There will be some spoilers here so if you don't want to see them don't read beyond this paragraph. I liked this book, it's well written and stands up well to most any thriller or drama out there.


Now, for the rest of us.... I know I commented that I didn't care for soap opera, that usually means too heavy a dependence in a story on personal "touchy feely" emotionally soaked storyline. This however gives us James' personal life without "soaping" it up.

James is ready to resign in the opening of this book, frustrated in his failure to find Blofeld and SPECTRE. He's coming to believe that SPECTRE doesn't even exist any more, M however wants him to "stay with it".

Before he can deliver his letter of resignation he saves a suicidal young woman. Bond likes Tracy, and wants to help her but won't marry her. Tracy's father even wants James to marry his daughter. But James doesn't.

Following certain "leads" James gets back in the search for Spectre however and the story moves on from there.

Not giving the entire detailed rundown (after all you still want to read the book) Bond traces hunts finds and fights. In the end he's about to be killed but is saved.....by Tracy. While recovering James realizes he's in love with Tracy and proposes.

Then Bond mounts an assault and new attempt to capture (or whatever) Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The "assault" is successful, but Blofeld escapes. As the book closes, Bond's wife Tracey is murdered on their wedding day, by Blofeld's order as vengeance in a drive by shooting . The end works. Even as a Teen I was touched by this. This one I think is one where Fleming did some of his best work.

Book #2 of the Bolfeld trilogy.

I liked the idea of the “How did we get here” start. This is a new approach, although the idea of being taken to see a seemingly evil overlord, only to discover he’s actually a good guy deep down was just the same as Risico (like Colombo in For Your Eyes Only). This time it seemed all very unnecessary.
I didn’t like the casino long-winded description. It was much too long and indulgent, much like the Goldfinger golf scene all over again.

This line made me feel deeply upwell: “She explained to me later that she must have been possessed by a subconscious desire to be raped. Well'--this time he didn't smile--'she found me in the mountains and she was raped--by me.” Oh dear, Ian.
There were two moments that (rather surprisingly considering how much Fleming I’ve got through) made me gasp: finding out that Tracey was Draco’s daughter and that her child died.

“The Syncraphone had recently been introduced and was carried by all officers attached to Headquarters.” How modern.

Just in case you thought Fleming might be a modern-day, free thinking feminist, he chucks in this gem: “Mary Goodnight, an ex-Wren with blue-black hair, blue eyes, and 37-22-35, was a honey and there was a private five-pound sweep in the Section as to who would get her first. Bond had been lying equal favourite with the ex-Royal Marine Commando who was 006 but, since Tracy, had dropped out of the field and now regarded himself as a rank outsider, though he still, rather bitchily, flirted with her.” Lads!

The new African countries and their flags are referred to. I didn’t know about this and it’s Cameroon, Togo, Niger, Chad, etc. which had been colonised and then took independence in 1960 or thereabouts. The map of Africa before 1960 is very different to now.

There’s a moment of “breaking the fourth wall” when Ursula Andreas appears at the bar. I have no idea why he added this as the more you think about it, the more it becomes utterly confusing. It could only imply that Bond is a real character and not fiction, but as she’d know that’s not true then the world would have to implode on itself. The process of thinking about the logic go this hurts my brain.

Blofeld’s birthday (28th May 1908) is the same as Fleming’s. As the physical description of Bond is the same as Fleming’s then this would suggest that Fleming was something of an ego maniac.

In chapter 7 it is suggested that hypnosis can cure homosexuality! My, my. I believe that some prints of this book remove that line.

There are more moments that seem familiar, such as having one sided doors (ie handles only in the outside) just like in Dr No, or how similar Irma Bunt seems to be to Rosa Klebb from From Russia, With Love.

In hindsight, the plot line seemed very convenient. Bond turned up at exactly the right time to stop the major biological outbreak being instigated. The timing of getting to Pis Gloria was extremely coincidental, and there was no need at all for Blofeld to ask Hilary Bray to visit that week. He could have delayed it a week and his plan to destroy Britain and Ireland would have gone ahead without a hitch.

