Is it dreadful to say I have only read this because I had a copy unread in the house? I need to read through some of these book piles I have had for kicking on ten years now, which is how I've come to this book. It maybe sounds like I had an utterly miserable time forcing myself to read it. If a book is truely bad, I will stop. This one wasn't awful. It's light entertainment, not too complicated and not too long a read. I have grown up with the Bond films, so I will say the usual ridiculous statement: It's not like the film! Well, I saw elements of two films in this one, as I'm sure the CIA agent Felix got his leg bitten off in one of the Timothy Dalton films. And wasn't Solitaire Jayne Seymore with Roger Moore? ANYWAY,... the book.This is delving into Voodoo from Haiti, although we don't get to go to Haiti. Instead we're away to Harlem in the 50s, then down to Florida and over to Jamaica for the final show down. The plot isn't over complicated, nor are the showdowns and espionage. Mr Big, who many seem to believe is the zombie form of the top guy in the Voodoo religion, is running old golden coins from lost pirate booty into the USA. So Bond and the CIA are off to sort him out. It is very dated writing. I know you have to accept that things are a product of the time, but it was uncomfortable to read every single black person being described as a negro. Anyway, there's a bit of a punch up in Harlem with not a lot actually done/discovered, then they go to Florida where they don't do so much although Bond discovers how they're sneaking the coins into the states, and some sharks get fed. Then it's away to Jamaica, where he has a training week and then does a night swim over to Mr Big's island for the final showdown. And that's it. The sequence when Bond is moving across the bottom of the sea to get to Mr Big's island was possibly one of the best bits as there was so much about the different fish and corals - it created such an image. And an octopus almost has its way with him.Yeah, light entertainment.

If read through the wrong prism, much like the notorious Tintin In The Congo, Live and Let Die will appear very racist. It is interesting that, despite being the second Bond book, it took so long to become a movie. Consider this: the book was released in 1955, five years before The Beatles formed. The song for the 1973 film was performed by a Wings-era Paul McCartney. But more telling is Fleming's choice to make Bond's first true nemesis an African American, blending Voodoo and the mystery of black people to white people (which was Fleming's likely main audience) to great effect. If you read between the lines and ignore that Fleming keeps using the word 'Negro', which is not done with any sense of malice, there is a lot of respect here. After surviving near-assassination by S.M.E.R.S.H. (the Russian assassination buro) in Casino Royale, the first book, Bond is hungry for revenge and M has an assignment that might get him just that. Old gold coins, possibly from a pirate's treasure, are appearing in America and suspicion is that Soviet agents are using gold from Bloody Morgan's treasure in Jamaica to further their cause. At the helm is a mysterious character called Mr. Big, who uses voodoo superstition as part of his repertoire to control an elaborate criminal cartel. He might also work for S.M.E.R.S.H., which has Bond's attention.It sounds a tad outlandish, especially with pirates in the mix, but this yarn allows for a lot of insight into what drives 007. It also builds the spy's relationship with C.I.A. fixer Felix Leiter and gives more aspects to Bond's vulnerability, as Mr. Big turns out to be a very formidable foe. There is a lot of nuance here, especially because this is Bond's first proper 'action' outing. In Casino Royale he largely gambles and survives a few close scrapes. Here 007 never comes close to a felt-covered table, but he does show his chops in eluding the enemy, thinking on his toes and surviving even narrower scrapes. It also deals with some of the tedium Bond has to deal with - passing mentions of waiting in a roadhouse or typing up a report. You get a very good idea about his sense of responsibility. But the pacing is fast and at 120 pages it is easy to cut through.There is a reason why Bond as a franchise has been such a mega-hit. Fleming deserves more credit for how well he wrote these books. He certainly knew a thing or two about nuance and finer touches.

Without any doubt this one is much better than the predecessor: faster and with a more interesting plot (more action).I am glad I began reading James Bond series.