You Only Live Twice

The story, without spoilers

M gives Bond an unusual job: persuade Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese secret service, to share valuable intelligence with Britain. It needs tact and patience more than a gun.

Tanaka's price leads to another problem, a castle on the coast whose deadly gardens have become notorious, and whose owner hides behind a carefully built identity. To get near it, Bond has to learn about the surrounding community, and Kissy Suzuki, who knows the coast, becomes essential.

Can I start here?

No. Read Thunderball and On Her Majesty's Secret Service first; this book follows on closely from them.

What stands out

Fleming spends much of the book on Japan as Bond sees it. That tells readers as much about its British narrator's assumptions as about the country.

• It was the last Bond novel published in Fleming's lifetime.
• The 2025 Audible recording is read by Eleanor Matsuura.

Content notes

Suggested age 16+. Suicide-related material, violence, sexual material and dated depictions of Japanese people.

Book and film

The 1967 Sean Connery film shares the setting and some names, but its plot runs quite differently.

Where it is set

• Japan: Tokyo
• Japan: the coast and islands (the castle is invented) Fictional

Real and fictional Bond places

Main characters

James Bond, Tiger Tanaka, Kissy Suzuki, M.