The Spy Who Loved Me (film) big budget was not wasted. Interestingly, while the sets and gimmicks were the most spectacular to date, Bond and the other characters are toned down (there's a minimum of slapstick humour) so that they are more realistic than in other Roger Moore films. Moore gives his best performance in the series ... [Bond and Anya Amasova] are an appealing couple, equal in every way. Film is a real treat – a well acted, smartly cast, sexy, visually impressive, lavishly produced, powerfully directed mix of a spy romance and a war-mission film." Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" considered the
The Spy Who Loved Me (novel) be no reprints or paperback version of the book, and for the British market no paperback version appeared until after Fleming's death. Because of the heightened sexual writing in the novel, it was banned in a number of countries. In the US the story was also published in "Stag" magazine, with the title changed to "Motel Nymph". Broadly, the critics did not welcome Fleming's experiment with the Bond formula; academic Christoph Linder has pointed out that "The Spy Who Loved Me" received the worst reception of all the Bond books. "The Daily Telegraph", for example, wrote "Oh Dear Oh Dear