The James Bond literary franchise is a series of novels and short stories, first published in 1953 by Ian Fleming, a British author, journalist, and former naval intelligence officer. James Bond, often referred to by his code name, 007, is a British Secret Service agent; the character was created by journalist and author Ian Fleming, and first appeared in his 1953 novel Casino Royale; the books are set in a contemporary period, between May 1951 and February 1964. Fleming went on to write a total of twelve novels and two collections of short stories, all written at his Jamaican home Goldeneye and published annually. Two of his books were published after his death in 1964.

Since Fleming's death a number of other authors have written continuation works. Some of these have been novelizations of episodes in the series of Bond films, produced by Eon Productions, while others were either continuation novels or short stories. The first author was Kingsley Amis, writing under the pseudonym of "Robert Markham" who produced one novel; then came novelist and biographer John Pearson who wrote a fictional biography of Bond. Novelist and screenwriter Christopher Wood wrote two novelizations in the late 1970s. Writer John Gardner was asked to continue the series by copyright holders Ian Fleming Publications and, between 1981 and 1996, he wrote fourteen novels and two novelizations. After Gardner retired due to ill health, American author Raymond Benson continued the stories and wrote six Bond novels, three novelizations and three short stories between 1996 and 2002.

I really enjoyed Dr. No. In further research I found some of the information below. I watched No. today. This was the first James Bond movie I saw with my dad while a 12-15 year old. It was great and has been A LOT OF YEARS.

There was a hiatus of six years before Sebastian Faulks was commissioned to write a further Bond novel, which was released on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth. This was followed in 2011 by a novel by American author Jeffery Deaver, a 2013 book by William Boyd and a further instalment in September 2015 by Anthony Horowitz, with a second Horowitz novel announced for publication in May 2018. There have also been two Fleming estate-sanctioned spin-off series of books: Young Bond, based around Bond's adventures whilst a schoolboy at Eton College, and The Moneypenny Diaries, a series of books and short stories focusing on the supporting character Miss Moneypenny.

During World War II Fleming had mentioned to friends that he wanted to write a spy novel, but it was not until 17 February 1952 that he began to write his first novel, Casino Royale. He started writing his book at his Jamaican home Goldeneye, typing out 2,000 words in the morning, directly from his own experiences and imagination; he finished work on the manuscript in just over two months, completing it on 18 March 1952. Publishers Jonathan Cape were initially reluctant to publish the book, but were persuaded by Fleming's brother Peter (1907–1971), who had previously published material through them. On 13 April 1953 Casino Royale was released in the UK in hardcover, priced at 10s, 6d, with a cover that had been devised by Fleming himself. The first edition of 4,728 copies of Casino Royale sold out in less than a month; a second print run the same month also sold out,[6] as did a third run of more than 8,000 books published in May 1954. At the time, Fleming was the Foreign Manager for Kemsley Newspapers, an organisation which owned The Sunday Times. Upon accepting the job, Fleming requested that he be allowed three months' holiday per year, which allowed him the freedom to write.

The novel centred on the exploits of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the 00 section of the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies. Fleming based his creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war". After the publication of Casino Royale, Fleming used his annual holiday at his house in Jamaica to write another Bond story;[1] in total, between 1953 and 1966, two years after his death, twelve Bond novels and two short-story collections were published, with the last two books—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—published posthumously. Highly Recommend.
A lot of wonderful suspense that is most enjoyable.

I didn't really like the Dr. No character in this book as much as the idea of Dr. No as a villain I had in my head before reading it or watching the movie. It was interesting that in the book James was very apologetic when he "had to" kill someone but he wasn't that way in the movie. Maybe that was because he had to explain all of his decisions to the woman he was with; I guess I will know more after book #7.

Better than the film, which is also excellent.

This is yet another winner in the James Bond celebrity performances series of audiobooks which has the Ian Fleming originals read by different theatrical and screen actors.
Hugh Quarshie is the narrator for Dr. No which was the 6th in the original series but the first of the big screen film appearances. Quarshie is a UK-based stage and screen actor and is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He does an excellent job on all of the various accents and voices required here, particularly bringing Bond's allies Cayman Islander Quarrel and Jamaican Honeychile Rider to audio life. Of course he gets to be both James Bond as well as megalomaniacal foe Dr. No also.
Highly recommended if you want to revisit the original series, which is much more down-to-earth than the antics of the later films would suggest.

