Live and Let Die: Read the second gripping unforgettable James Bond novel

Ian Fleming

Jul 2012 · Random House

About this ebook

There's no better time to rediscover James Bond.

Mr Big is brutal, brilliant and feared worldwide.

Protected by Voodoo forces and the psychic powers of his prisoner Solitaire, he is an invincible SMERSH operative at the head of a ruthless smuggling ring.

James Bond's new assignment will take him to the heart of the occult: to infiltrate this secret world and destroy Mr Big's global network.

From Harlem's throbbing jazz joints to the shark-infested waters of Jamaica, enemy eyes watch Bond's every move. He must tread carefully to avoid a nightmarish fate.

'Bond is a hero for all time' Jeffrey Deaver

Ratings and reviews

This book gives an insight to James Bond infallibility, showing him being human and susceptible to the limitations of humankind. Good story and reminds of scenes from the film.

Not quite as good as Casino Royale, but an all right read nonetheless.

An OK second mission, found the novel hard to get through, although some plot points are interesting.

About the author

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London on 28 May 1908 and was educated at Eton College before spending a formative period studying languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters news agency, followed by a brief spell as a stockbroker. On the outbreak of the Second World War he was appointed assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, Admiral Godfrey, where he played a key part in British and Allied espionage operations.

After the war he joined Kemsley Newspapers as Foreign Manager of the Sunday Times, running a network of correspondents who were intimately involved in the Cold War. His first novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953 and introduced James Bond, Special Agent 007, to the world. The first print run sold out within a month. Following this initial success, he published a Bond title every year until his death. His own travels, interests and wartime experience gave authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler hailed him as 'the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England.' The fifth title, From Russia with Love, was particularly well received and sales soared when President Kennedy named it as one of his favourite books. The Bond novels have sold more than sixty million copies and inspired a hugely successful film franchise which began in 1962 with the release of Dr No starring Sean Connery as 007.

The Bond books were written in Jamaica, a country Fleming fell in love with during the war and where he built a house, 'Goldeneye'. He married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car, written in 1961 for their only child Caspar, went on to become the well-loved novel and film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Fleming died of heart failure on 12 August 1964, aged fifty-six.

www.ianfleming.com