James Bond has been put on "the back burner" in this novel, assigned to observe Ernst Stavro Blofeld - the work of an undercover detective, according to Bond. His protests at this assignment are ignored, and he plans to leave the secret service. However, he soon meets Teresa di Vicenzo - a suicidal and seemingly heartless young girl who, despite her young age, has had a tragic life. Bond saves her from suicide, only for both of them to be captured and taken to Teresa's father, Marc-Ange -a member of the criminal underground. He explains the situation further to Bond, and asks him to look after his daughter, as some kind of treatment for her depression. In return, Bond asks for the whereabouts of Blofeld, seizing an opportunity to get back in the field.
And so the chase is on. He finds Blofeld in a Swiss mountain - typical - and must uncover his plan using all his brains. But will Blofeld fall for it?
Along the way, Bond realises that he feels more for Teresa than he realised earlier, and their relationship progresses further than the "shotgun-wedding"-esque relationship organised by Marc-Ange.
Before Bond attempts to bring down Blofeld, Teresa and Bond plan their wedding, but will Bond survive to get back?
I was surprised to find that Ian Fleming was actually surprisingly articulate, putting much detail in to the settings and characters. However, he does put an incredible amount of detail into the types of cars and wines that are used in the novel, which can sometimes get a bit tiring.
Another surprising thing about the novel was how different Bond was in the novel to how all of the actors have played him in the films, which was a relief of sorts - Bond in the novel seems to think about his actions more than in the films, and seems more emotional and less indestructible. Also, Fleming cross-references his novels, unlike the films - the people he meets are not forgotten, for instance Bond visits the grave of Vesper Lynd, from the first Bond novel.
Overall I thought this was a very good book that I could not seem to put down. However, I thought that the ending, which should have been emotional and saddening (and it was both of those things) was rushed over a bit, as if Fleming wanted to get the story finished quickly - though maybe I was reading it too quickly.

Bond gets married! Her fate is predictable of course. Date read is a guess.

It's a new experience to read James than having watched him over the last 2 decades. It was enjoyable and I will be reading more in the future.

Funnily enough, my relationship with James Bond began with a heartbreak. My girlfriend at the time was one of a family of Bond fans, and when I was at one of their dinners, they talked me through all of their various Bond favourites: actors, films, eras, etc. Me being a very casual fan, having seen the mere total of just three Craig films, I then caught the bug and began watching them. I am an addict to this day. Ironically, she chucked me not one month later, meaning that the final legacy she left behind - love of the Bond films - was the main thing that got me through the grief! I vividly remember watching Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day through floods of tears while stuffing my face with a box of Malteser Truffles that my sister had sent through the post. Anyway, I digress.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was my first Bond novel, after having watched every single one of the films, and it was absolutely incredible. I do love the film - 1969’s instalment with George Lazenby - and it would definitely be in my Top 10. But to anybody out there who shall only ever know On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as a film, for heaven’s sake read the book: the book is so much better. The pacing is so much subtler, the characterisation more in-depth, the action more controlled. Fleming inserts just enough depth to give literature students enough meat on the bone re: Bond’s psychology and moments of ending-foreshadowing, but ultimately prioritises the classic Bond USPs: stunning locations, sexy characters, sordid plots, and an irresistible sense of adventure.

The ski-escape from the Alps is easily the best part, largely because it isn’t the effortless, slick, dramatic chase complete with musical soundtrack that we get in the film. Bond barely survives it, and has to prepare for it several days in advance. He actively does preparatory exercises in case of the sudden need to escape that way, and reflects afterwards that he would probably fail if he tried it again. The other great thing is that he doesn’t confront Blofeld - or even discover his plot - before having to escape. He escapes before they find him out under the danger that they soon will, which adds a new level of tension lacking in the film.

Two more aspects that were much better in the book:
1) Tracy was a far more interesting character (though I do still of course enjoy Diana Rigg’s portrayal),
2) The ending is much more powerful,
3) The book has absolutely none of the “she needs a man to dominate her” discussion from the film. Where did that come from? Draco - an hilarious character by the way, the head of the crime syndicate turning out to be the epitome of a gentleman - wants Bond to marry his daughter here for the sole reason that he wants her to be happy, even if his methods are misguided.

So to conclude: if a long-term partner discards you, chin up. They’re human too, and you’re probably better off without them anyway. But before you finally say goodbye, get some final film/book recommendations off them. Chances are they know you better than you know yourself!

Като цяло, един от по-добрите Бондове.

От една страна ми хареса, че в случая нещата са по-правдоподобни от обикновено, почти без фантасмагории. Но от друга, това прави историята малко постна. Няма да я преразказвам тук; който е гледал филма, я познава в общи линии, това е една от екранизациите, които следват почти дословно първоизточника си.

