Ian Fleming’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” returns to the classic Bond formula and gives 007 a love story of his own. Some readers welcome it as Fleming back on form, with an over-the-top but exciting plot; others find stretches dull and the romance hard to believe. It reads best in order, after “Thunderball”, as the middle of the three books built around Blofeld.

The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.

About the book

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel and eleventh book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape on 1 April 1963. Fleming changed the formula and structure from the previous novel, The Spy Who Loved Me, and made a determined effort to produce a work that adhered to his tried and tested format. The initial and secondary print runs sold out quickly, with over 60,000 copies sold in the first month, double that of the previous book's first month of sales. Fleming wrote the novel at Goldeneye, his holiday home in Jamaica, while Dr. No, the first entry in the James Bond film series by Eon Productions, was being filmed nearby.

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Reading order · James Bond

Full order & progress →

On screen

This book has been adapted for the screen once.

FilmOn Her Majesty's Secret Service1969dir. Peter R. HuntIMDb

Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →

Where the score comes from

The sources average 7.9 across 72 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 33% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Spy & espionage average of 7.6. That is how 7.7 comes out.