Diamonds are Forever (with interview)
Ian Fleming Audio Book

Diamond smuggling, rapid and frequent action scenes add up to make Diamonds are Forever a great fun thriller. It’s harsh, gritty and realistic. 

Damian Lewis is more often heard speaking in an American accent - he played Sergeant Brody in Homeland and Richard D. Winters in Band of Brothers - so it’s suitably apt that he should narrate a Bond novel that’s set in America.

In Diamonds are Forever, Bond travels to New York and Las Vegas. And whether it’s a cab driver, some nasty and brutish villains – or even a bored custom’s officer – each character on this audiobook is given their own voice and personality.

Scenes like Bond’s fight with a gangster are delivered with gusto. And the interplay between Bond and Tiffany Case is handled with confidence, which adds credence to their relationship, and helps balance her devil-may-care attitude. Lewis makes her an intriguing and appealing Bond girl - smart and fiercely independent - and whom Bond needs.

Hearing Fleming’s keenly detailed observations, such as the wonderfully wicked descriptions of the Las Vegas gambling scene, add to the novel’s atmosphere too.

Lewis also gives Bond extra depth: here, 007 is far less arrogant and even considers settling down. Bond is more relaxed and we hear that violence is his last resort – not his first. And so, with this audiobook, we really care for Bond. Especially when he’s been beaten up and losing the will to live...

Listen out for:

• The opening description which really sets the tone
• when Bond meets Tiffany
• Bond and Leiter’s banter
• Bond versus a charging locomotive

Diamonds are Forever is the fourth James Bond title by Ian Fleming.