Dr. No Author: Visit Amazon's Ian Fleming Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1612185495 | Format: PDF
Dr. No Description
From Library Journal
The allure of James Bond was best described by Raymond Chandler, who insisted that 007 is "what every man would like to be and what every woman would like to have between her sheets." Who can argue with that? This month marks the 40th anniversary of the film release of Dr. No, which was the first Bond adventure to make the big screen, and two big coffee-table books are being published to honor the occasion (LJ 10/1/02, p. 96). Shockingly, Fleming's original novels have gone out of print, but Penguin here reproduces a trio of the British secret agent's early outings, released in 1952, 1958, and 1959, respectively, sporting stylish cover art. These stories were racy for the nifty Fifties but are quite tame by today's standards. Still, they can be fun.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Masterful ... beautifully written -- Raymond Chandler The Sunday Times
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- Series: James Bond
- Paperback: 255 pages
- Publisher: Thomas & Mercer; 1 edition (October 16, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1612185495
- ISBN-13: 978-1612185491
- Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
As most teenagers, I had my "Bond movies phase", renting and watching every movie from Sean Connery through Lazenby, Moore, Dalton and now Brosnan. Even so, I had never read one of Ian Fleming's books, prejudicialy dismissing them as childish and poorly written. After ten years, I found "Doctor No" in a used-books store, and since I made the mistake of thinking this was, like in the movies, the first book of the series, I bought it.
In "Doctor No", James Bond, after a bad mission and spending some time in a hospital, is given a kind of "vacation mission" in Jamaica. He has to discover what happened to the local stationed british secret agent, who is reported missing. When Bond gets there, he is driven towards Crab Key, a misterious island owned by Julius No, a tall, bald maniac for privacy and who is hiding things from jamaican administration.
To my surprise (and showing I was wrong in my prejudices), Fleming is a good writer who can hold the reader's attention at most times. It's just a pity that I didn't begin the series with the first book, "Casino Royale", to see how Fleming developed his writing style, characters and plots while writing the books.
Other surprise was to compare Bond in the books with Bond in the movies. Bond in the books was more human and credible, even to the point of throwing up after moments of extreme tension. Other characters are interesting as well, like nature girl Honey Rider and Bond's friend Quarrell. I also liked to meet again characters like M and Q. Doctor No, though, as everything related to Crab Key island, is a little too fantastic for my taste, but, from the information I gathered, "Doctor No" is Fleming's most "exotic" and implausible book.
This is one of the best Bond books that I've read.It is action packed and suspenseful. It is written with great detail to action and is much faster paced than other Bond novels. Although it has a few slower moments the end makes up for it with its suspense. I liked all of the characters and thought Quarrel was a good sidekick for Bond.Honeychile was one of the better Bond girls also because she was more down to earth and seemed very natural.
The story starts in Jamaica where two British secret service agents,Mr.Strangways and Mary Trueblood,are staying. One day after Strangways daily card games he is shot by three chinesse negros and taken away.The same guys then kill Mary Trueblood and take her too. In England, James Bond is sent down to Jamaica to investigate their agents disappearence.Once there Bond teams up with an old friend named Quarrel. While there Bond learns about a chinaman named Dr.No who owns a island called Crab Key. Bond decides to investigate Dr.No after Dr.No attempts to kill him. Bond and Quarrel take a canoe and sneak over to Crab Key. The morning after they arrived on Crab Key, Bond meets Honeychile Rider,who is diving for rare shells. She is very defensive and fierce upon meeting Bond. She relaxes though once she sees he's not going to harm her.At this time Quarrel tells them that boats are coming to the shore. The boats fire into the forest on shore and just barly misses Bond and Honeychile. The men on the boat then come ashore with dogs and guns to find the them. Now Bond,Quarrel,and Honeychile must try and save their lives from Dr.No's men. After Bond kills one of the men from the boat,they find a hidding place to rest for the night. The next morning they encounter a 'dragon',which is a marsh buggy made to look like a dragon.
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