Goldfinger Reviews

Auric Goldfinger is a man obsessed with hoarding, trading and stealing gold for years. He now operates as a money-man for SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence agency. Bond is assigned the mission, and although he is initially startled by Goldfinger’s greed and ingenuity, he is confident of the man’s downfall. However, when a glamorous blonde turns up dead, suffocated under a layer of gold paint, Bond begins to realise that Goldfinger’s ambitions are truly extraordinary – commanding a host of the most violent gangs in America, he intends to murder 60,000 people and empty Fort Knox…

Filled with characters, incidents and images iconic to the Bond series, Goldfinger reveals Fleming at the height of his powers. Opening with Bond enjoying what he believes is a simple game of cat and mouse, Fleming gradually heightens the tension until the reader, along with Bond, realises that the agent has fatally underestimated the strange, gold-obsessed millionaire. Terrorized by the implacable, cat-eating Oddjob, the agent scrambles to foil the plans of the horrifying Goldfinger, aided in part by Pussy Galore, the tough and canny leader of a team of female burglars.

In this book Fleming reveals a more contemplative side to his secret agent – Bond is a man who thrives on danger, yet in his quieter moments is troubled by the bystanders who bear the brunt of violence. While his adventures are often gloriously fantastical and populated with grotesque villains, Fleming maintains a steely reality through the relentless efficiency of his protagonist. For fans familiar only with the films, Goldfinger’s Bond will be a welcome revelation: deadly and unflappable, he is also a character of many layers. 

Fay Dalton continues her excellent work on this Folio series, producing seven exquisite colour illustrations that ooze with the glamour and dynamism of Bond. For the special illustrated slipcase, Dalton has recreated the infamous death of Jill Masterton, enshrined in shimmering gold. 

See the other titles in our Ian Fleming Collection here.