This was the first James Bond novel. I read it years ago, but decided to reread it because it's coming out as a movie in a few months. I gave it a 7 the first time and again this time. Fleming is great at describing atmosphere — the food, the clothing, the cars. The story is interesting for the first half, then drags the rest of the way, but the book is only 144 pages long so it wasn't a major investment of time.