Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond Novels)

Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond Novels)
by Ian Fleming

Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond Novels)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Ian Fleming
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-04-06
ISBN: 0142003298
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Book Reviews of Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond Novels)

Book Review: Look Cubby! Bond with no gadgets and no women.
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

Summary of Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond Novels)

Whether it is tracking down a wayward major who has taken a deadly secret with him to the Caribbean or identifying a top Russian agent secretly bidding for a Fabergé egg in a Sotheby?s auction room, Bond always closes the case?with extreme prejudice.

This new Penguin edition comprises four stories, including  Fleming?s little-known story ?007 in New York,? showcasing Bond?s taste for Manhattan?s special pleasures?from martinis at the Plaza and dinner at the Grand Central Oyster Bar to the perfect anonymity of the Central Park Zoo for a secret rendezvous.

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