Casino Royale

I have not read any Fleming before and was probably judging him unfairly based only on the movies, but the book was well constructed and the writing much better than expected, I think I thought it would be more comic book style. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dan Stevens does a good job of the narration - maybe even a little hint of Connery about the phrasing and cadence every now and then.

James Bond is one of the characters that have survived its creator. In Casino Royale, Ian Fleming introduced this 00-agent for the first time and he does a splendid job of it. You don't meet the assured machine-man super-spy of later books, but a very vulnerable and human James.

Personal tragedy mixed with patriotism and revenge drives 007 to make the decision between good and evil. He is not as cold and clinical as he initially seems and he is blinded by his very human emotions. For me, this is much better than the Film and not yet contaminated by high-tech gadgets and action scenes.

Dan Stevens deserves a 5 star performance. It does seem that when you read James Bond, as the narrator you have to put on a clandestine voice that initially has a bit of a monotonous ring to it or maybe a whisper. Stevens' success in reading this story is that the characters doesn't speak with this same type of voice. His impersonations are first rate.

I enjoyed this audio book and must hand another 5 points for Audible making the 'original' James Bond available in unabridged format.