Rating: 
Summary: The finest of all the Bond novels.
Review: "You Only Live Twice" (1964) was published the year of Ian Fleming's death, and, as with its predecessor, the superb "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," it is suffused with doom and death. It is unlike any of the other Bond books, with a pervasive gloominess that was as much the result of Fleming's rapidly declining health and unhappiness with the world around him as it was the result of Bond's clinical depression after the tragedy that finished the last book.Bond, recovering from the death of his wife, is falling to pieces. Taking the advice of a friend, M sends him on a vital mission to Japan, which he hopes will restore Bond's spirits. What seems at first to be a rather placid visit soons turns dangerous as Bond agrees to accept secrets about the Russians in exchange for carrying out a delicate mission for the Japanese government. What he encounters is the culmination of the previous two Bond novels, and the last half of the novel is virtually unputdownable. This is the best writing of Fleming's career, and his descriptions of Bond's disintegration are surprisingly moving. The final hundred pages or so are horrifying and gripping; never before had Fleming demonstrated such mastery of his craft or technical skill at setting up a denouement. The tension becomes almost unbearable. "You Only Live Twice" is not an uplifting book, but it is a vital book in the Bond series, and much better than its successor, the pale and posthumously published "Man With the Golden Gun." Those expecting slam-bang action will have to wait until the middle and final chapters, but the rewards are worth the patience. This is a fine novel, but I wouldn't start here if I were just discovering Fleming's Bond novels.
Rating:
Summary: The finest of all the Bond novels.
Review: "You Only Live Twice" (1964) was published the year of Ian Fleming's death, and, as with its predecessor, the superb "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," it is suffused with doom and death. It is unlike any of the other Bond books, with a pervasive gloominess that was as much the result of Fleming's rapidly declining health and unhappiness with the world around him as it was the result of Bond's clinical depression after the tragedy that finished the last book. Bond, recovering from the death of his wife, is falling to pieces. Taking the advice of a friend, M sends him on a vital mission to Japan, which he hopes will restore Bond's spirits. What seems at first to be a rather placid visit soons turns dangerous as Bond agrees to accept secrets about the Russians in exchange for carrying out a delicate mission for the Japanese government. What he encounters is the culmination of the previous two Bond novels, and the last half of the novel is virtually unputdownable. This is the best writing of Fleming's career, and his descriptions of Bond's disintegration are surprisingly moving. The final hundred pages or so are horrifying and gripping; never before had Fleming demonstrated such mastery of his craft or technical skill at setting up a denouement. The tension becomes almost unbearable. "You Only Live Twice" is not an uplifting book, but it is a vital book in the Bond series, and much better than its successor, the pale and posthumously published "Man With the Golden Gun." Those expecting slam-bang action will have to wait until the middle and final chapters, but the rewards are worth the patience. This is a fine novel, but I wouldn't start here if I were just discovering Fleming's Bond novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite the film legend
Review: Bondo-san? Sounds like a Japanese brand adhesive. I've seen several of the 007 films with a wide range of actors - Connery, Moore, and Brosnan. However, this is the first Bond book by Ian Fleming that I've ever read. I'm left marveling at the liberties taken by Hollywood with the hero. Is this truly Bond - JAMES Bond - the Suave Super Stud Super Spy of the Big Screen? In YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the redoubtable Commander is about to be fired by "M" for a recently unacceptable job performance brought on by the murder of the former's wife. (There was a Mrs. 007?!) But "M" is persuaded by the house shrink to send his agent on one more mission - one that will be touted as so impossible that James will be challenged enough to snap out of his funk. So, off Bond goes to Japan to persuade the head of that nation's Secret Service to share information from a key Soviet source - information only otherwise being shared with the CIA. Bond befriends the Japanese spymaster, "Tiger" Tanaka, who consents to the new arrangement if 007 will carry out a special and very dangerous assignment. Relative to the Bond movies, I liked the in-print character much better; he's less of a comic book hero and more real. And there's not an improbable high-tech gadget in sight. However, that being said, Fleming's original 007 is much less developed and complex than, say, the Quiller persona created by Adam Hall (the nom de plume of Elleston Trevor) during the 60s and 70s. Quiller was a lonely, scarred, and bloody-minded agent who, when sent off on a perilous mission, managed make it alive out of the dodgy spots - whether it was being chased by attack dogs across the no-man's land of the East German border or bundled unceremoniously into the Lubyanka basement - purely on luck, innate ability, and pure survival sense. Quiller didn't even carry a gun. And Quiller had the hint of a secret life, perhaps one in the past; his will on file with the Secret Service specified that roses should be sent to "Moira" in the event of his death. And the reader never found out who Moira was during the entire Quiller series of nineteen books. Bond, on the other hand, just doesn't run that deep. Indeed, Quiller would think 007 a poofter dilettante. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, as an example of Fleming's source material for the Bond cinematic legend, is perhaps only of interest if you want to see the tenor of the original character before the Tinseltown scriptwriters got hold of him. Take my advice and discover Quiller if you haven't already.
