Ian Fleming Books

You know what ? This is a great book !
Being a french reader, I waited that I'd improved my english in order that I could really appreciate such good novels.
Ian Fleming is excellent at slowly revealing the psychology of his main character. And Fleming write with a skill and sureness of touch that go straight to the essential, without any "fioritures".
I do recommend this book to anyone who simply want to be appealed by good stories.

This is the best by Fleming. A real treat to read! Danger is what Bond gets into.

I've always ranked the first Bond book, "Casino Royale", as the best of the series. "On Her Majesty's..." is also one of the best -- perhaps because it has much in common with "Casino". Bond returns to the gambling tables of Royale; he enjoys various foods and drinks; he falls very hard for a girl, with potentially tragic results; and he comes across as very human, rather than the Superman of the movies (contrast the effortless skiing ending in a parachute jump or some other stunt in a typical Bond movie with Bond's desperate, exhausting downhill escape run that is a highlight of this book).

One of the best Bonds.

In Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond is chasing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the villain from Thunderball. Bond has to do a bit of role-playing in this classic Bond thriller, and he plays the part of a professional from the College of Arms (an organization dealing with genealogies and family trees) with panache. The novel begins with a terrific display of suspense, as Bond is in eminent danger. This feeling also lasts through most of the novel.

This novel is set mostly in the Swiss Alps at a sort of combination ski facility/ scientific lab. Bond is posing as a man from the College of Arms because Blofeld has expressed interest in his heritage. The novel continues as Bond attempts to find out all that he can about Blofeld's strange facility on this Alp.

The first part of the book was not quite as exciting as I had been expecting, but it provided enough humor for me to be satisfied until it got to the more action-filled sections. However, this book provided more than humor and action. The plot was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The skiing scenes were especially suspense-filled and exciting, Bond's romantic interests complemented the plot, and the characters were full and vibrant.

I decided to read a Bond novel after having watched several of the movies (you know how they all come on tv at once,) and I am glad I did. This novel was surprisingly good even though my expectations were high. This book is better than the movies because instead of mere sound-byte-intensive humor, it provides a real humor that I found to be much more affable than the movies. Also, Bond is portrayed somewhat differently than in the movies. I found that the action scenes were just as vivid as they are in the movies, something that is not often successfully managed by authors. I believe that any Bond fan should read the books, not just watch the movies. Trust me, they are at least equally enjoyable.

I think that this book is at least comparable to today's suspense novels, and my only complaint is that I was not around in the 60's to read it when it was a new and, I suspect, rather progressive novel.

One of the last of the original Bond Books, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also one of the best. Picking up a year after the end of Thunderball, this book finds James Bond again battling the nefarious schemes of Ernest Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE and, most importantly, falling in love with the beautiful, resourceful, and ultimately tragic Tracy. Though the usual intrigue is well-presented by Fleming, he also makes it clear that Blofeld's plan is hardly meant to be taken all that seriously. (Without ruining it for those who might never have read the book or seen the surprisingly faithful film adaption, it all comes down to Blofeld hidden away in Switzerland, pretending to be an allergist, and brainwashing English farm girls. No, it doesn't make a lot of sense but Fleming obviously had so much fun presenting it that most readers won't take offense.) The heart of this book -- and this Fleming treats with an admirable seriousness that should take his critics by surprise -- is the love story between Bond and Tracy. In Tracy, Fleming has created perhaps his most fully realized "Bond girl." Vulnerable yet resourseful and more than capable of taking care of herself (and, at times, perhaps even more so than Bond himself), its hard not to fall in love with this character and when Bond finally does decide to reject all others for her, its impossible to disagree with his logic. Its a compelling, rather touching love story and, even though most Bond films know how its going to end, the ending still packs a heavy impact.

As for Bond himself, after being a rather predictable presence in Thunderball, he's back in full form as a full realized, interesting character in this novel. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was written after the release of Dr. No (Ursula Andress even makes a cameo appearance at the time) and one can sense that, with this book, Fleming is reestablishing his claim on the character. From the intentionally ludicrous evil scheme to the frequent excursions into Bond's head (revealing him hardly to be the ruthless, unflappable killer that filmgoers though him to be), Fleming comes across as a reenergized writer in this book -- determind to let all the new Bond fans out there know who is really in charge of their favorite secret agent's destiny. The result is one of the best of the original Bond books and one of the best spy thrillers I've read in a long time.

A wonderful book. I loved it as a child, and going back to read it as an adult I realize that there are a lot of things that I missed. I remember my teacher reading it aloud in class--wonderful!

The movie, although very nice, has only a superficial resemblance to the book. For one thing, it moves the time a generation or so back. For another, in the book both parents are alive, rather than Caracticus Pott's being a widower; consequently, there is no romance.

