Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sweekune 's review for:
From Russia with Love
by Ian Fleming
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2/5
I've finally returned to my run-through of the Bond series with From Russia With Love. The Russian secret agencies conspire to humiliate the British secret service by setting Bond up with an MGB spy to ruin their reputation.
- I have never been a bored by a Bond novel. In this approximately eight hour long audio book, Bond doesn't appear in person for over three hours. When he is there he seems very dull and not the usual dynamic spy we know. The characters were dull and spiked with stereotypes. The ending felt rushed and didn't feel like it paid off the set up. In the whole book I properly enjoyed one scene and one character.
- As this is a Bond book, be prepared for the usual liberal sprinkling of racism, sexism and homophobia. These are problematic themes of most if not all the Bond books.
- The one redeeming feature was the narrator. Toby Stephens did an excellent job with the poor material provided and was possibly the reason I hung on until the end, hoping the book would get better.
For die hard Bond fans or those who very much prefer the political side of the series. Otherwise, I would give it a miss.
I've finally returned to my run-through of the Bond series with From Russia With Love. The Russian secret agencies conspire to humiliate the British secret service by setting Bond up with an MGB spy to ruin their reputation.
- I have never been a bored by a Bond novel. In this approximately eight hour long audio book, Bond doesn't appear in person for over three hours. When he is there he seems very dull and not the usual dynamic spy we know. The characters were dull and spiked with stereotypes. The ending felt rushed and didn't feel like it paid off the set up. In the whole book I properly enjoyed one scene and one character.
- As this is a Bond book, be prepared for the usual liberal sprinkling of racism, sexism and homophobia. These are problematic themes of most if not all the Bond books.
- The one redeeming feature was the narrator. Toby Stephens did an excellent job with the poor material provided and was possibly the reason I hung on until the end, hoping the book would get better.
For die hard Bond fans or those who very much prefer the political side of the series. Otherwise, I would give it a miss.