Octopussy, by Ian Fleming || Audiobook by LA CASE Books || Licence to kill Vol. 14.

Bond’s quarry is a rather odd Englishman, the very proper Major Dexter Smythe. Smythe is a retired officer of the Royal Marines. He is a man of no visible wealth, yet he lives in luxurious idleness.

His pet diversion–indeed his obsession–is a dangerous experiment that he is conducting with a predator of the deep, with a many-tentacled beauty whom he fondly has named Octopussy

Ian Fleming

Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels.

Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain’s Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units: 30 Assault Unit and T-Force.

He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952, at age 44. It was a success, and three print runs were commissioned to meet the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two collections of short stories followed between 1953 and 1966.

The novels centre around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide.