James Bond Novel Retrospective #2
Released: 1954
Mr. Big is in the house.
Even though the film adaptation wasn’t due for another 19 years, that title still makes me think of the classic song by Paul McCartney and Wings. ^^
Following upon the tragic ending of the previous book. When M offers James Bond a chance to start getting even with SMERSH – the villainous organization behind the events of the first book – Bond is all too eager to accept. His mission this time around takes him into the criminal underbelly of Harlem, where he confronts the vile Mr. Big and his elaborate gold-smuggling operation.
As noted in my retrospective intro, this is not my first attempt at reading through all the Bond books, though it’s my first time doing so in a very long time. Revisiting this book again after so many years, I found that I did not remember it as well as I did with Casino Royale. Although with Casino Royale, it helped that I’d seen the 2006 film adaptation multiple times to help refresh the general story in my mind. Whereas the Live and Let Die film is quite a lot different from its novel counterpart, and so there were significant chunks of the novel I’d forgotten about upon reading it a second time. And I must say, reading it again now makes me wish that the film had been a more faithful adaptation. Holy cow! This book is tense, exciting, and brutal. Things get going immediately; only three chapters in, and Bond is sent an ominous parcel in his hotel room, which turns out to be a bomb disguised as an alarm clock.
Felix Leiter, Bond’s enthusiastic and upbeat ally, made his debut in the previous novel, albeit he had a relatively small role. One of the strengths of this book is Felix’s greatly expanded role. In a relatively short amount of time, Bond and Felix already feel like lifelong friends who would do anything for each other. It’s that sense of friendship and camaraderie which shines through, and gives the book a level of warmth and humanity even despite it otherwise being an intense, violent thriller. Solitaire and Quarrel also make for engaging, likeable allies, and you immediately root for all of them.
This book is more of an adventure than Bond’s previous outing. Much of Casino Royale took place at the titular casino. Live and Let Die, meanwhile, takes Bond all over the place as he finds himself either in hot pursuit of his enemies, or his enemies in hot pursuit of him. Soon after the alarm clock bomb at the hotel, Bond and Felix head out investigating, and soon after that, they are captured by Mr. Big and brought to his lair. It is then that Bond is introduced to Mr. Big’s mysterious fortune-teller, Solitaire. Although it quickly becomes clear that she is no friend of Mr. Big, and she soon leaves him altogether and joins up with Bond.
Things only continue to ramp up from there. After a violent and thrilling escape from Mr. Big’s lair, Bond, Solitaire, and Felix all go on the run. Bond and Solitaire board a train called the Silver Phantom, one of the highlights of the book. I love trains. So often they make for great settings in thriller, mystery, and adventure stories. Later on, we get another highlight when Bond sneaks into the warehouse of Mr. Big’s henchman, known as “The Robber”, leading to a truly wonderful action scene. The story’s growing momentum culminates in a spectacular, emotionally-charged climax and a fantastic, gory ending.
As the second Bond novel, Live and Let Die is still rough around the edges in places. Some of the dialogue is corny. Ian Fleming was still growing as a writer. All the same, it’s an impactful and hard-hitting story, and I did find it to be a step up from Casino Royale. I debated between giving it a 7.5 and an 8, so I’ll settle upon a 7.75/10.
