Quick Big Mi6 Fleming Novel Ranking

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  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,758
    At number 9, we have:

    FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

    Including:
    FROM A VIEW TO A KILL / FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    QUANTUM OF SOLACE / RISICO
    THE HILDEBRAND RARITY

    08_FYEO_IF_Cover_alt_03.jpg

    The second short story collection to be discussed and the highest-rated one managed to claim a top 10 spot.

    Two top 5 spots were secured, including one bronze medal. With two more 6th places and one 7th place added to the mix, FYEO ended up in five top halfs.

    No bottom finishes were noted for this one, or these five I’d better say, which makes FYEO the lowest-ranked entry without one.

    The worst rankings here were three penultimate places.

    In total FYEO obtained 107 points, making it our first competitor to pass the 100-points mark.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    Good book, interesting stories. But I still prefer the novels.
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,382
    Great! Same spot for me at #9 in my rankings!
  • Posts: 2,743
    FYEO is my favourite of Fleming's short story collections, and it's definitely got some great stuff. FAVTAK is a great little Bond adventure, Bond girl and all. It's a solid mystery with some great suspense. I'd really like to see it adapted some day for part of a film. Risico and FYEO also feel pretty 'classically Bond' too and almost could arguably be chapters in larger novels.

    In this sense, it's QOS and THR which stand out and actually showcase Fleming's skill as a short story writer. Both of these stories feel more akin to TSWLM and 'experimental' if anything, and are certainly more character/drama based. Both hold up better than that novel for me personally, and Fleming's writing/themes are certainly more consistent. I'm particularly a fan of THR, particularly the underwater sections of the story (both when Bond is snorkelling and Krest poisons the fish. I particularly like Bond's disgust at the latter as well. Along with the opening of GF and sections of TMWTGG it highlights the literary Bond's humanity). Krest is also rather vividly written as this horrid loudmouth of an antagonist but still comes off as menacing when needed.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,664
    I didn't take part, but I'd have had FYEO in the top three for sure. I think Fleming really excelled in the short story format. Even his novels frequently read like short story collections.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    I’m really late to the party but here’s my poll. I still have to read FYEO and OP.

    1. Moonraker
    2. From Russia with Love
    3. Live and Let Die
    4. Casino Royale
    5. Thunderball
    6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
    7. You Only Live Twice
    8. Diamonds Are Forever
    9. Goldfinger
    10. Dr. No
    11. The Man with the Golden Gun
    12. The Spy Who Loved Me
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,382
    matt_u wrote: »
    I’m really late to the party but here’s my poll. I still have to read FYEO and OP.

    1. Moonraker
    2. From Russia with Love
    3. Live and Let Die
    4. Casino Royale
    5. Thunderball
    6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
    7. You Only Live Twice
    8. Diamonds Are Forever
    9. Goldfinger
    10. Dr. No
    11. The Man with the Golden Gun
    12. The Spy Who Loved Me

    Great ranking mate!
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,758
    It was your host who put this one in third place. I do have a fondness towards both short story collections. I regularly reach out to them when I find myself in need of a Bond story without having the time to start reading an entire novel. Therefore, I tend to revisit FYEO and OP&TLD quite often.

    As for this one, THR and Risico are my favourites. THR has Fleming describing underwater life, so that’s always a big plus. Additionally, Krest is an absolute abomination of a person, without any redeeming quality. This guy you just love to hate.

    But Risico still takes the cake here for me. It has everything that I love comprised in a small Bond story: Italian setting, Italian food, Italian cars, ships, an action scene, Cold War intrigue (even though only in the background) and that typical ally-is-the-villain trope.

    As a lover of all things Italy, and especially the food, there is one complaint though: it’s not tagliatelli, it is tagliatelle. A food lover like Fleming should know that.

    Still though, one vowel away from pure perfection, Risico remains one of my very favourite Fleming stories.
  • Posts: 12,242
    Once again a same spot as my placement. FYEO is a really excellent collection of short stories. I have them ranked as For Your Eyes Only > Risico > The Hildebrand Rarity > Quantum of Solace > From a View to a Kill. Love them all though, especially the first three. We’ve now gotten to the part of the list where I’m really, really into the stories!
  • Like Octopussy/Living Daylights this is the only other Fleming I haven’t read! I did rank it higher than OP&LD just based on what I heard about it so it appears my placement wasn’t off from the consensus. Looking forward to reading both whenever Folio society puts them out.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I put this in 6th place, and I didn t care too much for the opening story FAVTAK, but then each story is better and more interesting than the previous, culminating with THR. So for me, this book just builds and builds.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    8th spot for me, I intensely love every one of these stories. All of the short stories give us a tighter and more focused look into Bond's psyche.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,758
    Continuing our journey through Fleming’s Bond legacy, we next have a look at our number 8:

    THUNDERBALL

    thunderball.jpg

    This much discussed work of Fleming in which SPECTRE gets introduced came in 3rd for two members.

    It also obtained one 4th and two 6th places. Three participants gave it the exact spot at which it ultimately landed: 8th.

