From Russia, With Love opens with readers being introduced to Red Grant, a psychopathic killer who is the chief executioner of SMERSH, the ruthless Soviet counterspy organization. As the story unfolds we learn that Grant is part of a complex plot to discredit the British Secret Service by assassinating its most skilled agent, James Bond, in this suspenseful and engrossing Cold War spy novel.
Ian Fleming takes readers on a thrilling ride from Moscow to London to Istanbul, finally ending up on the Orient Express where the plot reaches its climax as Fleming’s master spy battles his would-be killer.
The Plot To Kill Bond
SMERSH devises a plan where a beautiful female Soviet officer contacts the British Secret Service saying she wants to defect while bringing an important Soviet coding machine with her. Claiming she is in love with Bond she says she will defect only if he travels to Turkey to safely escort her to London. Though skeptical of the offer, both Bond and his commander, known simply as M, agree that the capture of the Soviet cipher machine would be too great an intelligence coup to pass up.
So Bond travels to Istanbul where the danger and intrigue increase as the story progresses. Arriving in Turkey Bond meets the regional station chief for British Intelligence who leads Fleming’s celebrated secret agent on several excursions around Istanbul. The two spies take readers on a tour of the exotic city as they try to gain as much information as possible about the situation facing them before meeting the defector and spiriting her out of the country.
Their adventures include eavesdropping on their Soviet adversaries from the darkness of a rat-infested underground tunnel, meeting with gypsy informants, and fighting to survive an ambush by Soviet agents. Bond finally meets the young Soviet officer with whom he boards the Orient Express for London. On the train, still not sure if the Soviet woman’s defection is legitimate or a trap, the final act of the drama is played out as SMERSH’s chief executioner initiates his plan to kill James Bond.
Ian Fleming’s Writing
A skilled writer, Fleming uses a patient, economical style that gives him time to develop situations and characters without sacrificing the pace of the narrative. His descriptions of people and places are simple and elegant, supplying his audience with just enough information to develop a complete mental picture while reading.
The hero, James Bond, is drawn as a roughish, yet ultimately chivalrous character who lives for adventure in a world of spies, saboteurs, and double agents. Fleming adds an entertaining authenticity to this world with his descriptions of the tools used by spies, including listening devices, forged documents, poison tipped knives, and an array of other fanciful instruments.
Besides the hero Bond, Fleming populates the book with colorful, well drawn supporting characters who add intrigue to the story. They include Colonel Rosa Kebb, Red Grant’s boss and the sinister head of SMERSH, and Darko Kerim Bey, the swashbuckling head of British Intelligence in Istanbul. Together they form the cast of an excellent book in one of the best spy novel series ever written.
Source:
Fleming, Ian; From Russia, With Love, The Macmillian Company, New York, NY, 10011, 1957
Lawrence Koppy - Lawrence Koppy is an Oregon native living in the high desert of Central Oregon. He has been a small business owner for many years ...
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