Rating:
Summary: the best song in bond,s series
Review: Great locations, intriguing plot, and we finally get to see Blofelt, ughhh! No wonder he was kept hidden! Masterfully played by Donald Pleasance. Does Kissy Suzuki have a face like a pig? I think not! Watch out for the piranhas, but most of all, little nelly! There's also a memorable fight scene with bond on the roof of the docks, they should still have that music in the modern films! Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: "Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond"
Review: I love this film- it is probably one of Sean Connery's greatest in the role of James Bond. His adventures this time include the Russians and Americans in a popular Cold War theme of the 1960's- both believe that the other country is trying to attack them. On the brink of a third World War, Bond is sent on a mission to find out who is behind all of this. Pretending to be dead during an on-the-job trist, Bond is able to spy on his enemies without them knowing who he is. His adventures take him to Japan, where he works closely with Tiger Tanaka and Kissy Suzuki of the Japanese Secret Service.
Ernest Stavro Blofeld- one of Bond's greatest nemeses (and an inspiration for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies). He is probably one of the creepiest villains of all time, too. Controlling the world takes quite a lot of work- including an underground volcano in which to hide his secret operations. Infiltrating this secret lair is only a part of Bond's job- and he does this seemingly without effort.
True to James Bond format are the chase scenes. Entertaining is the scene in which the thugs chasing Bond and Kissy Suzuki are lifted off the ground by a large magnet and dropped into Tokyo Bay. Improbable? Yes, but highly efficient, too.
Rating:
Summary: Twice is Nice
Review: I must say that this book was excellent: It was a deparature from the previous ones, it's style was great because Bond was in a very different mindset than the other books (it takes places just after On Her Majestys Secret Service), and seeing Bond with an altered character became a great addition to the series, and if you read the Bond books, read this, and if you're only going to read a few, this is one of the ones not to miss (From Russia With Love, Casino Royale, OHMSS are the others).
Rating: 
Summary: JAMES BOND TURNING JAPANESE...
Review: I really think so. YOLT, with Connery in bad make-up and bowl cut wig no less, is an enjoyable romp that makes no apologies for not taking itself too seriously...Connery in a kimono further supports that theory. Forget the unbelievable story...you have Nancy Sinatra offering proof she was a singer; Bond getting his "first civilized bath" and Little Nellie. Give me this one. some saki served at the correct temperature and a spicy tuna roll and I'm content in any lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting look at Japan
Review: I recently read two James Bond novels by Fleming's successor, John Gardner. I was mildly entertained and mostly unimpressed, which reminded me why I lost interest in the James Bond series. On the heels of this, I decided to give Ian Fleming another try. It's been 10 years since I last read him. In contrast to the Gardner books I was quite surprised by the research, depth of character, and overall literary quality and style of this spy novel. I'm tempted to go back and read all the other Fleming novels, because I know I wasn't old enough to appreciate the finer points of his work when I did read them. You Only Live Twice is the second to last of Fleming's Bond novels. It picks up several months after On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which is famous for its tragic ending. Depressed and performing uncharacteristically poor on his assignments, Bond is convinced he's on the verge of being sacked when M calls him into a private meeting. M does not want to fire him. Instead, he wants to send Bond on a sensitive diplomatic mission to reinvigorate him. What follows is a slow and detailed examination of the Japanese culture through the eyes of a worldly British man. The book is less of an adventure and more of a story of culture shock in which Fleming tries to illuminate the many differences between Japan and the western world. Much of Bond's diplomatic repartee with Tiger Tanaka, the head of japanese secret service, is an excuse to study how the japanese people communicate and relate to each other. Also, as in the movie, Bond must go undercover and pretend to be a Japanese man. The idea is still as silly as it is in the movie, but gives Fleming more opportunities to explore the Japanese way of life as Bond must adopt their clothing, mannerisms, and even some physical features, as well as learn how to behave in common