For Your Eyes Only

Fleming's first collection of Bond short stories is a bit of a mixed bag, but enjoyable non-the-less. The Bond on show here is maybe a bit more human, maybe showing signs of frustration.

Three of the stories (From a View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only and Risico) are fairly straightforward Bond adventures, featuring big baddies, revenge, assassination and explosive action. They are quick easy reads, nothing out of the ordinary.

The other two stories are slightly different. In Quantum of Solace Bond is merely the listener as the Governor of Nassau relates an after dinner tale of a cuckolded colonial civil servant and his wayward wife. The story was told to Fleming, himself a resident of the West Indies, and he decided to translate it into a Bond story, albeit in the style of W Somerset Maugham. What is interesting is that Bond shows a more human, compassionate side than usual. The story certainly bear no relation to the abysmal film of the same name.

Finally, the longest story here, The Hildebrand Rarity, again shows a softer side to Bond. The odious American millionaire Milton Krest is the villain and Bond's pity for Krest's wife, Liz, and his distaste at the methods used by Krest to capture the rare fish of the title (poison) again give a more rounded quality to the character of the superspy.

So a quick, easy read that leads the reader nicely into the run of novels that mark the high point of Fleming's creation: Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice.