Every James Bond Novel by Ian Fleming, Ranked According to Goodreads
Ian Fleming is the most influential writer of spy fiction. His signature creation, James Bond, is the archetype of the fictional secret agent: suave, sharp, armed with high-tech gadgets, and deadly with a gun. 007’s adventures tend to be larger-than-life and even a little ridiculous, but Fleming manages to ground them in reality, perhaps because of his experiences as a naval intelligence officer during World War II. His approach resonated with readers: Bond quickly became a hit and, later, a cultural icon.
Despite being a product of the 1950s and 1960s, with the Cold War in full swing and World War II in recent memory, the character has proved itself to have impressive staying power, continuing to charm audiences today. Indeed, there is must speculation over who will be chosen as the next actor to take on the secret agent’s mantle. Those waiting impatiently for the next Bond film could do worse than to check out some of the books. Here are all of the Fleming Bond novels, ranked by the users of the book review site Goodreads.
“Loneliness becomes a lover, solitude a darling sin.” The Spy Who Loved Me is unique among the Bond novels in that it’s told not from the perspective of the iconic secret agent, but from the point of view of a female protagonist named Vivienne. She’s a young Canadian woman who finds herself in a perilous situation when she is left in charge of a remote motel in upstate New York. The plot thickens when two thugs arrive with the intent to burn down the motel and kill Vivienne as part of an insurance scam. Bond enters the scene when he stops at the motel during a mission.
Most fans and critics did not like this narrative experiment, which probably explains why it’s still the lowest-rated Bond book on Goodreads. Plus, there are some controversial phrases here that are truly jarring to read. That said, some readers may enjoy this change of pace brought by the Viv character, who is at least reasonably well-drawn.
Look, my friend, I’ve got to commit a murder tonight.” Octopussy & The Living Daylights is a short story collection rather than a novel. In Octopussy, Bond is sent to confront Major Dexter Smythe, a retired British officer hiding in Jamaica, who is implicated in a wartime murder and gold smuggling. Meanwhile, in The Living Daylights, Bond receives a mission to protect a British agent defecting from East Berlin.
These two stories are the highlights, followed by the decidedly weaker The Property of a Lady, involving Soviet double agents and Fabergé eggs, and 007 in New York, about Bond trying to warn a fellow agent that her boyfriend is a KGB spy. (Though the latter story is notable for being more humorous than usual, with a long section dedicated to 007’s thoughts on scrambled eggs.) Overall, the collection is a mixed bag but Bond fans are likely to enjoy the flashbacks to Bond’s childhood, which are vivid and help to humanize the character
One dreams all day as well as all night.” The Man With the Golden Gun begins with Bond’s return to MI6 after being brainwashed by the KGB and attempting to assassinate M. To prove his loyalty, 007 is sent on a mission to eliminate notorious assassin Francisco Scaramanga. Bond tracks Scaramanga to Jamaica, where he infiltrates a lavish party and gathers intelligence on his criminal operations.
This was the last of Fleming’s Bond novels. He died after completing the first draft, meaning that copy editors were left to ready it for readers. As a result, it’s rougher around the edges and most of the books in the series. Worst of all, it lacks the sense of fun that animated the earlier works. Indeed, the story and characters are relatively thin, making this a sadly lackluster swan song for one of literature’s most famous characters. Readers looking to get into the series ought not to begin with this one.
“The gain to the winner is always less than the loss to the loser.” In contrast to The Man With The Golden Gun, Live and Let Die, the second Bond novel, is fresh and full of energy. It sees Bond investigating Mr. Big, a powerful Harlem crime lord suspected of smuggling gold coins to finance Soviet operations. Mr. Big is also believed to be involved in voodoo, adding a supernatural element to the danger.
The plot is brisk and loaded with intrigue, nearly on the level of its predecessor, Casino Royale. However, it has aged more poorly than that book, with a number of cringe-inducing lines and story elements. It was published in 1954, after all, and is a product of its time. For this reason, Live and Let Die is not a great starting point for newcomers but will likely please Bond fans who can overlook its rough patches.
