It just so happens that the cheater in question is Auric Goldfinger, the richest man in England. He runs into one of the men who was at the baccarat table with Bond in Casino Royale (coincidence #1), and when their flight is canceled (coincidence #2), the man invites Bond back to his hotel to help him determine if a guest there has been cheating him in cards (been there, done that).

You see, in the opening of Goldfinger Bond is on his way back to England, morosely pondering the implications of having a license to kill after a messy job in Mexico City. This isn’t the first time Bond unknowingly met the bad guy before he was supposed to investigate him–that already happened in Moonraker when M asked Bond to accompany him to his club to determine if Hugo Drax was cheating at cards (the very next day Bond was sent to investigate the murder of one of Drax’s employees). Plus, there are passages that are just plain offensive.įor starters, the plot relies far too heavily on coincidences. Fleming churned one book out every year once he started writing about 007’s adventures in 1953 so it was really just a matter of time before he repurposed some of his set-ups and concocted a diabolical scheme that was far too complicated (and full of holes) for its own good. Here we have it: the first Bond book by Ian Fleming that I actively disliked. As well as establishing the background to the smuggling operation, Bond uncovers a much larger plot: Goldfinger’s plan to steal the gold reserves of the United States from Fort Knox.I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. As a whole, the novel centers on James Bonds’ investigation into the gold smuggling activities of Auric Goldfinger, the richest man in England, who is also suspected of being connected to the Soviet counter-intelligence organization. Fleming structured the novel in three sections - “Happenstance,” “Coincidence,” and “Enemy Action” - which was how Goldfinger described Bond's three seemingly coincidental meetings with him.

Originally titled The Richest Man in the World, Goldfinger is the seventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series (preceded by Dr. That is, unless Secret Agent 007 can stop him! He must first take on two of the most memorable Bond villains: a human weapon named Oddjob and a luscious crime boss named Pussy Galore.

This man is without a doubt the most phenomenal criminal Bond has ever faced! This evil genius likes his cash in gold bars and his women dressed in gold paint - and now he is planning to steal all the gold in Fort Knox. In Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, we are introduced to Auric Goldfinger.

Ian fleming goldfinger book