Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories [Paperback]

Ian Fleming (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2008

Many of Ian Fleming’s short stories have been the inspiration for the extremely successful James Bond film franchise, and included in this collection are such stories as Octopussy, The Living Daylights, and For Your Eyes Only. The title story, Quantum of Solace, lends its name to the upcoming James Bond film, slated to release in Fall 2008. This collection will be published to coincide with the film’s release, as well as to continue Penguin’s centenary celebrations of Fleming’s birth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ian Fleming (1908–1964), the creator of the world’s best known secret agent, joined Naval Intelligence and served throughout World War II, finally earning the rank of commander. Much of the James Bond material was drawn directly from Fleming’s experiences as an intelligence officer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 279 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143114581
• ISBN-13: 978-0143114581
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 007's Comfort and Discomfort in 9 Short Stories, September 16, 2008

By 

H. S. Wedekind "Mr. Weekend" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories (Paperback)

"Quantum of Solace - the amount of comfort. Yes, I suppose you could say that all love and friendship is based in the end on that. Human beings are very insecure. When the other person not only makes you feel insecure but actually seems to want to destroy you, it's obviously the end. The Quantum of Solace stands at zero. You've got to get away to save yourself."

- James Bond (QUANTUM OF SOLACE)

This paperback, recently released before the debut on November 21, 2008 of the latest 007 movie of the same name, "Quantum of Solace," is actually a compilation of nine short stories written by Ian Fleming in two separate books (FOR YOUR EYES ONLY and OCTOPUSSY/THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS). According to Fleming's biographer John Pearson in his book THE LIFE OF IAN FLEMING, six or so of these short stories began as outlines for half-hour TV episodes written for CBS in the late '50s. The TV series never got off the ground but the short stories have survived. Several of them were made into full-length movies having absolutely nothing to do with the original stories (e.g. "Octopussy," "From a View to a Kill," and "For Your Eyes Only"). I can't imagine the next Bond movie, starring Daniel Craig as a much better 007 than any of the previous ones in my opinion, (Sean Connery excepted) has anything to do with the short story "Quantum of Solace," since it is only about a conversation between JB and the Governor of The Bahamas (the governor's name is never given) in Nassau after a dinner party. There's no action. No intrigue. No skullduggery. It's simply a story about a failed marriage. Suffice it to say, the short stories are well-worth reading on their own. Bond is his usual suave and deadly self and a staunch defender of Queen and Country against the West's old Cold War nemesis...the Soviet Union. Highly recommended.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The contents of this book, October 10, 2008

By 

R. MCCOSKER (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories (Paperback)

This is a collection of all of the nine short stories about James Bond which were written by the late Ian Fleming.

(Fleming, of course, created the character of James Bond and was the author of the books which became the basis for all the James Bond movies. In addition to the short stories, Fleming wrote twelve novels about Bond.)

Over the years, these short stories have been kept in print in two collections: _For Your Eyes Only_, with five stories; and _Octopussy and The Living Daylights_, with four.

Now, for the first time ever, every one of the nine stories have been collected in a single volume, _Quantum of Solace_, which makes owning all these stories more convenient and economical.

That's the good news.

The not-so-good news is that the publisher here exercised no imagination, merely sandwiching together the contents of the two books.

Looking for a well-written foreword or afterword about these stories or their author? No such luck: The publisher includes no foreword or afterword at all.

The stories as earlier collected were not arranged according to the sequence of James Bond's life -- or to any other discernible plan. This new omnibus collection does absolutely nothing to fix that -- it just puts one unchanged collection behind another unchanged collection. This is disappointing, because we know from books by researchers like John Griswold (_Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies_) that there are sound ways to sequence the stories (and novels) by events in the life of James Bond.

Here are the contents of _Quantum of Solace_, as arranged in the book:

(Repeating the contents in sequence from _For Your Eyes Only_ ...)

"From a View to a Kill"
"For Your Eyes Only"
"Quantum of Solace"
"Risico"
"The Hildebrand Rarity"

(... and then repeating the contents of _Octopussy and The Living Daylights_)

"Octopussy"
"The Property of a Lady"
"The Living Daylights"
"007 in New York"

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BOND IN SHORT, November 12, 2008

By 

Michael C. Smith "[e-mail]" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories (Paperback)

This collection of Ian Fleming short stories is a must have for any Bond fan. I have been discovering Fleming since the release of the film "Casino Royale" and have found his books to be not only thrilling but also very well written. His prose is as lean, hard and ruthless as James Bond himself. He is a joy to read.

Here in "Quantum of Solace" I was not disappointed. All the stories are wonderful and it is amazing to see how Fleming can pack so much drama and excitement into a few pages just as he does in his full-length novels.

Among the best short stories, at least my favorites are;

"Risico" has a wonderful Roman setting and a surprise villain, just so much fun.

"Quantum of Solace" is an incredible tale of the death of love told over cocktails.

"View To A Kill", Catapults the reader into a trill ride which is very cinematic and a great story.

"Property of a Lady" shows the cool everyday aspect of what being a Secret Service agent is about.

"The Living Daylights". Here the cold winter cityscape of cold war Berlin is wonderfully described and a little romance too.

And of special note you can find a scrumptious recipe for scrambled eggs in "007 In New York" (The character of Solange in the film of Casino Royale seems to have come from this story)

All the stories are wonderful, and this is a must have for any Bond fan. It is fascinating to pick out scenes from the stories that have ended up being incorporated into various films in the franchise, some intact with their stories titles and some buried into a plot for a film not related to the title. Such is the case with "Risico". You will have fun just as I did in the "Ah ha" moment of realization on this point.

So Bond is back in the movies now in a bigger way than ever before thanks to the reinvention of the franchise and to Daniel Craig who is by far the nearest to Bond as he appears in the books. And here in "Quantum of Solace" you have the opportunity to enter into his world by way of mere vignettes where you will find no solace for James Bond but a lot of adventure fun, and fine writing.