Nothing is forever. Only death is permanent.” In the fourth novel, Bond infiltrates a diamond smuggling ring that stretches from African mines to American crime syndicates. Disguised as a courier, 007 partners with Tiffany Case, a savvy diamond smuggler with a complex past. Their mission takes them from the depths of the criminal underworld to the glitziest Las Vegas casinos.
Once again, Fleming serves up a solid plot populated with colorful characters, especially the villains. The writing style is also concise and clear, except for wearisome paragraphs describing gambling in detail. Importantly, Fleming gives the impression that he knows a lot about espionage and the illicit diamond trade (even when he’s purely making things up). In terms of the book’s weaknesses, it rehashes a lot of the beats from Casino Royale, which are not as impactful the second time around. There’s also a lot more filler here, with mediocre stretches between the action. While not bad, it’s not top-tier Bond.
Incurable disease, blindness, disaster – all these can be overcome.” For Your Eyes Only is another short story collection, including notable adventures like the title story, From a View to a Kill, and Quantum of Solace. Bond undertakes an array of missions here, from avenging the murder of a British couple to uncovering a hidden enemy outpost. In addition, Quantum of Solace presents a rare, introspective Bond as he listens to a colleague’s tale of a disastrous marriage during a dinner party in Nassau.
For Your Eyes Only is thus an important Bond book, full of ideas that would find their way into the movies, in particular. For example, three movies take their titles from this collection. The plots also benefit from the short story format. These ideas would have struggled to sustain an entire novel but are perfect for a few dozen pages. The resulting work is a good blend of seriousness with light action, showcasing Fleming on top form
Everyone is the hero and everyone is the enemy—it all just depends on the individual’s perspective.” Casino Royale was the debut Bond novel and undoubtedly one of the best. Here, Bond attempts to bankrupt Le Chiffre, a Soviet agent and financier of a French union, through a high-stakes baccarat game at a luxe casino in France. Bond’s gambling prowess and cool demeanor are put to the test, as danger rises at every turn.
With this book, Fleming ingeniously took private eye tropes and reinvigorated them by packaging them within espionage trappings. This was a winning recipe: Casino Royale sold well and received mostly positive reviews, paving the way for all that would follow. Within a few years, Bond would become a veritable institution. The author’s prose is also at its most economical and striking here, evident from the memorable opening line: “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.”
“You only live twice: once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.” You Only Live Twice is a more introspective chapter in the series, set in the aftermath of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Bond is sent to Japan on a seemingly routine diplomatic mission, still grieving the loss of his wife, Tracy. There, he encounters Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese Secret Service, as well as Dr. Shatterhand, a botanist specializing in deadly plants.
The plot is less action-packed in this one, with the focus instead on Bond’s diplomatic efforts. Most of the scenes are simply conversations, with no shootouts or derring-do. Not everyone will appreciate this switch-up, but most will enjoy the deeper, bleaker side of Bond on display. At the beginning of the book, Bond is a mess—unable to focus, drinking excessively, and convinced he is on the verge of being fired, without a clue about his next steps. Seeing the suave hero in this state makes him complex and compelling.
All the greatest men are maniacs.” While investigating the disappearance of two M16 agents, Bond crosses paths with Dr. Julius No, a reclusive genius with metal hands and a taste for cruelty. Dr. No’s island, Crab Key, serves as the backdrop for the novel’s intense action sequences and eerie atmosphere. There, Bond, alongside the resourceful Honeychile Ryder, confronts various deadly traps and challenges orchestrated by the dastardly doctor.
Notably, Doctor No was the first Bond novel to receive negative reviews in the UK. Most of the critical ire was directed at the increased violence, the class dynamics, and Fleming’s handling of the sexual subplots. They had a point. This is certainly one of the darker, meaner entries in the series, and some paragraphs feel terribly dated. The characterization is also undercooked. All that said, the plot is engaging, harking back to the golden age of detective fiction, and No is an entertainingly vile antagonist.
