On Her Majesty's Secret Service

First off, I must say that my experience w/ Blackstone audio books has been VERY positive. I've purchased most of the audio books in the Bond series, & so far I've only had problems w/ one of them (On Her Majestie's Secret Service). A couple of the discs had what appeared to be glue (from the packaging?) on them & would not play properly. When I first encountered the problem, I called the 800 number on the box, fully expecting to get an automated answering service w/ menu options. To my surprise, a very pleasant woman named "Carol" answered, assuring me that there would be no problem getting a replacement disc to me free of charge. The entire phone call was over in a few minutes & left me feeling very happy w/ the company & w/ my purchase Thank you, Carol! As for the Blackstone Bond series audio books, Simon Vance does an outstanding job of narrating the books. Unlike some narrators I've encountered w/ other companies (such as Brilliance) who read descriptive passages AND dialogue using the SAME TONE so that it's difficult to tell which character is actually speaking, Vance gives each character his or her own voice and manner of speaking. It makes for a MUCH more pleasant & enjoyable listening experience. Part of the fun of the original Bond novels is seeing how they compare to the films that bare their titles. In many cases, there's scarcely any similarity at all (and sometimes none whatsoever). However, I actually enjoy that. Having seen the movies so many times, it's great not knowing what will happen next in the books. Fleming definitely enjoyed meting out "poetic justice" w/ regards to eliminating his villains. I've read all of the Fleming Bond books, either on audio or in print, and they are all worth-while. Once I have the entire Blackstone audio series, I plan to start over from the beginning & "read" them all again in sequence. This is the second Bond novel in which Bond goes up against his arch-nemesis, Blofeld. Of all the Bond novels, it also perhaps MOST CLOSELY matches the corresponding film. Bond's downhill race from Blofeld's mountain hideaway, as well as his chasing of Blofeld down the bobsled run during the finale are quite exciting thanks to Fleming's gift as a writer and Vance's gift as a narrator. Although I knew what would happen from having seen the movie, I was a bit surprised by how quickly the events of the final pages played out. Though not as "sudden" as, say, LT Hearn's final moment in Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, the book's concluding events seemed somewhat rushed. (On the off-chance that someone might read this review and does NOT know--via the film--what happens at the end, I'll refrain from saying more.) The "Blofeld series" (Thunderball, On Her Majestie's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice) were some of the titles I was most looking forward to reading, & they are all excellent. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Bond books (and the Blackstone audio books) to anyone enjoys action/adventure stories.

Ian Fleming does a great job with descriptive writing and character development in this novel. He makes Bond more human by having him fall in love. Overall, it was a good book and was fun to read.

This Thorndike Press version of this novel is a real treat for the seeing impaired. The large print is a joy and easy to read and the hardcover binding and design is very good too. As for the novel itself, no one will ever mistake Fleming's works for Hemingway or even Agatha Christie although at some points, Fleming's writing comes close to imitating their styles but when it comes to fast moving and great plots, this novel is probably the best Bond adventure ever written. The writing is rather juvenile and reminded me of one of the Hardy Boy's adventures that I used to read as a child but if you take this as extremely light reading to pass the time (I read this while recovering at hospital and completed it in less than two days although I spent most of the time sleeping)you will not be disappointed. This quick page-turner has a number of plot twists and colourful characters such as Bond's father-in-law, the crime syndicate head and his wife, Tracy, his arch nemesis, Blofeld and Ms. Bunt among others. What's really good about this novel though is that we get to see a soft, vulnerable side of James Bond here. Bond seems to be tired and a little fed up of spying and even considers resigning. He starts to reminisce about Vesper, his love interest from his first adventure in Casino Royale and decides to make a pit stop there, ironically finding the real love of his life there as well! Overall, we get a much more believable character who is a lot more human than in his earlier portrayals in what would be Fleming's 3rd last Bond novel. If you are a fan of James Bond but not necessarily great writing, this is probably the best Bond adventure that you can get which truly gives you an insight into every aspect of the character. You actually feel his sorrow at the end as Bond becomes more human here. This novel may actually be a response to Fleming's many critics at the time which even included John Le Carre who complained that Bond was simply a thug who apathetically commits crimes against humanity as a normal course of life. The Bond you see here does not fit this description anymore. Recommended reading.