Writing for Britain's 'Sunday Times' upon the book's release, Raymond Chandler (of all writers) wrote a glowing review, using words like "masterly" and admiring Fleming's "acute sense of pace"; further stating, "You don't have to work at Ian Fleming. He does the work for you." 

Since I never felt like I had to work at Chandler (one of my faves), that recent piece of info was enough for me to finally sample some of the Bond series. (I'd only seen the films; the larger percentage of them.) I figured to at least get 'Dr. No' and 'From Russia, with Love' - faves in the film series - under my belt. (That sounds nasty, doesn't it?) 

Surprisingly, Fleming's version of 'Dr. No' is better than the movie. ~ which is not to say it's a great book; in significant ways, it's much more cartoonish than the serious-minded screen adaptation. But I admit I was curious about Fleming's writing style. 

Turns out it's a hybrid. Sometimes smart, sometimes sloppy; at times, sidetracked by the arcane, then suddenly swept up in the preposterous. He may not land the spy tone in the realm of the persuasive - he's far afield from John le Carré - but I daresay he's more entertaining. 

Case in point: In the book's last few chapters, Fleming leads his hero into back-to-back nail-biters that strain credulity at every turn but are nevertheless wildly effective. They are also unmatched by the film. 

Fleming can be silly, i.e. in a confrontation with henchmen:n  

Bond shrugged with an indifference he didn't feel. He whispered, 'Oh, I expect we're going to see Dr. No. Don't worry too much, Honey. These men are just little gangsters. It'll be different with him. When we get to him, don't you say anything. I'll talk for both of us.' He pressed her shoulder. 'I like the way you do your hair. I'm glad you don't cut it too short.'
Some of the tension went out of her face. 'How can you think of things like that?' She half smiled at him. 'But I'm glad you like it. I wash it in coconut oil once a week.'

nThe titular nemesis is presented as expected, in a semi-Fu Manchu manner:n  

There was something Dali-esque about the eyebrows, which were fine and black and sharply upswept as if they had been painted on as make-up for a conjurer. ... The bizarre, gliding figure looked like a giant venomous worm wrapped in grey tin-foil, and Bond would not have been surprised to see the rest of it trailing slimily along the carpet behind.

nNo tends to talk like a Warner Bros. villain from the '40s:n  

'But let us move away from this sterile debate.'

'You have been reading too many novels of suspense. Your little speech reeked of grease-paint and cardboard.'

nAnd ladies-in-distress distress him:n  

The girl's eyes in the pale face were blue-black with fear. Her lips trembled. She said, 'Will it hurt?'
'Silence!' Dr. No's voice was the crack of a whip. 'Enough of this foolery. Of course it will hurt. I am interested in pain.'

nPerhaps the most terrifying thing about Dr. No is that Fleming gives him a speech. A long one. When No started withn  

'I was the only son of a German Methodist missionary and a Chinese girl of good family...'

n~I thought, Jeez, we're not gonna get this guy's *entire* backstory are we? But that's what we get, every last long-winded word of it.

Oh, well. Onward to 'From Russia, with Love'.....

Forget ever James Bond movie you ever saw when you read the books. These are much more a mystery/adventure story. Recommended

One of the better Bond stories. Interesting plot and test for Bond who is sent to Jamaica basically on a vacation to help recover from a previous mission. Sent to check on the disappearance of the local Station manager, Strangways, he becomes embroiled in a mystery on Crab Island and involved with an interesting villain, Dr. No. Quickly paced and with sufficient action to keep you involved, very good story.

In this installment Bond finds himself on a lazy vacation in Jamaica to mend from his last mission, or so M thought...

This may have been my least favorite installment so far. A pity, because it had the potential to be my favorite. The plot was so very simplistic and straight-forward. The mystery from the other installments was missing. You knew what would happen pretty much from the beginning with little to no deviation from Bond's first theories as the story progressed.

The love interest genuinely made me uncomfortable. Bond actually says that he views her as he would a child, and yet he wishes to bed her anyway. Not to mention the fact that she expresses some trauma that she is obviously still dealing with, and Bond hasn't a care in the world about it. Ugh.

So why does this book receive two stars from me? It's very simple.

Doctor No was a very cool villain. I wish we could have had more of him in the book. He was unique and intriguing. I would have loved to be shown more of how his mind works.

The trap in this book was as unique as its maker. I was on the edge of my seat as Bond struggled to his limits. Again, I wish there was more of it. The build up to the trap was drawn-out to the point that I thought there would be more of it. I'm sad the scene was so short.


