 |
| 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' by Ian Fleming (Penguin Modern Classics, 2004) |
As 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' begins, Bond is on the verge of resigning his post with the British Secret Service. Soured by his pursuit of the elusive Blofeld, architect of 'Thunderball' and head of SPECTRE, he's returned to France and the coast last visited during the 'Casino Royale' case. Just as life seems to have nothing left to offer Bond, he meets Teresa di Vincenzo, an enigmatic and confused young woman on the road to self-destruction. Bond is enthralled by her and the chance encounter leads to new allies and, more importantly, new leads. In a secret 'treatment' centre in the Alps, Blofeld's latest plans are unfolding. But what exactly is the arch villain up to? How are the young women patients involved? And can Bond stop Blofeld in his tracks?
This story is both famous and notorious. Famous as the book where Bond, the ultimate bachelor, finally marries, but notorious for being the source material for arguably the least liked of the whole film series. The reason I say that I'm glad 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' was the last audiobook I heard is because I found the plot confused and dissatisfying, but the ending is heartbreakingly poignant. I find it really hard to square Bond's seduction of one of the patients at Blofeld's clinic with a changed man ready to marry and settle down. Equally, even though it's very much rooted in the gender politics of the time, the final few pages can't fail to bring a tear to the eye.
 |
| 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' by Ian Fleming and read by David Tennant (AudioGo, 2012) |
I've really enjoyed listening to several of the readers in the 007 Reloaded series, including Jason Isaacs, Dan Stevens, Rosamund Pike and Hugh Bonneville. Unfortunately, David Tennant didn't quite work for me. While the others often seemed to be enjoying reading their book as much as we were enjoying listening to it, it felt like Mr Tennant was sleepwalking through it a bit. He's undeniably a great actor, but for some reason this medium didn't seem to show him at his best. To be fair, he was up against some stiff competition and I don't feel this is the best of Bond stories.
Overall, while I didn't think this was one of the stand-outs in the series, I'm really glad that I've listened to 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and its siblings. I've loved the Bond films ever since I can remember and it's been a real eye opener to go back to the source material and meet the man as he was originally written.
I'd thoroughly recommend the 007 Reloaded series (and do, frequently!). I'm sure that I'll return to and enjoy these recordings many times in the future and I hope many other people do too.
Related Posts
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Diamonds are Forever'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'The Spy who Loved Me'
'You Only Live Twice' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (Joint post)
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
'Casino Royale'
'Live and Let Die'
'Moonraker'
'Diamonds are Forever'
'Goldfinger'
'From Russia with Love'
'Dr No'
'For Your Eyes Only'
'Thunderball'
'The Spy who Loved Me'
'You Only Live Twice' and 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (Joint post)
'Octopussy, the Living Daylights and Other Stories'
