Octopussy & the Living Daylights (James Bond (Original Series) #14)

Another cash grab on top of The Man With the Golden Gun, this collection of short stories has been packaged and repackaged to suit whatever title has been leveraged by Eon Productions. Of course, none of the stories were ever directly adapted to the cinema, but bits and pieces would be added for local color. In general, these have aged better than the rest of Flemings work. Perhaps the short form avoided some of the perilous inner monologing that set Bond as an arch-Imperialist within his jetsetting veneer. However, Flemings prose has always felt a bit at sea in the short story format. His books are typically short, almost novellas, and the chapters in turn were only 10-12 pages. A hallmark of his writing was the quick build of tension and conflict as each chapter built up the tension of the story. His short stories, however are at most 40 pages long, and lack that drumbeat of ever increasing stakes. Too often Bond is a spectator, as in Octopussy, or in the previously published a Quantum of Solace. Of this collection, I lean most toward The Living Daylights, though even that feels a bit contrived with the 3 days plot element. James Bond in New York feels like some notes found on Flemings desk. Octopussy has a good story, but its told almost entirely through internal reverie. In the end, the book is a bit of scraps and oddities.

In my opinion, “The Living Daylights” is the best 007 story that Ian Fleming ever wrote…it’s the one I give people who say they hate James Bond, or who only experience with 007 is the movies.

For the investment of about 20 minutes of reading, you get almost everything that makes 007 and Ian Fleming legends after all this time…a real Cold War mission (cross-border sniping), real weapons (Bond’s Winchester and Trigger’s Kalashnikov), real locales (the Bisley firing range and Berlin before The Wall was built), a tense briefing with M, Bond’s misgivings about the darker side of his profession, and a surprise ending that is still a zinger even if you see it coming. The story even works in Bond’s romantic side, and his love of fine automobiles.

The other stories in this collection are only fair, although I will recommend “Octopussy” for its character study, its description of reef sea life in Jamaica, and its description of Germany immediately after World War II.

But read “The Living Daylights” to understand why James Bond is still a legend.

Octopussy and The Living Daylights is a short story collection by Ian Fleming. It was collected and published after Fleming’s death. The book is very short and only contains four stories. “Octopussy” Is a story about a former British officer who is now in retirement. All seems to be well until a man named Bond shows up and exposes an old crime. “The Living Daylights” has Bond using his skills as a sniper to protect a spy who is trying to escape from East Berlin. In “Property of a Lady” Bond has to trap a mole inside the office. Finally in “007 in New York” Bond spends an evening in the Big Apple.

The stories are short and are not exactly his best work. Fleming was a great writer of novels. His novels were never long, almost all coming in at under 200 pages. Somehow that format better fits his style. “Octopussy” is an interesting morality tale of murder and greed. “The Living Daylights” is an interesting story because it shows Bond at odds with his duties as a 00 agent. The other two stories are below par for Fleming’s work. Overall the two title stories are alright. If you want to own all of Fleming’s Bond Books then you will need to get this book. Don’t make it your first Bond book though.

“Octopussy and The Living Daylights” was published after Ian Fleming’s death. The book originally contained just two stories, “Octopussy” and “The Living Daylights”, with later editions also carrying “The Property of a Lady” and eventually including “007 in New York”. The stories were first published in different publications. “Octopussy” was first serialized in the Daily Express in 1965. “The Living Daylights” first appeared in The Sunday Times in 1962. “The Property of a Lady” was published in 1963 in The Ivory Hammer. “007 in New York” first appeared in the New York Herald Tribune in 1963. I bought “Octopussy and The Living Daylights” to complete the series of Ian Fleming’s 14 ‘Bond’ books. These short stories are good, but not his best work. I feel that the collection of short stories tied together in his “For Your Eyes Only” are better. Please note that this is only my opinion, and should not dissuade anyone from purchasing it. I’m sorry that Ian Fleming didn’t live longer to write more of his beloved ‘James Bond’ adventures.

I’ve finally worked through my re-read of the Bond novels, some 30 years after first reading them. What a different experience this time around. Right, so here we are with four short stories. In Octopussy, 007 warns a former British Army officer that his wartime secret has been discovered and it’s time for him to face the music. In Property of a Lady, Bond has to spot a KGB paymaster at an expensive auction. In The Living Daylights, he has to kill an assassin, and In 007 in New York, he has to warn a former Secret Service agent about her KGB boyfriend.
Well, for me, The Living Daylights is at least spy-like. The others are very pedestrian, or even annoying, as in 007 in New York, where Fleming does nothing but run the city down (perhaps if it was still an Empire outpost it would be more attractive?)
Still, readable at least, and not nearly as grating or mysoginistically offensive as some (many) of his full length novels are. And also, thankfully, very little of the awful dialogue. I’m sorry IF, but it’s true.

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