Слагам голям плюс за далновидната идея как се унищожава икономиката на една държава с изкуствено предизвикани болести по добитъка. Флеминг едва ли е предполагал, че действията, които приписва на своите гениални злодеи, 50 години по-късно ще се прилагат като неофициална политика в "свободна" Европа.

Но също така слагам и един голям минус за нещо, което ме отврати. По някое време един от героите изразява мнението си за Гагарин като "видимо простоват човек, който едва ли би могъл да върши сложната дейност по пилотирането на ракета, така че вероятно е бил под влияние на дълбока хипноза". Намирам тази инсинуация за изключително гнусна дори по тогавашните стандарти. ДГД, Флеминг!

n  Napoleon had been short, and Hitler. It was the short men that caused all the trouble in the world.n

As a short man I say Bond / Ian Fleming was probably right to worry about us... we are after all superior to normal-heighted freaks. Regardless, I give this 9 out of 10 new Francs. Enjoyed as a simple palate cleanser between important non-fiction.

It's been ages since I've read a James Bond and On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one that I'm not familiar with at all, not even the movie adaptation. Tonally it's quite a bit different than other stories in the series. Honestly, it feels more real including Bond himself particularly when it comes to his feelings for Teresa. I'm definitely going to have to see George Lazenby's outing as James Bond. Finally, I primarily borrowed this on audiobook solely because David Tennant is the narrator, and he does a marvelous job of it.

All he remembered, before sleep took him, was that she had said when it was all over, "That was heaven, James. Will you please come back when you wake up. I must have it once more." Then she had turned over on her side away from him and, without answering his last endearments, had gone to sleep - but not before he had heard that she was crying.
What the hell? All cats are grey in the dark.
True or false?

ALL CATS ARE GREY IN THE DARK

James Bond is driving through France, where he goes every year. Why? To visit Vesper Lynd's grave. He really loved her, for all his ugly words about her. I know he really loved her because she was the woman he was thinking of when he thought he was dead in Goldfinger. Fleming is not really one to play up the mushy stuff, but it's through these little tidbits that James's true feelings become clear.

As he drives to visit Vesper, he is crafting in his mind his letter of resignation to M. He is planning on resigning from the Secret Service. James is passed on the road by a woman driving very fast. Women who drive fast make Bond excited.

She loses him, but luckily when he arrives he finds they are staying in the same hotel. He asks around and finds out that she is La Comtesse Teresa di Vicenzo. Bond is disappointed to hear it - he thinks she is quite out of his league.

They run into each other at the casino, and Teresa suffers quite an embarrassing loss that she is unable to cover. Bond steps in like a man and casually covers the 20 million francs she owes. Then he proceeds to lose his remaining 20 million at the table, and goes to join her at the bar. The woman seems a bit sad and lifeless, so James needles her about their little race, claiming that he could have beaten her. This makes her suddenly come to life, as she argues she would have won.

The gambit succeeded. Vivacity came into her face and voice. "Oh, yes, I'd have beaten you anyway. I'd have passed you in the villages. Besides" - there was an edge of bitterness in her voice - "I would always be able to beat you. You want to stay alive."

James is starting to get the picture. Then, she hits him with this:

"My name is Tracy...Teresa was a saint. I am not a saint. ... I am not interested in conversation. And you have earned your reward."
She rose abruptly. So did Bond, confused. "...There if you wish, you can make the most expensive piece of love of your life. It will have cost you forty million francs. I hope it will be worth it."

She instructs James to meet her in her room. There, things get even weirder. James sits on the edge of the bed, intending to ask her some questions and get to know her a bit. Tracy quickly shuts that down.

"I said 'no conversation.' Take off those clothes. Make love to me. You are handsome and strong. I want to remember what it can be like. Do anything you like. And tell me what you like and what you would like from me. Be rough with me. Treat me like the lowest whore in creation. Forget everything else. No questions. Take me."

Bond obeys, and an hour later, leaves her crying in bed (it's implied that this is because she's screwed up in the head and going through some issues, not because Bond physically hurt her or anything. Just clearing that up). He is confused, intrigued, and fascinated by this woman. He complies with her request to come back for round two, which he hopefully rates as 'a bit more affectionate' than round one. He is desperately looking for some sign of feeling from the woman. But after this second round of sex, instead of planning a fun day of eating and swimming and gambling together like Bond wants to do, the woman has a bit of a freak-out. She yells at him and curses at him, and orders him to get out of her room. She says he's lousy in bed. Bond can see she's obviously trying to drive him away and wound him, and he's very worried about her. She's obviously going through some heavy stuff.

It's because of this that he decides to play 'spy' and follow her when she goes to the beach. He's convinced she's suicidal and wants to watch over her and prevent her from killing herself if he can. But just when he catches up to her on the beach, they are both kidnapped.

And this is only the first four chapters out of a 27-chapter book!
...

HAPPINESS WITHOUT A SHADOW

Well, this is famous for being the most touching, most heartbreaking Bond book in the series. Just mentioning the title to a certain friend of mine makes her little face fall. "That book is so sad," she says in a grim voice. "So sad." And it is. This is only the second time we've seen Bond really in love with a woman - not since Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale has James ever had these kinds of feelings for a woman. And it's surprising.

Tracy's dad is a mafia boss, and he offers Bond 1 million pounds to marry Tracy. He thinks Bond will convince Tracy - through loving her - that life is worth living again. She was married to a horrid man who took all her money and left her when she was pregnant. She loved her baby, but the little girl died at age 6 months from spinal meningitis. Ever since then, Tracy has been roaming Europe in her car, spending money like crazy and getting the most out of life before she kills herself. Bond was kind of a 'last fling' for her.

Bond refuses the money but agrees to keep seeing Tracy. And at first I thought he was just doing it out of a sense of pity or obligation, but it is not so. We don't know this because he declares his feelings, or says he loves Tracy, or anything like that. We know it because there James has a new secretary named Mary Goodnight, and James does not want/try/consider having sex with her. That's it. That's the key. I love how Fleming does this. It's subtle, it's very Bond. When the reader (who by now has read 10 books in the series before this) is astonished at this "proclamation of love" as if Bond had actually said something romantic. "I'm not going to have sex with my secretary," Bond tells us, and we are react as we would if a more mainstream-type leading man got on his knee and proposed marriage to the heroine. This is Fleming's intended effect and it's very good.

ANYWAY. Meanwhile lots of stuff is going on with Blofeld and SPECTRE and stuff. I won't go into details except to say Blofeld's plot and methods in this book are extremely laughable and not really something I can take seriously. Brainwashing a young woman into loving chickens is HILARIOUS and probably NOT intended to be. I found his whole plan - but especially the brainwashing of women regarding farm animals and potatoes to be extremely laughter-inducing. Sorry, Fleming, this just isn't very scary.

Lots of skiing in this book, and it takes place during Christmas. :)

Bond does something dishonorable in this book, and it's quite unlike him. And that is having sex with a woman and romancing her just so that he can get information from her, even though he has no real romantic interest in her. I know, I know, you think James Bond sleeps with anyone in a skirt - but the reason you think that is because of the movies. In the books he's still a womanizer, but he only has sex with women that he has a certain feeling towards. No, not lust! Jeez. But a kind of respect, or admiration, or something. This is the first book where we see him coldly seducing a woman he has no feelings for (I'm not talking about Tracy here) - and he hates himself for doing it, too. Again, this is one of the things I like about Bond - book Bond. He isn't the kind of callous bastard portrayed in the pre-Craig movies, instead he is quite a three-dimensional character - obviously flawed, but also thoughtful and introspective, with a certain code of honor that doesn't seem to exist in the films where he treats women as disposable objects.

ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

A lot of issues are raised in this book, and that is what makes it so good. Bond expands on his ideas on money and sneers at being a titled gentleman. Bond is seriously considering retiring from the Secret Service. Bond is seriously considering settling down with one woman. He is tired of all his affairs and he is sick of being so alone.

I wonder at the fact that Bond seems so attracted to a woman who (for the first half of the book or so) seems to be mired in a deep depression and has a lion's share of problems. Bond often talks about wanting a woman who is 'unburdened,' but like many of the things Bond says, his words belie the truth. He falls for Tracy, and falls hard. She, herself, is smitten with him. Seeing scenes of them interacting together, you can't believe how cute and sweet they are together. Bond planning his life with her. She says some cute things which I won't reveal here because they would be spoilers. It's very touching and warms your heart.

That makes it all the more devastating when Blofeld murders Tracy just hours after she and James are married. It's horrifying and Bond's despair is epic. Her death is going to have serious repercussions for Bond's mental health in later books.

This is one of the better Bond books. I still prefer Doctor No to this, but this is right up there with Diamonds Are Forever, Thunderball, and Moonraker in Bond books I actually enjoyed.

The reasons this didn't get five stars are:
1.) Stupid villain plot and methods. Not a very compelling villain, either.
2.) Completely unnecessary 'woman falls in love with her rapist/women love rape secretly' comment that just takes me out of my whole happiness of Bond. The comment is from Bond's friend and future father-in-law Bond is friends with a lot of rapists, but never rapes anyone himself. At least in the books. I get angrier with his film-self.

Bond kills more men than normal in this book and, of course, falls in love. This is one of the more intense Bond novels.