The ending is, alongside From Russia, With Love, one of the best endings of all the books. It’s truly heart-breaking. However, the last line (about a motorcycle policeman radioing in) really detracts from the emotion. I can’t fathom why he needed it.

It was a good book. A bit slow at points but I enjoyed reading it.

This one returned to the formula of Casino Royale, combining the undoing of an evil megalomaniac villain with a love story, even to the point of beginning exactly there and referencing the previous adventure, but--aside from doubling down (in an aside) on the theme of the previous adventure, The Spy Who Loved me's theme that what a woman really wants from a man is a little rape--this one was the least politically objectionable of the lot so far. Well, it does paint the Swiss as money-ruled a-moral gaggle of opportunists... But I think the Swiss can probably take it.

It was interesting to see how closely the film version followed the novel here--except with a few small variations obviously meant to move the action along a little faster or to make it more graphically violent. I actually appreciated how the novel slowed the action down to actually show some spy work being done as well as how the nefarious plot was unraveled via the clues gathered by intelligence and in the field by the ministry itself. Of course they do away with that in the movie and resort to the tired scene of the villain simply boasting of his plot to Bond before then putting him in some cage from which he will easily escape in order to foil the plot now that he knows all about it. Thus both film and novel are little boy fantasies of heroics, but the novel has at least a patina of believability that the movie lacks and, for once, Bond came off as more of a serious secret agent than a drunken macho racist bungler. The film certainly suffers from having Lazenby, the least charismatic actor to play the role, but that's redeemed a bit by the fabulous Diana Rigg and terrific Gabriele Ferzetti as Tracy and Draco.

This is one of my favourite novels in the James Bond series. I loved the unusual setting of the case- a mountain peak of the Alps. Fleming describes it so well, I felt like I was there. Even though the enemy is a familiar face, their evil plot is so different, I really enjoyed it.
This book showed an immensely human side of Bond (and a little of M). Which added an extra layer of enjoyment. By the end my heart was breaking and wrenching. I felt so many emotions all the way through this novel. It was definitely one of Fleming’s better works!

So far this is the best of the James Bond novels I have read. 007 goes to Switzerland after Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his SPECTRE minions disguised as a member of the College of Heralds to back up Blofeld's false claim to be of noble birth. There is a great ski chase down a closed slope complete with hand grenades, avalanches, and a grisly death by a locomorive's snow blower.

Also, 007 falls in love in the course of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and actually gets married. I won't say what happens, but you can pretty much guess.

Bond, James Bond. Whether it’s movies starring Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, or Daniel Craig, my family enjoys a family movie night featuring 007. As we wait for the announcement of the next Bond actor, I have decided to go back and fill in the gaps of the original books penned by Ian Fleming. The story arc that just wrapped up featured Bond searching for and battling a rogue organization named Spectre. Although this organization hadn’t made an appearance until recently, Fleming had the idea for post Cold War espionage in his writing. Seeing that the next Bond film isnt dropping anytime soon, I figured continuing the Spectre trilogy was a good a place to start as any.

James Bond has his resignation letter penned. Although he is a top operative in MI-6 it appears that he always wants to retire to a Caribbean island with his martinis and bevy of girls. After foiling a nuclear war plan hatched by Spectre in Operation Thunderball, Bond is deserving of rest. Unlike the current iteration of Bond in the movies, the Bond in these books is owner of a small fortune. He can come and go as he pleases and works in secret service for his love of country and because he is a thrill seeker, always looking for an edge. Resignation letter not sent yet, Bond returns to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs, Casino Royale. He reminisces about one of his greatest loves, Vesper Lynd, and dreams of another magical night at the casino and with a special girl. At this point in his writing, Fleming knew what viewers desired on the silver screen and what made for a compelling novel as well, so, of course, Bond encounters another special woman at the casino, one he would be willing to leave the service for. With his resignation already in hand, all was proceeding according to Bond’s plan until the sudden reemergence of a Spectre operative.

