From Russia with Love (with interview)

Truest Of Bonds. Bravo Mr Fleming

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.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

A Brilliant Bond

What did you like most about From Russia with Love?

A great story skilfully constructed and brilliantly written by Ian Fleming, it is superbly narrated by Toby Stephens and is guaranteed to enthrall and excite the listener. The film was one of the best of the Bond series but it pales when set beside the book which is so much better. And what a superb cast of characters - Red Grant, the chilling Irish-German psychotic killer: Darko Karim Bey, the head of Station T in Istanbul; the poisonous (in every sense!) Colonel Rosa Klebb of SMERSH; the beautiful and seductive Tatiana Romanova; Bond himself, of course - all brought brilliantly to life through the skill of Fleming's writing and Toby Stephen's excellent narration.This is outstanding and thrilling entertainment and is highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Much more than I expected

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.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Brilliant bond!

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!

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Riveting.

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.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Brilliant

Have loved this book for years. But Toby's reading takes it to another level there's just something about his voice that really brings Fleming ' s discriptions to life

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Slow burn Bond

I was really looking forward to this book as From Russia With Love rates as one of my favourite Bond films. The narration is excellent and its a top story but the pace just feels slow compared to the other books I have listened to. There is still some first rate characterization and development and others may find that it rolls along just fine. The 3 stars overall is based purely on its pace and more languid approach than previous adaptions.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A much slower Fleming

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it because it is a very good story with a extremely gripping finale and the Toby Stephens narration is amazing.

What other book might you compare From Russia with Love (with interview) to, and why?

I would, obviously, compare it to the other Fleming books I've read/listened to so far. It is slower-paced than 'Casino Royale' and 'Moonraker' (it builds towards the finale very slowly) and it is quite similar to 'Diamonds Are Forever' and 'Live And Let Die' pace-wise but the characters are much stronger than DAF and there are a lot more action set pieces in LALD.

What about Toby Stephens’s performance did you like?

Everything. I thought Bill Nighy was unmatchably incredible in 'Moonraker' but Toby Stephens was just as good here. So much passion went into it. Really brought the characters to life, even with all the russian accents etc.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The finale was incredibly moving and action-packed. I can't believe it ended the way it did though!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Superb performance of dark spy drama

I have listened to and read most of the Bond books. This is one that I am not usually as fond of because of the slow build up without Bond. However, this audio book is read so brilliantly by Toby Stephens that I was mesmerised and began to enjoy all the detail and slow weaving of the plot. Well worth listening to.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

From audible with love

Very good bond book if you like the others. Quite tense and good development of the villains.
Even if you've seen the film it throws up some surprises and this story in particular benefits from Bond's thoughts, hearing the reasoning behind some of the actions of our characters as they play out like chess pieces, which for me made the actions and motivation more understandable.
Toby Stephens is fantastic and does a great job with the characters voices.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful