 Hugh I <unk> <unk> , writing in The Manchester Guardian , thought that Casino Royale was " a first @-@ rate thriller ... with a breathtaking plot " . Although he considered the book to be " schoolboy stuff " , he felt the novel was " galvanised into life by the hard brilliance of the telling " . Alan Ross , writing in The Times Literary Supplement wrote that Casino Royale was " an extremely engaging affair " , and that " the especial charm ... is the high poetry with which he invests the green baize lagoons of the casino tables " . He concluded that the book was " both exciting and extremely civilized " . Reviewing for The Listener , Simon Raven believed that Fleming was a " kind of supersonic John Buchan " , but he was somewhat dismissive of the plot , observing that it is " a brilliant but improbable notion " that includes " a deal of champagne @-@ drinking , bomb @-@ throwing , relentless pitting of wits etc ... with a cretinous love @-@ affair " . Raven also dismissed Bond as an " infantile " creation , but did allow that " Fleming tells a good story with strength and distinction ... his creation of a scene , both visually and emotionally , is of a very high order indeed . " 
