Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond (Original Series)) Paperback – October 16, 2012

It's really sad and disappointing that Ian Fleming's final novel in the James Bond series, The Man with the Golden Gun, seems rushed off and incomplete, with a dirty and violent quality that is almost atypical of his previous books. He embodied them with vivid, real descriptions of the locations that put the reader right in the center of the action. Golden Gun lacked them a lot.This final book, a series of four previously unreleased short stories that were written in the years prior to Fleming's death, returns Bond to true form, with vivid back stories, real locations, and tight plots that, while brief, still fall into the 007 spirit.The first tale, Octopussy, finds Bond in Jamaica again, this time with orders to bring in a former British military officer for killing a German sympathizer and harboring his gold. (This tale bears absolutely zero resemblance to the cheesy 1983 Roger Moore movie of the same name.) The second, The Property of a Lady, has Bond attempting to locate a party interested in buying a Faberge egg.In The Living Daylights, Bond must travel to Germany and stop a hit man from taking out a Service agent... only to give Bond a real dilemma in his heart. (This tale translated quite well to screen in the opening moments of the Timothy Dalton film of the same name.) Finally, 007 in New York is, well, 007 in, well, New York, locating a fellow agent who has apparently been sleeping with the enemy. It's less about the mission and more about the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. (And you even get a recipe for scrambled eggs, Bond style! Hope you have a big appetite!)As this book was released two years after Fleming's death, it's almost an attempt to right a serious wrong for Bond fans who may have felt a bit betrayed by the lack of quality in Golden Gun. While on the slim side, this is still classic Fleming that leaves you wondering how far he had planned to take the character or even if there are any unpublished plots lingering in a vault somewhere waiting to be discovered.

Received our book from this seller on time. Everything about the book condition and details were accurate. However, what impressed me the most were 1) the care taken in wrapping the package for shipment and 2) the personal note from the seller on the shipping manifest. I would trust this selller and buy from him again when I'm shopping in the future.

Amazon often writes me and says they won't post a particular review as it doesn't fall within their guidelines. They offer zero clue what the perceived problem was. They will not communicate further and refuse a valid review. I simply waste time writing reviews for Amazon. Amazon behaves like a dictatorship asking for free speech then repressing it.That being said, your product is just peachy. It works as advertised. I will likely buy it again.I will recommend it to all my associates. There you go Amazon, I hope this falls within your criteria for the reviews you beg me to write for you for free.

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 Fleming’s work. Perhaps the short form avoided some of the perilous inner monologing that set Bond as an arch-Imperialist within his jetsetting veneer. However, Fleming’s 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 Fleming’s 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.

This book by author Ian Fleming encompasses a collection of four short stories about the adventures of character James Bond, agent 007, of the British Secret Service. He appears to be a confident, sensible, down-to-earth, and highly-trained fellow. He appreciates the finer things in life: good food in chic, expensive restaurants; beautiful and glamorous women in exotic locations around the world; and intimate moments by candlelight or moonlight over cocktails, with snazzy jazzy orchestra music playing low, softly in the background. Ah, but this may be impression you get from Hollywood movies! He is well-dressed in a tailored business suit and striking tie. He wears buffed and polished patent leather shoes that have him shine in the eyes of his fans. His hair is neatly combed and fastidiously trimmed, not a hair out of place. He's clever, always knowing what to say and do at the appropriate moment. Essentially, James Bond is a Company man, who is given a difficult, specific assignment in each of the stories, published in the early to mid-1960's. Bond's missions include investigating a serious breech of conduct by a rogue British agent; identifying a top-level foreign agent who funds espionage; providing protection and security for an agent who attempts a border-crossing from a hostile nation into a neutral one; and attempting contact of a former British agent who becomes involved with an agent of a hostile foreign government. His success rate is three out of four. On the fourth mission, I believe, he adopts a "Don't go there" rationale, when he becomes reassured that agents of the FBI and CIA can better resolve the matter on their own turf, rather than taking matters into his own hands.

フレミングさんの　製作努力がうかがえます。　映画がヒットして　何とか面白い作品を作ろうと頑張ってます。　短編集ですので　他の作品のつもりで読むとちょっと物足りないかも・・・。

These collection of four short stories have made me a lifelong devotee of Ian Fleming.If Indian government makes a temple of literature in India, I would request it to make Ian Fleming the reigning deity."Octopussy" has a strong moral in the end...that crime does not pay in the long run."The living daylights" is perhaps one of the best romantic stories ever penned. It is one of the rare instance where James Bond actually falls head over heels over a girl he has only seen and never met.Highly recommended for all James Bond fans and Ian Fleming admirers.

Such a pleasure to hear the great Tom Hiddlestion read this book, as if he was on stage... It makes you believe you're in a theater, watching this talentuous actor interpreting a master piece.

Eine Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten aus Ian Flemings Feder, in welchen Mr Bond mit giftigen Fischen konfrontiert wird, in einer Auktion bei Sotheby's sitzt und sich selbst treu bleibt...Tom Hiddleston, einer der begabtesten jungen Darsteller der britischen Insel empfiehlt sich hier quasi als nächster Bond (wenn Daniel Craig die Stafette weitereicht) - in einer wunderbaren Sprechweise liest er die Geschichten, verleiht den Charakteren unterschiedliche Akzente und Stimmlagen und gibt sich große Mühe, etwa französische oder deutsche Worte korrekt auszusprechen. Schöner kann The Queen's English kaum klingen.Flemings Geschichten ist der Staub der Jahre (und des kalten Krieges) anzumerken, dennoch erscheinen sie, z.B. in seiner Schilderung des russischen Geheimdienstes, überaus aktuell. Die großartige Qualität von Tom Hiddlestons Darbietung wiegt jedoch jede Schwäche, die man in den Geschichten finden mag, auf.

Disappointing with little of the verve of most Flemings character James Bond.