On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: A James Bond Novel Audiobook

" Maybe this would have appealed to me when I was 14. "

" More real-world espionage couched in fiction. A fun read, and the Lazenby film follows the novel carefully. "

" I forgot how much literary Bond is consumed with ennui and complaining about the wine list. And how many more frosty lesbians (who might later melt in a real man's arms) he met on paper. But still, it's fun to read these books and see how the plots and characters got mashed up together in to the films that occupied so much of my youth. "

" Pretty good, Ian Fleming actually shows evidence of understanding human emotion. "

" A return to form for Bond. After Bond taking a back-seat in his own novels it's nice to see a novel in which he is actually the protagonist again. It's good to finally see a more human side to Bond too. "

" I don't even know how many times I have read through the Fleming books in order. Every 7 or 8 years since I was in my teens, I believe. It's interesting to me that each time I have done this, I prefer different titles. I don't recall caring for OHMSS a great deal in times past, and in fact, it used to be one of the few that I preferred the movie to the book. This time around, I enjoyed the read more. It's not a great book, by any means; not even great Fleming. However, the character of Bond is fleshed out a little more than in the books which precede it. Other characters are not given their due. For example, Tracy is little more than a prop - which in a Fleming title would not be notable, except for the fact that it is clearly not what the author intended. Yes, the book ends with famous tragedy, but the Tracy character is not given very much of a role. She hurtles from a troubled individual on the brink of suicide to a resourceful, charge-taking woman, to a faithful wife (which would have been a spoiler 50 years ago, but anyone interested enough to read a review of a Fleming work surely knows this story by now), with scant description of how the character changed and grew. (Even this is likely the author's intent. We are to assume that the influence and company of Bond was the curative. It would be a better book if better details were given and, in fact, there is almost no time left in the written chronology of the story for Bond to have even spent much time with her.) One character who was better in the movie (and this is rarely ever the case), is Draco. In the book, he is unintentionally comic. All of that being said, the book was enjoyable. It is written with a greater maturity on Fleming's part, than most which preceded it. The story is absurd (and the exposition of the criminal plot, cottoned to by a minor character, is even more absurd!), but it is intentionally absurd. Fleming abandoned most hopes of plausibility after the first novel (with the single exception of his best work, From Russia With Love.) If you enjoy Fleming, it is certainly worth your time. If you believe the movies tell the best story of the Bond character, then you certainly should read any of the books. If you enjoy spy or Cold War fiction, and can suspend disbelief without sacrificing enjoyment - then try one. You won't be much improved by the experience, but you should enjoy it. (While doing so, bear in mind that these books were written in the 50's and 60's by a man not terribly enlightened even for his time. There is a great deal of implied misogyny and a lot of racial stereotypes - and some overt racism - throughout Fleming's work.) "

" I just finished this one and really liked it. I can't wait to start the next one' "

" I loved these when I was in my teens. It's wonder if I reread them now after seeing all the movies if my opinion would change. "

" Bond got tame for most of this one... Somehow, being in research and deep cover, makes the agent lose his action... though there is a wind up in this one, and a heart wrenching ending - european style. "

" Loved this, the books have a sophistication never quite seen in the films, they are smooth and smart. All the familiar cliches are present but its so good! "

" To this day not only my favourite Bond book but one of my favourite books of all time; taut, exotic, bloody, heartbreaking - just a masterclass in how to write popular fiction. "

" Good descriptive writing, entertaining like the movie. "

" what fun...love JB....love that he marries a lovely yet flawed girl...makes him even more interesting...too bad the movie was dumb "

" Touching but silly, this is the book in which Bond finally falls in love... while battling Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE. "

" Much better than the Movie, but that is really not saying much. "

" you just need to read it "

" Another classic spy thriller from Ian Fleming. This book is a compulsive read and one of the very few books I have bought, rather than borrowed from a library. "

" Of all the books in the series thus-far, this one feels the most Daniel Craig-esque. "

" I enjoy that James Bond is not as one dimensional as depicted in movies. "

" Reveals the human side of Bond, the machine. "

" True Bond is back after "The Spy Who Loved Me" mistake. "

" Este es mi favorito de los libros de Fleming. Lo que pasa con Bond es sencillamente espeluznante. "

" One of the better Bond novels, in which Bond seems human and feels real emotions like love and grief. "

" The one that made me cry. "

" Dr. No is 6th in the series, but was the first Bond movie, with Sean Connery and Ursula Andress. The book is in some ways very different from the movie, no radioactivity, for example. The escape sequence is pretty good, at least in its conception. "