Another short story collection by Fleming and also another Bond book to be published after the author's death. It contains both the worst of and the best of the Bond short stories.

Octopussy: Told from the point of view of Dexter Smythe; Bond comes along to arrest him for treason but actually gives Smythe some time to commit suicide so as not to be shamed. Smythe even privately thanks Bond for this respect. Classic Fleming chill. The story has almost nothing to do with the 1983 movie of the same name.

The Living Daylights: By far the best Fleming short story. A very disillusioned Bond is sent to assassinate a sniper gunning for a defecting Russian delegate. Bond refuses to kill the sniper on the basis that she is a beautiful woman he noticed earlier, and he only shoots the butt of her rifle. The story ends with Bond wishing M would fire him for botching the mission. It is debated as to where in the series this story takes place; while not proven, it is generally accepted that this story takes place after On Her Majesty's Secret Service and before You Only Live Twice; that's how I see it as well.

The Property of a Lady: By far the worst Bond short story. It's as boring as the auction scene in Octopussy (film). I generally never even acknowledge this story as a Bond tale.

007 in New York: A bland story but an interesting apology from Fleming who himself does not like New York City but conceded that James Bond does like its nightlife, its restaurants, and of course, its women.

Addendum: This has accidentally become the Fleming Bond book I've read the most, having first read it a decade or so ago, again when my in-laws got me a new paperback for Christmas two years ago, again this spring as bedtime reading with my wife, and now via the audiobook, which is narrated by Tom Hiddleston, of Loki fame. Hiddleston is an excellent reader and does very good voices and accents. My favorite was probably Maj Dexter Smythe, the main character of "Octopussy." Hiddleston also provides what is probably the longest of the post-reading interviews in the series, coming in at over nine minutes. It was a pleasure to listen to. Oddly, "007 in New York" comes after Hiddleston's interview, and is introduced and read by Ian Fleming's niece Lucy. Also a good listen, if an inferior story--as I explain below, in my original review from 2019.

* * * * *

The Bond stories’ reputation as formulaic derives from the films, not the books. Fleming liked experimenting with form, which is clearer in his short stories than anywhere. Octopussy and The Living Daylights posthumously collected four late Bond stories, only one of which is straightforwardly an espionage action adventure.

“Octopussy” is perhaps the most interesting, as Fleming tries something he did in a few other short stories and one novel—putting Bond in the background, as the catalyst rather than the protagonist the story. Here it’s quite successful. The story is told from the perspective of retired British intelligence officer Dexter Smythe, whose shady dealings to get some stolen Nazi gold at the end of WWII have finally been discovered. Fleming carefully structured this story with multiple layers of flashbacks which slowly, over the course of a couple snorkeling trips on Smythe’s reef, reveal everything. Not much “happens,” exactly, but it’s expertly told for maximum tension, and the plot’s roots in WWII is an interesting bonus. I’ve seen a few people complain about how little Bond appears in this story, but he’s a great, threatening presence—a good dose of the coldness characteristic of Fleming’s original—and Bond gets the last word.

“Property of a Lady” sees Bond bored, stuck at his desk during a dry spell. Then M assigns him to a curious domestic mission—attend the auction of a fabulous Fabergé egg at Sotheby’s and try to identify a Russian agent who will be bidding on it. Fleming did this kind of thing in several novels—notably Moonraker, which begins with Bond trying to catch a cheater at cards at M’s London club—and it’s an interesting subversion of expectations to have Bond play second fiddle to an expert in Russian jewelry. The story resolves perhaps a bit too quickly and neatly, but it’s fun to be along for the ride because of Bond’s appetite for work and Fleming’s attention to process, something he was very good at describing.

“The Living Daylights” is probably the best story in the collection, and the most straightforward. Bond is tasked with a counter-sniper mission in Berlin. He must take out—his orders are explicit: kill his opposite number—a Russian sniper who will be trying to kill a defector as he tries to cross into West Berlin. This is also a good example of how much more grounded and gritty the books are, as Bond spends a lot of time waiting, observing, and preparing for a moment that passes in a flash. It’s a good example of the boredom of spy work. So there’s one surprise, but Fleming has a couple more in store that I don’t want to give away. It’s very well done. And this story also shows how little Bond cares for his job, coming close to hating it especially when it requires killing. Film Bond is often cavalier about killing; book Bond hates it and resents M for assigning him to what he calls “murder.”

“007 in New York” is the shortest in the book and is essentially an elaborate joke. I can see what Fleming is trying to do here, having a little fun with Bond bumming around the Big Apple as he prepares for another job, but I don’t think it’s aged well as much of the detail the story relies on to set up the punchline is very specific to the early 1960s.

