Book reviews

On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Ian Fleming Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography Video
Ian Fleming Books
New book search
Ian Fleming Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
"As the eleventh book in Ian Fleming's Bond series begins, Commander James Bond, Agent 007 of Her Majesty's Secret Service, is on the verge of resigning from his post.
For the past year, he has done nothing but search for Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the supercriminal whose SPECTRE organization attempted to blackmail the world with stolen nuclear weapons, and he has come to the conclusion that the elusive mastermind is dead.

On vacation in France, Bond encounters a beautiful girl who, he believes, is preparing to commit suicide. Saving her, he discovers that her father is the head of the French Mafia, and the man has decided that he is now in Bond's debt. Asking the man if he can locate Blofeld, Bond is informed that the terrorist is somewhere in Switzerland.

Almost a month later, Bond is called to the College of Arms, where he learns that Blofeld, who is indeed in Switzerland, is attempting to claim the title of the Comte de Bleuville, claiming that his Polish ancestors migrated from France during the Revolution.

Going undercover as Sir Hilary Bray, a researcher in the College of Arms, Bond is taken to Blofeld's mountain stronghold, which doubles as a ski resort and an institute where allergies are cured via hypnosis.

There, he discovers that Blofeld's sinister scheme involves much more than simply stealing a title to which he has no claim. With the help of eleven beautiful, brainwashed girls, Blofeld plots to unleash biological weapons on the farms of Britain and irrevocably destroy the country's economy."

James Craver, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - Dry-cynical
Time/era of story: - 1960's-1970's
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - main char. spying/sabotage - preventing bomb/biohazard/disaster
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here? - generic terrorists
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - spy
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
The antagonists are: - foreign organized crime
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK - France - Switzerland
Mountains/Cliffs Yes
Mountains: - falling off - skiing off
Misc setting - resort/hotel

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 8 or more
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing
Unusual forms of death - dropped from large heights - diced - crushed - frozen - impaled - perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Thunderball by Ian Fleming
You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
The Crash of '79 by Paul E. Erdman
The Phoenix Pact by Michael Hartmann
The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming


Click here for more information about this book


Ian Fleming Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
James Craver  

SCHOLARS:


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Thriller/Action books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Big vehicle disaster?

Crime Thriller

Disaster, natural or nuclear

Exploring into the wild

Horror Story?

Legal Thriller

Medical Thriller

Religious overtones?

Spying/Terrorism Thriller

War Thriller

Water adventure

Western



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
Feedback


Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
Suzanne Weyn 10:35:23 PM
George W. Bush 5:33:46 PM
Kin Platt 12:58:29 AM
Anonymous 12:47:34 PM
Lilian Jackson Braun 10:05:52 PM
Jane Rubino 10:04:38 PM
LaVyrle Spencer 10:04:00 PM
G.A. McKevett 10:03:31 PM
David Williams 10:03:01 PM
Steven Pressfield 10:02:30 PM
Jeanette Walls 10:00:19 PM
Darryl Ponicsan 9:59:27 PM
Ann Rinaldi 9:58:30 PM
R.L. Stine 9:57:34 PM
Geoffrey Huntington 9:57:14 PM
Betty Mahmoody 9:56:38 PM
Deric Longden 9:56:11 PM
Mary Downing Hahn 9:55:48 PM
Iris Johansen 9:55:24 PM
Marlo Morgan 9:54:58 PM

More message boards