FYEO short stories
Jarvio
EnglandPosts: 4,241MI6 Agent
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?
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?
1 - LALD, 2 - AVTAK, 3 - LTK, 4 - OP, 5 - NTTD, 6 - FYEO, 7 - SF, 8 - DN, 9 - DAF, 10 - TSWLM, 11 - OHMSS, 12 - TMWTGG, 13 - GE, 14 - MR, 15 - TLD, 16 - YOLT, 17 - GF, 18 - DAD, 19 - TWINE, 20 - SP, 21 - TND, 22 - FRWL, 23 - TB, 24 - CR, 25 - QOS
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Comments
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!
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
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.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
...and enjoy them. There isn't a single bad Fleming Bond novel or short story collection.
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.
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.
Which short stories did you like, Sweepy, and why ?
The Hilderbrand rarity-Different type of story with a little more humour.
and
For Your Eyes only-Another adventure filled story.
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.
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
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,
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!
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.