A worthwhile collection of short stories. One misfire, one good curiosity, and two solid stories, all of which play with character and form in interesting ways. The best Bond is in the full-length novels, but this is some good stuff.

Recommended.

So, when I think of James Bond, I think of this super-spy guy who solves his missions by killing enemies, while getting all the dangerous, beautiful women.



As such, this collection came as a bit of a surprise. Firstly, because it's 142 pages long (which is short) and contains three short stories and a thing (we'll come back to the thing a bit later). Secondly, because Bond falls in love with one single woman in the entire book, and she's on the other side - on the other side politically, and on the other side physically, since there's the empty space between East and West Berlin between them. He does have fun with a woman in bed, though - when he reads a book about her pulp-y adventures.

Anyway, despite the collection not being at all like I expected, the collection is okay. The first story, Octopussy, is the best in the bunch, I think - it's about WWII and James Bond does very little in it, but it's fun to hear the bad guy tell us all about how he committed a crime. The second story is about catching a high-level KGB person in London through very subtle means - which mostly consist of Bond attending an auction and noticing who the bad guy is (it's interesting, but lacks any action whatsoever). The third has 007 on a mission to save one of Britain's agents by eliminating a Soviet one.

And the fourth... thing... has Bond visiting New York and dropping all sorts of classy names of hotels and restaurants - a nod to Americans at that time, but prone to making us nod off today, as he describes the best foods to be had and where you can have them (no damns given, Bond!). By the time he's supposed to do his job, the short, short story (shorter than the others) ends, mercifully never even coming to the actual plot, but containing a recipe for James Bond scrambled eggs nonetheless.

All in all, enjoyable, but not amazing.

Going to use this same review for all the James Bond books I read several years ago. Why did I keep reading them if I hated them so much? Because I kept hoping for ONE good book with ONE woman valued for more than just her body. And anyone out there can tell me it was a reflection of the times, but I throw that argument out. I've heard it used a lot for slavery, for example, but that fails too because there were always abolitionists, just like there have always been feminists, even if that word didn't necessarily exist back then.

Amazon was practically giving away these Ian Fleming books, so I'd bought them all. And ultimately, I hated myself for it. They are such sexist filth. Sure, I like the "good guys" winning as much as the next, but in every one of them, it felt like it was at the expense of some woman (the "Bond girl's") identity where she's reduced to nothing but an objectified and glorified sexual being whose sole purpose is to make James Bond look good. Ew. I would've known better (I hope) had the cover been one of the more semi-pornographic ones that seem to be more common, but the Kindle series I'd bought had very unrevealing cover art. UGH. And remarkably, I hadn't watched any of the older Bond movies - only started with Daniel Craig versions which I thought was just dumb sexist typical Hollywood. In retrospect, I should've known better!

I wasn't too thrilled by these stories.Octopussy is totally different from the Roger Moore movie of the same name.The movie was set in India,with a Sikh as a villain.It wasn't all that great but was certainly better than this short story.

In the story,Bond is again an afterthought.It is about the trials and tribulations of a former war hero and Bond is sent to Jamaica to apprehend him,but he has very little to do with the story.It is very forgettable.Also,no Bond girl here.Fleming goes on for a while about life in Jamaica.

The Living Daylights was actually a very good film,in which Timothy Dalton made his debut as Bond.It was a Cold War thriller in which Bond ended up with the Afghan resistance against the Soviets.Dalton did a fine job and the stunts were great.

Living Daylights,the short story,is fairly forgettable on paper but was included in the film to form a few scenes.On screen,it looked rather good.

But I can't stay I'm too impressed by these short stories,or Bond's preoccupation with smoking and drinking.

My first Bond and Ian Fleming's last--I'm not a particular follower of the franchise, but I enjoyed the sparseness in the original stories. The selections have a distinctive (if dated) mood, slow and languid like cocktails on a hot summer's day.

Stories in the collection:
OCTOPUSSY: This had a nice lack of Bond, but not enough octopus, IMO. I know it's meant to be introspective or something, but I went into this for the octopus, okay.

PROPERTY OF A LADY: a.k.a. the one with the auction. Actually a pretty interesting change of pace, but the ending feels really abrupt and rushed.

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS: I have mixed feelings because I enjoyed the waiting and watching that came with sniper action, and of course the blonde cellist, but I also spent too much time rolling my eyes at Bond.

