You Only Live Twice

Yes, it's the one with the hollowed out volcano and what a fun ride it is too. It should come as no surprise to anyone that for me (who ranks the earily similar plot-wise TSWLM at #2 of Bond movies and is a fan of Roger Moore's portrayal) that "You Only Live Twice" is high on my list of favorite Connery movies. It's fun and zany and like a Godzilla movie on steroids Bond is plunged into a kinetic, energized Japan. A country that is reeling from an identity crisis following a humiliating defeat in WWII for the traditional nation and the onslaught of 1960s pop culture of which the Bond phenomenon was a major part. Connery for his part looks bored and tired with the role and so the film makers understandably have loaded this movie with special effects, martial arts fighting, gimmicks and yes, a hollowed out volcano. All in the hopes that Connery will get lost in the mix and his lack of enthusiasm for the part less evident as the viewers senses are assaulted by a vibrant concoction composed of all the spectacle and wonder that screenwriter Dahl and director Lewis Gilbert could conceive. The mission seems ripped from the headlines to use an old cliché. The time is the late 1960s and with the US and USSR locked in a race for the dominance of space, the two nations are both having capsules hijacked by some unknown power. Of course in the hyperactive paranoia of the Cold War - each blames the other. But Britain, in its infinite wisdom, stands by their claim that their tracking placed the object (that seized an American rocket) land somewhere in the sea of Japan. The movie begins with one of my all-time favorite pre-credits sequences. Bond is in bed with an attractive Chinese girl. In what appears to be a double-cross however she pushes a button that sends the bed into the wall before letting a couple of assassins in who pepper the bed with bullet holes. Having the hero "killed off" at the beginning of the movie is a gimmick that has been copied often (and in fact first echos the opening of "From Russia With Love." But Gilbert crafts it expertly. A solid entry in the Bond series - too light for some, but certainly a lot of fun throughout.

This is Ian Fleming's most mysterious and enigmatic James Bond novel. This is a direct follow up to "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." It starts out as a direct secret service story even though Bond is reassigned to the diplomatic section. As it progresses it becomes almost surrealistic as James Bond tracks down his arch nemesis on the island of Kyushu. This is a very well written and researched novel. The Japanese idioms and depictions of locale are exquisite. When the novel moves to Kuro Island and is on the threshold of Dr. Shaterhand's castle lair, Fleming approaches mythical horizons. I found this absorbing, haunting and prophetic novel very difficult to put down once I started reading it. You get addicted early on to such charismatic characters as Tiger Tanaka and the all too brief Dikko Henderson but it is the narrative of this epic tale that beckons the reader. The simplistic paperback cover is appealing.

This is Ian Fleming's most mysterious and enigmatic James Bond novel. This is a direct follow up to "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." It starts out as a direct secret service story even though Bond is reassigned to the diplomatic section. As it progresses it becomes almost surrealistic as James Bond tracks down his arch nemesis on the island of Kyushu. This is a very well written and researched novel. The Japanese idioms and depictions of locale are exquisite. When the novel moves to Kuro Island and is on the threshold of Dr. Shaterhand's castle lair, Fleming approaches mythical horizons. I found this absorbing, haunting and prophetic novel very difficult to put down once I started reading it. You get addicted early on to such charismatic characters as Tiger Tanaka and the all too brief Dikko Henderson but it is the narrative of this epic tale that beckons the reader. The new retro-paperback cover is alluring.

"You Only Live Twice" (1964) was published the year of Ian Fleming's death, and, as with its predecessor, the superb "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," it is suffused with doom and death. It is unlike any of the other Bond books, with a pervasive gloominess that was as much the result of Fleming's rapidly declining health and unhappiness with the world around him as it was the result of Bond's clinical depression after the tragedy that finished the last book.Bond, recovering from the death of his wife, is falling to pieces. Taking the advice of a friend, M sends him on a vital mission to Japan, which he hopes will restore Bond's spirits. What seems at first to be a rather placid visit soons turns dangerous as Bond agrees to accept secrets about the Russians in exchange for carrying out a delicate mission for the Japanese government. What he encounters is the culmination of the previous two Bond novels, and the last half of the novel is virtually unputdownable.This is the best writing of Fleming's career, and his descriptions of Bond's disintegration are surprisingly moving. The final hundred pages or so are horrifying and gripping; never before had Fleming demonstrated such mastery of his craft or technical skill at setting up a denouement. The tension becomes almost unbearable."You Only Live Twice" is not an uplifting book, but it is a vital book in the Bond series, and much better than its successor, the pale and posthumously published "Man With the Golden Gun." Those expecting slam-bang action will have to wait until the middle and final chapters, but the rewards are worth the patience. This is a fine novel, but I wouldn't start here if I were just discovering Fleming's Bond novels.

Japan has a problem. A certain Dr. Guntram Shatterhand and his wife has moved into a old castle on a remote Japanese island. The renown Swiss horticulturist was welcomed at first until he started planted deadly plants throughout the castle grounds and stocking the man-made lake with deadly Piranhas. The island has become a "garden of death" for those seeking to commit suicide. England has a problem. One of their top spies in the British Secret Service has become a serious liability. Despite his exemplary record, M is all set to fire James Bond, but instead 007 is sent to Japan to help solve their problem.In an adventure like no other, James Bond is given a suicide mission: eliminate Dr. Shatterhand. Bond prepares for his mission in a lackadaisical manner until he learns that Dr. & Mrs. Shatterhand are none other than Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Irma Bunt! (Fleming is very clever dropping hints about the doctor's true identity, especially the references to his ugly wife!) Bond is now faced with a moral dilemma. Does he reveal his discovery to Tiger Tanaka of the Japan Secret Service or does he go after Blofeld himself to satisy his revenge? Bond chooses the latter and who can blame him? This is Blofeld! The supreme leader of SPECTRE who attempted to blackmail the world with stolen nuclear missiles. Blofeld. The evil genius who attempted to unleash biological warfare on England from his Swiss Resort high in the Alps. Blofeld. The man who killed Bond's wife....Blofeld has gone into a twisted sadistic retirement. Hiding out in an ancient castle, playing the role of Emporer strolling about his kingdom wearing Japanese battle armor and silk kimonos. Bond is going to take him down one way or another.The tension builds as Bond prepares to face his hated rival. The gardens are deadly, but so is 007! With the help of Kissy Suzuki, Bond penetrates the castle and faces Blofeld in what will be the ultimate showdown!A very exciting book! (Especially the final few chapters) Very fitting that the setting was Japan. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE tells the story of a samurai who has lost his way, but in facing his fears and his enemy he regains his honor and suceeds where others would have failed. 5 STARS!