For Your Eyes Only (1960)

Didn't realise at first that it's 5 short stories. Easy to read, quite entertaining. Very dated in the attitude towards women but I was expecting that and it's not uncommon in older books. Couple of the stories could have been about anyone, the James Bond character simply a convenient and well-known one to use, so they're not all spy stories, which was actually a nice surprise. Next I will have to try one of the novels. I've never been a huge fan of the movies, which is probably why I never read any of the books, but I enjoyed this one. ( )

my edition Pan G551, 1962

A very good collection of short stories that, at least for me, furthered my understanding of Bond as written by Fleming. There are certain aspects of Bond that are, perhaps, clearer in these stories than in the full novels that I have read (although I must admit my reading of Bond novels is not overly thorough at this time).

A very good collection of stories that will definitely entertain any fans of thriller-type fiction, while also providing Bond with some rather unique settings and storylines. Well worth the read. ( )

Some pretty good stories, only somewhat marred by Fleming's usual faults. ( )

- There was perhaps one less tooth in Major Gonzales's smile...

- Never send a man where you can send a bullet...

"From a View to a Kill" Bond investigates the murder of a motorcycle dispatch-rider and the theft of his top-secret documents by a motorcycle-riding assassin. The rider was en route from SHAPE, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, then located in Versailles, to his base, Station F, in Saint-Germain in France. Since Bond is already in Paris, his superior, M, sends him to assist in the investigation in any way he can. To unravel the mystery, Bond disguises himself as a dispatch-rider and follows the same journey to Station F as the previous rider. As expected, the assassin attempts to kill Bond. Bond, however, is ready and kills the assassin. He then uncovers the assassin's hidden base of operations.

"For Your Eyes Only" "For Your Eyes Only" begins with the murder of a Jamaican couple, the Havelocks, who refused to sell their estate to Herr von Hammerstein, a former Gestapo officer who is the chief of counterintelligence for the Cuban secret service. They are killed by two Cuban hitmen at the direction of their leader, Major Gonzales; all three work for von Hammerstein. The Havelocks turn out to be close friends of M, who served as the groom's best man during their wedding in 1925. M subsequently gives Bond a voluntary assignment, unconnected to sanctioned Secret Service duties, to travel to Vermont via Canada, track down von Hammerstein at his rented estate at Echo Lake and prevent further harm to the Havelocks' only daughter by any means necessary. When Bond arrives on the scene, he finds the Havelocks' daughter, Judy, who intends to carry out her own mission of revenge. Judy kills von Hammerstein by shooting him in the back with a bow and arrow from 100 yards (91 m) away at the exact moment that he dives into a lake. A shoot-out then occurs between Bond and Gonzales and the two Cuban gunmen. Bond kills all of them.

[edit] "Quantum of Solace" After completing a mission in the Bahamas, Bond is in Nassau and attends a dinner party at Government House. When the other guests have left, Bond remarks that if he ever marries, he imagines it would be nice to marry an air hostess. The Governor then tells Bond the story of a relationship between a former civil servant, Philip Masters and air hostess Rhoda Llewellyn. After meeting aboard a flight to London, the couple married, but after a time Rhoda began a long open affair with the eldest son of a rich Bermudian family. As a result, Masters' work deteriorated, and he suffered a nervous breakdown. After recovering, he was given a break from Bermuda by the governor and sent on an assignment to Washington. Upon his return Masters was determined to end his marriage and he divided their home into two sections, half to each of them and refused to have anything to do with his wife in private—although they continued to appear as a couple in public. Masters eventually returned to the UK alone, leaving Rhoda with unpaid debts and stranded in Bermuda—a cruel act which he would have been incapable of carrying out just a few months earlier. The governor explains his point to Bond: when the "Quantum of Solace" drops to zero, humanity and consideration of one human for another is gone and the relationship is finished. Despite the success of Masters' plan to take revenge on his unfaithful wife, he never recovered emotionally. After a time, Rhoda married a rich Canadian. The governor then reveals that the dinner companions whom Bond found so boring were in fact Rhoda and her rich Canadian husband.

[edit] "Risico" Bond is sent by M to investigate a drug-smuggling operation based in Italy that is sending narcotics to England. M instructs Bond to get in touch with a CIA informant, Kristatos, who in turn tells Bond that a man named Enrico Colombo is behind the racket. When Bond sets out to find more information on Colombo, he is captured and brought aboard Colombo's ship, the Colombina. Colombo informs Bond that Kristatos is actually the one in charge of the drug smuggling operation, and that Kristatos is backed by the Russians. Colombo agrees to help Bond by providing information about things "as long as none of it comes back to Italy"; Bond agrees to help Colombo eliminate Kristatos. Bond, Colombo, and his men sail the Colombina to Santa Maria when Kristatos's men are loading another shipment of drugs, they attack Kristatos's ship and adjacent warehouse and discover Kristatos lurking near the warehouse, preparing to detonate a bomb. Kristatos tries to escape, but is killed by Bond.

[edit] "The Hildebrand Rarity"
A squirrel-fish, the Hildebrand Rarity was a rare member of the species.Bond is on an assignment in the Seychelles Islands; through Fidele Barbey, his influential and well-connected local contact, he meets an uncouth American millionaire named Milton Krest, who challenges the two to aid him in the search for a rare fish, The Hildebrand Rarity. Bond, Barbey, Krest and his English wife, Elizabeth, set off aboard the Wavekrest in search of the fish. During the journey, Bond learns that Milton verbally and physically abuses everyone around him, especially his wife—whom he punishes with the use of a stingray tail he dubs "The Corrector". Krest finds the Hildebrand Rarity and kills it—along with many other fish—by pouring poison into the water. After finding and killing the Hildebrand Rarity, set sail for port. Along the way Krest gets very drunk, insults Bond and Barbey and tells his wife he will beat her again with the stingray tail. Later that night, Bond hears Krest choking; investigating, Bond finds that Krest has been murdered—apparently by having the rare fish stuffed down his throat. So as not to be entangled in a murder investigation, Bond throws Krest overboard and cleans up the scene of the crime, making it look as though Krest fell overboard after one of the ropes holding his hammock broke: Bond suspects both Barbey and Mrs. Krest, but is unsure which is responsible. However, when Mrs. Krest invites Bond to sail with her to Mombasa—his next destination—aboard the Wavekrest, he accepts her invitation with reservations. ( )