Live and Let Die

Written by Ian Fleming, it was my first book from the 007's written series. This was supposedly Bond's second assignment, first being Casino Royale (which I would be picking up today).
Compared to the movie, Bond seemed much more human and normal in the book. So for the people, who like the coolness and composed rationality of Bond might be in for a surprise cause the author expresses Bond's inner fears and thoughts.
Most of the story is based on an island in Jamaica. Mr.Big, a powerful trader smuggler and leader of the underworld is the villain that Bond is targetting. He transports historic gold with natural protection - viscious aquatic carnivores. Some of the encounters of Bond with these creatures was really nose scringing.
Bond is incomplete without a love interest, as shown by the movies, but in the book, he doesn't seem so much of a *ahem* flirt. It's natural circumstances of being with someone for a long time and sharing the relationship. In this book, it's Solitaire - a lady who reads minds and is telepathic. She believes in voodoo magic, like much of the population and Mr.Big is the man exploiting it, claiming he is the zombie of a dead man. Although Bond doesn't believe in it, in some of the paragraphs in the last chapter, it seems like he is actually affected by what the bad guy does.
On the whole, Ian Fleming gave an interesting perspective. Supposedly, he was part of a secret service and served his country during the World War.