Double the 007: From Russia with Love and Dr No

James Bond (Original Series) #5-6

by Ian Fleming

From Russia with Love ‘We are here to find a target who will fulfil our requirements. Someone who is admired and whose ignominious destruction would cause dismay’ A beautiful Soviet spy. A brand-new Spektor cipher machine. SMERSH has set an irresistible trap that threatens the entire Secret Service. In Fleming’s fifth 007 novel Bond finds himself enmeshed in a deadly game of cross and double cross. Dr No ‘The first shot had been fired. There would be others. And whose finger was on the trigger? Who had got him so accurately in their sights?’ Crab Key island is desolate and remote. So why is Dr No defending it so ruthlessly? Only Bond can uncover the truth, in Fleming’s sixth 007 adventure.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing.
While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units: 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels.
Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952, at age 44. It was a success, and three print runs were commissioned to meet the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two collections of short stories followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels centre around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Fleming also wrote the children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction. In 2008, The Times ranked Fleming 14th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
Fleming was married to Ann Fleming. She had divorced her husband, the 2nd Viscount Rothermere, because of her affair with the author. Fleming and Ann had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker for most of his life and succumbed to heart disease in 1964 at the age of 56. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously; other writers have since produced Bond novels. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-seven times, portrayed by six actors in the official film series.

Reviews

[Timothy Frojd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best two of Fleming's books about James Bond, but they still come with enough action and the stories aren't too bad. I enjoyed them as they did give me a bit more insight in to the mind of James Bond, which is one of the main reasons why I have been reading the whole book series. One of the main differences between the Bond in the book and the Bond in the films is that in the books he falls in love with the women, in the films it is all a just a necessary thing to do for England. The Bond in the books is a more complex person and that is what makes these books all the more interesting.

[Paschalis]

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[Larry Loftis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally got around to reading the book behind the movie which launched the Bond brand, Dr. No. While Fleming's prose is not tight (i.e., "Bond shrugged his shoulders" ... "He said," to start sentences when the speaker is clear, etc.), his storytelling is superb. Fleming's descriptions are deep, rich, and unique, bringing to full fruition his intimate knowledge of Jamaica.

He also masterfully teases the reader with romantic and sexual tension, only allowing .... WAIT! ... I can't tell you without spoiling it! You get the picture ... he does the ... ahem .. Bond thing.

Then there are the slight differences from the movie ... Do you know how the novel version differs from the film in the famous beach/bikini scene? In Fleming's literary version, Honey Rider is naked!

Except for the belt and knife, of course.