For Your Eyes Only

Rating:
Summary: Still Legends After 50 Years
Review: Ian Fleming's James Bond short stories, the five in this book plus "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights", are a good way to sample Fleming's writing and the world of 007 without the time investment of a novel.
It's quite the "in thing" to turn up your nose at James Bond...Ludlum & LaCarre are more realistic, the movies are Saturday morning cartoons in live-action, etc. But Fleming said many times, in person and in print, that he wrote thrillers for a living, and what happens to James Bond does not happen in real life. If you accept the books on those terms, they're a lot of fun to read.
"For Your eyes Only" and Fleming's other 007 books have been re-printed for the 50th anniversary of the first book, "Casino Royale". Other reviewers in this space have done an excellent job with these short stories. I'd like to give the reasons why Ian Fleming and James Bond are still legends after 50 years...
THE PLOTS -- Although Fleming sometimes veers into outlandishness, the missions and situations that he puts 007 into usually have some grounding in Cold War reality. The reader gets a glimpse into the dangers and paranoia of that era.
THE WRITING -- Fleming, a former newspaper reporter, has a vivid and economical writing style that grabs you from the beginning and pulls you right along to the end. He makes good writing look easy.
LOCATIONS -- Fleming was known for going to the places where James Bond operated, and taking copious notes. Whether the action takes place on a coral reef, in Paris after World War II, or in Bermuda high society, Fleming has the ability to put you right there.
THE BOND WOMEN -- Sure, they're all beautiful, and they all tumble to 007's charm. But Fleming had a good eye for people in general and women in particular. Far from being mere damsels in distress or decorations for 007, the women in Fleming's stories are tough, savvy, and capable.
BOND HIMSELF -- Ian Fleming's James Bond gets scared, makes mistakes, gets hurt, doesn't always get the girl, has real moral misgivings about the darker side of his job, and drinks coffee, water, ginger ale, and double bourbons, not just vodka martinis "shaken, not stirred." In other words, a more believable and human character than the movie superhero.

Rating:
Summary: All Fives Are Ones
Review: "For Your Eyes Only" is a collection of five James Bond short stories. I like this book because once again it demonstrates Ian Fleming's skill and style as a writer. Some of the stories are very engrossing while others are just brief vignettes into the world that James Bond operates and thrives in. Fleming's collection of words are just so interesting that I found this book difficult to put down. I return to this book often as I do with as I do with several others by Fleming. The cover of this edition is quite provocative and nostalgic.

Rating:
Summary: Bond, in short story form
Review: "For Your Eyes Only" was the last Bond film to actually take its plot from the Fleming stories. It pasted together three tales, two from "For Your Eyes Only", which included the short story of the same name and the short story "Risico". The film also borrowed some of its plot from "From Russia With Love". "Risico" includes the small gang war between Kristatos and Colombo while "For Your Eyes Only" was used to create the character of Melina Havelock who hunts for her parents killers.

The Bond books are always much smaller in scale than the movies and these five stories are smaller still. "Quantum of Silence" doesn't even feature Bond in an active role, he's only a passive listener to another man's tale of a wife's infidelity. The final story, "The Hildebrand Rarity" was my personal favorite with a classic tale of revenge and a satisfyingly ironic method of killing.

I would have to place this book as an average Fleming effort. I think that Bond works better in full novel form. It's a bit of a letdown when the man who took down Goldfinger and Dr. No is now taking on a miniscule nest of three Russian spies working out of a bush in France. Yes, their headquarters is a bush.


Rating:
Summary: All Fives Are Ones
Review: "For Your Eyes Only" is a collection of five James Bond short stories. I like this book because once again it demonstrates Ian Fleming's skill and style as a writer. Some of the stories are very engrossing while others are just brief vignettes into the world that James Bond operates and thrives in. Fleming's collection of words are just so interesting that I found this book difficult to put down. I return to this book often as I do with as I do with several others by Fleming. The cover of this edition is quite provocative and nostalgic.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisite
Review: A fine compendium of Fleming at his best. Exciting, full of action and pathos...Bond is back with tension and more.

Rating:
Summary: Five secret moments in Bond's life
Review: All five stories included are good, but somehow uneven, making the overall rating hard to decide between a 7 and a 10. The first one, "From a View to a Kill", is fast-paced, good writing with a thrilling episode showing 007 in a motorbike being consciuosly chased by a foreign assassin. The hidden base of the unnamed enemies is another preview of the ellaborate headquarters Bond nemesis would use in the films. M is not present this time. This title was cut to "A View to a Kill" for the film, which resembles nothing of this compact short story. The title adventure is much more insightful, making one sweat with 007 as he approaches Gonzales place in the forest ready to shoot the man. The license to kill is more than justified by this tale only. Good heroine. "Quantum of Solace" is one of the strangest Bond episodes, actually being a story told to 007 in which he hasn't anything to do with. Bond's mission is interesting but put by Fleming in a single paragraph. It's the story of a married couple that makes this episode, and it's excellent. Really! It shows Fleming no short than in Somerset Maugham's level, with a lesson not of moral but of life (and leaving 007 questioning about HIS life). A jewel distant of the Bond canon, even more than "The Spy Who Loved Me". "Risico" is excellent Bond in a more traditional way. It's an adventure set in Italy and involving drug smugglers, with a terrific and human villain named Kristatos and an equally terrific and human ally named Colombo. The beach fight, the minefield run and the table-recorder are pure inspiration. The final story, "The Hildebrandt Rarity", is another off-the-track Bond, this time with a villain out of everyday life. Millionaire Milton Krest is nasty in the real sense. The story ends with a question mark about who killed the bastard (I guess Krest wife did it). Fleming is again king of the undersea realms, making us sad for the fishes and other species killed by Krest's venom in order to catch the red-and-black fish that gives its name to the title. An excellent, different collection.

