You Only Live Twice (1965) is the twelfth novel in Ian Fleming‘s iconic James Bond series, marking the final 007 mission Fleming completed before his death. Published in paperback by Signet (with their classic mid-century pulp covers), the story sends Bond to Japan on a near-suicidal mission: to assassinate his nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, now hiding in a poisonous “Garden of Death” castle. Packed with ninja battles, twisted psychological games, and Bond’s existential despair over Tracy’s death (from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), the novel blends espionage with eerie poeticism—culminating in Bond’s amnesia and a cliffhanger for The Man with the Golden Gun.
For similar Signet-era Bond reads:
- The Spy Who Loved Me (Signet 1962) – Fleming’s experimental, Bond-light thriller.
- The Man with the Golden Gun (Signet 1965) – The posthumous finale, with Bond brainwashed.
