He knew how to set up a gripping scene, how to create tension, and how to ensure that the reader was engaged throughout. Fleming’s real skill was that he could tell a story that was on the outside simple, straightforward and accessible, and yet contained hidden depths in terms of story structure and pacing.
It was just the right time for readers in 1953, in the early period of the Cold War, to lose themselves in an adventure where the complex political situation could be boiled down to a game of cards between a hero and a villain. Readers of the time lapped it up: after all, back in 1953 the setting of a casino was itself exotic for most of the British public, as this was a time long before people could hop onto online casinos with no deposit bonus and other conveniences available in 2021 (source: ).
Yet it all works: Casino Royale remains a thrilling novel, if not quite on the same level as its many sequels and imitations.
And while we are all used to a James Bond story climaxing in an all-out battle involving some combination of gadgets, chases, deathtraps and doomsday weapons, the high point of Casino Royale‘s tension is a game of cards.
