Book Review: Dr. No - Even Better Than the Movie

I finished reading Dr. No by Ian Fleming and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed. I read it as a part of a five story compilation book and I can't wait to move to the next one. The one thing I do regret is that the books aren't on the Kindle. I swear I made more notes, or meant to, but when I was done and went back to look for interesting words or lines all I could find were the following:

Apotheosis – Elevation to a divine status; deification or the perfect example; quintessence (I thought I knew this word then I looked it up and realized how wrong I was)

Susuration – Whispering sound; murmur (knew this one, just really like saying it)

Putsch – A secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government (of course I knew this one, who doesn't know about the Beer Hall Putsch, but it's so much fun to use)

A couple of lines that caught my eye. When Bond and Quarrel are slipping into Crab Cay Fleming describes it as:

"There was a turmoil of water and a series of grating thuds, and then a sudden rush forward into peace and the canoe was moving slowly across a smooth mirror towards shore."

Then:

"The beach was black. The sand was soft and wonderful to the feet but it must have been formed by volcanic rock, pounded over centuries, and Bond's naked feet on it looked like white crabs."

These are indicative of Fleming's writing it seems to me. He could have said "The canoe came onto the shore easily" or "Bond jumped out onto the black sand beach" but the method he uses are far more descriptive and inspirational.

Finally, the story is far deeper and engaging than the movie story. In the movie Dr. No is portrayed as almost comical. In the book he is intriguing. A full chapter is given over to his back story and it might be the most engaging portion of the story. Did you know Dr. No was shot in the chest and only survived because his heart is shifted to the right side of his chest instead of the left? Well, you wouldn't from the movie. All you would think about are his metal hands. Dr. No is a far more engaging villain in the book than the movie's evil villain.

Well worth the time, glad I bought the compilation.