Doctor No (James Bond Novels) Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Paperback – January 1, 2003

I had read all of Ian Fleming’s James Bond books in the past…. I had all of the books at one point but probably during a move they got lost ….so glad I’m finding these available to add to my library.

I've never read a Bond book before, and only seen a few movies. Please keep this in mind with the following:This book will transport you back to the '50s/'60s. Bond was a man of those times as was his creator Ian Fleming. From today's perspective some of it is cringe-worthy as it pertains to race, women, and classism. However it is definitely not the Bond from the early movies. This Bond is tough yet breakable. He seems to have a nervous stomach at times. In fact he wretches, or at least tries not to, more than a couple times in the story. Moreover there are various moments when Bond's constitution to carry on is tested to the max - tests he comes near to failing several times. Surely this is the wrong Bond, right? This Bond is harshly criticized by his handler - a no-love-lost relationship - much to his smarting and (butt hurt) pride.One last thing that caught me by surprise: the main female character has sexual agency. She is no mere push over for Bond. Nay, it is she who is the pushy one.

Wonderful book for the Bond fan. This particular book that I received was the newer version of the classic, but it’s from the UK. I absolutely have enjoyed this edition, better than others for some reason, and am hoping to find some others in this particular edition.

My husband wanted to collect this whole set of Bond books. He's a huge fan. He loves the colorful design of each book and how every one has illustration that uniquely captures the feel of each book. He has them all now and really loves the way the set looks as a whole.

"Doctor No", the sixth of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, served as the basis for the first film with Sean Connery. Fleming's writing is indicative of many adventure novels from the 1920s through 1950s, though this 1958 book features a rampantly imperialist perspective, with Bond, a British spy, viewing the locals of Jamaica, a current colony that would not gain independence for four more years, as little more than backward children. As though that were not bad enough, Fleming's portrayal of the Chinese betrays an antiquated Westerner's racial distrust of the "exotic" East. For a story about a spy, Bond spends surprisingly little time concerned about global politics and the ramifications of Doctor No's plans, with the story instead featuring a certain wistfulness for Britain's former supremacy in the days of a waning empire.The 1962 film does a better job setting up Doctor No's motivations and establishing him as a threat, while Fleming only brings up No's ability to alter the course of missiles as a bit of throwaway dialogue toward the end. Similarly, while the Bond of the movies always appears in control of a situation, the one in this novel is a character to whom things happen, provoking a response, rather than one who drives the action. In this way, Fleming's writing resembles that of Edgar Rice Burroughs, who's John Carter was characterized in much the same manner.Fleming's "Doctor No" certainly holds significance in the annals of popular culture and deserves a read from those interested in the history of pop culture or of Cold War-era fiction. With that in mind, the novel is very much a product of its time, reflecting all of the attitudes about race and gender that existed then. The story, though interesting, is quite dated and does not hold up to the passage of time in the same manner as the film, which has its own problems.

Its James Bond, what do want.

Quality of product, used as entertainment

Interesting story, but writing is poor. The story jumps from scene to scene like it written more as a movie script than a novel.