I could very well wish that a new movie be made, NOT a musical and following the original plot.

Just like when I was a kid at my moms knee listening to her read this to me I wsa again transported to another time. This audio is great. Kids and adults alike will fall inlove with this audio book. Some what diffrent than the movie staring Dick Van Dyke. which is always a welcome suprise.

I remember the 1968 movie based on this novel fondly, but had never picked up the novel itself until just the other day. I was surprised at how different the book is. Although Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang herself is very similar in both, the plot of the story is much different. I enjoyed this simple little story, with Fleming's humorous asides, very much. Those asides reminded me of the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books I have read and I would be interested in learning if Lemony Snicket drew from Fleming's story style for his own series. This is a fun, quick story that most kids will enjoy. I do, however, fear that the admittedly crude illustrations in my original edition would not be as popular with modern children.

The story of Caractacus Pott, his family, and that wonderful magical car is one of the best children's stories you will ever read. Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, tells a fantastic story about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the magical flying car that can even turn into a boat! It's a delightful story, filled with crooks and gangsters, and you won't be sorry you bought this fantastic little book. Should be added to every child's bookshelf. Just delightful! The book is so much better than the movie, eliminating that silly Vulgaria story. If you want to read the story Ian Fleming intended, you'll have to buy the book. You won't be sorry.

It is a charming and delightful story that you will love to read to your children. I read this book to my 6 year old. She loved it!! We both wish we could find more books about this wonderful family and car.

It's only love.
Did Lennon got the tittle of his song from the novel?... guess will never know.
I must admit the author toys a bit with the reader in this book... after a promising beginning (deja vu if you want...), the plot is very thin and quite incredible... and as you start thinking Fleming is off form... all the pieces come together perfectly.
Not perhaps my favorite in the series... but has many novelties (for once no Caribbean, not a lot of England... and a lot of imagination for a so quiet Swiss surroundings...
No spoilers up to know I think. But quite romantic novel...

Of course better to read them in order as I am doing... only two books remaining... a good summer reading decision if ever I got one.

ADB

This is my first ever James Bond novel, I can't remember if I saw the movie. This is a thinking person's spy story with few gimmicks but great finesse and ingenuity. Fleming fascinated millions with his suave 007 personality and his missions against villains who were larger than life and twice as nasty.
The pace is slow, a good armchair read with a briar pipe in hand. An entire new generation will find the foreshadowing deep and miss the absence of the now classic action adventure. But Fleming's astute writing style will continue to attack new fans who enjoy a good story well told.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

James Bond is still hunting for Blofeld. After a year Bond thinks he is useless, and wants to quit. In Italy he saves a girl who was trying to kill herself. This leads to a relationship, and Bond learns that she is the daughter of a high ranking Italian gangster.

He has info on Blofeld. He is in Switzerland running a finishing school type or organisation, after having undergone plastic surgery. It is really a brainwashing organisation to get women to basically be terrorist weapon carriers.

Bond infiltrates Blofeld's organisation, gets out of there, and here Tracy helps him out.

He asks her to marry him, and she agrees.

Bond, with some of Tracy's dads' men, assaults Blofeld's organisation, but the supervillain gets away again, and has a nasty surprise waiting at Bond's wedding.

This is definitely one of the better Bonds since, like CASINO ROYALE and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, the more formulaic elements are so well integrated in the story.

What I loved about FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE was that the obligatory romance was the actual scheme of SMERSH to ensnare and kill 007. The characters were well-drawn and Bond doesn't come off as such an indestructible superman. His heart is broken in CASINO ROYALE, confused in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and then shattered in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. (It's also very cool that we learn that Bond annually visits the grave of Vesper Lynd as well as still checks into Casino Royale as well).

We meet Ernst Stavro Blofeld again, not because of some grandiose world-conquering plot, but because he wants the respect and nobility of a title. The College of Arms angle of the story should be the dullest part of the story but Fleming actually makes it interesting by revealing the desire of everyone--except James Bond--to be "somebody."

The biological warfare passages may seem dated but I like revisiting the 007 books while keeping them in context: they must have been fantastic reads in the 1950s and 1960s. These books really anticipated the very modern threat of what Fleming referred to as "the man with the suitcase"...which contains an atomic device. Blofeld's plot in this book to attack England through its livestock with a virus is certainly something to think about in this day of Mad Cow and Bird Flu epidemics.

Although I'm only quibbling, I wished there had been more development between Bond and Tracy, the only woman to ever become Mrs. James Bond. After reading the novel, I felt as if I saw more of her in the movie! (The movie version of OHMSS is also one of the best).

