Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
I’ve never read a James Bond novel before, so I took a chance on one when it came available on Paperbackswap.com.
It was what I’ll call historically interesting, rather than a “good book”. In a recent movie that introduced Judi Dench as M, M referred to him as a “misogynistic dinosaur”, and that pretty much sums up the novel.
There isn’t a whole lot of action, but when there is some, Bond escapes danger mostly by luck or allies, though once or twice by quick thinking. But this is his genesis; he is a young agent simultaneously doubtful and confident.
But boy, those women annoy him. They were ALWAYS messin’ stuff up back then. You know?