An organization started by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Spectre consolidated the remnants of operatives like Smersh toward the end of the Cold War. In Operation Thunderball, Bond and his CIA counterpart Felix foiled a Spectre plot to launch nuclear missiles at New York and London. Now, Blofeld has resurfaced in Switzerland and it is up to Bond working solo to foil his plot yet again. Posing as Sir Hillary of the College of Royal Arms, Bond intends to meet Blofeld at his lair Piz Gloria high in the Alps. Once a person enters this so called ski resort the only way to leave is via helicopter or hearse. Acting as a genealogical expert in Blofeld’s lineage, Bond attempts to snuff out what Blofeld is up to. Of course, there are secret cameras. Of course, there is a group of charming young ladies. And, of course, there are Spectre agents on site posing as workers at Piz Gloria. All the elements of a classic Bond story are present and it is up to 007 to snuff out Blofeld’s sinister plot and report to M before the western world is compromised. Blofeld figured on Bond turning up one day so his plot is not easy to crack, setting up a climax that would become a classic movie chase scene.

I asked my husband which movie is it that has a ski chase scene that ends up with a figure skater working for the Russians in Cuba. Apparently I was mixing up two movies because the ski chase is here but the entire story takes place on European soil. Fleming evokes Bond as a war hero who knew how to ski rather than the movie star who chased the sinister agents for show. Somehow this is one of the movies that I forget the plot of because it was the one starring George Lazenby who was the most forgettable of Bond actors. The ski chase is thrilling on paper and features a Bond girl because then it wouldn’t be a Bond adventure. Blofeld is calculating and his plot to wipe out England is as sinister as ever. These stories were written at the height of the Cold War when nuclear war was very much on people’s minds. Yes, James Bond as 007 is a good looking spy who foils sinister plots time and again; however, these are not merely fun books or movies. The world lived in constant fear of a nuclear disaster and spies like 007 played a vital role in bringing organizations like Spectre to justice. On his side Blofeld plays the sinister villain to a hilt. Fleming had him get away at the end because he ended for the Spectre arc to be a trilogy all along. Bond is getting closer but naturally Blofeld gets away this time, setting up a grand finale in the final installment of the trilogy. Although not as psychologically thrilling as Spectre in the current film versions, the stories are compelling nonetheless and have me excited to read part three whenever that will be.

In the middle of a wintery weekend, my family has a stack of movies to watch. My tastes don’t exactly match theirs and all my kids know that my main suggestions are James Bond and Mission Impossible. Face it, I am always game for a thrilling spy movie featuring my favorite actors. With no new Bond films quite yet as the producers continue to consider the next Bond actor, somehow my kids are not interested in watching the same movies for the umpteenth time. Their loss. In the meantime, I continue to revisit these Fleming novels written during the height of the Cold War when the world was on edge. These novels are just as compelling as the movies.

4 stars

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the 10th James Bond book by Ian Fleming. The movie version was George Lazenby's one and only stab at the role of 007. As I read the book, it was interesting to see how faithful the movie was to the story. It brought back memories of the movie for me.
Basically, Bond continues to hunt Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of SPECTRE. He is tired of this mission and considers retirement from the Secret Service. While travelling through France, he meets Tracy, a troubled woman, daughter of the head of the Corsican Mafia, who tries to kill herself. Bond stops her and at the same time makes friends with her father, Draco.
We jump ahead and Bond gets information that Blofeld might be in Switzerland and off he heads to try and discover it the info is true. He takes on the identity of a member of the College of Arms who is gathering info to prove that Blofeld is descended from French royalty. (stoking the ego don't you know.. :))
At Blofeld's mountain eyrie / ski resort, Bond discovers that he is using young women as part of a nefarious plot against England. What follows is action and more action as Bond tries to get his revenge on Blofeld.
Always good for entertainment and always an interesting story. I've said it before and I'll repeat myself, it's been fun revisiting the Bond stories this past few years. (3.5 stars)

