Review: Dr No by Ian Fleming

Mass market paperback, 309 pages
Published 2006 (originally 1958)

Acquired January 2017
Read February 2017

Dr No by Ian Fleming

I'm often impressed by how much Ian Fleming does with how little. The Bond films are often globetrotting epics with multiple high-stakes fights. Dr No shows that you can get a lot out of a man trying to sit still while a centipede crawls over his face-- somehow one of the most intense scenes in these novels thus far! Bond doesn't do a whole lot here, but Fleming's Bond is human, and thus he struggles for every little thing he does do. When Bond, Quarrel, and Honey Rider have to hide from Dr No's forces on Crab Key, it's riveting; Fleming's attention to detail always serves him well in scenes like this. Honey herself is probably one of the most fascinating female characters in this series yet, and Dr No a strangely Gothic villain. Unfortunately, Dr No works better as an offstage premise; I enjoyed the bits where Bond and Rider and trapped in his weird hotel, but once he's revealed as contrivedly part of the Cold War and Bond turns the tables on him, the book deflates somewhat, as Fleming hasn't come up with a plan that matches sufficiently to the uniqueness of the character he's created. Still, one of the more enjoyable of these books-- Fleming's love of Jamaica always serves him well.

Next Week: He's the man, the man with the Midas touch: James Bond meets Goldfinger!