Doctor No FROM OUR EDITORS
James Bond #6: Bond visits a deadly island and runs a gauntlet of death.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
M called this case a soft option. Bond can't quite agree. The tropical island is luxurious, the seductive Honey Rider is beautiful and willing, but they are both part of the empire of Dr. No...The doctor is a worthy adversary, with a mind as hard and cold as his solid steel hands. Dr. No's obsession is power. His only gifts are strictly pain-shaped.
FROM THE CRITICS
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 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with GOLDFINGER and LIVE & LET DIE.]—Through the filter of modern sensitivities, the James Bond adventures of Ian Fleming appear to be racist, sexist, overflowing with nicotine and alcohol, and melodramatic. But exchange that filter with one of historical perspective, and one finds oneself in a delightful romp out of time. Robert Whitfield's polished voice is an enchanting accompaniment to Fleming's exotic settings and stories. His English accent is as smooth as a dry martini—shaken not stirred—and he slips into other accents (West Indian and African American in LIVE & LET DIE, German in GOLDFINGER, and Chinese in DR. NO) as easily as the fictional 007 slips out of a dangerous situation and into the bed of a beautiful woman. Listening to these unabridged novels is more subtle than watching the films, but ultimately more rewarding. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
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