Rating:
Summary: Five secret moments in Bond's life
Review: All five stories included are good, but somehow uneven, making the overall rating hard to decide between a 7 and a 10. The first one, "From a View to a Kill", is fast-paced, good writing with a thrilling episode showing 007 in a motorbike being consciuosly chased by a foreign assassin. The hidden base of the unnamed enemies is another preview of the ellaborate headquarters Bond nemesis would use in the films. M is not present this time. This title was cut to "A View to a Kill" for the film, which resembles nothing of this compact short story. The title adventure is much more insightful, making one sweat with 007 as he approaches Gonzales place in the forest ready to shoot the man. The license to kill is more than justified by this tale only. Good heroine. "Quantum of Solace" is one of the strangest Bond episodes, actually being a story told to 007 in which he hasn't anything to do with. Bond's mission is interesting but put by Fleming in a single paragraph. It's the story of a married couple that makes this episode, and it's excellent. Really! It shows Fleming no short than in Somerset Maugham's level, with a lesson not of moral but of life (and leaving 007 questioning about HIS life). A jewel distant of the Bond canon, even more than "The Spy Who Loved Me". "Risico" is excellent Bond in a more traditional way. It's an adventure set in Italy and involving drug smugglers, with a terrific and human villain named Kristatos and an equally terrific and human ally named Colombo. The beach fight, the minefield run and the table-recorder are pure inspiration. The final story, "The Hildebrandt Rarity", is another off-the-track Bond, this time with a villain out of everyday life. Millionaire Milton Krest is nasty in the real sense. The story ends with a question mark about who killed the bastard (I guess Krest wife did it). Fleming is again king of the undersea realms, making us sad for the fishes and other species killed by Krest's venom in order to catch the red-and-black fish that gives its name to the title. An excellent, different collection.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry?
Review: Five great short stories from the second-master of espionage fiction (behind one Mr. LeCarre). I don't know what that other guy's talking about, but it probably would have been made into a Bond movie in the 80s.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry?
Review: Five great short stories from the second-master of espionage fiction (behind one Mr. LeCarre). I don't know what that other guy's talking about, but it probably would have been made into a Bond movie in the 80s.

Rating:
Summary: Five exciting thrillers about James Bond 007!
Review: For Your Eyes Only features five exciting short stories of James Bond 007. While fans noted that they were not as good as his full-length novels, they still are wonderful thrillers to read.
The first is From A View To A Kill. This short strory tells of the organization SHAPE, (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe)and their motorcycle dispatch riders that are being murdered on a certain highway. Unknown soviet agents are setting up ambushes for the men, killing them and stealing the important documents. Bond is sent with the help of Mary Ann Russell to investigate. He finds the area where the Soviets have established a base on the forest in the highway. Bond dresses like one of the riders to lure out the Soviets, he attacks them and kills the rest. An okay Bond story, but nothing special.
For Your Eyes Only comes next and is much more promising. It begins in Jamaica with a retring Nazi criminal called Von Hammerstein. He spots a nice house and set of property that is owned by the Havelocks. He sends out his man Gonzales to arrange a buying to be made. The Havelocks refuse to sell so Gonzales kills them. The Havelocks were friends of M, so Bond is sent to investigate. He travels to Vermont, the temporary stay of Von Hammerstein and meets Judy Havelock, the vengeful daughter of the Havelocks. She kills Hammerstein with a bow an arrow against Bond's advice. Gonzales is killed by Bond and he leaves with Judy.
Quantum Of Solace is the oddest Bond story to date. Bond is meeting with the governor of Bermuda. The governor tells Bond the story of a girl that was married to a young man, but wanted to marry someone else. The governor then tells Bond that the man the girl eventually marries is a guest at the dinner table at that very moment. It's a deceptive and tricky story.
The next story is Risico. Bond is on assignment in Rome to stop a drugs smuggler. Bond meest with contact Kristatos who tells him that the smuggler is Enrico Columbo, and that Bond should kill him. Bond then later meets up with the mistress of Columbo, Lisl Baum in Venice. He is then captured by Columbo, who tells him that Kristatos is the real enemy and smuggler. Bond is shown Kristatos smuggling warehouse by Columbo, they raid the building and kill Kristatos. Risico is a fast-paced and adventerous action story filled with exciting scenes.
The last story is The Hilderbrand Rarity. This story is placed in the Seychelles Islands, where Bond is on board the ship of millionaire Milton Krest. Krest is on an expedition to find the ultra rare fish species called the Hildbrand Rarity. Bond meets up with Liz Krest, who is beaten by her husband. Bond immediately learns to dislike Krest and his methods of killing marine life to catch the rare fish. Krest does eventually catch the fish and puts it aboard the ship. Later that night, Bond discovers Krest dead- he his choked by having the fish stuffed down his throat. Bond is unsure of who killed him. Liz Krest, who was tired of the drunken ways of her husband, or Fidele Barbey who was often insulted by Krest?
Five short stories, which do I consider the best? Risico, the Hildebrand Rarity and For Your Eyes Only. But they are all very good. The short stories are a nice change of pace with Fleming and provide some change.