If you’re old enough like me, then you probably spent part of your childhood playing GoldenEye. For many of us, that was the real first contact with James Bond, long before we were allowed to watch the films. I wasn’t any good at the game, but I remember the late nights, the small TV, and the feeling that Bond was larger than life even in blocky polygons.
With James Bond: First Light arriving this May, a new generation of gamers is about to meet a young Bond trying to earn his 00 status. And just like GoldenEye was an entry point for us, First Light will be an entry point for them. But the books still remain the true source of the character.
If you want to understand the Bond behind the game, it’s worth going back to the novels. The ones below reveal sides of Bond that players often miss.
Casino Royale (1953)
The best starting point for new James Bond fans
The quintessential Bond story, being the first novel in the series. A high stakes games in Monte Carlo with Bond gambling treasury money against terrorists. With a villain mathematically named “Le Chiffre” (or the figures), it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. We also get to meet Felix Larter, Bond’s perennial CIA counterpart and the wonderful Vesper Lynd, the first Bond girl. We also learn how Bond makes his signature cocktail that has long since became a cliché, but if you have the time and a well-stocked home bar, one you can try to make at home yourself.
Bond’s introduction in Casino Royale started the series with a bang. From the very first novel we meet a man who is deeply jaded, cynical with the world and combative against it, but has the prowess to defeat it. On the other side of this, we also meet a man who’s vulnerable, a deeply flawed human but one that we can learn to like very quickly.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963)
The Bond novel that defines his character arc
A chase through the snow, Bond behind enemy lines. Forget the underwhelming movie, the novel is a spirited, high octane ride. More importantly, we get to see a rare side of Bond that is fragile and vulnerable. It is also an alpine-fuelled frenetic nightmare as Bond has to negotiate his way through the claws of the wolves. The eerieness of the snow, the high speed chase down Piz Gloria, the rancorous nature of the mountains as another Bond adversary — all this makes for a remarkable Bond novel.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has the most haunting finishes to any Bond books out there. It is poetic as much as it is heartbreaking and my goodness, it makes this Bond a cut above most other Bond books out there.
Live and Let Die (1954)
A must-read for understanding Fleming’s world-building
Bond in America, but not just America. This is Black America of the Harlem jazz bars, with cigarettes haze thick with the music. Like any good Bond novel, there are high stakes card games and her name is Solitaire. The world painted by Fleming in Live and Let Die is a tapestry of colours: exotic, loud and vibrant. There is a strange musicality in this Bond novel which doesn’t let up, be it the percussion of the heartbeats, the endless notes in cigarette-smoke filled bars or the calming rhythm of the Jamaican sea with its quiet malevolence.
Bond will have to face Mr Big, a cartoonish villain with a “great football of a head, twice the normal size and very nearly round”. There is something surreal in Live and Let Die which was difficult to replicate in other Bond novels, but somehow works brilliantly as sheer spy escapism.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1965)
A fast, accessible Bond adventure for new readers
Bond has been brainwashed, at the cusp of killing M before they stopped him and put him on a much needed R&R. But what’s a Bond story without falling into another villain that he was escaping from? This time, the sharp-witted, sharpshooter Scaramanga proved a worthy adversary. It is a classic spaghetti Western set in the tropical feverishness of Jamaica, Fleming’s watering ground. The battle at the swamp was claustrophic and feverish: It was Bond fighting for his life not just against the formidable Scaramanga, but his human limits.
This was the first Bond book I read and the one that sucked me in for the rest of the series. Casino Royale should be the book you start with, but this is a close second. The Man with the Golden Gun turned out to be Fleming’s last Bond novel and it was published posthumously. Thus, it may lack that Fleming spit polish, but it is a special book nonetheless.
From Russia with Love (1957)
The best Bond thriller for fans of spy games
Agatha Christie wrote the best book about that famous train, The Orient Express, but Fleming wasn’t too far behind with his From Russia with Love. Who can forget the opening scene, seen from the eyes of a masseuse? Sadly, it isn’t Bond who she’d be servicing, it was Red Grant. The man is cold, calculating, intelligent and the perfect counterpoint to Bond. In fact, the book has some of the best Bond villains out there. This is not your classic cat-and-mouse game. Commander Bond was the mouse from the very beginning of the novel.
Fleming is at the top of his game here. He would write Istanbul with the sharpness of the most nuanced travel writers, capturing the essence of the history of the city, the smell of the coffee, its renewal and decay. The passages in The Orient Express is a manic storm in a teacup as the story reaches its inevitable climax.
Conclusion
Would gamers enjoy First Light more after reading some Bond novels? Hard to say, but knowing the lore always deepens appreciation for the source. It’s like reading the book before watching the movie. Those who know the novels can read between the lines, catch the hints in the dialogue, and feel the weight of the history behind the characters.
So I would argue: yes. Before picking up First Light, read a couple of Bond books. There are many more worth your time beyond the ones above: Goldfinger, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, Dr No, and so on. Bond has aged surprisingly well. In an age of villains, maybe we still need a hero, and Bond has always adapted, always found relevance, always kept his steady hand.