Among the titles of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, I'd have to say that On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my least favorite, with neither the brevity of a Dr. No or Goldfinger nor the plot descriptive nature of The Man with the Golden Gun or From Russia with Love. Even if I dislike the title, however, this is one of Fleming's best Bond books.

The story opens around a year after the events of Thunderball (the intervening book, The Spy Who Loved Me, is not even mentioned). The villain in that book, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the mastermind behind SPECTRE, has been in hiding and James Bond is trying to seek him out. It is a more-or-less futile assignment and Bond is disillusioned enough to consider quitting. Before submitting his resignation letter, however, he takes a break at a casino. During this mini-vacation, he performs a chivalrous act to save a beautiful countess from embarrassment; she in turns, rewards him in her own special way.

This countess, familiarly named Tracy, is also the daughter of a genial but ruthless mob boss who Bond winds up (pardon the pun) bonding with. The boss, Marc-Ange, realizes that his daughter is troubled (in fact, suicidal), but that Bond may be able to help her by marrying her. Bond is not willing to do that, but is willing to see her again after she gets treatment. In the meanwhile, Marc-Ange gives Bond a lead on Blofeld.

Blofeld has holed himself up in the Swiss Alps, where extradition is nearly impossible. Bond goes undercover, hoping to lure Blofeld into Germany where he can be arrested. While there, he stumbles upon a strange plot that seems to involve young women seeking treatment for allergies. What Blofeld's scheme is goes beyond Bond's expertise, but the superspy will have more immediate problems as his cover is threatened.

Eventually, Tracy gets back into the mix, which adds another level to the story. Bond versus Blofeld is good, but at long last, Bond meets a woman who he can truly love. Since the first Bond book, Casino Royale, when Bond found himself betrayed by a lover, he has never been willing to truly risk emotional attachment. This time he does, and this adds an extra depth to this particular novel.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the middle part of what I think of as the Blofeld Trilogy, which started with Thunderball and concludes with You Only Live Twice, so it may not be the best Bond book to start with. For Bond fans, however, this book is a treat and one of the very best that Fleming wrote.

Very fast moving book and a good story. I am reading it aloud to my 9 year old and he seems as interested in this as he was in the first book, Silverfin.

I take great issue with reviewers wanting young Bond to have sprung from the womb with a license to kill. Young James has already become a formidable opponent from the day he became a 00 orphan. That in itself is an overwhelming blow that people in modern era have a hard time dealing with! I will not preach, However I shall tell you what I love most about these novels , they made me fall in love all over again with Bond. To get to know his origins ,his family and how he has processed the most painful losses in his young life has made him more of a real life character to me. I believe Charlie Higson has given true Bond fans even more of a reason to dream BOND! I know that I have another superior series to introduce my boys to, and I am grateful . Please keep young Bond evolving and explaining his quirks and reasonings . I look forward to more young Bond adventures I HOPE YOU DO TOO!

Literary 007 fans are in for a real surprise with Charlie Higson's Blood Fever. A dark and intense story awaits readers and the result is thrilling and enjoyable. At first I was apprehensive about starting it. When I had obtained Higson's first novel, SilverFin, I had immediately jumped into it, excited and curious. With Blood Fever, I was worried that I would be slightly disappointed; that the success of SilverFin might have just been a one time deal. It turns out that I could not have been further wrong. Blood Fever is a fast-paced, exciting, well-crafted, and mature James Bond novel.

SilverFin started to clear up the many, many rumours that this new Young Bond series would only appeal to young readers or the Harry Potter crowd, but Blood Fever wipes the slate clean. This is a darker and tougher James Bond novel than anticipated. Where there were some decidedly cute aspects of SilverFin, such as the horse being called "Martini," Blood Fever is devoid of such moments. The maturity, both of Bond and overall, is much more pronounced in this story.

One way this new level of maturity is obtained is in the development of the characters. Many of them are standouts in this novel, starting first with the villain, Count Ugo Carnifex. Villains, both in the Bond novels and films, have to be above par to create an interesting enough challenge for Bond, and Carnifex meets the requirements. He is ruthless and cruel; Higson's characterization of this villain is full of details; and...of course, where would a good villain be without a well-designed and dangerous lair? An improvement over Lord Randolph Hellebore of the previous novel, SilverFin. The other obligatory character is the Bond girl--in this case, the determined and efficient Amy Goodenough. Again, as in the case of the villains, the improvement from SilverFin to Blood Fever is clearly evident. Amy is introduced early on in the story and Higson allows the character plenty of time to develop and become someone that readers actually care about. She is the perfect candidate to be the girl who needs rescuing. Her interaction with James is handled wonderfully and very believable for the reader.

