Ernst Stavro Blofeld perhaps six foot three (190 cm), and powerfully built." It is indicated that Blofeld has by now gone completely insane, as he all but admits himself when Bond levels the accusation. Bond strangles him to death at the end of the novel. In both "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "You Only Live Twice", Blofeld is aided in his schemes by Irma Bunt, who is clearly his lover in the latter, and posing as Shatterhand's wife. Bond incapacitates her in their Japanese castle base before it blows up, killing Bunt. The final mention of Blofeld is in the beginning of
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his organisation SPECTRE; however, this was changed to avoid a possible lawsuit over the rights to this character, which originated from the novel "Thunderball". The paperback edition became an instant bestseller in the UK, staying on the British bestsellers list for several months. Critical reception of the novel were mixed, though most praised Wood's skill as a writer. Marghanita Laski, writing in "The Listener", called Wood "an apparently promising thriller writer struggling to emerge from obligatory bits of set-piece nastiness." Former Bond author Kingsley Amis wrote in "The New Statesman" that, despite several reservations, "Mr Wood