Title: Live and Let Die
Author: Ian Fleming
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 234
Rating: 9/10
You’ve probably noticed by now that I’ve been reading a bunch of Bond novels, lately. This one, for me, has been one of the better books in the series, and whilst it might not be the best one, I certainly enjoyed it. It has all of the hallmarks of a good spy novel, and I find it hard to determine which elements of it are cliches from the golden era of the spy story and which elements actually inspired cliches of their own.
For example, the bad guy here – a certain Mr. Big – has a penchant for deadly fish, and his victims are often treated to a swim with the piranhas. But it works, especially because this fishy element is vital to the story line, providing a cover story for the bad guy which actually makes sense, and which works really well.
We also get to meet an old friend and to make friends with a new one, a woman with a little bit of Voodoo about her. And in many ways, the Voodoo was the same as the spy cliches – it felt familiar because we’ve already seen it all over the place. It reminded me of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But still, I enjoyed reading the book.
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