The darkness of Blood Fever is accented by the violence, which seems to have been increased for this second novel. James Bond is much more agent 007 than Young Bond in Blood Fever. In SilverFin, he was unsure, but determined and not willing to give up. Even with those qualities, it was evident that this character was clearly no 007...yet. Blood Fever now takes James Bond on the path to 007. Even the first line, 'James Bond hated feeling trapped,' shows that this boy is restless and one that does not take the common path in life. He must know that there is an exit where ever he may be, and his real ambition is to be free. He realizes that he does not fit in with Eton, the so-called common path. This boy is different from the others. All of this essential information about the back round to this character is presented on the first page describing him alone (pg 15 UK first edition paperback).

One standout scene of Blood Fever (and one that was certainly anticipated before the release of the novel) is the torture sequence involving James Bond. The form of torture is the deadliest animal in the world: mosquitoes. As Ugo Carnifex says, 'they are a nuisance, aren't they?' The scene is written magnificently, from the lack of mutual respect between James Bond and Ugo Carnifex to the sense of hopelessness James feels after he is left alone. Blood drips from the uncountable bites on his body and the creatures are relentless and ruthless in their mass attack. Help eventually comes, but not after James experiences a world of agony and pain. In a way, this scene (which succeeds wonderfully) represents a transition from young Bond to the adult 007. Charlie Higson proves he can make a scene like this work very well. The violence is increased, but sex still remains very PG. Bond tries to resist Vendetta's uncontrollable attempts to kiss him, thinking the action to be embarrassing. He does however kiss her 'hard on the mouth' when trying to get a point across, but the idea of Amy as a girlfriend is 'nonsense' to him.

Do not resist this second Young Bond novel if you did of SilverFin because the idea seemed too childish or silly. Charlie Higson is an accomplished writer and his work on Blood Fever is definitely deserving of praise. This is the best kind of Bond novels--young or old. It grips you from the start and truly does not let go until the conclusion. The characterization is deep and rich, the settings described in detail, and the plot interesting and exciting. Equally as important, there is a point: Blood Fever continues young James Bond on the road to 007. Both James Bond and the readers are in for quite the journey.

commanderbond.net

Thirteen year-old James Bond is pulled into another adventure. This time, James stumbles upon a dangerous secret society at his own school. When his teacher and some of his classmates decide to visit Sardinia over a break, James tags along. He has a nearly takes a fatal fall at their archeological dig site, and James suspects one of his professors. James then leaves his group to stay with his uncle who lives nearby. But danger soon follows, and James discovers a conspiracy involving the secret society, pirates, and a power-hungry monarch.

In this second Young Bond adventure, there is even more action and suspense. Blood Fever definitely has the feel of a true James Bond story. James gets captured, (mildly) tortured, and even has a girl to save. Higson has done a wonderful job of staying true to Bond's character, while making him a much more innocent young man. And the secondary characters are remarkably vivid and exciting. Both children and adults who love action and adventure will love this series.

Blood Fever
By: Charlie Higson



The main character in the story is James Bond and he is a boy who is adventurous and likes to be sneaky at school. He also likes to be in secret clubs like the danger club.


When James Bond goes on a field trip he is on a exploration with a friend from school and on the trip with enemies. He encounters a group of men and gets knocked out. He also meets a big criminal who wants to kill him and watch him suffer.

The setting of the story is in a school, in a carnival, in a mansion and they were all in the middle east.

The theme was about bravery, greed, and death. The story was about bravery because James had to be brave to save the girl that was trapped. It was about greed because two big criminals were fighting for a big treasure. The story was about death because one of James's friends died and that was very big for James.

I liked the story because I like action and adventure type books and this book is very good and once I started reading I couldn't stop. Another reason I liked the book is because it had some parts that were very sad witch quickly changed into anger.

IF you like action or adventure I would suggest you read Young Bond Book #3: Double or Die

I'm reading all the Bond books in order and I'm on Thunderball now but Doctor No is the best so far. The characters are great with Quarrel and Honey Rider. M thinks hes giving Bond a break with an easy case but its probably the toughest adventure ever for Bond. The book is unputdownable from the very start when Bond's friend Strangways is kidnapped. When Bond is on "Crab Key" the book is great with all the obstacles Bond has to go through. The dragon, Dr. No's obstacle course and the animal at the end of it and the final showdown with Doctor No and the way he dies is pretty funny. Great book my favorite so far.