This installment left a lot to be desired. I'll continue to read these novels, but this particular one is not highly recommended. My imagination did better.

Personal Response
I thought this was a much better James Bond book than ones I´ve read in the past. It did a great job of portraying Bond as the awesome MI6 agent we all know and love. There was plenty of action and suspense along the entire book. The main antagonist, Dr.No, was truly a terrifying villain. He sure could scare the reader in his evil plans. The only real problem was how Dr.No died, it wasn't as intense as I hoped for, but I guess it fit the bill.

Summary
Bond's adventure starts him out receiving info on his next mission, which will be in Jamaica, and MI6 has their suspicions about Dr.No and his island, Crab Key. So, with Bond's mission now decided, he got a flight to Jamaica and arrived a few days later. When he got off the plane he was greeted by his old friend, Quarrel. They talked for a bit and Bond felt good to be back with an old friend. Then, Quarrel took Bond to his hotel and dropped him off. They said they'd meet later tonight for a drink. Bond got to his room and relaxed for a few hours. When it was time, he left and Quarrel was already waiting for him outside of the hotel. They drove down to a nearby bar and got some drinks. Bond filled him in on why he was here and about Dr.No and Crab Key. Then, Bond saw a suspicious girl with a camera that took a picture of Bond. He had noticed her when he got off the plane. Bond told Quarrel to snag the girl and bring her here. He did as he was told and grabbed her and held her arm behind her back and if she made any funny moves he would increase the pressure, causing her more pain. The women was screaming and was furious. Bond wanted to know who she was and why she was following him and taking pictures. She didn't say anything, so Quarrel increased the pressure. She finally said that she worked for some newspaper/article company and that she was just trying to get some pictures. Bond wasn't buying it, when all of a sudden she slammed beer bottle into Quarrel's face and caused him to start bleeding, so he returned the favor, and took a candle stick and stuck it on her hand, which left a big burn mark. She wriggled in pain. Bond asked again and why she was really here. She cursed them both and Bond finally told Quarrel to let her go. When she got up, she said "He'll get you, you bastards!" and ran away. Bond soon wondered who 'he' was and if it could possibly be Dr.No. Later that night, Bond returned to the hotel and took a shower and went to bed. Bond was suddenly awoke in the middle of the night by something crawling on his feet. He thought it was an ant or spider, but then it crawled up his leg, and he felt two rows of multiple legs. He knew then that it was a giant centipede, and it was crawling up his body. Bond stayed calm, trying not to move. The vile creature continued up his leg and onto his stomach. It stopped for a minute or so, then continued on up his chest. Bond was sweating like crazy, hoping that the centipede wouldn´t bite him. One bite from one could send a man down and die in minutes. The insect reached Bond´s neck and started to inch its way up his face. It crawled over his eye and onto his head. Finally it got off his head and onto the bed frame. Bond waited a few more seconds, then leaped out of bed and saw it crawling across the floor. He grabbed his shoe and crushed the insect. Relieved that the danger was gone, he went back to bed. The next day he asked Quarrel if centipedes are common around this place. He said yes but they only hang around in damp and mossy places, like old abandoned houses, so Bond knew that someone had to have but the creature in his room, someone who isn´t a friend. He thought perhaps Dr.No, but he couldn´t know for sure. Later, he went back to his hotel and up to his room, where there was a basket of fruit waiting for him. Surprised, he took the basket inside and examined it. He took one of the fruits to the bathroom sink and washed it off, then looked at it more closely. He noticed a small hole on the top, barely visible to the naked eye. Then Bond went over to his dresser and examined the knobs of the dresser. He had laced them with a powder and he noticed that it was all smeared. So someone had been in his room, and the fruits must've been poisoned. He took them and sent them back to the people who he was working with here on Jamaica. He told them to analyze the fruit and find out what was in them. From that moment on, Bond knew that Dr.No, or someone very close to him, must be trying to Bond. So he told Quarrel, and the next night, they set sail for Crab Key. It would take an entire night to get from Jamaica to Crab Key by canoe. Bond and Quarrel would take turns rowing throughout the night. Then about a mile from the island, they would need to put down the sail so radar couldn't pick them up. When they arrived at Crab Key, they hid the canoe in some brush and covered it with sticks and seaweed. Then they both found a spot to hide for the night and sleep in. Bond was so tired that he fell asleep right away. He awoke in the morning to some rustling and he heard some footsteps in the sand. He poked his head up from his hole, and to his surprise, saw a woman, completely naked, standing there with her back towards him. He sat there, astonished at the woman's beauty. Her flowy golden hair and her nice body, Bond admitted she was very good looking from behind, but just imagine a view from the front. Bond crawled out of the hole, and said to her "Hello." The girl turned around very frightened and covered up her face. Bond wondered why she covered her face, but then she slowly lowered her hands and Bond saw why. She had a broken nose and didn't want people to see it. She didn't seem to care that she was naked. Bond asked who she was and what she was doing on a dangerous place like this. The girl was confused, and asked the same thing to Bond. He said that he was a bird watcher come to research the birds here. The girl said that her name was Honeychile Rider, but people call her Honey. She said she comes to this island all the time to collect a rare type of seashell. At that time Quarrel came out if his hiding place, and Honey was scared of him too. He came over to say that he heard the sound of a boat coming from down the shoreline. Bond knew then that Honey must have been detected by the radar when she came in by her canoe, and they were coming after them. Bond then grabbed Honey and they dove over a small hill and dug into it a bit. Quarrel did the same somewhere else. Then the boat came around and he heard a voice from the boat. One of the men was shouting through a megaphone at them. He said that if they came out from where ever they were that they wouldn't get hurt. Bond didn't move. They asked again, but nothing. So then they had no other choice and opened fire at the beach and shot in all directions. Bond got down lower and covered up Honey. After the firing stopped the men on the boat said they'd be back with dogs to sniff them out. After the noise of the boat was gone, Bond got up