This is one of the later “Bond” books written when Fleming had learned more writing skills and wasn’t so puerile in “Bond’s” embarrassing stereotyping of characters, both good and bad. He still had some growing up to do, but the book “works.” And he still wows the reading rubes with those wonderful rare European touring machines (Lancias, Maseratis, et.), fancy French names of dishes, those exotic casinos and other European locations that we would all love to visit, even the fictional ones! And not lacking are those those long-haired, big-busted, small waisted and discretely horny women (still called “girls”) ready to “interact” with Bond in any convenient room, or no room at all. As silly as all these may seem today, they are still part of the Bond mystique that we all secretly love!

The book is a serious, well-constructed thriller involving international criminals, some very bad, some not so bad, but no saints, and James Bond’s need to bring the enigmatic, unapproachable and evil Ernst Stavros Blofeld, aka to himself, le Comte Balthazar de Bleuville, to justice. Bond uses the interesting ruse of “official” College of Arms genealogist to flatter Blofeld and gain his confidence while Bond explores what Blofeld’s latest scheme for world dominance and riches might be. Bond, in the disguise of Sir Hilary Bray, a fellow Scotsman, penetrates Blofeld’s refuge and begins investigating just what Blofeld is planning. From there the plot thickens!

Basically a good thrilling read, full of foreign language foods, places and elegant ski terms (I am not a skier, so I just kept reading). A good choice for Summer reading, especially as Global Warming engulfs our lives here in the colonial West.

So I'm going to start out by saying that I was dead wrong about this book, and that I'm not beyond admitting it. Well, maybe that's too much. I was right, for the reasons I cited, but when I gave the book a chance after those reasons came to light, I found that Fleming had really kicked over into another gear to write this book. I couldn't put it down after that, and I grew as a person and a reader. Here's the original review:

[[As I'm winding my way closer to finishing the original Bond novels, I am frustrated. The repetition of circumstances, tropes, poor decisions, and scant to negligible character growth, have all begun to weigh heavily on my experience. I said as much in my recent review of Quantum of Solace. So I force myself to go back to my first few reviews, to redefine what it was that compelled me to enjoy and seek to read this series.

1) The character: Bond is amazing. As a concept, and as an execution, Fleming's Bond is a masterstroke. Pick up any of his novels and you get a brilliantly written anti-hero, fallible, dupable, sometimes downright stupid, a well full of bad luck, but yet daring, suave, definitely enviable, magnetic! Sadly, it is perhaps because he was so masterfully wrought initially that he has suffered from stagnation. From book to book we get glimpses of his feelings about the world, his job, the women, but they're fleeting, incomplete, and get lost in the hubbub of the missions, rarely to be reflected past the first 30 or so pages of each book. In fact, Bond rarely has a credible human reaction to anything. It's all...

2) Tropes! Originally these were fun. They were unique, and new. Despite having seen the films, seeing these predicaments work themselves out in print was an entirely new gamut of fun. Then they became only palatable. Then they became worn. And too often, the sheer credulity they demanded of the audience was vastly disproportionate to the eventual solution and payoff they returned. Fleming could have done well with a bit more procedural here, a little less fancy, just to keep a balance.

3) The action. Or should I say, the tension. In the first few novels, Fleming was able to tell his stories, tropes and all, with a degree of finesse, keeping the reader keyed into Bond's travails, hopeful for his well return. Now that the series is familiar to me, I don't feel that any more. It feels like reading by rote. The tension is now not tied to the stories, but to the conventions of the stories. I anticipate not what Bond will find around the next corner, but on what page he will be artlessly captured, tortured, and somehow, miraculously set free. And what I do is try to extract every bit of enjoyment I can from Fleming's excellent prose prior to that moment, and throw the book across the room after I find it.