This book is supposed to be the sequel to "From Russia with love", in fact it begins with Bond in hospital due to a life-threatening injury obtained in "From Russia with love" but recovers, M(Bond's boss) decides that there is no better way to get Bond back in shape than give him a "simple" mission in the island of Jamaica where the representative of the British Secret Service(John Strangways, who also appeared in Fleming's Bond novel "Live and let die") has disappeared, Bond's mission is to find out what happened. This "soft option" leads Bond to his most dangerous and thrilling mission yet and leads to him to do an "obstacle course", to a fight with a squid and a fight with a "dragon"! I thought this Fleming's most suspenseful book as I never could tell what would happen next and this kept me hooked, so much so that I read it all in one day! Unfortunately, this is also Mr. Fleming's most far-fetched. It was far-fetched in the sense that I don't think even Bond(who at that point was supposedly half-dead) could have defeated a 60-foot squid with just a dagger. That apart it's a great, great thriller. Read it, wonder in awe at it's elements, then read it again just to savour Fleming's writing. Unfortunately, the movie never did the book justice. I heard that in "From Russia with love" Fleming planned to simply kill off James Bond, thankfully he didn't and produced a marvellous book in Dr. No.

Dispatched to the Caribbean to investigate another British Agent's disappearance, James Bond discovers far more than he bargained for. On a forsaken island, he meets a wild woman, fights a flamethrowing "monster", and finally matches wits and will against the incredible Doctor No, a self-made genius with steel claws for hands, an army of thugs, and a clinical curiosity regarding the limits of human pain. Bond is put to perhaps the toughest phsical test in his career in this hair-raising sequel to From Russia, With Love. This is another great 007 book to read. Buy this book when it is back in stock!

Doctor No is one of the better Bonds but the ending was quite confusing. The ending told very little about how Doctor No died, and when he did infact die, I didn't understand why Fleming would kill the bad guy in such a stupid way. I thought the squid part was one of the worst because it was hard to follow and didn't explain the squid's death very well. There were parts that I did like, however. I enjoyed the introduction to Honey Rider and the dragon part, but I didn't like the fact that Quarrel died. Despite some confusing parts, I still consider it one of the better Fleming novels.

This is my favorite James Bond novel. Ian Fleming created a character with a gargantuan appetite for the more worldly pleasures. For a land that could supply our hero with such an appetite Fleming chose his own beloved Jamaica. The melding of the story with the setting is Fleming at his best. Jamaica was a land of beauty, mystery and intrigue. Fleming captured this so well and gave us a remarkable villain to reflect that esoteric quality of the island.

This is the first book I have read for pleasure in about 20 years. The thought of getting joy out of reading was not on my mind when I started but soon realized that the pleasure comes from "becoming one with the words". "Banking, Beer & Robert The Bruce" was a great choice for me to get back into reading for pleasure. And fun it was!! I now want more....and thank goodness I have just finished the second volume, "Easy come, Easy Go" and the journey in my mind continued in a most pleasurable manner. Mr. Wade kept me wanting to read more but I forced myself to read just one chapter per night as to stretch out the pleasure of reading this very interesting, funny and in many ways informative (as to the specific mind frames and actions of the characters during various periods in history)book!!

I almost fell of my chair! Maverick,Morris, Barcley... just to name a few. The writer draws you in like popcorn, cola and a soft chair. One adventure after another keeps the pages turning. You begin to feel that you are living in a series and the next episode is right around the corner. Loved it and tapping my foot till the next volume comes out. Hurry up!

As good as reading Harry Potter. Even though this novel is more for adults than children, the story forces you into reading on and on. I was sent this as a birthday gift from a friend in Washington D.C. (who purchased it here on Amazon). I am a avid reader and read for nearly half a century. Very few books have interested me as much as this 'out of the blue' gift. I look forward to the next two volumes and hope I can order them through Amazon UK!

This book is a great ride with excellent story telling. The author makes you appreciate the importance of your family, friends, and a good Pub where you can always go back. Fleming-Wade has done an outstanding job of developing his characters. As this book progresses, you actually feel like you are a member of the Tollin Family. I look forward to the next chapter.

What a gift for storytelling he has! With the catchy turn of phrase and wonderfully interesting tales, I felt like I was there peeping in on the goings-on. Lovely.

Bond. James Bond. This book is an instant classic. This is exactly how Ian Fleming created it. In this book, James must deal with saboteurs, women, and international conspiracy. As a three part book, this novel requires a decent chunk of time to complete, but is worth every minute! It includes the classic stories: From Russia with Love (in which James must escape from Russia with a dangerous Russian organization desperate to prevent him from ever escaping alive), Doctor No (A man with robotic hands is plotting something against the United States. Can James stop him, and escape his deadly obstacle course with his life still intact?), and Goldfinger (Someone is smuggling gold out of banks, and may be connected with Bond's long-time friends in Russia. Can James uncover this plot? And is something even bigger at stake?) As a long time fan of James, I highly recommend this book. Some scenes are quite descriptive as of Bond's relationship with the women he sleeps with, s this book is mostly suited to anyone over the age of 14.

