For Your Eyes Only vs The Riddle of the Sands: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: English Spy stories, Secret service, British, Great Britain, Thriller, Mystery

Cover of For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only Ian Fleming · 1959 ★★★★☆ 3.7 146 pages · ≈ 2 h 42 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

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Cover of The Riddle of the Sands

The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers · 1903 ★★★★☆ 3.6 336 pages · ≈ 6 h 13 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.7 vs 3.6 — either is a safe pick by score.
For Your Eyes Only is the quicker read — about 2 hours vs 6 for The Riddle of the Sands.
For Your Eyes Only is the easier read (Moderate), The Riddle of the Sands more demanding (Challenging).

Side by side