russia With Love— 5 Buy From Russia With Love from Amazon.com* Books by Ian Fleming* Thoughts: From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming is considered the best in the series and, after reading it, I have to agree. While the book certainly offends modern sensibilities, it does offer a great story and a nail biting ending. The story revolves around the Soviets trying to humiliate the British Secret Service by killing their best agent, James Bond, in an embarrassing manner and hence lower morale. The plot was implausible back then, but even more now when people are not embarrassed at all anymore and even post their stupidity online for the ages. Bond is not a very sophisticated spy, sure he’s good at what he does but he rolls along with the thin plot to assassinate him, missing noticeable clues and falling into obvious traps, frankly it’s a wonder he’s…

This is a well written post World War II James Bond spy drama which moves forward the character of Bond and enhances the notion of the gritty world he lives in.

Mr. Fleming’s descriptions of Harlem, voodoo and thrilling adventures are as exciting as ever. The tone in this novel is grittier than its predecessor, with more action moving the story forward.
And a fight with a giant octopus.