No Limit!

No no no no no no no no no no no no there's no limit!

'Dr No' by Ian Fleming, read by Hugh Quarshie
(AudioGo 2012)

OK, now I've got that out of my system, here is a post about 'Dr No' by Ian Fleming, an AudioGo 007 Reloaded version of the novel read by Hugh Quarshie.

Returning to active duty after a near fatal encounter with the Russians, James Bond is given an easy assignment; investigating the disappearance of two MI6 operatives based in Kingston, Jamaica.  But the case is not as it seems. Before too long M's 'bit of a holiday' looking into a suspected affair and elopement has evolved into something far more sinister.  As Bond joins the dots, he finds all the threads lead to Crab Key, home to rare birds, a guano plant and the secretive spider at the web's centre, Dr Julius No.

'Dr No' is much more meticulously paced than 'Live and Let Die', the last Bond story I listened to as an audiobook.  It's still not a long novel, but it includes much more tension, character development and back story and is the better for it.  Bond lives a hyper-real, ultra-violent life just within sight of reality, so it helps to actually bring the story back down to Earth by making readers care about the characters.  In 'Dr No', Quarrel and Honeychile Ryder are much more developed than Solitaire in 'Live and Let Die', so there is a greater sense of danger that makes you genuinely root for these people and want to find out what happens next.

'Dr No' by Ian Fleming
(Penguin Modern
Classics, 2004)

I thought Solitaire was a complete waste of space, but I absolutely fell in love with Honeychile Ryder.  Although in some ways a victim of circumstances, she's not been sat around waiting for Bond to arrive and sort everything out for her.  She has her own aims, talents and desires, some more sensible than others, but whether her decisions make good sense or not, at least she's trying and she's not afraid of using her skills and knowledge to make her way independently in the world.  You go girl!

While the heroes seem more real, the villain Dr No was as unreal as they come.  Perhaps it was a deliberate dichotomy or maybe a villain as completely off the wall as this one is so unbelievable to prevent readers having nightmares.  Having said that, while No was a typical megalomaniacal Bond villain who seemed completely detached from reality in his underground lair, he was scary.  Normally this sort of character becomes borderline camp in the films, but on the page and in his own domain claustrophobia sets in and you begin to doubt that even 007 can overcome this madman's manipulations.

Overall, 'Dr No' is a great adventure story, action-packed, tense and with real punch in places.  It has dated in the last 57 years, but, to be fair, all the Bond books I've encountered so far have, like so many of their contemporaries.  If you can see beyond this, however, I would recommend it.

Now, what next?

Related Posts

'Live and Let Die'
'Casino Royale'
'For Your Eyes Only'