Book Review: Casino Royale

The James Bond franchise is an entity of astronomical size as of today. The film franchise which started all the way back in 1962 has featured over seven actors to play the character across the decades.  The character has become ingrained in British culture and has acquired worldwide recognition. While we wait to see what the next generation of James Bond movies hold in store for us, I figured now would be an appropriate time to take a deep dive into the origins of James Bond through Ian Fleming’s original collection of novels. Ian Fleming lived an incredibly eventful life leading up to his decision to begin writing the James Bond books.  His main source of inspiration for the British super spy was his time serving in the British army during World War 2.  Working as part of Navel Intelligence, Fleming helped devise a number of deceptions to help combat Nazi Germany outside of the conventional battlefields.  Soon after the war Fleming moved to Jamaica and began to form the early drafts of what would be his first James Bond novel; Casino Royale, which was published originally in 1953. 

Casino Royale follows British secret service agent James Bond.  Codenamed agent 007, Bond is one of the most adept secret agents MI6 has on file.  After receiving a brief from allied intelligence, the head of MI6 codenamed M, sends Bond on a mission to Royale-les-Eaux in the northern regions of France to take part in a high-stakes baccarat game.  The main objective of this mission is to play against and beat Le Chiffre, a paymaster for the Soviet counter-intelligence organization known as SMERSH.  Struggling after a number of poor investments, Le Chiffre is trying to reclaim his lost earnings before SMERSH come to collect his debt in a more direct format. Bond isn’t alone on this mission however, as he’s also assigned the assistance of Vesper Lynd, a personal assistant to a division of MI6 known as Section S. While Bond is initially apprehensive to work alongside a woman, he ultimately relents and soon finds himself developing intimate feelings for her as the mission progresses.  With everything to play for, Bond must find a means to win the game and bring Le Chiffre in before SMERSH can get to him first.

I think the narrative setup behind Casino Royale is incredibly solid.  I do feel we lose a bit of an opportunity to soak up the world or Bond as a character before we’re literally thrust into the thick of the core operation, but it’s some conciliation the core narrative produces a lot of intrigue.  The scope of the high-stakes casino game introduces an ideal means of establishing the suave, undercover role Bond lives through each and every day.  There’s a great level of detail to establishing and analysing sequences of events through Bonds eyes which also helps in defining his character alongside it.  I think the general threat of Le Chiffre is stifled slightly due to how little exposure we really get of him beside a few key chapters, a sad casualty of Flemings choice to throw us right into the key events rather than expanding it with set up sequences.  I also find the dated stereotypes of the time this book was written in to be a bit of a detractor to making Bond a relatable character, especially his sexist outlook. I think the main contrast to those negative characteristics is Fleming’s devotion to unwrap Bond’s humanity and vulnerabilities with his relation to Vesper Lynd.  I never expected Fleming to dive right into analysing Bond on this intimate a level, but is refreshing to see in any sense.

The tone of the book is well established, there’s a sharp, gritty style to it which helps ground the narrative consistently.  When you again consider the time period this book was written and based in, it’s interesting to see Fleming take such a direct approach to establishing a world of suave sophistication mixed with brutal, explicit danger. It’s a book which knows how to expose its emotional core when the time is appropriate which is a rare quality, especially for a debut novel! I do think the story’s pacing is slightly inconsistent as it stops and starts a lot throughout the course of the page count.  I think there are moments where the slower pacing works excellently but in others it drags a sequence out unnecessarily. On the flipside, the action-heavy sequences are well executed but fly by way too quick before it goes back to being slower.

Casino Royale is an impressive book all things considered.  It’s setup and narrative are genuinely compelling to follow along through despite some of its smaller inconsistencies.  Fleming’s ability to incorporate the world of his past into this story is on full display and it shows a lot of imagination and nuance when it comes to defining James Bond and his world for the reader to experience. I think despite it’s missed opportunities, this book on the whole does a phenomenal job in establishing James Bond’s secret service exploits on a fundamental level.