situations. Bond also studies the martial art of ninjitsu, which (if I'm not mistaken) might be one the earliest appearances of the ninja in western popular culture. A great deal of time is also devoted to explaining the Japanese honor code, especially as it pertains to their culture's unusual acceptance of suicide. This aspect of their culture plays a major role in the book, as it is eventually revealed that a certain megalomaniac (Dr. Shatterhand) has taken up residence in southern Japan and has surrounded himself with a garden of death--a garden full of poisonous plants and animals--that is attracting scores of dishonored Japanese seeking a heroic and honorable death. After a serious and engaging exploration of Japan and its people, the book finally turns into a classic Bond adventure. The Japanese government hires Bond to assassinate the nut-job that built the garden of death. Mustn't forget the the Bond girl. Kissy Suzuki plays a subdued and tender role in this book and helps bring this story to an unusual conclusion. The adventure in this novel is certainly secondary to Fleming's exploration of Japan. I don't know much about the west's relationship to Japan in 60's, so I'm left wondering if, in its time, this might have been a significant introduction of Japanese culture to the average western Joe. It's by no means a scholarly study, but I still think that even today it may be a useful (and fun) introduction to such a foreign culture.
Rating:
Summary: They just get better and better...
Review: I'm almost inclined to say that the series gets better and better as I go down the line of sequels. I liked "Dr. No" quite a bit, "From Russia With Love" about the same, "Goldfinger" was awesome, "Thunderball" was equally good and now here we are at "You Only Live Twice". I guess now that I think about it, I can't say that I liked this film better than "Goldfinger" or "Thunderball", but I probably liked it the same.
Sean Connery of course plays the perfect James Bond, always good to see him in the role. I was very happy to see that the support cast regulars were all back (Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, and Bernard Lee). The rest of the supporting cast was good as well. I was quite surprised to see Donald Pleasence in the film as the antagonist. Donald did a fine job with his role, although I'm not sure if I was very fond of his voice...not sinister enough, but I can deal with it.
The story was quite interesting and pretty well thought out. I always liked the idea of a third-party attempting to make two super-powers fight each other thinking that each other is responsible for what the third-party did. There are of course a few things throughout the film that I didn't like, but I won't get into them (because I don't want to give away anything to those of you that haven't seen the film).
When reviewing a Bond film, I feel it's required to talk about the cool gadgets used in the film. The gadgets in this film are pretty cool, although there aren't a whole lot of them.
Another requirement of reviewing Bond films is the women of the film. The women in this film were nice, but nothing spectacular.
All in all, I thought this was an excellent fifth installment to the Bond series, and hopefully the later installments can live up to the quality of the first 5 (read my reviews and find out...if I've written them by the time you read this). If you liked any of the previous Bond films, or just like the Bond films in general, I would definitely recommend checking this one out.
Rating:
Summary: Good But Lacking A Little Bit Of The Bond Feeling
Review: Sean Connery Bond films are great, and You Only Live Twice, is no excpetion. This movie takes a big step in the Bond Series, with the first meeting of Bond and Blofeld. This was what the begginging of the series was leading to and it was a great confrontation. Halloween fans will be happy to know that Donald Plecense (sorry I don't know how to spell his name) plays the infamous Blofeld.
But isn't this film missing a little somthing. Bond is never behind the wheel of a car, and in the middle of the movie he goes under cover and we get aside stroy of his life in a small simple village. This part does not seem very Bond. I think it has to do with the man who wrote the screenplay. Famous author Roald Dahl, writter of Charlie and the Chocalte Factory, and Matilda, took a stab at a serious venture and in some ways messed with things that should not have been messed with.
But don't get me wrong I still like this movie a lot, and the movie has a lot of fun moments, like in the end of the movie Ninjas Vs. armed gunmen, Bond is on the side of the ninjas, who is going to win? Stupid fun like this is what makes this movie great. NUFF SAID.
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