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Rating: 
Summary: Bond Without Gadgets...REFRESHING!
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Bond's "regular" assignments
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A different James Bond
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A different James Bond
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect 007 Story
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect 007 Story
Review: 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.
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