This particular installment began excellently. Bond was experiencing and relating that experience very humanly. There was some intrigue. He was captured!... ah but there was something different about this time. Then there was a girl, and then the plot went somewhere else. I was rubbing my chin and thinking, "Ah, yes, this is a return to form, yes, certainly" but on precisely page 87 (of the 2012 Thomas and Mercer Edition) we learn that Bond has, once again, Bond has let himself be led deep into the bowels of his foe's machine and gotten himself willingly locked in a hotel room with no doorknob JUST LIKE HE DID IN DR NO (if I remember correctly, this situation is almost identical- THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR THIS DEGREE OF REDUNDANCY). So I chucked it. I might pick it up again just to finish it out, because apparently Bond finds a wife in this one, and the exposition was good enough to warrant the effort in finishing it out.]]

After Bond gets himself trapped (again) in the hotel room, something amazing happens. Fleming actually begins to write a procedural investigation, and ensures that Bond not only plays a real and believable cover character, but a real, believable, and human real character. And as Bond makes sensible decisions(!), and as he delves deeper into this tale, it all comes together magnificently and tells a very plausible story of espionage and terrorism. I have to say Bravo, and I've picked up Thunderball, which I also tossed recently, so I can finish it, and the next book- and I'm excited again. I really am.

Very entertaining, with a smart, unsuspecting agricultural conspiracy in its midst. Bond is shown with unusual depth, perhaps finally tired of his adventures, but he can’t help but be reeled back in with the prospect of bagging his nemesis Blofeld once and for all.
And it’ll all have a tragic ending which I feared was going to happen :(

Let me preface this by saying that I read the James Bond books because of the adventures, not for the "love". Because the "love" in these stories is apparently the male fantasy. Why anyone would want a woman to act like these women do is beyond me. And sorry to say Ian Fleming has no idea what women are really like. He can't honestly believe that most women have rape fantasies. Being man-handled--yes--but raped? I don't freakin' think so.

I know, I know. Why do I read these books when they irritate me so? Because there aren't a lot of adventure books out there that appeal to me. It sucks.

Rating: 4.5* of five

Again a reminder that this is a review of the 1969 film, not Fleming's novel. I found I wasn't able to get past the outdated attitudes in the novels. I think because books are important to me, enduring documents of their times, and films are slight and insubstantial entertainments, I judge films much less harshly. After all, I take them so much less seriously.

This is only a 4.5-star experience because Lazenby's only outing as Bond was stylish and cool. It earned bad reviews for Lazenby, which endears him and his performance to me. Film critics in general are so full of hot air and bullshit that I love reading bad reviews so I can go and enjoy the panned product. I liked Heaven's Gate, for example, and I'd've never gone to see it if the critics hadn't howled their lungs out about its crappiness.

Anyway, Blofeld the recurring villain is played by Telly Savalas in this film. It's the absolute worst Blofeld I've seen. He got no pointy objects hurled at him, however. Hmmm.

Diana Rigg is The Girl. Okay, whatevs. The fact that her "father" is played by an Italian actor pretending to be Spanish and she's as British as shepherd's pie (and about as attractive, but then I'm pretty much immune to female aesthetic appeal), well it's a Bond film so one goes with it.

Joanna Lumley plays one of Blofeld's Angels of Death. The camp factor of this film just went up 2500%. It's also a little sobering to realize that Lumley was a comely youff when the film was made, and is now a grandmother. Tempus do fugit, eh what?

So that rating...is it purely contrarian? No. The film is very well made. The plot, while ridiculous, lacks gaping holes, unlike other entries in the series. The cinematography is as lovely as the series' standard, the script as witty as the best entries in the series, and Lazenby is very very very nice to look at. I also think he turned in a fine performance, and it's only butthurt Connery diehards who can't see that. This role isn't one for a Dramatical Genius to play, it's one for a film star to play. Lazenby COULD have been a long-run Bond. I think it's a shame he wasn't.

Pleasant way to pass a few hours, nice to look at, oh and the song! The song is sung by LOUIS ARMSTRONG!!!! Oh be still my heart. "All the Time in the World." I liked it. It's not up there with "Live and Let Die" or "Goldfinger" but it's a damn good song qua song.