Of all the Bond novels, On Her Majesty's Secret Service reaches the absolute pinnacle of Fleming's capabilities. Fine though they are, the other Bond novels often suffer from a meandering narrative and an often tedious itemisation of Bond's accessories (supposedly these give off an aura of a sophisticated lifestyle). There is some of that here, sure, but it's kept to a respectable minimum, enhancing rather than distracting from the central story which incidentally is tight as hell and gripped with action from the get-go. Characteristically, Fleming has at least two shining moments of poetic prose - the opener on the beach which is gentle and understated and the moment when Bond is ready to escape from Blofeld's hideway in which the snow slopes take on a greenish hue in the moonlight. These two scenes are expressed in writing easily as strong as the Orient Express ride described in From Russia With Love, my personal favorite of all Fleming's descriptive passages. And the heartbreaking ending is handled with concision and potency. Actually, if you've only ever seen the films you'd never know that the majority of the Bond novels have killer endings but even taking that into account, this one trumps them all. And the character of Tracy is just great. What a gal - she's just perfect for him! Shame it couldn't work out. Shame for them but not for us though since we at least got one more classic adventure out of our favorite intrepid British spy.

Excellent character development, a few minor inconsistencies, but it is Bond. Could have been the last book of the series. Enjoy! +Gordon

This is a well-constructed and written member of the series. It feels like Fleming worked harder than on some others, and invests more character and emotion into Bond, and even something approaching personalities into the other characters.

I've been making my way through the Fleming/Bond books for a while now and OHMSS was so fantastic that I started it in the morning and, despite some interruptions, finished it before bed the same day. I can't say the same for all other Bond books - some have actually taken a few days to get through. But OHMSS just clicked from the first page and I almost couldn't turn the pages fast enough. If I had any minor quibbles it would be with the plan to send beautiful young farm girls back to England to destroy the agricultural system. The idea to destroy livestock and crops is perhaps fine, particularly for a spy novel set in the 60's, but it just seems comical that the farm girls are, from their descriptions, beautiful. Bond even beds one (of course). And yet - just reading about M, Bond, and others figuring out the plot - again about agriculture - is exciting and keeps you turning the pages. To make that kind of evil plot interesting is a testimony to Fleming's writing. But the real story is the exciting escape from the mountain top hideaway and then the tragic ending. Both are amazing and the latter is devastating. I can't wait to pick up You Only Live Twice tonight.

I've seen a handful of Bond movies over the years but this was the first novel in the series I've read. I haven't seen the movie based on this book yet as I much prefer to read the book first. To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I enjoy the newer movies the most; however, I do enjoy the earlier ones even if they do feel a bit dated and campy at times. As such, I shouldn't have been surprised to find this book to have a very similar feel to the earlier Bond movies. On the plus side, there were some unexpected plot points such as Bond learning about family trees, coat of arms, etc. so he can pretend to be an expert undercover. There were some decent chase scenes with tense moments. You can also tell that Fleming drew a lot on his experiences as a spy especially related to the Soviet Union because there is a feeling of authenticity. Unfortunately, as spy novels go this one lacks depth. While I tend to feel the John le Carré novels are too dry and dense, this novel was almost the exact opposite. It doesn't require much thinking, which can be a good thing if you're looking for a light read. Many of the attitudes in the book, particularly Bond's toward women feel very dated, despite Bond being more serious about his relationship with Tracy here than probably any other "Bond girl", On the other side, they make such a big deal about Bond wanting to catch Blofeld but they don't do a whole lot with him. There are perhaps 2-3 scenes with Blofeld with only the chase scene being satisfying at all. Overall I get the feeling this may not be bad for a Bond novel but it's possible they are not my "cup of tea".

Yet another good James Bond novel.

It's not the original book writed for Ian Fleming, it's a reedition with its text retouched

All the of the Ian Fleming Bond books are wonderful, but this ranks very near the top. (Spoiler) Such a sad ending but it really couldn't be any other way. The first time I read this in about 1966 I cried my eyes out and every time I've read it since it still brings a lump to my throat. Wonderful.

イアン・フレミングの翻訳本は古過ぎて、特にフランス語表記は滅茶苦茶で読書中興醒めしてしまい、 結局原作を読むのが常です。 ペーパーブックの方が丈夫で字も大きく、読みやすいですね。 さて、シリーズ最高傑作の誉れも高い本作ですが、納得の出来栄えです。 トレーシーは駆け落ち結婚したのみならず、一度子供を設け死別すると言う、映画にはなかった不幸を背負っています。 彼女の心の殻を除去するのにボンドがどれ程苦労したか・・ 初登場の宿敵ブロフェルドは丸坊主ではなく、Syphilisのため鼻がない異形の男です。 ブロフェルドとブント(愛人関係!)が狙撃に使ったのは黒いメルセデスではなく、赤いマゼラーティです。 映画のSki chaseを聞きながら読めば興奮も倍増でしょう。 英語も平易で読みやすいと思いますよ。

Bought as a gift was happy with it