Dr. No: A James Bond Novel

By Ian Fleming

Book Overview

JAMES BOND IS PUT TO THE TEST AGAINST AN EGOTISTICAL SCIENTIST WITH NEFARIOUS AIMS

Dispatched by M to investigate the mysterious disappearance of MI6's Jamaica station chief, legendary secret agent James Bond was expecting a holiday in the sun. But when he discovers a deadly centipede placed in his hotel room, the vacation is over.

In this beautiful but deadly Caribbean setting, all suspicious activity leads inexorably to Dr. Julius No, a reclusive megalomaniac with steel pincers for hands. To find out what the good doctor is hiding, 007 must enlist the aid of local fisherman Quarrel and alluring beachcomber Honeychile Rider.

Together they will combat a local legend the natives call "the Dragon," before Bond alone must face the most punishing test of all: an obstacle course--designed by the sadistic Dr. No himself--that measures the limits of the human body's capacity for agony.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063298724
• ISBN13: 9780063298729
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

MY FAVORITE SO FAR

I'm reading all the Bond books in order and I'm on Thunderball now but Doctor No is the best so far. The characters are great with Quarrel and Honey Rider. M thinks hes giving Bond a break with an easy case but its probably the toughest adventure ever for Bond. The book is unputdownable from the very start when Bond's friend Strangways is kidnapped. When Bond is on "Crab Key" the book is great with all the obstacles Bond has to go through. The dragon, Dr. No's obstacle course and the animal at the end of it and the final showdown with Doctor No and the way he dies is pretty funny. Great book my favorite so far.

One of the Best Bond Books Ever!

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.They fire upon with no effect and Quarrel is killed by the 'dragons'flamethrower. Bond and Honeychile are captured and taken to Dr.No. There Dr.No reveals his plans for power and that he killed Strangways. After telling him this,Dr.No sends Bond into his maze of death which he designed himself. Can Bond get out of the maze and save Honeychile,who has fallen in love with Bond, and the world once again or will he be defeated in Dr.No's maze of death?I don't want to spoil the end so you'll have to get the book to find out for yourself what happens to Bond.

Want to discover Fleming's Bond? Read this one first!

As an avid Ian Fleming fan, I always recommend this one to newcomers who enjoy the films and want to check out the author who inspired them. Bond doesn't just waltz through this one unscathed... he goes through hell to accomplish his mission! The scene in which a poisonous centipede crawls all over Bond's naked body while he's in bed will make your skin crawl. The torture-tunnel sequence, in which he must worm his way through yards of heated metal, tarantulas and more, is also incredibly gripping. And Dr. No's demise in the book is even more unusual than the way he bought it in the film! Read this one, and see Bond the way Fleming intended him to be seen. Roger Moore never endured trials like these!

Fleming's Renewal Is Great

Many people would think of the film with the same title when trying to remember the story, and this time they would be mostly correct. After 1957's From Russia With Love, Ian Fleming had intended for James Bond to perish with that story. He was convinced to continue with the character, so in 1958 came Doctor No. The story: British agent Strangways in Jamaica has been murdered, and James Bond has been ordered by M to investigate. When he arrives, Bond meets Quarrel, a native of the area, and Honeychile Ryder a beautiful woman whom Bond meets in a very unusual manner. Soon, it is discovered that Strangways was murdered by agents of Doctor No, a mysterious man who is a blend of German and Chinese, and who has a secret that needs to be kept at his island home of Crab Key. Bond is soon captured and put through a horrible torture through some very narrow tunnels. This is one of the best of the Bond novels, and certainly deserves a look.

Probably the best Fleming Bond. Holds up well.

Probably the best Fleming Bond. Takes place in, and captures the flavor of Fleming's favorite site he knew so well: Jamaica. The progression of Bond's venture to Crab Key through to the denoument (which takes up the second half of the book) is the best -- and most exciting -- sustained writing Fleming did. This sequence contains the classic moments: the introduction to Honeychild Rider, the revelation of her past, the Dragon, the bizarre "hotel" within Dr. No's complex, the dinner, the extraordinary tunnel of horrors chapter (one of Fleming's most inspired scenes), and the ignomnious end of Dr. No. This is Fleming at his full powers of (sometimes weird) imagination. Unlike other Bonds -- say Moonraker --Dr. No can be read again and again