This great collection of Ian Fleming's three James Bond thriller novels, From Russia, With Love, Doctor No, and Goldfinger is the best deal anywhere if you're looking for cheap classics. Even though it's not avaliable anymore, ... so if you get an oppurtunity buy it instantly.

From Russia, With Love is about a Soviet conspiracy involving a code machine called the Spektor, a lovely Russian female named Tatiania Romanova, and a professional killer who is affected by the moon. The girl sends for Bond, pledging her love and at the same time luring him into a trap that would seriously damage the Service's image. Great read and the best Cold War thriller out there.

In Doctor No, James Bond is sent to investigate two agents who have disappeared in Jamaica. He soon discovers the clues linking him to Doctor No, a Chinese/German doctor who has an island base in Jamaica, where he disrupts U.S. missile firing. James endures through his toughest physcial test of his career, and some consider Dr. No to be the best 007 novel ever written.

Goldfinger is in my opinion the best 007 novel of all. While investigating a cheat at cards by the name of Auric Goldfinger, James is informed that he is also involved in smuggling Great Britain's gold reserves to India, where the Russians wait for it. As James is captured, he discovers Goldfinger's master plan--to raid Fort Knox itself! With the smartest villian, the toughest henchman, and the most thrilling climax of all the James Bonds, Goldfinger is the by far the best masterpiece ever to come from the desk of Ian Fleming.

This wonderful trilogy is an enthralling epic of the Cold War, and I recommend it to anyone who has either read Ian Fleming before, or is thinking of starting very soon.

I am a fan of the James Bond movies but the recent ones have let me down. So instead of giving up on Bond, I have taken to reading the stories and they are far better than I had imagined. Almost every one is better then the film that it spawned. Ian Fleming's Bond is far superior to the Bond that Hollywood is sticking us with. Bond does not spout off one liners, shoot everything in sight, or have an obligatory load up on spy gadgets scene in Ian Fleming's books. This book is just great.

This is a great book, and after reading this I watched all the movies again, and they can't even compare. If you enjoy James Bnd you will enoy this, I mean I am only eleven and I couldn't tare my eyes away. I enjoyed the action, suspense, romance, and even the detail, Iam Flemming is truly a master writer, and can only portay James Bond. The movies are nothing comapred to this, this is a must get.

These three books together are, in some ways, the epitome of James Bond. However, I must correct one of the reviews. These books *are* sequential. These books are 5, 6, and 7 in the order that Fleming published them. The 8th was The Spy Who Loved Me and the 9th was Thunderball, the first book in the Blofeld trilogy. Aside from the 10th book, For Your Eyes Only (a collection of short stories), the story picks up in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and ends with You Only Live Twice. These three Blofeld books are available in the James Bond Omnibus, volume 2.

This is certainly a good book for the James Bond fan (I include myself).

It's probably worth reading for the general movie fan as well since one can see the roles of chance and chaos in any creative endeavor.

The simple story of producers Albert R. Broccoli & Harry Saltzmann finding the 007 books by Ian Fleming and creating the biggest franchise in movie history just didn't come about that easily. In fact, Broccoli & Saltzmann don't play very big roles in THE BATTLE FOR BOND.

The first third of the book meticulously chronicles Ian Fleming's attempts to get Bond on the silver screen, quoting or just reprinting the letters and cables between Fleming, his friends/business associates, the producer Kevin McClory and screenwriter Jack Whittingham. It quickly becomes a mess.

The middle third discusses the filming of "Thunderball" with plenty of interesting tidbits from actors and crew.

The final third follows the chaotic set of McClory & Sean Connery's "renegade" Bond film, "Never Say Never Again," as well as McClory's attempts to hang on to Bond to his dying day.

What jumped out at me while reading THE BATTLE FOR BOND was just how little happiness 007 and "Thunderball" brought to the principle personalities. Ian Fleming, already in failing health from 60 cigarettes a day and heavy drinking, slowly burned out and died of a heart attack just a few months after settling with McClory. Jack Whittingham also suffered from severe heart problems and risked death to participate in a trial that profited him nothing.

Sean Connery, the actor who would become the biggest movie star in the world in perhaps the most iconic film character of the 20th Century, was sick to death of Bond by 1965's "Thunderball" and miserable. He then returned to the role in 1983's "Never Say Never Again" and was even more miserable shooting that unorganized film.

And Kevin McClory, who begins this saga as a scrappy underdog but ends as a disgraceful, greedy thorn in everyone's side, ends a broken, bitter man, his last tenuous grasp on Bond finally wrenched from his dying fingers by the courts shortly before his death.

