You Only Live Twice

In You Only Live Twice Ian Flemings Bond finds his end. True, one more novel would be released, but the Man With the Golden Gun is a shadow of a novel that was barely drafted on Flemings death. It is no surprise that this novel comes from the racist viewpoint of the British gentleman during the twilight of the British Empire. Japanese are the exotic good Asians. Flemings understanding of the culture feel like something earned by a few nights on the Ginza and a cheap guidebook. Bond has an unlikely transformation into a Japanese coal miner. The strange coincidence of Bonds nemesis and the proprietor of the Castle of Death is too unbelievable. Bonds assimilation of ninja skills, seemingly by osmosis is a stretch. The whole thing feels like a fever dream combined with a travelogue of Japanese tourist traps. The ending seems tacked on and listless. Definitely the worst of the series.

NOTE: This applies only to the KINDLE version and not the story!!

The Kinlde version appears to be simply a compilation of page-by-page image files. It is UNREADABLE on my Kindle and cannot be resized! In the online app, the print/image quality is horrible, unreadable, and again … cannot be resized. When I attempted to return for a refund, I got a message that said “item ineligible for refund.”

Thanks a lot Amazon. A totally unreadable piece of c r a p for which you will not let me return.

For many reasons, I consider this the last of the series. Fleming didn’t finish “The Man With The Golden Gun” and was ill when writing the rough draft that was left behind at his death. It was simply awful, especially given Cmdr. Fleming’s own experience with British Intelligence.
“You Only Live Twice” finds Bond in a slump, unable to recover from the murder of his wife of only a few hours on their honeymoon. He’s been eased back into work, but has literally made a mess of 2 missions and M is seriously considering revoking his Double-O status.
The Service consulting physician is fond of 007, and suggests an alternative. He states a man of Bond’s psychological makeup cannot rise unless he is challenged against overwhelming odds, so he suggests giving him a literally impossible mission to accomplish and free reign to do it.
Unlike the usual assassination assignments, Bond is asked to travel to Japan and make contact with the head of the Japanese Intelligence Service, a mysterious man of which little is known other than his name; Tiger Tanaka. This is to be primarily a diplomatic mission, and he is to offer to trade British Intelligence resources & information in exchange for the treasure trove of Japan’s Russian spy network. It is thought highly unlikely Japan will work with the British and will be a coup if Bond pulls it off. Bond accepts, and begins his adventure to the Far East; another routine assignment with more than meets the eye, scores settled with Ernst Blofeld, ninja training, and a second chance at life.

A very different James Bond story. While you can see traces of it in the movie version this is a very personal story of the man who is Bond and the steps he takes to get revenge for what happened in the previous book “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Fleming’s writing makes the story jump off the page.

The detailed explanation of the Japanese culture makes this book fascinating. Bonds transition from British secret agent to Japanese fisherman under the guidance of Tanaka (a very different character than the movie version) comprises the majority of the story and sets the stage for the ending.

I had forgotten how the books are much more of an ongoing connected narrative. I look forward to the next one.

In his last adventure James Bond met with the greatest tragedy of his life. He was able to destroy the base of his enemy Blofeld, but his foe escaped. Then within only a few hours of getting married, Blofeld struck back and Bond’s new bride was killed. Back in London Bond has let himself go. He is drinking too much and his mind is not on the game. He was nearly killed when he botched a mission. M believes that he may have to let James go. He is advised to give Bond a task that is impossible, but not dangerous. M decides to promote Bond to the diplomatic mission and send his to Japan. His job is to meet with M’s counterpart in Tokyo and try to get access to the Russian signals that the Japanese are decoding. The Japanese have a special relationship with the Americans and they are reluctant to share with others. Bond now has to learn the ins and outs of the Japanese culture in order to win over this reluctant ally. That turns out to be the least of his problems. The Japanese have their own trouble in the form of a foreigner who has created a bizarre landscape full of creatures and plants that kill. The suicide culture of Japan has embraced this new place and it is causing embarrassment to the government. There is nothing legal that can be done, but someone with Bond’s particular skills may be able to deal with this in his own way. Bond accepts the trade and is soon involved with an enemy that he knows all too well. He has to pull himself together if he is to survive this mission. The ending is quite a surprise. More great Cold War spy pulp from the great Ian Fleming.

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