I cannot believe how long it took me to start reading Bond. I was a massive fan of the older Bond movies when I was young (but not so much the newer ones, after Bond's character became diluted in political correctness). I also love gambling, so I was thrilled to find out how detailed this book got about the intricacies of the casino games. Baccarat has always confused the crap out of me, but now, thanks to Fleming's description, through Bond, I have a fairly good idea how to play it, and would love to try it sometime!

In the beginning, Bond is a complete misogynist, and a bit of a racist. I'm no expert, but it's shocking how little he understands women and how their minds work! Then again, I guess that was probably true of most men, back in the '50s, when the book was written.

The mission is to out-gamble a powerful and desperate adversary named Le Chiffre. Bond of course pulls it off, and I don't think there's any spoiler in me saying that. The mission, though, is simply a prelude to the love affair between Bond and the female spy whom he worked with. I thought that that story was far more detailed than it would've been in the movie (I haven't seen the movie), taking up 20% of the book. I found it thoroughly satisfying. We get to see Bond's sensitive and philosophical side grow, even start to feel a little sorry for him. I particularly enjoyed his philosophical meanderings on the nature of good and evil.

For the most part, though, I found the plot to be somewhat predictable. I think that that's probably because the story is so old now, and elements of it have been borrowed so many times over the years, for so many different spy stories and thrillers. Perhaps if I'd read it in the '50s, it would've garnered a five star review from me!

One thing I can say is that the ending was a complete surprise for me, and made it all worthwhile! Can't wait to read the next one!