I wouldn't call it "The Curse of Bond," but it doesn't look like any of the leads really savored and enjoyed the success of James Bond and "Thunderball."

(Financially, Broccoli & Saltzmann would benefit the most but they don't play major roles in this book. There are plenty of people who complain about how cheap they were--Sean Connery first and foremost--but the author doesn't go into much detail about them.)

A worthy entry in the Bond lore.

The book features not one but two villains, but they are so beautifully brought to life you can see their characters in the round, as it were, humans with failings just like the rest of us. One was Ian Fleming himself, who comes across in THE BATTLE FOR BOND as a pop genius like Warhol with a great invention, the James Bond character, and yet a weakness for trampling over the rights of others out of his sense of clubby privilege which is fairly sickening after a few chapters. So when he employs others to help him sketch out a screenplay that will feature his Bond character, he doesn't even think twice about novelizing their joint effort and publishing it under his own name. He had what became the modern equivalent of the old fashioned "droit du seigneur," and the others were just pawns in his game.

The second "villain who's not really a villain" was the crazy swinger Kevin McClory, technically he was used and abused by Ian Fleming but he sure wound up with his pound of flesh didn't he! Author Robert Sellers, the one man who was able to pick up and tell the whole wretched and confused saga from beginning to end, makes you eventually loathe Kevin, even though he started out as the underdog. Kevin was the type of friend than which you'd rather have an enemy, so you hold him in your embrace just so you can see what he's doing with his hands.

The hero of the book winds up to be Jack Whittingham, a venerable and talented screenwriter whom BOTH McClory and Fleming took up, then cast aside. AND his daughter, the beautiful singer and office manager Sylvan Whittingham, who kept all the papers together for forty years and then finally, with the help of a faithful lawyer, Peter Carter-Ruck, brought all the pieces together to tell a strange and disturbing story of genius gone mad. As Sellers points out, the saga of Carter-Ruck is like a Shakespearean tragedy, but the same can be said for the sad and wasted life of Kevin McClory. At the very end of the book there's a great photo of a little girl, Jack Whittingham's granddaughter, Aimi, inspecting with all the unconscious grace of a child, the neatly cared for grave of her grandad. It's in Malta, of all places, an island he loved.

I did not know a thousand facts that Sellers lets on: that Julie Christie was considered for the role of Domino; that Luciana Paluzzi considered Claudine Auger cold and calculating; that Dirk Bogarde might have been James Bond--or Rod Taylor--both of them I guess, not so bad choices. The angry figure of Sean Connery permeates the flavor of the book like a simmering stew of bad feeling that will not go away. He's great, but like everyone else in the book bar the Whittinghams, his life has been misspent chasing money and licking wounded pride.

A saga big as BLEAK HOUSE and as captivating as CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, except for grown ups.

A brilliant, well researched indepth study of a ongoing war between two rival film companies on the greatest film hero of all time JAMES BOND and the movies THUNDERBALL and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. Buy it now...because in ENGLAND the book has been through the law courts and consequently has been banned from sale, it will be reprinted minus a few items that caused quite a fuss. So buy it now from amazon usa

Alot of the history of THUNDERBALL isn't new to me but Sellers writes a really entertaining and fascinating bit of history. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it -- in one seating. Great treasure of previously unseen material (Connery scouting the State of Liberty for the never made WARHEAD, production drawings, rare photos, etc). As it has been pulled off the market because litigation from the Fleming Trust (who could they be? Fleming's been dead since 1964, his wife died years ago and his only son died from a drug overdose in the early 1970's) so it is going to be harder to get. Worth the effort!

There are many of us who do care to know the true story about Thunderball - have a look at the uk reviews! This is a landmark book and contains fresh information on this fascinating subject. Top marks to author Robert Sellers who tells an unbiased factual story about the origins of the Bond movies

This set sold at our bookstore for $49.99, and one was left so I grabbed it. So far I have read Thunderball, Man with the Golden Gun, Goldfinger, Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Having read Ian Fleming years ago, I highly recommend his prose. If you are at your local bookstore and see this set, you really should buy it.

James Bond 007 Giftset

Trouble getting your virtual action-loving older teens to read? Introduce them to the "real" James Bond. Ian Flemming crafts spell-binding episodes sure to pull any modern day kid off the internet for a few hours of fascinating reading.

I bought this set for my husband's birthday - he's a long-time James Bond fan. He really likes it.

