Customer Reviews

Octopussy and the Living Daylights

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ian Fleming penned 14 Bond adventures before his death in 1964. He lived to see the first few movies made, was hopelessly smitten with the young Ursula Andress, and fortunately did not live to see the excesses of his sucessors.

This book is a compilation of three short stories in Octopussy, The Living Daylights, and Property of a Lady. There is no real resemblance to the similarly titled films, but some of the scenes and characters from the short stories made it to the big screen.

These stories show what Bond would do on a slow day, no gadgets or romance involved. Bond does not entertain three women per story, in fact, he meets none. He is smitten at a distance with a cello player, but nothing develops romantically, and the female lead of the third story is described as unattractive.

Bond simply closes out a few files, as one might do in a short week before heading out on holiday. Of course, M and Ms. Moneypenny appear here, with M and the unnamed Chief of Staff providing Bond with his orders and accoutrements.

Octopussy is the best of the lot here. In fact, Bond barely appears in the story set in Fleming's beloved Jamaica about 15 years after the war. A British army major comes into a treasure in the closing chaotic days of the war in Europe. His techniques included murder and eventually he is tracked down by 007 who had been an acquaintance of the "Good German" victim.

The Living Daylights features a challenge between two trained assassins, which will be familiar to viewers of the Timothy Dalton film. Fleming very cleverly sets the scene at Checkpoint Charlie just before the Wall went up. Both sides use innovative cover to muffle their killer's sounds and movements. We get a real sense of the unpleasant side of the business, as Bond's portfolio is murder. He does not relish the assignment, in fact, he speaks of a preference for demotion, drinks whiskey before the event, and fails to complete all parts of the assignment.

Property of a Lady is a primer on Faberge with the famous auction scene, brought to the big screen in a Roger Moore film. Rather than lamely stealing the real article, Bond uses the event to better ends. Here Bond shows more initiative and insight than M in flushing out an important Soviet agent while keeping a useful double agent in place.

Octopussy and the Living Daylights is a terrific collection of stories that show some of James Bond's smaller, more ordinary assignments. Of course since he's Bond even his more routine stuff is thrilling reading. First out is Octopussy which has nothing to do with the horrible Roger More movie. This story was really about a retired English major who once had a fine career in military inteligence. At the end of the war the major makes a terrible decision and years later in his middle age a man named Bond shows up at his Jamaican home and makes him pay for it. This story is very well written and shows that Ian Flemming had a real knack for characterization.

Property of a Lady shows Bond on a pleasant but serious assignment. For a change he never has to leave London or even break a sweat but he manages to expose one high ranking Russian spy and wryly observes a low level double agent playing the spy game badly.

Living Daylights in my favorite of the stories. Bond has been ordred to Germany to take out a sniper so an agent can escape to the West. This is not a nice job and Bond spends a surprising amount of time considering his distaste about the job. The little details about Bond's preparations, his school marmish old contact, the velvet snipers uniform and walking and eating around Germany are all fascinating. And in the end Bond makes a decison about the Russian sniper and his fellow agent whom he's been sent to save.

The last story and the shortes is Bond in New York. He's been sent on a mission of mercy and plans to enjoy himself in Manhattan. We learn of Ian Flemming's opinion of frozen food and that Bond once had an apartment in Manhattan!

I wouldn't buy this short story collection first. Try the full length novels and then this one because it's all so much about showing the other side of Bond. This is a treat for serious Bond lovers, old and new.

