From Russia With Love

:For the video game see From Russia With Love (video game)

The novel

Plot summary

From Russia with Love differs from Fleming's previous Bond novels in that the first one third of the novel revolves around SMERSH's executioner, Red Grant as well as the organization, SMERSH, itself. This is also the first novel in which Bond receives a gadget from Q-Branch, although Q is not in the novel.

Related Topics:
SMERSH - Red Grant - Q-Branch

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The novel is a series of elaborate plots and counterplots, between the British and the Russian intelligence agencies. It begins with SMERSH, the Soviet assassination agency, seeking to redeem itself from a series of failures that have made some within the Soviet government begin to criticize the organization. SMERSH plans to commit a grand act of terrorism in the intelligence field. For this, SMERSH has targeted British secret service agent, Commander James Bond. Due in part to Bond's defeat of Le Chiffre detailed in Casino Royale and Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, Bond has been declared as an enemy of the Soviet state and has been issued a "death warrant" for immediate execution ("To be killed with ignominy").

Related Topics:
Soviet - Terrorism - British - Casino Royale - Mr. Big - Live and Let Die

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Mainly through the agency of Kronsteen, the chess-playing master planner and Colonel Rosa Klebb, SMERSH lays a trap for Bond, by setting pretty young, cipher clerk, Corporal Tatiana Romanova, to pretend to defect from her post in Istanbul, claiming to have fallen in love with Bond, from a photograph. As an added incentive, Tatiana will provide the British agent with a Spektor decoder, a prize much coveted by MI6. The ultimate goal is to set up James Bond for assassination, and cause a scandal, but SMERSH doesn't count on Tatiana actually falling in love with 007. The confrontation between Bond and Grant takes place on board the Orient Express on the journey from Istanbul to Paris, when Grant is shot by Bond. Later, after successfully delivering Tatiana to the west, Bond has a final encounter with Rosa Klebb which leaves her dead and 007 poisoned.

Related Topics:
Cipher - Istanbul - MI6 - Orient Express

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Comic strip adaptation

Fleming's novel was adapted as a daily comic strip published in the British Daily Express newspaper, and syndicated world-wide. The adaptation ran from February 3 to May 21, 1960, and was written by Henry Gammidge, and illustrated by John McLusky. The James Bond 007 Fan Club published a reprinting of the strip in 1981.

Related Topics:
Comic strip - Daily Express - February 3 - May 21 - 1960 - Henry Gammidge - John McLusky - 1981

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