FYEO short stories

Jarvio

I am not much of a reader. The only Bond book I've read is LALD. I enjoyed it and all, but I'm just not the reading type. However, I am keen to give more Fleming books a try.

Would the FYEO short stories be suitable? I figured that, seeing as I'm not a big reader, maybe short stories would be a good start for me.

Are the FYEO short stories any good?

7289

Jarvio,

You'll be doing yourself a great favor by going on the eBay, getting all the Fleming novels, then read them from "Casino Royale" to "The Man with the Golden Gun" Fleming is a masterful writer - there is a reason these books were a hit long before the films came out.

None of these books are a "hard" read, they are pretty short by today's standards.

If you want to meet the "real" oo7 read the books -that is the only place you will ever find him!

The stories in "For Your Eyes Only" are EXCELLENT.

P.S. Become a reader!!! And no, I am not a Librarian!

Jarvio

Thanks for the advice.

I actually own some of them already (LALD, CR, FRWL, DAF, TMWTGG, YOLT, and MR). Just never got round to reading any, except LALD.

I'll try and get round to it soon as I have the time.

Qwerty

How lucky in a way to have never read them before! Do make an effort to read 'em in order if you can.

...and enjoy them. There isn't a single bad Fleming Bond novel or short story collection.

taity

Well, to answer the question.

If you want to get a taste of the stories, do read FYEO. However, they lack the development and plots that the novels have. I wouldnt have said the short stories were good indicators as to how good the novels are because they lack established plots.

PS - Living daylights is a great short story.

Johmss

LALD was my fisrt bond book as well.

FYEO has two great stories a la Bond: Risico and From a View to a Kill. For Your Eyes Only is good, and Quantium of solace and The Hildebrand Rarity are good as well, but fleming, not Bond Per Se.

Forgive if there is something missing or bad written, but is a good start, not for Bond but for readers, because if you are a reader or have spare time, is better to go in order.

Golrush007

I have recently been reading Fleming's short stories, and although I do enjoy them I never find them quite as satisfying as his novels. My favourite short story is probably Risico, or The Living Daylights. I also really enjoyed Quantum of Solace and The Property of a Lady.

Sweepy the Cat

I prefer the short stories because ifyou don't like one thre's always more.

Sir Miles

Sweepy the Cat wrote:

I prefer the short stories because ifyou don't like one thre's always more.

Which short stories did you like, Sweepy, and why ?

Sweepy the Cat

Risico-Plenty of adventure,

The Hilderbrand rarity-Different type of story with a little more humour.

and

For Your Eyes only-Another adventure filled story.

SpectreBlofeld

Sweepy the Cat wrote:

The Hilderbrand rarity-Different type of story with a little more humour.

The Hildebrand Rarity? Humor? Wha?

A fantastic story, but I don't remember much in the way of humor.

Three of my favorite short stories share a three-way tie for first place - The Living Daylights, The Hildebrand Rarity, and Quantum of Solace. Don't make me choose!

Octopussy is a close second.

superado

Jarvio wrote:

I am not much of a reader. The only Bond book I've read is LALD. I enjoyed it and all, but I'm just not the reading type. However, I am keen to give more Fleming books a try.

Would the FYEO short stories be suitable? I figured that, seeing as I'm not a big reader, maybe short stories would be a good start for me.

Are the FYEO short stories any good?

I have to admit that I read these novels/stories for the adventure/thriller factor and because of that, I've re-read the FYEO stories a few times each, except for "Quantum of Solace" and "The Hildebrand Rarity," which I've read only once, just to not have missed doing so.

I have a slow pace when reading for pleasure and even with the shortness of the Fleming novels, it's always a work in progress to devote time to finish, which is why I often pull out my OP and FYEO whenever I need a quick literary Bond fix. I believe the short stories in my paperback editions are only around 25 to 30 pages long (and I would still need an evening for that, or a couple of bedtime readings before I begin to nod off and drop the book!)

My clear favorite from this collection used to be "Risico," but I've grown to appreciate "From a View to a Kill" more because of Bond's cafe musings and the subject on British despatch riders because of my WWII interests. I've also developed a liking for "For Your Eyes Only" because of

the focus on Bond's role as executioner (which he does here "unofficially" I think as a personal favor to M) and the old-school approach to prepare for and carry out a day long trek through the wilderness to the villain's villa.

For the book, OP, I think the newer editions now include "James Bond in New York," taken from Fleming's larger collection of travel stories; this story is more of a novelty in which Fleming makes light fun of James Bond as the exotic secret agent, which makes me think of Roger Moore. The story of OP itself is interesting but has little to do with Bond,

but whatever those are, they're critcally relevant to the story.

Personally, I found "Property of a Lady" boring, which leaves "The Living Daylights" as the only "Bond in action" story of the set, and boy, it makes up for the rest by again exploring Bond's role as assassin and the nitty gritty of how he prepares technically for this special mission. It also has the most iconic cold war setting of all the Bond novels and stories, if that interests you.

I think though that once you get your feet wet with the short stories, you'll be able to decide whether to move on to the novels. A couple of things on those, is that often each novel chapter was written by Fleming as a bite-sized, sometimes self contained episode so as to satisfy the reader for one sitting. However, some novels are "heavier" than others and IMO a bit harder to get into; examples include FRWL and YOLT. You might also consider audio books of the Fleming stories (Amazon, eBay), for which I recommend the unabridged versions. If you can find them, the ones narrarated by David Rintoul are great, not that I've heard the ones narrarated by others to make fair comparisons!

postman pat

Sweepy the Cat wrote:

Risico-Plenty of adventure,

The Hilderbrand rarity-Different type of story with a little more humour.

and

For Your Eyes only-Another adventure filled story.

I agree. Those short stories are crackingly good! Excuse the terms but Fleming's short stories are better,often then many of his full length novel.

He knows just the right amount of information to impart to the reader in those things... where sometimes the plot is a bit laid out in front of you.

Great literature.

chrisno1

The short stories sit very well in the Bond canon and the history behind them is very interesting. In the late 1950s Fleming was looking to expand Bond into film or TV. At the time American television networks were showing an interest and Fleming went to work creating some ideas and test screenplays. As the prospective deal fell through, Fleming then used these stories for the basis of the 5 tales in FYEO. It explains the slightly episodic nature of the adventures. It also shows Fleming could well have written some excellent screenplays as the dialougue is pared down and the action less over the top than in his full length novels.

sharpshooter

I adore the short stories; all of them are well compressed and told. Each Fleming title had a distinct James Bond flair to it – he is the master after all. The short stories will be getting more airtime with the new compilation, ‘Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories’, being recently released.