“‘They want us dead,’ said Bond calmly. “‘So we have to stay alive.'” In Moonraker, Bond faces a homegrown threat in Sir Hugo Drax, a national hero and industrialist building an advanced missile system for Britain. Assigned to uncover any foul play, Bond discovers that Drax is a former Nazi with a vendetta against England. The Moonraker missile, intended as a defense weapon, is actually designed to devastate London.
Moonraker effectively mines drama and tension out of what would have been very topical concerns in 1955, like Cold War tensions, double agents, missile threats, and the remnants of fascism. Fleming plays on all these issues with lean prose, vivid detail, and some of his best-written dialogue. Plus, the early chapters focus a lot more on Bond’s private life, which is also enjoyable. Fleming spends some much-needed time fleshing out the characters, something which is often lacking in these plot-based genre novels
“It’s just that I’d rather die of drink than of thirst.” Thunderball plunges Bond into a high-stakes mission against the criminal organization SPECTRE. Led by archvillain Ernst Blofeld, SPECTRE orchestrates the theft of two nuclear warheads, holding the world hostage with the threat of mass destruction. Bond is dispatched to the Bahamas to locate the missing weapons and prevent nuclear armageddon.
The novel starts slow (Fleming himself described it as “immensely long [and] immensely dull), and the opening chapters are the weakest. The plot takes too long to kick into gear but, when it does, it’s fun and well done. It doesn’t innovate within the Bond formula but it does up the ante. This is a mission where the fate of the world very much hangs in the balance; a fitting task for this larger-than-life hero. Fleming tells the story well, nicely balancing action, humor, and romance, without bashing the reader over the head with excessive violence.
Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.” In this one, Fleming pits Bond against one of his most iconic adversaries, Auric Goldfinger, a cunning gold smuggler. The wealth-obsessed schemer is hatching a plan to contaminate the U.S. gold reserve at Fort Knox with a nuclear device, thereby increasing the value of his own gold hoard. In attempting to bring Goldfinger down, 007 must navigate a host of dangers, including an intense round of golf and a near-death experience involving a circular saw.
The highlights here are the delightfully over-the-top villain and the more complex depiction of Bond’s personality, while still emphasizing his heroic attributes. In particular, Fleming is said to have taken inspiration from the legend of St George and the Dragon for his secret agent. Interestingly, Fleming almost always used names of real people he knew or at least knew of: Goldfinger, Scaramanga, and No were not plucked out of his imagination but drawn from actual people.
From Russia With Love’ (1957)
I am greedy for life.” From Russia With Love opens with a Soviet plot to assassinate Bond and discredit the British Secret Service. The bait is Tatiana Romanova, a beautiful Soviet cipher clerk, who pretends to defect with the promise of a valuable decoding device, the Spektor. Bond travels to Istanbul to meet her, unaware of the trap set by the cunning Rosa Klebb and the lethal assassin Red Grant.
This book is a neat historical snapshot, presenting a stylized vision of 1950 Britain and its Cold War anxieties. In particular, Fleming draws on real-life cases of Soviet spies working within the United Kingdom, like the infamous Donald Burgess and Guy Maclean. These elements make the story a little quaint, but that’s also its charm. Narrative-wise, the plotting is typically intricate and Bond’s feats of master spycraft are entertainingly outrageous. He’s basically a superhero here, but that’s partly why he’s so iconic.
When the odds are hopeless when all seems to be lost, then is the time to be calm, to make a show of authority – at least of indifference.” The highest-rated Bond novel on Goodreads is a more personal one. In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond’s pursuit of Blofeld leads him to a Swiss alpine clinic. Amidst the espionage, Bond meets and falls in love with Tracy di Vicenzo, the troubled yet captivating daughter of a powerful crime lord. Their whirlwind romance culminates in a wedding, offering Bond a glimpse of happiness. However, tragedy soon strikes, shaking the hero like nothing before.
This is a well-crafted thriller that also delves deep into Bond’s character, exploring his motivations in his relationships with women as well as what drives him to be an agent. Here, Bond is portrayed as both a formidable spy and a vulnerable man. This more damaged, realistic take on the character wouldn’t catch on in the movies for some time but seems to be the version of Bond modern audiences connect with most.
