THE LAST IAN FLEMING BOND BOOK: OCTOPUSSY AND THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

This is it—the final book of my rereading, in order, all of Ian Fleming's James Bond books—Octopussy and the Living Daylights.

Actually, it was not the final book that Ian Fleming wrote. That was The Man With the Golden Gun, written in the first months of 1964 and published posthumously in the spring of 1965.

This book was a collection of short stories that were previously published in various magazines in the early 1960s. They were accumulated and published in book form in 1966. However, the book's contents vary based on which edition you have in your hands. 

The first edition (cover pictured) contained only Octopussy and The Living Daylights. A later edition, the one I read, also contained the story The Property of a Lady. A final edition also contained a story "007 in New York."

This was a journey into the past for me. I was introduced to James Bond when I saw the movie Goldfinger in the spring of 1965. I was immediately enthralled. It was quickly followed by seeing a double feature of Dr No and From Russia With Love. By the time Thunderball was released, even though I was only in 8th grade, I was reading Ian Fleming's books. The impact of these books (and movies) on my life is hard to overstate. It inspired my love of reading -- and writing -- and even music through John Berry's incredible scores.

I read all of Fleming's books within a few months, and then a couple of years later, I read them all in order. Most I had not touched since—more than 55 years ago. Now in my early 70s, I decided to re-read all of the Fleming books—in order—in the same Bantam editions that I first read.  The task—a joyous one—now is complete.

Among the greater population, Ian Fleming is best known for his novels—twelve in all, only eleven of which he liked to claim. The Spy Who Loved Me was an effort at an out-of-character Bond novel told by a female protagonist. Among scathing criticism, Fleming quickly disavowed it and initially prohibited its publication in the paperback or in the US.

But Fleming was also an absolutely sensational short story writer. Octopussy and the Living Daylights was published in June 1966, nearly two years after Fleming's death at age 56. The three stories in the book, including the two title stories and a third, The Property of a Lady, were originally published in periodicals. All three are outstanding short stories, although they do not have the pace or consequence of the novels.

While the title of Octopussy seems marginally salacious, the story is a low-key tale of justice, in the form of Bond finally catching up with a man who had stolen Nazi gold bars at the price of killing a ski guide. It so happened that the guide was a young Bond's ski instructor in his pre-war years. Like A Quantum of Solace in the other collection of Fleming short stories, this is told from the perspective of the older man still living on his gold bars in Jamaica. Suffering terminal cancer, he is facing the reality of death regardless of whether Bond arrives or not. 

The Living Daylights is a Cold War tale about Bond being sent to Berlin to act as an assassin to protect a British agent escaping to the West. Bond ponders his murderous assignment role but is determined to do his duty. But a surprise awaits. Those who recall the movie of the same name will see the similarities in the opening scenes of the movie with the short story.

The Property of a Lady is a subtle story whose biggest action scene is an auction of a Faberge egg. It is another low-energy Bond story, but one that looks more realistically at the inner workings of the art of spycraft than most of the Bond books.

The final story, not included in my version, is "007 in New York." It's another low-action story focusing on Bond's reflections on New York City in the early 1960s and his favorite recipe for scrambled eggs, a favorite dish of both Bond and Fleming. The plot of warning an MI-6 agent that her new boyfriend is a KGB agent is almost secondary.

This is a MUST-READ book for true James Bond fans who want to add richness to their understanding of Fleming's writing and his character.

This is a good way to end my quest through Ian Fleming's Bond books—a quieter end with wonderfully written but relatively low-key stories. I think that's probably the way it should be.