Recommendations from our site
“I think it’s the best written of the Bond books. It has some fantastic and very memorable sequences and all the Bond elements you want. Fleming really did put a lot into it. It’s set in Istanbul. It’s got a sequence on the Orient Express. There’s a beautiful woman. It’s got spies and all sorts of mad adventures in Turkey. The opening is different from the other Bond books. In the first third of the book, Bond doesn’t appear in person. It follows in some detail the setting up of a plot by the Russian secret service to bring Bond down. It’s really vividly written, creating this great villain, Red Grant, and also Rosa Klebb, the evil Russian spymaster.” Read more...
Charlie Higson, Thriller and Crime Writer
“It is not complete fiction. There was a man called Biffy Dunderdale whom Fleming knew and who was the MI6 Head of Station in Paris in the 1930s. He was a man of great sangfroid and style who liked fast cars and pretty women and was quite an important figure. He travelled under the name of John Green, and was a glamorous figure a bit like Bond. On the other hand, one of the reasons he was in the Service was because he spoke Russian like a native, as well as other languages, which was definitely something you needed – and still do – and something James Bond never seemed to be able to do.” Read more...
“Well, this is all about the Cold War. It is a similar story to what Gaz Hunter was into – going across the East German border, lurking around, possibly getting captured and tortured by the Russians.” Read more...
Pete Winner, Military Historians & Veteran
“I think this is probably the best Bond book. It was one of Kennedy’s top ten reads. It’s different from the others in that the first third is about Smersh and Grant, who turns out to be an assassin. Also, it’s set in Istanbul which is my favourite city…Fleming was actually in Istanbul in the 1950s and he uses an incident in this book, I think, where the Greek Commissioner was attacked by the Turks and the Turkish authorities just stood by.” Read more...
Good Thrillers with Great Movie Adaptations
James Twining, Thriller and Crime Writer
