A review by branch_c
On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming

3.0

I may have read another Bond book years ago, but if so I don’t remember it clearly enough to comment on it. This one, however, does a nice job demonstrating Fleming’s writing ability. The language seems almost literary at times, in contrast to more modern thrillers. The story is engaging and mostly fast-paced, though the plot of the novel is a bit slower, less convoluted, and more thoughtful than a typical Bond movie, in which the action rarely lets up for even a moment. But the character of Bond comes through, and the rest of the cast is interesting enough.

Of course there’s nothing here that comes across as truly original, given the extent to which Bond and his exploits have become well-known cultural elements in the sixty years since this was written. There are the car chases (both cars and locations exotic) the gunplay, the criminal masterminds, the thuggish henchmen, even the escapes via ski and bobsled. Not to mention, of course, the obliviously sexist attitudes of the protagonist (and most other male characters), as well as the female characters who justify it by their stereotypical “Bond girl” behavior. It’s all in good fun though, and the formula largely works to create an enjoyable read.

Anyway, this is not one of my usual genres, but not bad for a change.