As Conan Doyle did in the late 1890's (and as others like Ellery Queen and Agatha Christie followed), Ian Fleming seemed to has suscribed the theory that sometimes "less is more" in writing a story, thus chosing a short tale instead of a long one for more impact. This book comprises, in its final form, three novelettes a la "For Your Eyes Only". The book was first printed in 1966 (being the last release of a Fleming original), but the stories were written and fictionally occur after "The Spy Who Loved Me" and before "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". The title episode is another showcase for Fleming's ability to write a story in the true sense, picturing a tale of a man's life since the WWII up to his last days in the Caribbean. Bond is merely an excuse for a dramatic tale of greed, murder and treachery. This story is highlighted by another excellent underwater frame-sequence. "The Living Daylights" is pure Bond, from his practice with the rifle outside London to the tense climax at Berlin. This story is another twist of the plot of "For Your Eyes Only", showing 007 as an assassin questioning about his job but doing it the best he can. Excellent surprising villain(ess). "The Property of a Lady" is a brief example of the author's master touch for describing with great detail and gusto parts of recent history and all kind of things and subjects, in this case jewels and auctions. The development itself is direct and simple, too short indeed, with an ending that doesn't matter as much as the description of the events. By the way, this episode refers to another traitor in the Service. A collection of odd but varied 007 missions.

I guess this is as good a place to start as any when discussing the Bond books prior to Albert Broccoli's cinematic intrusion. The short stories are small glimpses into the life and mind of the original James Bond...his refined taste in food and drink...his appreciation of beautiful women...his knowledge of weapons and cars. If there has to be a wellknown actor to put a face on James, it is definitely the young Sean Connery. I believe the second actor to play Bond was George Lazenby, a male model who couldn't act, followed by Roger Moore, a foppish caricature of the real James Bond. I stopped watching subsequent "Bond" movies after the gadgets took over and the plot was shoved under the rug. That is why I prefer rereading the re-released novels. One can get a true sense of the many sides of James Bond, a Cold War Era hero who is cool under pressure, deadly, suave, and who also has some flaws. I think the best of the stories in OCTOPUSSY is "The Living Daylights." James is ordered to kill a top KGB sniper when he is sent to Berlin before the sniper can eliminate a British spy coming in from the cold. You can almost imagine Ian Fleming as he sat at his typewriter in Jamaica pecking away and smiling as he dreams up yet another dangerous mission for 007. And it all works without a single exploding car. The books are believeable and far more exciting.

Octopussy is a very good short story collection, though "For Your Eyes Only" was better, if you ask me. As Fleming proved in "FYEO", he can make a good story with little help from 007. The title story also proves this. In it, Bond makes little more than a cameo appearance. The main character is the power-hungry Dexter Smythe. His is obsessed with his pet octopus, which ends up causing his deliciously ironic demise. "The Living Daylights" is also very good. I like the ending to the story, but you already know what's going to happen if you've seen the first fifteen minutes of the "Living Daylights" movie. The book loses a star for "The Property of a Lady", which is dull. I advise a reader to just skip it. Despite one disappointing story, I enjoyed this book very much.

As enjoyable as two or three of the movies are, they are not what Fleming wrote about. The stories are set in the Fifties, mostly, and do not involve spaceships or lasergun wristwatches; and Bond himself is not a wisecracking, smirking prettyboy.
He is a cold-blooded killer, tough as nails, who has taught himself the hedonistic pleasures of the table because he has no wife to pamper him. He's actually only a minor character in two of the four stories in this book - but his presence anchors the tales in place and time. Why didn't they make real movies out of these books instead of just borrowing the titles? Octopussy is a really good book in the Bond pantheon.

Octopussy is an unusual Bond book, because it is only one of two collections of James Bond short stories (the other being For Your Eyes Only). It is also unusual for its depiction of Bond as a kinder, gentler spy.

Bond is not actually the protagonist in "Octopussy," the book's namesake. The story is about Dexter Smythe, a retired Major in the British Royal Marines living in Jamaica. One day, his idyllic existence is interrupted by a polite, but mysterious man from the Ministry of Defense--James Bond. Smythe is under investigation for a crime he committed during his time stationed in post-war Germany. Bond is a quiet, but intimidating presence as Smythe tells a story from his past.