Ian Fleming's writing is still amazing. Here's one I liked:

Bond's right hand flashed out and the face of the Rolex disintegrated against the man's jaw.

In short, a pretty amazing entry. Could have used a stronger villain and a better evil villain plot, but the rest is superb. You will be tearing up at this one, even though you can't believe you're getting emotional over James Bond.

MOVIE: 1969: George Lazenby

Ugh. The book is 10x better than the film. I have NO IDEA why they keep making film Bond such a bastard. He doesn't generally practice violence against women in the books unless it's absolutely and I mean absolutely necessary. In this movie, he's slapping Tracy in the face repeatedly!!! This is his future wife, okay? He would never pull this shit in the books. Is book Bond racist? Yes. Sexist? Yes. A woman-beater? No. Why would you even add this to his character? Did people actually think this made him better or more exciting somehow?!?! Well, it disgusts me. Tracy's also punched in the face so hard by her father in this film that she falls unconscious. And people wonder why I can't relax and enjoy Bond films!

20/12/2022
Just as good as the first time I listened to this. David Tennant really is superb reading this.

**********

22/09/2016
I loved David Tennant's narration of this audiobook he was perfect for it. I remember aspects of the story from the film, but it didn't spoil it as there was lots that I didn't remember. I definitely want to listen to more books narrated by him as he was particularly good at the accents for the different characters.

Read by David Tennant, need I say more? Oh yes, brilliant!
Fleming has a way of writing that I have not come across before, packing a lot of info into a sentence or paragraph without being laborious, tedious or obvious while at the same time perfectly moving the story along while keeping you fully engaged. The language Is perfectly suited to being read by David Tennant.

I'm a huge fan of the movies but have to admit this was the first Bond book I've read, or technically listened to as I went for the audiobook. I think it was probably the narration that made this book for me. David Tennant narrates and does a brilliant job of bringing both the story and the characters to life.

In terms of the book itself and the writing, it is very much of the time it was written. That is to say it's incredibly misogynistic and the way the women in the book are portrayed is not great to put it mildly (they're either beautiful, silly, idiots who throw themselves at Bond or ugly little trolls). Some of the comments are incredibly offensive and really wouldn't be acceptable nowadays. If you can get past that though, and try not to worry about how much alcohol Bond drinks (I'm pretty sure he's an alcoholic), it's actually an enjoyable enough read.

**UPDATED REVIEW 6/15/2019**
In anticipation of Bond 25 in 2020 barring any further setbacks, I am re-reading the source material - namely, the Fleming James Bond stories, in 2019.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" edges "From Russia With Love" as the greatest Bond novel.

Not only is OHMSS a whirlwind of activity as Operation Bedlam unexpectedly continues, but the ramifications of this story are explored in multiple films and novels and even the continuation novels by Gardner and Benson. Without spoiling anything, to say this is Act 2 of the SPECTRE story, raising the stakes tremendously between James Bond and his arch nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld would be an understatement.

We begin with a car chase through beautiful countryside, Bond's visit to Casino Royale, and his meeting of Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, daughter of crime boss Marc-Ange Draco. Bond is on the verge of retiring after having been sent on a wild goose chase for presumed-dead Blofeld - bored with his mundane, pointless missions. This changes when the scent heats up.

OHMSS sees the origin of Mary Goodnight, "The World is Not Enough" and - of course - "We have all the time in the world"...

Blofeld's resurgence, the plot - diabolical. Bond's undercover operation to unearth this scandal - brilliant. OHMSS - 5 stars. Well done, Mr. Fleming. Still a page-turner after all these years.

_____________________________________
Having first and last read this novel years ago and - in the meantime - reading every other Bond novel written after Fleming, it was important to re-visit this one which is so vital to the character and story of 007.

James Bond, bored from chasing a presumed-dead Blofeld in the wake of "Thunderball" inadvertently finds his soul mate, important connections and the whereabouts of the re-formed SPECTRE.

It is difficult at this point to separate the novel from the film, the latter of which is pointedly different. That said, the film was certainly one of the best and had it featured Connery or would it be re-done with Craig it could certainly hold that spot. The book differs in that there is no real final confrontation. I also forgot how many times Fleming utilized exclamation points!

In summary, while sometimes a little choppy, this is quintessential Bond. Having read every James Bond novel save one at this point, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is undoubtedly the most important novel of the entire canon. The events shape the character for every single entry to come. The interactions with M, introduction of Mary Goodnight who will feature again, Bond's alcoholism and his full transformation complete as a blunt, thinking man's killing machine is evident here. Some of the relationship with Tracy is quick and clunky, but Bond's realization that she is the one for him, why that is the case, and the conclusion will bring a tear to your eye.

5 stars.