    No last places for TB, though one member ranked it penultimate and another two members put it in 12th, giving it a total of three bottom 3’s.

    TB collected a total of 111 points.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    I hadn't expected TB to go out so soon. But it makes sense. I, personally, love that book. I like the frogmen climax. Above all, I like Blofeld in this one.
  • Posts: 12,242
    My #10. I like it plenty, but still has to fall below a lot of the others for my tastes. I find OHMSS and YOLT the far superior entries in the Blofeld trilogy, but this was a good opening. I don’t really have much else to say; I think TB the novel is an entry without a whole lot of super high or low points within the context of the series.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    edited August 2022 Posts: 2,161
    #10 for me as well. I consider it to be the one that sits in the middle, not numerically, but in my adoration. The four that I rank below are all noticeably problematic in one way or another, the nine above are my Elite Fleming ( they are near perfect in my eyes). With TB, I am torn. There are great moments (the introduction of SPECTRE and Blofeld, the underwater battle), but much of it just kind of meanders. Not to the point of unpleasantness, but it often feels generic.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    edited August 2022 Posts: 4,378
    That's a strange cover with this green colour. I much prefer the drawing on my german edition.

    FYEO was my #13. All short stories are solid but none is real highlight for me. Well, Krest stands out as the ultimate asshole of all Fleming characters. Fleming managed to create a very unlikeable person here, I almost can't read it. Like I said earlier, I prefer TLD and OP to all these stories.

    TB is like DAF a novel where I have some difficulty to go through some chapters. I.e. the chapter where the plane is hijacked and all crew members are killed is surprisingly long and not interesting at all (imo). The introduction of Blofeld is a highlight but unfortunately he isn't mentioned much more and Largo isn't that interesting (both in the novel and on screen).
    My favourite part? The funny bit with M and Moneypenny at the beginning.
    I ranked it #12, only in front of FYEO and and DAF.
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    edited August 2022 Posts: 3,382
    Gosh! This is my favorite novel!

    I ranked it at #4

    Largo Is an interesting villain, realistic plot of hijacking nuclear bombs, a tough, competent, fleshed out Bond Girl In Domino, and a combination of humor, thrill and action.

    Fleming's description of underwater scenes were very great.

    SPECTRE was also at its peak, with his description of Blofeld really menacing and threatening.

    Sorry to say, but the plots of the two next novels were fantasy and full camp to me, Brainwashing allergic beautiful patients? Building a castle in Japan? Outlandish! It felt like Fleming already predicted the Roger Moore Era campiness.

    I liked this one, it got it all right and in place, it's also Felix Leiter's last appearance, he never appeared in the next two books, which was also a miss for me.

    It felt like a proper Bond novel, the next two doesn't have that feel, both were inconsistent in tone

    (OHMSS was outlandish but trying to be drama, YOLT was a dark novel but trying to be a Japanese Pulp Fiction)

    Find it much better in the film, where it's a slog and repetitive.

    It really hurts me, it's depressing for me.

    How dare you guys?! :((
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    If it’s your favorite, why did you rank it #4?

    I should add the I loved the evolution M’s health regime. How he and Bond switch sides at some point in regards to the new, organic life-style.
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    edited August 2022 Posts: 3,382
    Birdleson wrote: »
    If it’s your favorite, why did you rank it #4?

    I should add the I loved the evolution M’s health regime. How he and Bond switch sides at some point in regards to the new, organic life-style.

    Well, I couldn't put it above Moonraker, Casino Royale and From Russia With Love (Thunderball Is my favorite, but those three, in terms of quality and writing were better).

    But for me, it's the best of the later novels.
  • edited August 2022 Posts: 2,743
    TB is a strange novel for me. It's another one I revisit the least and tend to find its latter half a bit on the dull side (to be honest I have harsher words to say about the film). It's a good read, but it's not quite as thrilling as I feel it should be.

    That said its first quarter, and a lot of its ideas within it, are really interesting to me. Seeing Bond's hedonistic side is an example. He's not necessarily a man in a dark, cynical place at the beginning of this novel as he is at various points in Fleming's stories, but is simply bored. He finds passing excitement in gambling, sex, and alcohol, to the detriment of his own body (which seems to be extensively scarred from his work, reading Fleming's descriptions). While M's health kick is played for laughs, there's certainly an underlying idea of Bond's mortality at play here - and I suspect Fleming felt this about himself in regards his own lifestyle/age. It's a great set up for a Bond adventure, and tells us so much about a man whose job is to go on dangerous assignments and quite possibly not come back.

    Apart from that I'm a fan of Largo as a villain. He's thug, but a rather good looking, charismatic one. I honestly wish we saw more film villains along this line, and I certainly find him better than the rather uninspired film incarnation. Same for Domino who is rather vividly written in an almost femme fatale type way. The chapter where her and Bond first meet, presenting it from Domino's POV which in turn makes Bond come across as a sort of 'mysterious stranger' etc. is great stuff. Blofeld is also rather vividly written. The SPECTRE meeting is also a highlight and perfectly conveys the menace/weight of this organisation.

