This is the 11th book (10th novel) in the James Bond series by Ian Fleming, and so far my favorite (I am reading them in order). The format was the hardcover Folio Society which like the others have beautiful illustrations and is easy to read.

For some context, this book was written as the first EON Pictures film adaptation (Dr. No) was being filmed in Jamaica, not far from the author’s home. It also follows The Spy Who Loved Me, a book that switched up the format by telling a story from the “Bond girl” point of view rather than James.

After that experiment (which I enjoyed but it did suffer from more critical reviews), it was time to bring back what the people wanted - more in the mind of Bond. Fleming also made this the second book to feature the arch-nemesis Bloefeld - though fun fact - James never meets Bloefeld face to face in Thunderball (the book). So this book brings our hero against his (arguably) greatest villain face to face. And with how this novel ends, the third and final book to feature Bloefeld (You Only Live Twice) and next book in the series has at least set the table for a great finish to that story.

Like me, you may be thinking about the movie. While some Bond films loosely follow the plot of the book source material, many of the movie plots are almost entirely original. For example, The World Is Not Enough is referenced in this book as the Bond family motto of a potential ancestor (but not confirmed) and I believe is never mentioned again along with any plot from that film.

The film adaptation of this book though is almost entirely faithful to the source material, including every major plot point. In reading through particularly when James starts his undercover assignment up through when he had to make a quick descent down the mountain, I could feel the tension as I was reading.

I also counter-intuitively enjoyed that the description of Tracy was pretty brief throughout the book. It somehow made the events of the book more believable.

A memorable addition to the Bond series. A very solid four stars - and I am a harsh grader. Well worth the read and you don’t have to read the previous books (even Thunderball) to enjoy this one.

(A-) 82% | Very Good
Notes: James Bond, sentimental Scot, recurrently finds direction, rejuvenation and repair in the broken girl with the fast car.

What I want to know is does James Bond have to go through airport security?

Geneva airport, our plane is boarding. We have just got to the top of the security check queue which is so long today that they have extended it into the airport pathway. That, after a ten minute wait in the fast track of Easy Jet luggage checkin. And today, of all days, is the first time our Easy Jet flight has been on time for years. That’d be right.

But we were okay now, through the thing where you might beep but don’t. Hand on my luggage when a voice says:

‘Is that your luggage ma’am?’

And you look up and say ‘yes’ to the female security guards who ask you to ‘come this way’.

‘Do you know why we are going to search your bags, ma’am?’

I give a seriously stressed out answer because I’m seriously stressed out.

‘So that I miss my plane?’

‘It’s because you have a large knife in your bags, ma’am.’

Do they think I’m a complete idiot? What sort of dickwit would pack a knife in their carry on luggage? Manny comes over and I tell him when he asks, ‘They are looking for the large knife we packed this morning.’ Spoken with all the sarcasm I could muster, which was quite a lot.

Losing it in Switzerland isn’t a great idea. Losing it in airports isn’t a great plan either. Swiss airports? Don’t even think about it. But our plane was boarding. They couldn’t find the knife. They are inclined, in fact to believe me and turn to look at the X-ray dude who has put me in this position. He stares at me and shakes his head in a way that says ‘Think you are getting away with this? Forget it.’

Rest here:

https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...

Going to use this same review for all the James Bond books I read several years ago. Why did I keep reading them if I hated them so much? Because I kept hoping for ONE good book with ONE woman valued for more than just her body. And anyone out there can tell me it was a reflection of the times, but I throw that argument out. I've heard it used a lot for slavery, for example, but that fails too because there were always abolitionists, just like there have always been feminists, even if that word didn't necessarily exist back then.

Amazon was practically giving away these Ian Fleming books, so I'd bought them all. And ultimately, I hated myself for it. They are such sexist filth. Sure, I like the "good guys" winning as much as the next, but in every one of them, it felt like it was at the expense of some woman (the "Bond girl's") identity where she's reduced to nothing but an objectified and glorified sexual being whose sole purpose is to make James Bond look good. Ew. I would've known better (I hope) had the cover been one of the more semi-pornographic ones that seem to be more common, but the Kindle series I'd bought had very unrevealing cover art. UGH. And remarkably, I hadn't watched any of the older Bond movies - only started with Daniel Craig versions which I thought was just dumb sexist typical Hollywood. In retrospect, I should've known better!

