For Your Eyes Only- Ian Fleming 1960

From a View to a Kill
Summary- James Bond is in Paris, after a botched mission to get a Hungarian over the Austro-Hungarian border. The man was killed on the frontier. Now Bond is called in by Station F of the British Secret Service to help SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Forces Europe) solve a murder of one of their agents, who was killed on his morning run, and whose important documents were stolen. Bond manages to find a group of spies who have an underground lair, and stops them.
My Grade-  B   This is the first Fleming short story I have read. It was a good read, but obviously lacked the development of the novels.
Best Moment- Not a lot to pick from, but the best moment is the sort of duel that Bond has on a motorcycle with the head spy, also on a motorcycle. Bond sees him in his rear-view mirror, and skids to a halt, firing a single well-placed shot that shatters the man's helmet, killing him.
For Your Eyes Only
Summary- Judy Havelock's parents are murdered by the gunmen of von Hammerstein, a high-level criminal operating out of Cuba. After von Hammerstein moves to the mountains of Vermont, Bond is sent to kill him, his right hand man, and the two gunmen. Bond is minutes away from performing his duty when he runs into Judy Havelock, who wants to be the one to kill von Hammerstein. Bond agrees, and together they kill the four evil men.
My Grade- B+   This is one of the two short stories that the movie For Your Eyes Only was loosely based on. It is an enjoyable read, and is better than From a View to a Kill
Best Moment Seeing Bond move through the mountains of Vermont as a hunter would, really shows the rugged side of Bond. Knowing he's hunting killers makes it that much more interesting.
Also Notable-I just really like one of the quotes in here. "Never send a man where you can send a bullet."
Quantum of Solace
Summary- James Bond is attending a dinner party of the governors after he finished a case. He doesn't want to be there, but goes out of courtesy. He is seated next to a very boring woman, and is forced to make small talk. Eventually, after all the guests leave, the governor tells Bond a story about one of his proteges, who married an airline stewardess.
   They have six good months together, but then the wife gets bored and they start to fight. The man gets his wife started in golfing, and after she and her new partner win a tourney, she has an affair with him. She doesn't try to hide it, and the husband eventually begins to do very poorly at his job. He is sent away to Washington for a month to recoup, and during that time the man his wife is having an affair with dumps her. She plans on begging her husband for forgiveness when he gets back, but when he does the first thing he says is that he is divorcing her. He leaves her with only ten pounds. When she begs him for more money to survive, he leaves her his car and his radio. It turns out that money is owed on both, and the woman is left more desperate than ever. She has a horrible life for some time, but years later she marries a millionaire Canadian. It turns out that she was the boring woman sitting next to Bond. Bond can't help but laugh.
My Grade- A   This is a short story that Bond isn't the main character in. He is only a passive listener. It seems as though Fleming had a great story that didn't involve Bond that he wanted written. It is very good (much more involving than my extremely brief summary).
Best Moment- The best moment is the surprise ending where Bond realizes the boring woman he was seated next to is the woman of the story. Bond realizes he will have to pay more attention to people from now on.
Risico
Summary-  Bond is sent to stop the source of the heroin trade filtering into England. He meets with Kristatos, who appears to be the good guy. He tells Bond that Colombo is the man behind the heroin, and that he must be killed. However, three of Colombo's men chase Bond through a mine filled beach. It turns out that they just wanted to get Bond to meet with Colombo, who says that Kristatos is the man responsible. The next day, he proves it, and Bond helps destroy Kristatos's main heroin supply.
My Grade- B    This is the second short story that has parts incorporated into the movie For Your Eyes Only. It isn't as good as the other short story For Your Eyes Only. However, it was still an enjoyable read.
Best Moment-Bond has just fought a dozen men trying to kill him without breaking a sweat. However, he nearly panics when Colombo comes running up to him and hugs him and kisses him on both cheeks. Bond says "For God's sake Colombo!" Colombo just laughs and says: "Ah, the quiet Englishman. He fears nothing save the emotions.
The Hildrebrand Rarity
Summary- James Bond is sent to the Seychelles islands to access if there is any risk of the if the Royal Navy wants to use them as safe harbors. Bond quickly accesses that there is no danger, and is finished with his mission with a week to spare. One of his friends on the island, Fidele Barbey, asks him to go with him on a trip he had been asked to lead for Milton Krest. (This name may sound familiar to those who have seen Licence to Kill.) Krest is taking his personal yacht, the Wavekrest, to an island where he wants to find a very rare fish, the Hildebrand Variety, for the Smithsonian. Milton Krest is world-class jackass, and quickly gets under Bond and Barbey's skin. He also whips his wife with s stingray tail when she is disobedient. They find the fish, and celebrate on the way home. Krest gets very drunk, and offends Barbey to an extreme extent. He also whips his wife that night. Bond tries to sleep, but Krest's snoring keeps him awake. Bond starts to go below decks and away from the snoring. He finds that Krest has been murdered, with the poisonous fish shoved in his mouth. Bond cleans up, throwing Krest's body overboard and making it look like an accident. The next morning Bond tries to find out whether it was Barbey or Mrs. Krest who murdered him. He never finds out, and neither does the reader.
My Grade- A   I really like the fact that this story ends with an unsolved mystery.
Best Moment-The story opens with a great scene where Bond is hunting a huge stingray. He wins.

Overall Grade- A-   The short stories are all very good, and have a different feel than the novels. I look forward to Octopussy, Fleming's second collection of short stories.