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10 of the best James Bond books by Ian Fleming (and the writers that came after)

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10 of the best James Bond books by Ian Fleming (and the writers that came after)

Discover the the original adventures of agent 007

James Bond Books Ian Fleming - Casino Royale

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Bethan Rose Jenkins

Published: Wednesday, 19 February 2020 at 1:01 pm

James Bond has become one of the most recognisable and enduring characters both on screen and on the page. Created by Ian Fleming, the British spy is deployed around the world on daring missions to protect Her Majesty’s government.

Thanks to a string of incarnations in various films from 1962 to today, the 007 agent’s reputation has become known worldwide and has made household names out of the actors cast as the spy, from Roger Moore to Daniel Craig.

Bond’s trademarks include his preferences for martinis (shaken, not stirred), fast cars, womanising behaviour and famous line, “The name’s Bond, James Bond.”

Roger Moore as James Bond in Octopussy

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The man behind the infamous spy, Ian Fleming, wrote 14 Bond novels before his death in 1964, beginning with Casino Royale in 1953.

Fleming began his working life as a journalist before a career in Naval Intelligence during WWII, with a stint as a stockbroker in between. With his background, it's no surprise that he was able to concoct so many inventive plots for the British super-spy.

Such was the popularity of Fleming’s character, that many more books starring James Bond were written by other authors in the years following the original author's death. There have also been a number of short stories, graphic novels and spin-offs series.

Most consider Fleming’s original novels to be the best of the bunch, making fans even at the very top – then US President Kennedy once declared From Russia with Love one of his favourite novels.

If you’re looking to explore more of Fleming’s novels or perhaps discovering it for the first time, here’s our pick of some of his best James Bond novels, as well as where you can get your hands on the full 007 collection.

10 of the best James Bond novels by Ian Fleming

James Bond books

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1. Moonraker

In the third of Fleming’s novels, a popular rocket programme called Moonraker comes under Bond’s investigation when the project’s millionaire, ex-Nazi leader is found cheating at cards. Expect appearances from an accomplished female agent, tense scenes of high-stakes gambling and undercurrents of the Cold War.

Buy Moonraker on Amazon

2. Diamonds are Forever

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the plot for this novel centres around diamond smuggling. The jewels are taken from the mines of Sierra Leone to the jewellers of the western world but things become complicated when Bond becomes involved with one of the gang members, Tiffany Case.

Buy Diamonds are Forever on Amazon

3. Dr No

The first of Fleming’s novels to be adapted for the big screen, Dr No stars an archetypal villain with mechanical hands. No baddie would be complete without an evil lair and Bond must confront Dr No at the villain’s own on Crab Key island, as he investigates the disappearance of two MI6 agents.

Buy Dr No on Amazon

4. Casino Royale

The first of Fleming’s Bond novels, Casino Royale introduces James Bond to the world. With little more than his card skills to rely on, Bond must use his best poker face to bring down Le Chiffre, a member of the Russian Secret Service.

Buy Casino Royale on Amazon

5. Thunderball

Thunderball is unusual in that it was originally a screenplay which was never filmed. Instead, the text was collaboratively adapted into a book by Fleming and four others. A crime group known as SPECTRE has stolen two atomic bombs and is blackmailing Western nations for their return.

Buy Thunderball on Amazon

James Bond film posters

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6. The Man with the Golden Gun

Bond returns to the UK having been brainwashed into an assassination attempt against M. Luckily, MI6 turn him around and he is sent to find Francisco Scaramanga. Only this “Man with the Golden Gun” is terrifyingly competent and perhaps even better than Bond himself.

Buy The Man with the Golden Gun on Amazon

7. You Only Live Twice

Fleming’s final (complete) novel before he died, You Only Live Twice is set in the aftermath of the murder of Tracy Bond (James Bond’s wife from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service). Having turned to drinking and gambling, Bond is sent to Japan to save his career and assassinate the enigmatic Dr. Guntram Shatterhand.

Buy You Only Live Twice on Amazon

8. From Russia, with Love

There is a Soviet plot to undermine MI6 by framing 007 in this Cold War adventure. Set mainly on the Orient Express train and in Istanbul, Turkey, the plot also features an advanced Soviet coding machine and an assassin named Grant.

Buy From Russia, with Love on Amazon

9. The Spy Who Loved Me

A rather different book to the nine before it, The Spy Who Loved Me is told from the perspective of Vivienne Michel, who stumbles into a dangerous plot and discovers Bond. In this novel, we see the spy through her eyes. Fleming was reportedly unhappy with the book and the film of the same name starring Roger Moore doesn’t follow the plot of the novel.

Buy The Spy Who Loved me on Amazon

10. Live and Let Die

Fleming’s Live and Let Die sees Bond tracking down a baddie known as Mr Big. The criminal has been smuggling valuable gold coins and shipwrecked treasure from the Caribbean and has links to arms of the Soviet secret service.

Buy Live and Let Die on Amazon

James Bond books by other authors

The Moneypenny Diaries

The Moneypenny Diaries books

James Bond's right-hand MI6 woman, Jane Moneypenny features as lead in her own mini series of novels by Kate Westbrook. There are three novels, set in the 1960s and starring Moneypenny as she uncovers mysteries and embarks on missions of her own.

Buy The Guardian Angel on Amazon

Buy Secret Servant on Amazon

Buy Final Fling on Amazon

Young Bond

The Young Bond novels are written by Charlie Higson and Steve Cole who adapted James Bond and his adventures for a young adult audience.

Buy Young Bond books on Amazon

Non-Fleming Bond novels

There have been six authors who have taken James Bond on new adventures in their own books, including respected novelists like Sebastian Faulks and Anthony Horowitz. The first was Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis, written under the name of Robert Markham. The number of Bond novels written by other authors now far outnumbers those by Fleming himself and continues the spy’s legacy on the page.

Buy Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis on Amazon