Reviews

Doctor No by Ian Fleming

magenta_'s review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

4.0

jordooo's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

throb_thomas's review

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adventurous

2.0

stuporfly's review against another edition

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3.0

I meant to write about this immediately after I finished it, but that happened during my last day in New York, and I was kind of anxious and scrambling to make sure I was packed and everything ahead of my cross-country drive. And since then I've listened to a bunch more Bond tales as audiobooks, so I lost much of the nuance I'd have added here. I did enjoy quite a lot of it, but I also remember some plainly stupid racism, so let's call it a 3-star book, then.

elctrc's review against another edition

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2.0

I'm sure I should have began my foray into Fleming from a different spot, but as it stands, I may not bother. The racism is so intense. I was prepared for the sexism (it's Bond, afterall), but the racism is incredible and in-your-face. And it's not as seen through the eyes of the characters in the story -- it's obvious that Fleming has a true hatred for blacks, Chinese, and anything in-between.

The story itself was better than I expected -- although the ending is anti-climactic at best. It was a fun read when I wasn't cringing. I quickly turned this one over to the kiddo to tear apart at his leisure...

adamrshields's review

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3.0

Short review: This is my first James Bond novel. It is pretty much what I expected. Slightly darker than the movies. Enjoyable read. Dated attitudes and setting.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/dr-no/

barts_books's review against another edition

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4.0

A fun page turner. The second half suffers a bit compared to the first. Not helped by one of the most ridiculous fight scenes I've read in a thriller as Bond does battle with a caged giant squid! However, I can't help but smile at the incredibly dated charms of Fleming's iconic creation. I will be back for more, no doubt.

3.5 stars.

ericbuscemi's review against another edition

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4.0

I listening to the audiobook version of this book, and although it dragged a bit in the middle, the gauntlet Bond was forced to navigate at the end more than made up for it. I loved some of the stereotypical tropes of Dr. No -- a megalomaniac madman with mechanical hands that tells Bond his entire evil plan before sending him to be killed without any witnesses present. Of course, if I read that in a current book, I would roll my eyes, but since these were where some of these tropes originated (see: Bond Villain Stupidity), I kind of enjoyed seeing them.

Merged review:

I listening to the audiobook version of this book, and although it dragged a bit in the middle, the gauntlet Bond was forced to navigate at the end more than made up for it. I loved some of the stereotypical tropes of Dr. No -- a megalomaniac madman with mechanical hands that tells Bond his entire evil plan before sending him to be killed without any witnesses present. Of course, if I read that in a current book, I would roll my eyes, but since these were where some of these tropes originated (see: Bond Villain Stupidity), I kind of enjoyed seeing them.

andrealoverke's review against another edition

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3.0

I guess I have to admit that I am one of those people who never watched a Bond movie. I might start now because I liked the book. I picked it up at a book fair with 9 others for 1 euro. If it wasn't 10 books for 1 euro I probably would never have bought it. Just because I needed 10 and it was there, I picked it. And I didn't regret it for a minute.

kzizz's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5