Wow. I've seen the film before (definitely one of the best in the series), but this knocked me flat, not only as a thriller but as a surprisingly touching romance as well. Blofeld's plot is a bit naff but the suspense, action and drama are phenomenal stuff, and the last 200 pages had me on the edge of my seat. Anthony Horowitz definitely borrowed a lot from this in Point Blanc. Fleming has cemented himself in my mind as one of the world's greatest thriller writers, and this is one of his very best.

Pleasant nonsense with high stakes but you know it’s all going to be okay in the end. Obviously there’s the invariable WHAT was that just written?! (I.e. all women love rape…) every couple of chapters but this is interesting from a social history and to see how we have progressed from the 60s. This is one of the better Bond books in terms of plot, (probably because Blofeld is there, although no crazy shark tank finish instead a rather sad and well written last page). I will say James Bond has quickly become a chill comfort read. The search continues to have all of my copies of the exact same print though.

Good but not as great as #12. That's still my favorite. Old but new.

Curiously this is the Bond film based on a book I've never seen, and also the novel I probably least enjoyed after The Spy Who Loved Me(up until this point, anyway).

It just all felt a little silly and self-referential by this point (Ursula Andress, the original film "Bond Girl", has a cameo at a chic Swiss ski lodge), and the major downer ending does not seem gritty or dark so much as gratuitous, similar to From Russia With Love. And, oh yeah, Fleming is back with his icky "repressed young women seeking to be raped" notions that just do not sit well with me, no matter which character's mouth they are inserted in.