Bond. James Bond.

I've always thought Casino Royale is the best-written of the gilt-edged Bond books. It seems more realistic than the others in the series and the writing is spare and clean.

While this is a good entry in the series, there are many examples of racial stereotyping. While these may have been less out-of-place at the time of publication, they now make this an uncomfortable read.

Not too bad... it has a good plot, good energy, and a good villain. The technology is laughably out of date, but that's part of the charm.

James Bond vs. the Mafia. The villains are a pair of brothers and Mafia dons who are smuggling diamonds out of South Africa. The book is far more intense and serious than the campy movie. A good look at Las Vegas when the Mafia ran the town.

As good as the movie is, the book is even better. Intricate, exciting, unforgettable characters. This is prime Fleming, as good as he gets.

This is Fleming in his stride with a strong story, memorable characters, and not an ounce of fat or padding — great cold war escapism.

It's been a while since I read this, but I recall it as being much more heavily plotted than the film. A strong entry in the canon.

A collection of Bond short stories. These are stripped-down-to-the-point stories and some of the best work Ian Fleming ever wrote. Well worth the read.

Technically a novelization based on a screenplay credited to Fleming, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham, this is a good book with a strange and complicated history. It's also The first appearance of SPECTRE and Blofeld!

The most atypical of all Bond books, told in the point of view of a young woman stranded in a cabin and menaced by gangsters. Bond comes to her rescue. No super-villains, no Spectre, no Blofeld, no threats of world domination. Very personal, lots of tension, but for me at least, strangely unsatisfying.

This one stands out as a sad book in the series due to a pivotal plot turn. I won't say what it is — I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

Another strong entry, the last appearance of Blofeld in the novels. Tiger Tanaka joins Felix Leiter, Rene Mathis and Kerin Bey as James Bond's allies from other secret services. The arc of this novel is wonderful, going from despair to satisfied revenge to forgetting to tentative awakening...

To me, a strange, bizarre book, with little to recommend it. Fleming running out of steam and inspiration... in hindsight, perhaps he was in ill health.

This book, published two years after Fleming's death, is a collection of short stories. It originally contained "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights" and recent editions now also include "The Property of a Lady" and "007 in New York." (This version contains all four.)