    Much like the film, the ticking 'clock' of the stolen missiles never really felt gripping to me. I dunno, it doesn't feel like Bond is racing against the clock to stop something awful more than he is doing a job. Again, I have much harsher thoughts on the film, and I certainly prefer Fleming's descriptions of the underwater battles more than the depiction in the film, but the meat of this book never quite works for me. I appreciate it more for what it tells us about Bond as a character, how he interacts with certain types of villains/Bond girls etc.
    MI6HQ wrote: »


    Sorry to say, but the plots of the two next novels were fantasy and full camp to me, Brainwashing allergic beautiful patients? Building a castle in Japan? Outlandish! It felt like Fleming already predicted the Roger Moore Era campiness.

    I liked this one, it got it all right and in place, it's also Felix Leiter's last appearance, he never appeared in the next two books, which was also a miss for me.

    Well, Leiter came back in TMWTGG. I would say though that one of the things that I find a bit dull about this novel is the lack of Fleming's fantastical touch which he was so skilled at writing. I feel he's at his best when evoking the supernatural or trying to be outlandish, as he tends to present these scenarios in a grounded, verisimilitude-ious way (DN and the fighting of the giant squid is an example of this - it's an outlandish premise, but Bond genuinely gets hurt and the chapter is written in a tense, even dark way). I dunno, the tone of this novel is a bit more lighthearted in places but just lacks that bit of edge to the escapism that I love from Fleming's writing in LALD, MR, DN, FRWL etc.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    I’m predicting LALD goes next.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,758
    That's a strange cover with this green colour. I much prefer the drawing on my german edition.

    We aim to please ;)

    Thunderballianflemmingbondgirlgrande_465_760_int.jpg

    Granted, this one’s really amazing too.

    As for the novel, despite atrocities committed to Italian cuisine on page 39, TB is one of my favourites.

    Being a fan of both film adaptions, it’s one I love to revisit. It has plenty of mystery and exoticness. It also has Domino, one of my absolute favourite Bond girls.

    With its scuba-action and underwater goings-on, it has that summery vibe as well. Great stuff for poolside reading.

    In hindsight, I should have ranked it higher though.

  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,664
    It's also the funniest book. The Bond of Thunderball, obviously partly influenced by Fleming's collaborators on the story, is kind of our first look at EON's Bond.
  • Posts: 6,727
    I had it placed at #3! I find it a really enjoyable read, despite its length, it is much better paced than the film, solid passages of writing, its a very entertaining Bond novel!
  • I had Thunderball at 10/12 for the novels, only ahead of TMWTGG and GF. I think it’s solidly better to both of those books and isn’t really particularly deficient in any capacity, but it does just feel sort of “Bond by the numbers”. I think my biggest issues with it are that Fleming isn’t as descriptive with the settings here (just compare how he writes about the Bahamas here with how he writes about Jamaica in Dr. No or LALD), and the race to find the nukes should have a lot more urgency and things actually happening than it does. Bond sort of just hangs out until the climax, and I felt the film actually improved things by giving him more to do. I do really like the opening Shrublands sequence, which is very funny and engaging, the Blofeld stuff, and the final battle is pretty exciting. But it was at this point in the series that I felt Fleming had to start trying some new things and luckily that’s exactly what he did.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited August 2022 Posts: 5,921
    To be fair, wasn't TB a bit of a "cash grab" by Fleming to get a book out, so maybe that's why it's not his strongest book? The litigation with McClory all started because of TB the novel.

    I don't buy the argument that either Fleming or McClory was a saint. Fleming stole from McClory without crediting him, and in response McClory tried to overreach for other Bond rights.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I put this in 11th place. I still thinks it s great, especially the introduction of Blofeld, but it does suffer a bit imo from being a rewritten fim script rather than intended as a novel from the start.
  • GoldenGun wrote: »
    Continuing our journey through Fleming’s Bond legacy, we next have a look at our number 8:

    THUNDERBALL

    This much discussed work of Fleming in which SPECTRE gets introduced came in 3rd for two members.

    I was the other bronze. I love every bit of this novel: Blofeld, Largo, Domino, the larger-than-life scheme Bond goes up against, Fleming totally in his element writing underwater adventure. This is where it’s at when it comes to literary Bond for me. There are just two I consider better.

    GoldenGun wrote: »
    At number 9, we have:

    FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

    Including:
    FROM A VIEW TO A KILL / FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    QUANTUM OF SOLACE / RISICO
    THE HILDEBRAND RARITY

    FYEO is just a great collection. Of all Fleming’s short stories, “For Your Eyes Only” and “Risico” are the two that feel the most like one of Bond’s usual adventures scaled down to short story form. "The Hildebrand Rarity" is great in terms of its villain and Fleming’s underwater writing. I rather enjoy the different nature of “From a View to a Kill” too with the mystery Bond has to solve, the exciting climax, and Mary Ann Russell. “Quantum of Solace” is probably my least favorite here, but it’s an interesting read nevertheless.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,758
    The next reveal will be for one of the following days, I am abroad and I don’t have much internet access…
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