Octopussy and The Living Daylights, and Other Stories

James Bond, Book 14

By: Ian Fleming

Narrated by: Tom Hiddleston, Lucy Fleming

Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

The last book written by Ian Fleming, but by no means the least. In Octopussy, a talented but wayward British major pays a high price when his wartime past catches up with him, while in The Property of a Lady, a Fabergé egg leads Bond to a KGB spy. In The Living Daylights, Bond has a perilous rendezvous in sniper's alley between East and West Berlin, and 007 in New York (read by Lucy Fleming) sees him sent to America to warn an ex - MI6 operative about a dangerous liaison. All part of the job for 007.

This audiobook includes an exclusive bonus interview with Tom Hiddleston.

Blackstone Audio, Inc. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd

©1966 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Enjoyable stories, excellent narration'

I have to confess that I found and then immediately downloaded this title by typing Tom Hiddleston's name in the search box on Audible. I have been a long-time fan of the James Bond movies and have been encouraged to read the books so this seemed like a complete no-brainer. Tom Hiddleston voicing 007? Yes, please! This title contains 3 stories: The Living Daylights, Octopussy and The Property of A Lady. I knew by the length of the download that these were fairly short, but there is quite a lot of detail in each one. I was surprised that they were not done solely in James Bond's pov, which I found disappointing at first, but I quickly got used to it thanks to Mr. Hiddleston's fantastic narration. The stories have sparked my interest in listening to more of James Bond's adventures. After experiencing Mr. Hiddleston flawlessly voice a Chinese character, I find myself wondering if there is anything he doesn't do well! I've seen him do impressions of his fellow actors on YouTube and after listening to this title I am convinced he has a golden opportunity to add audiobook narrator to his list of skills. Someone please tell this man the world needs him to read more audiobooks! Please?

The Final Fleming 007 Stories

And so we come to the end of Ian Fleming’s original run of James Bond. This is a short story collection, published post-mortem at the height of the spy craze that was caused as a direct result of the successful 007 film franchise. Sean Connery had been in four Bond films to that point, with a fifth on the way, and by this point it was assumed (rightfully so) that regardless of any legal issues from Thunderball, 007 was going to live on for quite some time. Cashing in with the last of Fleming’s remaining stories would have been an easy call to make, especially since Fleming himself had planned to do so anyway before his untimely death.

As with For Your Eyes Only, this collection is largely more about Bond's character than big missions against supervillains. There are four stories here: Octopussy, The Property of a Lady, The Living Daylights, and 007 in New York. Each are very different in their tone, but all of them express sides of Bond's character and Fleming's interests in ways that Fleming has given us before, so the result is a comfortable and familiar end to the original canon.

Tom Hiddleston is a magnificent narrator on the first three of these stories, with his only flaw being that perhaps he's far too charismatic for Fleming's version of Bond. Even so, it's clear he has a great deal of fun with the character voices and performance opportunities. In keeping with my running commentary on how to pronounce "007," Hiddleston proves he's a proper fanboy and gives us a true "double-oh seven" instead of the awkward "oh-oh seven."

The fourth and final story is narrated by Lucy Fleming. While her range isn't nearly as broad as Hiddleston's, it doesn't need to be as the last story is mostly a fluff piece. Since this these stories are her heritage, and since she's producer of this 007 Reloaded series, it's only right to have her for the final tale.

All in all, this collection of short stories is a fun and satisfying end to Fleming's writings. It seems strange to come to the end at long last, but all good things...

Two words-Tom Hiddleston!

What can I say-it's Tom Hiddleston narrating a book. If he wants 2 read an instruction manual for computer programing-I'd buy it! On a serious note, it's not a bad delivery-there are better narrators out here. He can sometimes sound dead-pan & stiff but overall enjoyable!

Winding Down

"Octopussy and The Living Daylights, and Other Stories" is the second collection of short stories in the 007 series. It was published posthumously, and as such, these stories are the final ones written by Ian Fleming, though the film series continues with original James Bond adventures. Like those in "For Your Eyes Only," these short stories are good, but none reach the heights of the novels. Perhaps this is due to the shorter length and their deviations from the Bond formula, but there are refreshing in their novelty. The best story in this collection, in my opinion, in "The Living Daylights," a tense story about a sniper mission to protect a high-value agent. "Octopussy" and "The Property of a Women" are also quite entertaining, however. Tom Hiddleston's narration is as good as you would expect from an actor of his caliber, and interestingly, Lucy Fleming narrates the final story—a brief addendum about James Bond's visit to New York City.

where's Martin Jarvis?

anothet story that would have been better told by Martin Jarvis. Tom could use more practice in voice acting, I think. it was kinda bland.

Octopuses and The Living Datlights, and Other Stories

Ian Fleming delivers as always with his tales of the legendary James Bond. Tom Hiddleston is nothing less than brilliant as he reads life into each character with his variations of voices and tones. Definitely worth listening to! My only complaint is that there just weren't enough of these stories for Tom to read!

Better than watching!

I Love Ian Fleming's work. Tom Hiddleston could make toothpaste ingredients sound captivating and sensual!

Excellent

Excellent stories and narrators. Tom Hiddleston can read to me anytime and Lucy Fleming was also superb.

Tom Hiddleston as James Bond? Yes Please!

I'd listen to Tom read a phone book so the fact that he read these stories involving James Bond made it all the better. As Tom says in his interview - these stories are not like the movies. This is a very different (yet not so different) kind of Bond. Tom makes the stories come to life and makes you truly appreciate what a wonderful actor he is.

A Great Performance Of A Good Book

I read the paperback version of this book 20 years ago and loved it. I have been a fan of Ian Fleming’s novels since I was a teenager and have read the entire James Bond series many times over the years. I have listened to the Audible series and enjoyed the performances thoroughly. This book is no exception, and I have particularly enjoyed Tom Hiddleston’s performance.