Casino Royale (with Interview)

By: Ian Fleming

Narrated by: Dan Stevens

Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

For James Bond and the British Secret Service, the stakes couldn’t be higher. 007’s mission is to neutralise the Russian operative Le Chiffre by ruining him at the baccarat table, forcing his Soviet masters to ‘retire’ him. When Le Chiffre hits a losing streak, Bond discovers his luck is in – that is, until he meets Vesper Lynd, a glamorous agent who might yet prove to be his downfall.

Includes an exclusive bonus interview with Dan Stevens.

Ian Fleming was born in London in 1908. He was educated at Eton and worked as a journalist in Moscow and a banker and stockbroker in London before becoming personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence during the Second World War. He wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952 at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica. Since then James Bond has gone on to become a global phenomenon.

Dan Stevens is internationally known for his role as Matthew Crawley in the hit television drama Downton Abbey, and more recently he has starred in films including Summer In February, The Fifth Estate, A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Guest, The Cobbler and Night At The Museum 3. Dan’s other screen work includes Vamps, Hilde, Sense & Sensibility, Maxwell and The Line of Beauty, and his theatre work includes The Heiress on Broadway, and Arcadia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Vortex and Hay Fever in London.

©1953 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd (P)2013 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. © AudioGO Ltd, 2012. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under licence by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Ian Fleming writes with a kind of pushing, bloodcurdling elegance. His thrillers are models of fastidious murder." ( New York Times)
"From the first evocative words to the last savagely ironic sentence, this is a novel with its own flavour." ( Sunday Times)
"Hums with tension." ( Time Magazine)
"A superb gambling scene, a torture scene which still haunts me, and, of course, a beautiful girl." (Raymond Chandler)
"A first-rate thriller…with a breathtaking plot." ( Manchester Guardian)

The classic that introduced James Bond

James Bond is one of the characters that have survived its creator. In Casino Royale, Ian Fleming introduced this 00-agent for the first time and he does a splendid job of it. You don't meet the assured machine-man super-spy of later books, but a very vulnerable and human James.

Personal tragedy mixed with patriotism and revenge drives 007 to make the decision between good and evil. He is not as cold and clinical as he initially seems and he is blinded by his very human emotions. For me, this is much better than the Film and not yet contaminated by high-tech gadgets and action scenes.

Dan Stevens deserves a 5 star performance. It does seem that when you read James Bond, as the narrator you have to put on a clandestine voice that initially has a bit of a monotonous ring to it or maybe a whisper. Stevens' success in reading this story is that the characters doesn't speak with this same type of voice. His impersonations are first rate.

I enjoyed this audio book and must hand another 5 points for Audible making the 'original' James Bond available in unabridged format.

A fine first novel

I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Fleming’s first Bond story, which shows so much character depth and understanding of how the character would feel and behave in such a high stress world. Although some would not like the mix of spy thriller and romance novel, I did, and found it to be very poignant.

I loved how Dan Stevens read the novel, and it was a treat to listen to his interview at the end. Although he said he didn’t try to imitate any of the Bond actors, to me he sounded like a combination of Moore and Dalton, which I very much liked.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thoughtful, pensive spy thrillers that are shorter than Le Carré’s novels, but no less enjoyable for that reason.

A must for Bond fans

I've only seen the movies until I listened to this book. Here we meet a Bond with a lot more depth than on the big screen and I quite enjoyed that

Nice Spy Drama

Dan Stevens is excellent. Didn't see much of him on Downton Abby but now I have a new respect for him. Damn good he is. Ian Fleming's writing is worth studying. His use of action direct verbs is excellent. He really knows how to move the story along at the right pace. James Bond is a product of the early Cold War and the left over days of WWII. Still, it is believable and fun to listen to. I like the way Ian Fleming treats characters, not as clichés but as interesting real people, well all but the Bulgarians. This book is worth the read, but as for listening to it, Dan Stevens really does an excellent job.

I Love Everything that is Bond.

I'm just 30yo but I been fascinated woth 007 my whole life, Great book, great movie, great writing.
thank you you to Mr. Ian Flaming

Much more of a literary effort than I expected

What did you like best about this story?

I have not read any Fleming before and was probably judging him unfairly based only on the movies, but the book was well constructed and the writing much better than expected, I think I thought it would be more comic book style. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Any additional comments?

Dan Stevens does a good job of the narration - maybe even a little hint of Connery about the phrasing and cadence every now and then.

Deliciously old fashioned Bond

Hi Robert enjoyed reading or listening to this book. While it is almost impossible, not to think of the movie characters, we have known in the James Bond movies, I found eventually that the original James Bond came through, and was just as enjoyable as Roger Moore, and any other actors. An entertaining book, though not quite Jane Austen. 😉

Reviewing again

What a waste of time reviewing. Who is the useless thinker that made it required?

Great story and narration

Dan Stevens gives a fantastic performance. I've enjoyed every minute of it. One of my favourite audiobooks.

amazingly narrated

the narrator does a spectacular job at the different accents. it really sucks you in.