007 IN NEW YORK: I know a lot of people hate this, but I love the premise. It's exactly what it says on the tin: a really short, plotless vignette of James Bond trying to function in New York. It ends with a scrambled egg recipe. It's not the best in what it is, but I'm into it.


AUDIOBOOK NOTES: The first 3 stories are narrated by Tom Hiddleston. There's also a short interview with him at the end, which is... weird? Do all James Bond audiobooks have interviews?

007 in New York is narrated by Lucy Fleming.

Listened on audio: I'm giving it 3 stars for the stories, 5 stars for Tom Hiddleston's narration, for an average of 4 stars.

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.

Tom Hiddleston did a WONDERFUL JOB narrating this book! Just love him. He does such a fantastic job with all his work and his narration is fabulous too. So good with all the different voices and nuances of the stories. The book itself was very good. I really enjoyed it. Very colorful and exotic with complicated characters. Wish TH would narrate more books.

A great improvement over Ian Fleming's last collection of James Bond short stories "For Your Eyes Only." This final publication of Fleming's James Bond series contains three engaging short 007 tales, and one odd entry that felt very unfinished.

"Octopussy" is an interesting story...that happens to feature James Bond as a marginal supporting character. That said, "Octopussy" is a fun piece of writing...portraying a selfish, and morally unsound man who past discrepancies have come back to haunt him. Has the feel of experimentation in the writing which is great...yet its not much of a 007 story, which is not so great.

"The Property of a Lady" is very much in the Bond tradition, and well-crafted tale of James Bond verses his most consistent enemy...the Russians. The writing, and the mechanization of Bond's specific assignment was a pleasure to read...and reminded me why loved the 007 stories in the first place.

"The Living Daylights" is another good one...a classic Bond story involving assassination, and outsmarting the Russians once again. What's great about this one is that Fleming goes deep inside the Bond character and explores what it really means for him to kill a man.

"007 in New York" is an odd and very short story. Unlike the first three tales, not much happens in "007 in New York." It's just Bond sitting in the back of a car..dreaming of the fun things he's going to do in New York...the food, the women, etc...In terms of actual story, Fleming mysteriously ends the tale before it even begins. It was an awkward way to end the very last-ever James Bond publication from Ian Fleming. I wonder if Fleming were alive at the time of publication...would he have approved?

Some critics have put down Fleming's last published novel, "The Man With The Golden Gun," as rough and unfinished, and lacking in the finesse of Fleming's earlier work. I don't agree. Ian Fleming was on the cusp of even greater work at the time of his untimely death in 1964. His writing improved as he went along...especially if you look at the sheer quality of his last few James Bond books...the dark and cunning "The Man With The Golden Gun," the superb and satisfying "You Only Live Twice," and the fascinating and thrilling "On Her Majesties Secret Service"...Fleming was on a hot streak. Aside from the lackluster "007 in New York," "Octopussy and "The Living Daylights" only proves that Ian Fleming had much more to offer in the Bond series...and his writing was as strong as ever up until the very end.

I really, really enjoyed listening to Tom Hiddleston's recording. I hadn't read a Fleming Bond book in years, although the books and films were the favorites of a beloved uncle and I inherited a collection of his paperbacks. But my 11-year-old and my husband are working their way through the films, so I thought I would give this a try, and I'm so glad I did. Not only could his voice melt butter in Antarctica, but Hiddleston does an amazing job with the voices and accents of the characters, and the interview with him at the end really sealed the deal for me - analytical, erudite, enthusiastic, and professional, he clearly put a lot of research and thought into his performance and especially the characters' personalities and motivations.
Reading the books as an adult allows me to view them through a different lens as well; the story "The Living Daylights," in particular, shows how thoroughly Fleming understood the Cold War and the nuances involved in being on one side or the other. Although I greatly prefer the depth of Le Carre, I discovered to my pleasure that this was somewhat more than what Graham Greene called an "entertainment." And, yes, the casual racism and sexism are much more apparent and, though he was a product of his times, not at all appealing. Bond is not an easy man to like, but I think that's as Fleming intended.
Definitely worth a listen and I am going to try others in the series, as a self-avowed spy novel aficionado.

Fleming’s Bond series ends with a short story collection. I appreciate the short stories since most of the time, they help make a lot of the main characters well rounded. These stories are no different: they provide some fun insights but I can’t say these are particularly thrilling reads. Hence the three stars.

It’s a bittersweet end to the Fleming Bond series, which had its highs and lows. I enjoyed reading the series, from the epic adventures to a recipe of how Bond likes his scrambled eggs. I hope to do it again a few years from now.