The best way to understand the James Bond books is to understand the heroines of the books. I think that there is a good argument to be made, that the Bond books are the most misunderstood books of all prominent books, because the very subtext that accounts for their enduring appeal is buried so deeply that it just passes most people by. This will be a review of not just Casino Royale, but of the James Bond books in general. I don't know how I missed it the first time around, but this version of James Bond isn't anything like the pop culture icon version of James Bond.Īt the end of the day, I'm curious about the true story of this 007.ĭoes he get progressively less stupid with each book?

I might have felt a bit sorry for the poor bastard but he only wanted to marry Vesper because she was mysterious enough so that each sexual encounter would have the sweet tang of rape to it. I had also forgotten how shockingly unintelligent he was when it came to reading the room, because Vesper is quite OBVIOUSLY hiding something from him.īut apparently, he thinks it's normal for women to make cryptic comments and cry after sex, so he never managed to put two and two together and come up with a double agent. He eventually passes out, wakes up, gets thwacked on his nads some more, and right before the bad guy pulls the trigger, another bad guy shows up and kills the testicle-smasher.īad guy #2 leaves James alive presumably because he's going to need to show up in the next book and fumble fuck around again. This is just a run-of-the-mill agent who got his balls thumped by the psycho he beat at baccarat. This is NOT the suave James Bond we know and love.

No cool spy stuff, no outrageous sexytimes, just a dull as shit card game.Īnd the second half was James getting his ass thoroughly beaten, only escaping death by sheer dumb luck. He's definitely an ass, so this isn't a book you should hand to your son with an emulate this guy wink.īut what I had forgotten was that the first half of this (rather short) book was mostly just a card game. I remembered being aware that he wasn't the most forward-thinking chap when it came to women after I first read this book, and the passing of 13 years hasn't made him look any better.

Casino royale 1954 summary