From Russia with Love

I usually choose an audio book because of the narrator not the author, so having seen the movie of “From Russia With Love” I felt this would be an easy choice, albeit not a very adventurous one. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The book contains much more depth, some fascinating characters that never made it to film, and a completely side to Bond which makes him much more fallible, vulnerable and therefore interesting as the central figure. Toby Stephens is excellent as always. He provides light and shade to the characters and his narration adds tension to the plot without ever seeming OTT. Well worth a try.

Much has obviously been written elsewhere about the history of Agent 007 in literay and filmic terms and will be written again through the future in all forms. I read the majority of the original James Bond books in my later school years before college with the exceptions of Man With The Golden Gun and The Spy Who Loved Me and loved them from day one.



As such when I heard of the Bond Reloaded series I was very enthusiastic and based on what I just finished, I was right to be so. I picked FRWL based on it having been read by Toby Stevens who read Carte Blanche - One of the best parts of that also excellent audiobook.



Despite taking a while to get used once again to the familliar Fleming writing style I fell in love all over again. I was particularly partial to the accents given to Darko which makes the character seem like the kind of person I would love to know in that world and Rosa Kleb, the "Toad" of SMERSH.



I plan to go through them all eventually but before I go, I must say this. Thank you Mr Fleming for many days of happy reading. Bravo. An excelent release. Please buy this and the others if you can, Well worth your money.

Loved this audiobook as not only am I a massive James Bond fan but also love Toby Stephens! He tells the story so well with his really soothing voice and very good accents you forget it's still him reading it! Could listen to it over and over!

Pure escapism, brought to life by superb narration and characterization. It's about time we had unabridged versions of Ian Fleming's masterpieces; anything less is a travesty.

I bought 'From Russia With Love' as I love the Bond films and needed a audio book. I was a little unsure of whether I would enjoy the book as I had grown up with the movies. However I was amazed by the beautiful way the book was written, enhanced by the wonderful voice of Toby Stephens. The imagery in the book was brought to life in every sentence and was even better than the film!

Toby's narration was brilliant, you couldn't ask for a better narrator in a Ian Fleming book. His voice just melts the time away and you can't help but want to continue with listening to the audio book. The book is truly complimented by the voice of Toby, its almost as if Toby was meant to be the narrator of 'From Russia With Love'.

All in all, a brilliant audio book, and I would recommend that anyone buys this book, whether you like James Bond or not, its a brilliant book.

Toby Stephens is an excellent reader and makes for very enjoyable listening. I chose this title based on previously enjoying another title read by Toby, an excellent voice actor.



This is a classic Bond story and i've seen the film adaptation many times. The ending in the book is considerably stronger than in the film, or in any other Bond books i've read so far.



I've since found out this was due to some considerations on the part of Ian Fleming at the time, but without wishing to spoil anything for potential readers i won't risk revealing any more of an excellent plot!

Having never read a James Bond novel, I took a punt on this book based on the number of positive reviews. For some reason I found the quality of the prose surprising; the descriptions of the characters, locations and "props" are vivid and pleasingly textured. The dialogue is well written and the plot builds a good degree of tension (despite remembering the ending from the film).



It's a good length and the narrator is very skilful, adding a cinematic quality. I'll certainly listen to more of these and highly recommend it.