Diamonds Are Forever
by Ian Fleming
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Read in July, 2008
Review: Diamonds Are Forever
Maybe you can strike a blow for Freedom, Home and Beauty with that rusty old equalizer of yours. Is it still the Beretta?
-Felix Leiter to James Bond, Diamonds are Forever
With diamonds as the catalyst for action and adventure in Ian Fleming’s fourth James Bond novel, Diamonds are Forever features Bond investigating the diamond smuggling pipeline between Africa, the United States and Britain. When the British government rea...more
Maybe you can strike a blow for Freedom, Home and Beauty with that rusty old equalizer of yours. Is it still the Beretta?
-Felix Leiter to James Bond, Diamonds are Forever
With diamonds as the catalyst for action and adventure in Ian Fleming’s fourth James Bond novel, Diamonds are Forever features Bond investigating the diamond smuggling pipeline between Africa, the United States and Britain. When the British government rea...more
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Read in July, 2008
Continuing my journey through the Bond novels in anticipation of the new Bond movie, I finally read Diamonds Are Forever. I have to say it's not one of my favorite Bond novels, although it does have its moments. This time, Bond goes undercover to infiltrate a diamond smuggling operation. Using the identity of a small-time crook recently picked up by Scotland Yard, Bond passes himself off as Peter Franks and slowly ingratiates himself with the members of the Spangle Mob until he works his way int...more
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Read in February, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in October, 2007
I picked up the 1956 paperback edition at an antique store for a few bucks. Being a big fan of the Bond films, I was curious about how faithful the films are to Fleming's work. It's hard to read it now without picturing Sean Connery and Jill St. John. The book is quite different from the film, Much less violence, and Bond is more often doing paperwork or actually sleeping in his hotel room instead of the usual antics in the films. No Blofeld, no Willard Whyte, no gadgets, no Bambi and Thumper, ...more
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Read in January, 2008
Of the three James Bond books I've read so far, this is my favorite. Maybe because half of it takes place in Las Vegas? And there are no elaboratly detailed card games? And James gets the girl who doesn't somehow double-cross him? This book was more racist than the other two books, since there are a few extremely minor black characters while they are in Vegas, but the book was also less misogynistic, I'm not sure if those two things cancel each other out or not, but this is definitely a book...more
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Read in August, 2008
This is the fourth James Bond novel by Ian Fleming and, in my opinion, probably the best to this point. I've enjoyed them all so far, but Diamonds is a pretty complete story. There's a good plot that draws the reader in and James Bond is at his best (at least, his best novel James Bond-ness, which is different than the movie James Bond). The only qualm I have with this book is that the ending seemed just a bit rushed, which was also the case with Moonraker. But overall this is a very enjoyable b...more
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Fleming's fleshed-out characterization of Bond girl Plenty O'Toole is truly ahead of the times (this book was published in the 1950s). Abused and neglected by a horrible mother who exposed her to rape and prostitution at a young age it's no wonder that Bond finds her in the company of hardened criminals and cold-blooded killers, a tough nut to crack even for the dashing 007. I fell in love with Plenty!
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Not a cantidate for the best Bond book, this is still worth a read. That is, if you've already read most of the others and you're bored. It's not all bad though-- Wint and Kidd, far from their comical movie counterparts, are as vicious and sadistic a pair of henchmen as Bond has ever faced. But the real saving grace is the love story between Bond and Tiffany Case.
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My first Bond book. It didn't disappoint. I was intrigued by this one because it took place in the classic old mob-ran Las Vegas. Bond battling mobsters! What more could you want? The writing was really good and it's a good yarn. It's short and a quick read. The next time I travel by air I am taking a Bond book with me. It would be perfect.
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Read in May, 2007
James Bond vs the US Mafia of the 1960s. This book exhibits Bond's intellect and deductive reasoning skills and puts them against the brawn of the mafia. One of the reasons I like Ian Fleming's novels is because it is sort of a time warp back 50 years. This book is a great example of this.
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Read in April, 2007
Better than the movie, but not great. Bond goes to America to break up a diamond smuggling ring and seems to kill half the population of Las Vegas. This book is entertaining, but it brings a lot of Fleming's wacky personal bigotries to the fore, and is weaker for it.
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Read in October, 2007
I had never read any of the Fleming books so thought I would give this a try to see the differences from the movie. Fortunately Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint appear, but no sign of Bambi and Thumper. A spare, brutal book - pretty cool.
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I loved this book. It was slow in getting into the story but when it did it moved fast. It kept you reading. I love all the books I have read of Ian Flemings. Still have a bit more to read but I will get there.
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this one was sweet, it was good to have lieter back, the spangled mob made for some good villains and tiffany case was as good a bond girl as it gets, and i loved how it came full circle at the ending
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Has a copy to sell/swap
As with all of the James Bond stories, it is rife with racism and sexism, and barely resembles the movie of the same name. If you can get past all that, it's a quick, exciting page-turner.
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Read in February, 2007
The fourth Bond book, and novel. I'd rate it 9 out of 10, possibly because I had very low expectations ;-). On the other hand, there is some very nice, and clever, writing in it.
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Read in June, 2008
I guess it's a little bizarre that I love spy stories but hate James Bond. I wanted to at least try a James Bond novel since I've only ever watched the movies, but it was just as bad.
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Read in June, 2005
Easily the weakest of the five initial Bond books. Basically, Bond fights mobsters over diamonds. A bit by the book, though does feature Felix Leiter! Yeah!
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Read in July, 2008
I'm rereading the Ian Fleming James Bond books in order and I think this is the weakest of the early books. I found it unfocused and not all memorable.
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Read in August, 2008
Not up to scratch with some of the other bond books, some suspect and light weight plot lines, but the fascinating Tiffany Case is a saving grace.
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