23 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

It's often up at the top of list, cited as one of Fleming's best, along with titles like From Russia With Love and You Only Live Twice. What do you think?

[ComplimentsOfSharky]

I would say yes.

Though YOLT, FRWL and MR are indeed close OHMSS just edges them out.

[killkenny kid]

It's a great read. With a wonderful plot and rich characters. And oh, that powerful ending. Yes, Fleming and Bond at there best.

[K1Bond007]

I think it's the best of his second half (1st CR - GF, 2nd FYEO - O&TLD). For me From Russia with Love is his best.

[Qwerty]

In the second half (For Your Eyes Only to Octopussy & The Living Daylights) I'd agree. Overall it is not #1 for me, but it is definitely a 10 out of 10.

Fantastic book.

[Byron]

In the second half (For Your Eyes Only to Octopussy & The Living Daylights) I'd agree. Overall it is not #1 for me, but it is definitely a 10 out of 10.

Fantastic book.

Although i don't think it is Fleming's best, i can understand why some fans would rank it as #1. It's very good.

[Pierce James Bond]

OHMSS. It is a very good book but I don't think it is Flemings best. I will have to read the others I have and compare them but I don't think OHMSS is a Flemings best. ( IT HAD A GOOD PLOT)


-PJB

[Qwerty]

What others by Fleming have you read?

[Pierce James Bond]

Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, OHMSS of course. Thunderball was one of my favorites.

[Qwerty]

Ah, three great ones.

[BondReader 007]

OHMSS is one of my very favorites. It's grimmer, has a gritty edge, and of course the short lived "Mrs. James Bond", Tracy.

[MarcAngeDraco]

OHMSS is definitely one of the best (maybe I'm a little biased because it was the first Bond book I read).

It's really hard for me to pick one as the best. I also really love Casino Royale, Moonraker, From Russia With Love, and Dr. No.

[Streetworker]

Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, OHMSS of course. Thunderball was one of my favorites.

Interesting you cite DAF, as it's generally regarded as being Fleming's weakest, save for TMWTGG.

OHMSS is my favourite Fleming novel, but I don't think it's his best because the structure is slightly flawed (YOLT, FRWL and Moonraker are better as literature, I would suggest).

Edited by Streetworker, 13 December 2005 - 12:02 PM.

[Qwerty]

Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, OHMSS of course. Thunderball was one of my favorites.

Interesting you cite DAF, as it's generally regarded as being Fleming's weakest, save for TMWTGG.

I'm actually a huge fan of Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever. My review of it is here.

[Bon-san]

I'm long overdue to post in this thread.

I love OHMSS.

Coming on the heels of the curiously unmoving Thunderball, and the rather small (but engaging) TSWLM, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is grand entertainment. The moody opening is captivating and establishes an unprecedented tone for Fleming. There's definitely hints of "this will end badly", but one tends to brush that off--"it's Bond after all!" (which makes the killer ending all the more poignant).

The Bond-Tracy relationship is well rendered, despite her notorious absence for a good bit of the middle section. I actually think Diana Rigg improved on the character, no mean feat--kudos to her.

The Bond-Draco relationship is terrific as well, some wonderful exchanges. The father Bond has so long missed?

Things I like: "Seascape With Figures", "The Capu"; "Fork Left For Hell!"; "M en Pantoufles"; "Gauloises and Garlic"; and "All The Time in the World"--just magnificent.

I had remembered "The Man From Ag. And Fish" as being a very cool bit, but it seemed rather flat this time around.

Overall, I think the film version actually improved on the book in several places, and my regard for each may be a kind of mutually-buttressing affair. But there's no denying the greatness of the book. I have a big soft spot for a certain kind of tragic romance (e.g. Romeo and Juliet), and bravo to Fleming for inserting Bond into one.

I'm also a big fan of the macabre, which is so brilliantly wrought in YOLT (and to a lesser degree in FRWL). But we'll get to that in the next review.

All in all, it mightn't be the quote/unquote BEST Fleming novel, but were I only allowed one Bond novel to take to a desert island exile, OHMSS would be the one.

"It's quite all right. She's having a rest. We'll be going on soon...."

Gets me every time!

Four stars out of four.

[Quartermaster007]

It very well might be, based on others opinions it sounds like a Fleming great.

But it's next on my reading list so I'll have to wait and see.

[Qwerty]

You're in for a great read.

[clinkeroo]

By far the most powerful ending.

The character of Bond had evolved enough by this point that he was much easier to sympathize with, and Tracy was the ultimate bird with a broken wing (in fact, I would say this was the last, and best, use of this convention in his writing). There are stong characters throughout the book with defined takes on all the girls, Blofeld and Irma, and even Marc Ange and some of his men. Piz Gloria is so well described and brought to life, that you can almost feel the cold.

I do feel sometimes that Fleming rushed the attack on Piz Gloria a bit. We have the great build-up with Bond and his Corsican commandos flying in, but the attack itself is over very quickly.

Is it the best? I don't really know, it trades off with YOLT in my mind, depending which side of the bed I wake up on.

[Tinfinger]

A great book, a great movie. They do not make them like this anymore.

[Harmsway]

Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, OHMSS of course. Thunderball was one of my favorites.

Interesting you cite DAF, as it's generally regarded as being Fleming's weakest, save for TMWTGG.

I'm actually a huge fan of Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever. My review of it is here.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER is the one Bond book I found myself struggling to finish.

And with regards to OHMSS - it's a solid book, but I found it rushed a lot of the time. It's definitely great, and a defining moment for the character of James Bond, but I don't think it was Fleming's best. I wasn't floored by it like I was with YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (IMO the greatest of all Bond novels), or FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE for that matter.

[B007GLE]

Terrific book. I am not sure if its the best but it is certainly in the top tier with LALD, MR, FRWL, Dr. No and Thunderball.

One of the things I most love about the book is that Bond had not skiied in a long time before the novel takes place. In the film version (and other Bond films) he's this beyond-Olympic level expert, in the book he has to concentrate on staying on his feet or else he's doomed.

That dread and danger are palpable.

[Red Barchetta]

For me it's a toss up between FRWL, and OHMSS- they are both top notch Fleming!

[Agent 76]

So far, from the ones I have read, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Casino Royale are my favourites.

[stamper]

I do believe that while Fleming and his creations have generally a snobish, institutional air about them, the real work (as opposed to the movie jokes from the last 10 years) do show him to be very edgy, and willing to take huge risks, as OHMSS or YOLT clearly show.

I say Fleming should be regarded as "avant garde" literature rather than boring institutional "Sir" conservative and not taking any risks legacy.

Actually, I'm glad the filmmakers do show so sign of taking risks with the new movie, as it is in the Fleming canon to take risks. The movies had become so stale, Moore period and Brozza, they were literaly anti Fleming in that regard.

The secret of Fleming longevity is there : the edge. That's why, despite some really bad movies, the character survives in the public mind. the edge. Tarzan : lost his edge with time, who cares about this character anymore ? Conan : still edgy, all it needs is the right movie. Bond : the stuff of Legends.