The plot for "The Living Daylights" will be familiar to anyone who has seen the beginning of the film with the same name. Bond travels to Germany to protect another agent who is trying to escape from East Berlin. Intelligence reports indicate that a highly trained sniper will be sent to kill this agent as he makes a break for the border. Bond's job is simply to kill the assassin before the assassin can kill the agent. For two reasons, this story is the best of the stories and also a great story in general. It is an excellent work of suspense on par with any of the longer works. However, it is elevated above a simple suspense tale by a the exploration of Bond's sensitive side in which we witness him questioning the morality of his license to kill.

Probably his most subtle case ever, "The Property of Lady" has Bond attending a Sotheby's auction of a Fabergé Egg to keep an eye on who places bids for the art object. The lady who offers the Egg for auction is a known double agent for Russia working inside Britain. The Egg is suspected of being a covert payment to this lady for her service to Russian intelligence. No killing. No explosions. Just the gentle movements of wealthy bidders.

I haven't read the 4th story, as my copy of the book is the original paperback which did not include it.

Having read the other 13 books in the series, there was nothing, short of death, that was going to stop me from reading every page of this, the final of Ian Fleming's James Bond Adventures. Unfortunately, though, this collection of Bond short-stories, published after Fleming's death, just wasn't very good and if I wasn't determined to read it from cover to cover, I probably would have given up.

The Bond series started off extremely well, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the books up to and including "Goldfinger" (including "Casino Royale", "Doctor No" and "Live and Let Die", among others), but the later Bond books (written after Fleming's health started to fail) have thin plots, little excitement, and feel like little more than extended short stories. This book, "Octopussy", is, in fact, a collection of three or four (depending on the edition that you have - the Coronet edition which I read did not contain "007 in New York") short stories, only one of which is really worth reading ("The Living Daylights"). There are no "Bond girls" and very little action throughout and I found the first story, "Octopussy", so boring that I actually fell asleep while reading it.

If you are working your way through the Bond books, like I did, then you will read this book regardless of what I say. However, if you are new to the series, start at the start with "Casino Royale" and don't let the later books put you off what is, in general, a wonderful series of books.

I agree with all the positive reviews here. The Bond books present a compelling view of James Bond that few of the movies even hint at. In short: Fleming's Bond is all too human, with real human emotions, desires, strengths and weaknesses. Sure, he's tough, and at times cold-hearted, but he also has a sense of right and wrong that keeps him going. And, even more than in the novels, Fleming used the short stories (as found in both Octopussy and For Your Eyes Only) to further explore Bond's common human traits. What a revelation to finally read these books and encounter a Bond to whom one can actually relate. As with all the other Bond books, once you start reading the short stories in Octopussy, you can't put the book down.

The book rates five stars on the strength of one story -- "The Living Daylights." It is the perfect 007 story, the one I would recommend to anyone who doesn't like James Bond.
It has everything that makes Ian Fleming great, when he is at his best -- an authentic Cold War mission (cross-border sniping), real equipment (the Winchester sniper rifle and the Kalashnikov), Fleming's ability to set a scene (Berlin before The Wall was built), a tense briefing with M, Bond's romantic side (his long-range attraction to the Russian cellist), and a tight, well-paced plot. The story even works in Bond's love for fine automobiles, his ambivalance toward the darker side of his profession, and his maverick streak.
I highly recommend the book for this one story. The other stories in this collection are "iffy" at best -- "Octopussy" starts too slow and the ending is too much of a dieu exmachina for my taste (although the central portion, from the time Bond arrives until he leaves, is very good). "Property of a Lady" lacks the suspense and excitement of a good 007 story. And "007 in New York" is a sop to the hurt feelings of New Yorkers. New York City was one of Ian Fleming's least favorite cities, and he pretty well trashed the town in his "Thrilling Cities" series for the "London Times."
But "the Living Daylights" is terrific. Read it and see why James Bond and Ian Fleming are still legends after 50 years.