“Don’t worry about that chair with a hole in the middle. It’s merely waiting to be reupholstered.” – La Chiffre, Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale (James Bond #1)
Author: Ian Fleming
Pages: 224
Format: Paperback
Published: January 1, 1953
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: November 15, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
I’ve long been a fan of the James Bond film franchise (although despite the quote above, I’ve never seen the 1967 film starring David Niven and Peter Sellers – arguably not part of the canon). But until November 2024, I’ve never read any of the books that the films are based on. So I’m starting to remedy that.
I didn’t know what to expect going into this, the first novel featuring 007. First published in 1953 I thought maybe it would be a pulpy spy story with a corny plot and much innuendo. What I found was a fairly short, fast-paced, deep spy story with some innuendo. Okay, some overt sexual references that probably were nothing for the time.
We meet here James Bond, a double-oh agent (meaning he’s had two kills – Really? That’s it?) who also happens to be an amazing gambler. And that’s just what is needed to catch Le Chiffre, an accountant (like me!) for the bad guys (not like me). La Chiffre is hosting a game of baccarat in order to win some money for his clients. Bond is put into the game undercover, which isn’t really necessary because Bond blows his cover immediately since it’s clear La Chiffre is smart and will know who he is immediately.
He is partnered with Vesper Lynd (a beautiful woman he will definitely end up having sex with… when the mission is complete, of course), Johnny Mathis, er, Rene Mathis from French intelligence, and Felix Leiter of the CIA.
You all know the story – bet big, win big. Or is it lose big? For Bond it’s the latter, until it’s not.
Le Chiffre is pissed and he takes it upon himself to make sure Bond will never, ever be able to have kids. [whispering in my ear] Oh, he’ll make a complete recovery? Well, that’s anticlimactic. But for anyone who has seen the 2006 movie, remember that torture scene? Remember how it made all guys cross their legs in shared pain? Yeah, that is in the book.
I’ll stop here – I don’t think I’ve given away anything most people don’t know about this story. Let me just say that although I’m not a huge fan of the name of the organization they’re up against: SMERSH. Sounds kind of stupid in my opinion. [more whispering in my ear] Oh, that was a real organization in 1940s Soviet Union? Yikes…
Anyhow, I just loved how this book sets up future adventures of James Bond. The biggest letdown for me was the last third of the book or so, when he’s just recovering from the whipping he took.
After finishing the book, I re-watched the 2006 Martin Campbell-directed film starring James Blonde himself, Daniel Craig. To all the nay-sayers about that movie – I have so much more appreciation for it now that I’ve read this book. I originally thought the movie was too dark compared to its predecessors. I love the darkness and realism of it. It just didn’t feel like it fit in the Bond film franchise. That is, until I read this book and I realized what a faithful adaptation that film was. Bravo!
Overall, I landed on a rating of 4 stars for this book. I really enjoyed it for the most part. Again, the last third was a bit slow-going and although I enjoyed learning about the intricacies of baccarat, it actually took away a little of the tension when I realized the gamble was just guessing if you have a better hand than the dealer. I prefer the update to hold ’em poker in the 2006 film.
Oh boy, I am very much looking forward to getting into the next Bond novel!