I just received this set as a Christmas gift and I'm pretty sure my son and daughter-in-law did not pay $500 for it, so I don't advise buying it here. However, anyone who loves the Bond films should read the books. Over the years, I have read them all several times and now I have an excuse to read them again. A warning though: they are addictive and after you read them all you will wish there were more. Each one is a fast, fun read and they will go quickly. One more word of warning: If what you like best about the movies is the gadgets, you'll probably be disappointed. While Bond did have a briefcase with a couple of concealed weapons and he did drive an Aston Martin in Goldfinger, it wasn't tricked out with all of the gadgets like in the movie and there were no submarine cars or invisible cars, etc. You can read about a flying car in Fleming's Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang, but it's not a part of this set. If you want to know the real Bond, get this set and enjoy.

Of course you cannot get this at Costco for $15. Thats ridiculous. Don't take my word for it, try for yourself. Or search online at the Costco store. And No, I'm not a seller.

Its a nicely packaged set. All there. A must have for any Bond reader. The Bond books have things the movies tend to lack. They have depth of character. A greater sense of pace and even realism.

There are suprisingly few 007 book collections out there. This is nice and stylized.

Fleming wrote a series of novels and a number of short stories featuring the Bond character. All of the novels have been made into movies. Now, Fleming's estate is apparently turning to the short stories that have not been used yet (though one or two have been already). If you want to understand the meaning of Quantum of Solace, you don't need to buy this book, which is obviously marked up and marketed to cash in on the up-and-coming movie.

If you want to save money, buy the book FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. It's been available for decades and contains the same five short stories. From a View to a Kill and For Your Eyes Only have already been loosely borrowed. The remaining three stories - Quantum of SOlace, Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity. This is nothing but a retitled paperback of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY so you can save money and buy that instead. Unless you like slick covers and packaging.

The title is a bit misguided... it has NOTHING to do with the next Bond FILM (which script probably is only slightly inspired by a classic old short story if anything at all...).
BUT... this is a great recompilation of ALL the short Bond stories.
Of course it is better read IN CONTEXT... meaning they were written in the sixties... no cell phones etc.
A magnificent recompilation of the original works.
I must admit (having seen the films) I did not bother with the books for a long time... I was wrong... Fleming knew what he was writing about.
I enjoyed the films of course... but they have distorted somewhat the original novels so to premium the bang/crash/wallop of the film industry (which after all is supossed to know what we like!).

The book is Highly Recommended (of course).

ADB

PS: Car nuts will be glad to know that Bond "personal car" is a Bentley Continental transformed by Mulliner in a two seater with plenty of luggage room... "a bit selfish" (Bond admits!)... And if (as I did) you then read ALL the original novels (five stars stuff... see my reviews if interested) you will learn the ASTON-MARTIN is from "the car pool" and in the beginning of the series Bond owns a "classic" BENTLEY...

Finally we get all of Ian Fleming's James Bond short stories in one book. This is a very good collection of these fine works. Using one of the short story titles as the title of this collection, "Quantum of Solace" is a masterpiece.

I have always enjoyed the Ian Fleming James Bond short stories over his novels. They are always very interesting to say the least, and still cocked full with literary witticisms, worldly knowledge and great use of the English language. I like that they have repackaged these short stories under the title "Quantum of Solace." It's a great title and the cover artwork is also well conceived. This is very much worth adding to your library.

"Quantum of Solace - the amount of comfort. Yes, I suppose you could say that all love and friendship is based in the end on that. Human beings are very insecure. When the other person not only makes you feel insecure but actually seems to want to destroy you, it's obviously the end. The Quantum of Solace stands at zero. You've got to get away to save yourself."

- James Bond (QUANTUM OF SOLACE)

This paperback, recently released before the debut on November 7, 2008 of the latest 007 movie of the same name, "Quantum of Solace," is actually a compilation of nine short stories written by Ian Fleming in two separate books (FOR YOUR EYES ONLY and OCTOPUSSY/THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS). According to Fleming's biographer John Pearson in his book THE LIFE OF IAN FLEMING, six or so of these short stories began as outlines for half-hour TV episodes written for CBS in the late '50s. The TV series never got off the ground but the short stories have survived. Several of them were made into full-length movies having absolutely nothing to do with the original stories (e.g. "Octopussy," "From a View to a Kill," and "For Your Eyes Only"). I can't imagine the next Bond movie, starring Daniel Craig as a much better 007 than any of the previous ones in my opinion, (Sean Connery excepted) has anything to do with the short story "Quantum of Solace," since it is only about a conversation between JB and the Governor of The Bahamas (the governor's name is never given) in Nassau after a dinner party. There's no action. No intrigue. No skullduggery. It's simply a story about a failed marriage. Suffice it to say, the short stories are well-worth reading on their own. Bond is his usual suave and deadly self and a staunch defender of Queen and Country against the West's old Cold War nemesis...the Soviet Union. Highly recommended.