FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

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by Ian Fleming (1957)

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A tale of espionage and intrigue featuring fictitious British Secret Service agent James Bond. Agent 007 has been made the target of an execution order by the Soviet state. A mock defection and the chance to pocket a Spektor decoding device draws Bond to Istanbul. Whilst here, local asset Kerim displays his underground periscope – quite literal, nothing metaphorical – to Bond. Eye to the glass, 007 can now see into the Soviet embassy in Istanbul. Live visual feed. In actual fact, a similar operation did occur but in Berlin. However, because the MI6 head of the operation was an actual Soviet agent and mole, a man named George Blake, MI6, and the CIA could not extract a single piece of useful data from the many volumes collected. And then, 007 and the mock defector, Tatiana Romanova, accompany the Spektor out of Istanbul aboard the Orient Express. Captain Nash boards and after some deception causes mayhem and then identifies himself as someone else. He is the assassin sent to fulfil the Soviet kill order. Obviously, after a struggle, he fails. Later Colonel Rosa Klebb attempts to murder Bond with a knife that slides out of her shoe. Another struggle ensues, and Bond wins again. Along the way, Klebb interviews/interrogates Romanova, asking her intimate questions regarding sex, including appetites and technique. Klebb then announces that Romanova will receive the relevant instruction. Klebb utilises interrogation and torture techniques that are identified by number only. Numbers 1, 10, 25, 36, 64, 87. Read for a contemporaneous depiction of a particular world view that may persist in some quarters today. A great adventure story and an enjoyable read. Fiction. 356 pages.

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DETAILS:

Title: From Russia with love

Year: 1957

Author: Ian Fleming

Pages: 356

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Book review by Keith Salter