Dr Julius No is a man with a mysterious past. Nobody knows what secrets are hidden on his Caribbean island, and all those who have attempted to investigate further have disappeared.

When two British agents go missing in Jamaica, Bond is sent to investigate. Battling the Doctor's twin obsessions with power and pain, he uncovers the true nature of his opponent's covert operation - but he must undergo a deadly assault course before he can destroy the Doctor's plans once and for all.

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From 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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

''The essence of a James Bond thriller is its speed, its knowingness . . . Doctor No has a full quota of every ingredient. Bond is better than ever.'' --Evening Standard (London)

''Doctor No is certainly one of the best James Bond novels. In terms of sheer excitement and thrills, it ranks very high. It also has a simple, direct plot, a very appealing heroine, and the best villain since Hugo Drax. It isn't surprising that it was also chosen to be the first 007 film.'' --Raymond Benson, author of High Time to Kill