and examined the area. Honey's canoe had been shot up, so they went and hid Bonds canoe in the water so they'd never find it. Then Honey said she knew a hiding spot they could go and wait until nightfall to leave the island. Bond just went along with it, but he actually wanted to stay and see what was really going on with Dr.No and this island. So Bond and Quarrel followed Honey and they came to a river, then Quarrel heard the sounds of dogs barking nearby. Bond told Quarrel to go and cut some of the bamboo that was growing on the river bank. He cut three and the stuck them in their mouths and hid underwater. The dogs and men all passed by, so Bond stood up, but there was a straggler behind the rest. Bond got down one more time, but as the man passed he stepped on Bond. He jumped up in pain, pulled out his gun, and shot the man. He had no other choice. They then continued down the river and found an old burned down village. Bond wondered how this happened, and Honey said that there was a dragon that lived on the island. It went around scaring off the birds and then burning their nests and places of living. Bond told that dragons don't exist, but Honey was certain of it. Then it came out of no where across the water, the dragon was heading right for them. It was just as Bond had thought, it was some sort of all terrain vehicle that was disguised as a dragon and it had a flamethrower. It was used to scare the birds and anyone who trespassed on the island. Bond and Quarrel started shooting at it and took out the headlights, but then its flamethrower shot out and burned Quarrel. Then two men got out and told Bond to drop the gun or be burned alive. He did as he was told and they took him and Honey. The men took Bond and Honey back to their mountain base. They were forced out and took down a long corridor and left at the end where there was a door. The man said to go through it, so they did. Inside it was a large reception desk where two Chinese women sat. When they noticed Bond and Honey, they got very happy and greeted them. The two ladies introduced themselves and told them that they were very excited to have them there. One of them directed them down the hall to a hotel room where they'd be staying for the evening. This was all rather strange to Bond, so he knew it had to be some kind of a trap. The lady said that Dr.No would be happy if the two of them would join them for dinner. Bond agreed, and the lady left. Bond and Honey bathed and got dressed in clean clothes. Then they sat around and talked for a bit, then took a nap. When they awoke, the lady came back and said that dinner would be starting soon, so they followed her into a elevator, and she pushed the floor number and left. When Bond arrived, they walked around examining the room, when Dr.No came out of no where. Bond had finally seen the man behind all this chaos on Crab Key. He instructed them to sit down, and then Bond noticed that he didn't have hands, instead metal claws. Dr.No noticed this and told why he had them. Then he presumed to tell his life story of how he got to power here on Crab Key. The story was rather boring to Bond, and when he was finished, Bond said that all his work here would soon be destroyed. Dr.No could tell he was bluffing, and said there was no way anything could happen to him or this island. Then they got up and went to the dinner table, where they were served very fine cuisine. Bond kept trying to say that MI6 already knew everything that was going on, but that wasn't true. Dr.No was getting annoyed, and said that it was time for them to die. A guard came and took Honey out of the room, Bond tried to get up after her, but a strong guard pushed him down in his seat and held him there. Dr.No said that he was going to be put in an obstacle course of death. Dr.No wished him luck, he was going to need it. Then the guard took him away. He was thrown in a cell, and there wasn't anything in it except a chair and a vent cover. Bond took the chair to the vent, but when he touched it, he got electrocuted. He got up again and touched it again, but it was fine now. He started crawling through the vent, and it was a long trek. He crawled for a good amount of time, when he came upon a problem. There was ways to go: left, right, or up. Both left and right were blocked off a few feet down, so up was the only way up. It was very difficult and tall. It took Bond about 20 minutes to reach the top, and he had to stay focused because if he fell he would surely break a leg. When he got up the vent, he continued straight, when all of a sudden the metal started getting warm, then it started getting hot, and soon it was boiling hot. Bond torn off his shirt and wrapped it around his hands and knees. Then he started crawling as fast as he could, and the shirt was starting to burn through and Bond's skin started to burn. He finally reached the end and plunged into a vent that was cool and Bond sat there for several minutes cooling off. Then he continued down the vent, when it slowly started to decline. Bond was relieved because he didn't have to push him self as much. Then it starting getting very steep, and he was falling and couldn't stop. The next he knew, he was falling out of the vent into the ocean. It was about a 100 foot drop. When Bond awoke he was underwater. He quickly realized what happened and swam up. He got to the top and got a breath of air. There was a long wire fence in the middle so he swam to it and got on. He looked both directions to where it ended, and it seemed to end to the left. So he slowly made his way to the end and got on solid land. He walked around a rock and saw Dr.No and he was over watching the deliver that a boat had brought in. Bond was behind the crane that was transporting the materials. Bond crept behind the man in the crane and killed him, then quickly grabbed on to the controls and returned to what the man before was doing. Then, Bond swung the larger container around and dropped it, to which it landed on Dr.No, killing him instantly. Then Bond swung the crane around and knocked over containers on the boat and killed the men aboard. Bond then let the crane go wild and cause as much chaos as possible. He got out and ran towards a way out of this mess, when he ran around the corner and bumped into Honey. He was surprised because she was wearing some larger worker clothes. She said that the men that took her tied her up naked next to the water and when these certain types of crabs came out of the water, they'd eat her. But that didn't happen, in fact they just crawled over her and the she was able to escape. Bond was happy to see her, and he then took her arm and they took off running towards where the dragon was parked. When they arrived, no one was in sight. Bond and Honey crawled into the cockpit and started up the machine. Then they drove off to where the canoe was, then they abandoned the dragon and got to the canoe and sailed back home. Now that everything was safe, the government of Jamaica sent over forces to Crab Key to clean up the rest of the place. Bond and Honey got together and had sex, how original Bond. Then everything was all good.

