Monday, October 4, 2021

[Review] - For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming


For Your Eyes Only was published in 1960 by Jonathan Cake. It's the first of two 007 short story collections by Ian Fleming. There are five tales in the collection - A View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only, Quantum of Solace, Risico, and The Hildebrand Rarity.


A View to a Kill has nothing to do with the plot from the 1985 film adaptation of the same name. Bond is investigating the death of a motorcycle dispatch-rider (a messenger delivering important Military documents on a motorcycle) in Paris. Bond goes undercover as a dispatch-rider, uses the same route, and draws out the assassin.

For Your Eyes Only centers on Bond volunteering to assassinate Herr von Hammerstein, the chief of counterintelligence for the Cuban secret service. He travels to Vermont and teams up with Judy Havelock to avenge her parents' deaths. Yeah, this tale has nothing to do with its film counterpart either.

Quantum of Solace centers on a dinner party at the Government House in Nassau, Bahamas, where Bond states that if he were to marry, it would be to an air-hostess (a flight attendant). After the remark, the Governor tells Bond the relationship between a civil servant, Phillip Masters, and Rhoda Llewelly, an air-hostess. Does this sound like the action-packed sequel to Casino Royale?

Risico centers around Bond investigating a drug-smuggling operation in Italy. His CIA informant, Kristatos, tells him that the man behind everything is Enrico Colombo. However, it turns out that isn't the case. Kristatos is the leader of the drug-smuggling ring. Bond teams up with Colombo to take down Kristatos.

The Hildebrand Rarity is an out-of-fish story. While on an assignment in Seychelles Islands, he volunteers to help an American millionaire, Milton Crest, find a rare fish, the Hildebrand Rarity, aboard his boat, Wavekest. It turns out the man is a royal pain in the ass, who gets his rocks off by abusing his wife and blowing up fish. As you can guess, the man's actions don't suit well with Bond.



Final Thoughts

If you've seen the 007 movies before reading the original stories, you might be a little disappointed with For Your Eyes Only because these aren't your typical James Bond outings. Risico, which is the dumbest 007 title, is the best story out of the five. The plot got reworked for the For Your Eyes Only movie, and it had nothing to do with the For Your Eyes Only story, which is a fun little read by itself. Quantum of Solace has an oddball plot that involves Bond listening to a tale of why he shouldn't marry an air-hostess. A View To a Kill is a fast-paced thrill ride. Last is The Hildebrand Rarity, which feels less like a story and more like a deleted subplot from a 007 novel.


Overall, I enjoyed reading For Your Eyes Only. The stories aren't perfect, but they're at least entertaining.

2 comments:

  1. I have only seen the mivies never read the books. But I might try it.

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  2. One of my favorite movies. Bond movies, anyway, not necessarily favorites per se haha. But fun. Interesting that the short story is totally different! And View toa Kill too (I have the Duran Duran song in my head now). I didn't know some of these Bond books were totally different!

    Colombo and Kristatos! I'll admit Kristatos is one of my favorite Bond villains. The scene in the movie when he abandons his crewmember to sharks ("Aww... leave him") cracks me up every time.

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