This Folio Society edition includes Fay Dalton's excellent illustrations, which enhance Fleming's superb 1963 James Bond novel.
I've read On Her Majesty's Secret Service many times & still find it a wonderful novel. It's also still my favourite James Bond film. The novel has plenty of action (as you would expect), but there's more heart to this one & Fleming creates some wonderful characters. Authors come & go, but Ian Fleming is still my favourite.

You Have All The Time in The World

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. It was first published in 1963. It is the second book in what is known as the "Blofeld trilogy". This begins with Thunderball and concludes with You Only Live Twice. Fleming wrote the book in Jamaica whilst the first film in the Eon Productions series of films, Dr. No, was being filmed nearby.

After The Spy Who Loved Me’ ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ is a return to form. In some ways it is a typical Fleming book. The plot is over the top and the story is exciting. Bond is in danger throughout. We also get the customary large scale battle at the end. This is all interspersed with action and pace, for example Bond’s frenetic ski chase. But in other ways Fleming departs from his normal blueprint as he shows an emotional side to Bond. Bond visits the grave of Casino Royale's Vesper Lynd, which he apparently does every year. He also asks the enigmatic Tracy to marry him after becoming emotionally involved. Both Bond and Tracey appear to be isolated people who both want more security in life.

Fleming is also great at the descriptive passages too. The scenes on the beach or in the Alps are well depicted and expressed in a way without breaking up a flow in the narrative. Fleming does insist on protracted explanations of card games and alpine sports.

In summary, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a notable chapter in the saga of James Bond. It pits Bond against his arch nemesis Blofeld's and is one of the better books. The mingling of Bond's personal life into the tale elevates this book higher than most in the series and this keeps the reader gripped until the end.

June 2016 Edit
The BBC Radio audio version it definitely worth listening to. Read by ex-Bond girl Joanna Lumley.

Ran out of things to read on a rainy trip to N Wales .....bought in Oxfam for £1.50

A unexpected delight and will def read more. Yes it is a little dated.....and don't look for 3 dimensional women characters . But Bond is an engaging character, touched by tragedy with a dark past hinted at. Fleming is the master of suspense and I even shouted out loud at one bit. Fortunately I was at home and not on the train!!!!

It is strange how mediocre is this book considering how much I love the film. It improves when it is read as part of the sequence, but a it's not the best Bond book. It even gets dull in some places. The film is a lot more romantic and emotional than the book. Tracy of the book simply doesn't match Tracy of the film, but then Diana Rigg is unique and wonderful. Tracy's death is the only thing that is almost as effective as in the film, but the love story is simply not very believable. Still, as part of the series it works better than as a stand alone book, which is uncommon for Bond books that usually work independently as well as a link in a chain.

Second of the Blofeld trilogy. It was an OK read, but didn’t enjoy it as much as Thunderball. A few too many ridiculously convenient plot coincidences (even by Bond standards), and the pacing felt oddly disjointed. A long, slow introduction. The big action scene happens in the middle. And while there’s a bit more action towards the end, it closes in a very underwhelming and unsatisfying way.

Not terrible overall. But not one of the better efforts in the series either.

It starts with Bond back at the casino at Royale Les Eaux in Northern France. He’s been on the search for Blofeld for a year, but with no success and is feeling very disillusioned with life. There he meets a glamorous, but troubled young woman, Tracy.

It turns out she’s the daughter of the head of the Corsican mafia. And when Bond is forced into meeting her father, not only is the father immediately keen on Bond and Tracy being together, he also offers his help in tracking down the missing Blofeld. Very convenient that the woman he picks up has a rich and powerful father who’s happy to help him advance the plot.

This involves him going undercover as an expert consultant on heraldry and genealogy as Blofeld’s holed up in Switzerland pushing a claim he’s entitled to be called a Count through his family line.

Bond blags his way into Blofeld’s lair where he finds a bunch of British girls, who it turns out are being secretly hypnotised by Blofeld as part of a biological warfare plot against the UK. (again, convenient that Bond arrives just as this plot is about to be launched).

Eventually his cover is blown and we get the main action scene where he skis off down the mountain, escaping chasing guards and an avalanche. He's conveniently eventually rescued by Tracy, and as he recovers from his escape, he asks her to marry him. She heads off to Munich while he goes back to London to work out what to do about Blofeld with M.

Bond then pulls in Tracy’s dad and some of his armed goons to attack Blofeld’s mountain top hideaway, and there’s a bit of action before Blofeld escapes on a bobsleigh.

Bond then heads to Munich where him and Tracy get married, but Blofeld gets in the way of the honeymoon. Will say no more than that, but the ending is left open for the next book.

It’s all pretty standard Bond stuff, and the action of the ski escape in the middle is done well. Also liked that it tried to flesh out Bond’s character a bit more by giving him a genuine love interest.

However, the big leaps of faith you have to do to accept all the plot coincidences do hold it back. And overall, found it a bit neither here nor there as a read.

I recall starting this book while enjoying the sunset on the end of our beach path on a dune overlooking Lake Michigan. The cover of the novel impressed me and I was looking forward to another Bond adventure.

Memories from so long ago can get confused, but I recall Fleming discussing sumo wrestlers towards the beginning of the story, explaining how they prevent their testicles from descending into the scrotal sac in early childhood. This raised my eyebrows. Descending testicles!? I certainly couldn't remember any time when my testicles weren't in place!--nor, for that matter, could I remember my eight-years younger little brother without descended testicles. His assertion couldn't be true, could it? This upset me a great deal because I had taken Fleming's authoritative tone for granted. Now, here he was pronouncing a falsehood.

I never asked anyone about it, the subject of testicular activities being not something one talked about.

This novel was a Christmas present from my wife, and very significantly features James Bond at a Christmas dinner, and married by the end, however briefly. Never would have imagined to see James in either of these situations, but Ian Fleming pulls it off with ease. He must have had a fun time researching heraldry and the College of Arms. Perhaps his own visits with some Pickwickian Pursuivant are recreated as the beastly-sounding Griffon and Basilisk characters. Is it the first time that James Bond takes on a disguise by pretending to be Sir Hilary Bray? One can sense his discomfort, even though he successful pulls off the ruse for most of his mission. I seem to have forgotten how thrilling it is to go skiing, but the hair-raising escape, and avalanche, reminded me of the thrilling sport - wouldn't want to bob-shed anytime soon, however. There is wonderful warmth from his soon to be father-in-law Marc-Ange, and yet another tip about eating a woman from his Corscian comrade Marius - did this type of consumption have the same meaning as it possibly has today back in the 1960s? It was genuinely sad to see Tracy die at the end, and one could wonder how different James Bond's life would have been if he had a bit more time with her. Perhaps the retirement letter he was drafting in the early chapters would have been sent in and a happier life would have followed? Not with villians like Blofeld and Bunt still racing about - at least I got to see their end with You Only Live Twice.

As a student volunteer at the Lilly Library at Indiana University, the staff gave me a tour of the library's rarest holdings, housed in a vault in the basement. In the vault are leather-bound, type-written pages of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. The staff told me that Fleming produced the books directly on the typewriter. If that is true, readers can only marvel at the results. Fleming created one of the most enduring characters in popular literature and film. Millions have read the James Bond novels, and it is estimated that half the world's population has seen a James Bond film.

Readers familiar with the Bond films but approaching Fleming's novels for the first time will find familiar elements. There is exotic travel, fine food and drink, beautiful women, high-speed car and ski chases, high-stakes gambling, and Bond's narrow escapes from certain death. However, within the extended space of a novel, Bond is humanized in a way that he isn't in the films. The psychological pressure of maintaining cover as a spy is evident in the novel in a way the films cannot accommodate. In the book, Bond actually loses at gambling. In the movie, Bond only indicates a passing interest in a woman before becoming intimate. In the novel, Bond has to consider his approach, and rejection is possible. He even ponders the emptiness of his casual trysts.

Along with the character of Bond, Fleming created SPECTRE, an international terrorist organization nihilistically planning widespread death and mayhem without allegiance to any country, religion, or ideology. Today, it is not difficult to imagine the existence of such an organization. Fleming was prescient to imagine such a group in the post-World War II context.

Despite being written in 1963, the central plot of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is strikingly current. SPECTRE plots biological warfare against Britain's food supply, successfully triggering a fowl pest outbreak that nearly destroys the country's turkey supply. The country's other meat and crop staples also become targets. The recent bird flu outbreak in the States has sent egg prices soaring and created bare shelves in the egg section of grocery stores. That is one commodity. Targeting a country's overall supply of food staples would be economic warfare on an unimaginable scale.

The novel and its film version both end on a tragic note. Fleming gives the book's closing chapter the ironic title of "All the Time in the World." As the novel closes, readers realize that the time allotted to any of us is limited.

Readers familiar with the James Bond films but unfamiliar with the novels on which they were based will find On Her Majesty's Secret Service to be an imaginative and thrilling read.