Recommendation
I recommend this book to any fans of Ian fleming and his work of James Bond. It has got plenty of action and suspense to keep readers on edge until the last page. I gave it 5 stars because I really thought it was a great book, and so will many others.

I am familiar with the story of Ian Flemings Doctor No through growing up with watching the James Bond films. However, reading the book makes you realise just how much of the story was omitted from the film, or the extent that the story and characters were changed.

Personally I was pleased to find that the book had so much more depth and intrigue, as well as giving more background to the concept of the story. I found it an easy and enjoyable read, the plot was fairly consistent and the story did not tend to jump all over the place. Since reading the book I can see some of the failings in the film and the way they dumbed down the character of Quarrel & Honey Ryder. If you are familiar with the film, Quarrel is the gentleman that travelled to Crab Key with James Bond. The book portrayed Quarrel as being more resourceful he was a more interesting character but the film did not reflect this. The character of Honey Ryder was a lot more interesting, intelligent with a sweet innocence or even naivety about her. The film dumbed this character down, I know the vision of Ursula Andress coming out of the sea is borderline cult classic but I feel she did not reflect the character as described in the book.

If you haven’t read any of the Ian Fleming books, I would recommend that you do. I have only read Doctor No so far but I do intend to complete the Bond books and looking forward to seeing how they compare with the films.

#78 of 2020

So Goooood!

Eh, this was pretty good. Fleming clearly loves Jamaica, and it shows. This story deals with bird poop a lot more than you might expect.

Of course there’s the casual sexism and racism. This time the “Chigro” (biracial Chinese-Negro) gets most of the blatant antipathy.

Basically, you’ve got to assume the worst about these books and end up thinking “that wasn’t TOO offensive.”