James Bond Short Stories
The James Bond short stores collected in ‘For Your Eyes Only‘ make up Ian Fleming’s eighth James Bond book, but I left it until after I finished reading all the novels. I wish I’d kept to the order in which they were published, because these stories enrich Bond’s character, and Fleming’s writing.
I had a sense throughout the short stories that Fleming enjoyed writing them, and also experimenting with the character and form. His only experimental novel was The Spy Who Loved Me, a sort of gangster noir that I disliked, but these short stories are more successful. I’ve reviewed each below, with a rating, and then taken the average for the overall rating at the end.
From A View To A Kill
From what I remember of the film, the only similarity this story bears is the title and French setting. It’s a taut tale in which Bond investigates the murder of a despatch rider and the theft of the documents he was carrying. I liked Mary Anne Russell, the story’s love interest, who had a bit more spark about her than Bond expected.
Rating: 76%
For Your Eyes Only
A powerful Cuban wants the home of the Havelocks in Jamaica, so he has them murdered. But he didn’t realise he was killing M’s friends. M tasks James Bond with seeking whatever revenge he feels appropriate, a quest that takes Bond to Vermont where he meets the bow and arrow carrying Judy Havelock, the couple’s vengeful daughter.
Rating: 78%
Quantum of Solace
Apparently, Fleming wrote this as a tribute to Somerset Maugham. It’s a terrific story, based on true tale Fleming himself was once told. It shows what a great writer he might have been if he could have broken free of Bond’s shackles. When Phillip Masters marries a bad sort, she leaves him ‘without a quantum of solace.’ Slowly, he transforms into a bitter, spiteful husk who takes a slow, unpleasant revenge. Bond is simply hearing the story being told, and is very much superfluous to requirements.
Rating: 90%
Risico
Bizarrely, Risico’s plot was the one used for the film For Your Eyes Only. It’s an exciting tale of gangsters doublecrossing one another. James Bond agrees to help one gangster, an informer called Kristatos to possibly kill another, called Colombo. But Colombo is onto Bond, and kidnaps him….
Rating 80%
The Hildebrand Rarity
In some ways, Fleming created the most loathsome of all his villains in the vile American millionaire Milton Krest, a wife beater and braggart. Krest challenges Bond and contact in the Seychelles Fidele Barbary to help him find and kill a rare fish for the Smithsonian- the Hildebrand Rarity. When the fish is found, Krest poisons the water and any other living creatures to get his prize. On the way home, he verbally abuses Barbary and beats his wife with a stingray tail that he calls ‘the Corrector.’ Big mistake – because one of them kills him in a really horrible manner. To avoid getting trapped in a police investigation, Bond disposes of the body. He then spends the rest of the journey wondering which of the two killed Krest.
Rating: 86%
A SHORT STORY HERO?
Bond is definitely the hero of the 007 novels, but for me, Fleming comes out on top in the James Bond short stories. Reading For Your Eyes Only made me wonder if he should have written more shorter fiction, with and without Bond. His writing is leaner, and he wears his research more lightly, not lecturing the reader about things he’s learned for the story.
Anyway, it’s been good enough to make me start reading Fleming’s second short story collection straight away, Octopussy and the Living Daylights.
Overall Rating: 80%
My Other james bond reviews
- The Man With The Golden Gun
- You Only Live Twice
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Thunderball
- Goldfinger
- Dr No
- From Russia With Love
- Diamonds Are Forever
- Moonraker
- Live and Let Die
- Casino Royale
- Kim Sherwood’s ‘Double 0 Agents’
No Way To Live
My own thriller series, Angel of the South, begins with No Way To Live:
She’s the deadliest person he knows. And now he’s betrayed her.
A ruthless London gang targets an innocent shopkeeper and his daughter, prompting Tom Adams to walk away from the criminal life he never wanted. After all, it’s the season of goodwill. When he warns the shopkeeper of the danger he’s in, Tom betrays Billie, the gang’s boss, and the complicated history they both share.
For Billie, Tom’s desertion comes at the worst possible time. Surrounded by enemies, she’s fighting a war on two fronts and can’t afford to look weak. If Tom had known the full story, he might have stuck around. Fatally, he isn’t even the gang’s only traitor.
And the ‘innocent’ shopkeeper? His past might be darker than anyone’s.
Caught in a clash of love, loyalty and revenge, Tom must choose between Billie, the woman he once trusted, and the possibility of a life worth living.
No Way To Live is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
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