Ian Flemming's "Dr. No".

[TedShatner10]

I've finished reading Dr. No, a Bond novel written by Ian Flemming in his prime and despite the gaping flaws, like overt colonial racism, I found it an enjoyable read.

The movie adaption is surprisingly similar, with most characters and plot points remaining intact, but of course the nudity was removed and racism toned down to make the movie more marketable. People complain about Bond movies deviating from their source by being too fantastical, but the untainted novel of Dr. No is pretty far fetched and laid the groundwork for countless futuristic evil lairs in fiction with the Crab Key island stronghold.

Dr. No himself in the novel is quite different from Wiseman's Dr. No and much more resembles Lo-Pan from Big Trouble in Little China or Dr. Fu Manchu (movie version played by Christopher Lee). Not only was Fleming cribbing from Dr. Fu Manchu but Dr. No has fairly obvious allusions to Captain Nemo with his isolation at sea behind cutting edge technology and dozens/hundreds of followers, a king of his own depraved little kingdom with a hatred of the outside world culmilating into piracy (then you have the giant squid and the study window looking out into the open sea). People complain about the banal water exploitation plot in QoS but Dr. No from the novel built his empire on bird crap.

In the book Honey Rider is introduced fully nude and has a broken nose, with a more feral, naive personality. I also find the patronizing, kitsch racism to be absolutely hilarious and cringe inducing. More overt than in the movies. Fleming was more racist than JRR Tolkien but probably not as racist as HP Lovecraft. Ian Flemming calling Dr. No's mixed raced henchmen 'Chigroes' (like Tank from The Matrix) was unnecessary and trite, and the way they're described, you'd think these half-Asian blacks employed by Dr. No were Orcs or Uruk-Hai!

 

[T'Baio]

If you take a quick perusal of the front cover of the book, you'll see it's spelled "Fleming."

 

[CorporalClegg]

I agree with a lot of what you said. It just goes to show you he really is a mediocre writer.

The thing is, he's one of the best storytellers of the 20th century.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Something interesting about Dr. No is that Fleming basically ignores the ending of From Russia With Love as Bond dies at the end of that novel. Rosa Klebb kicks Bond with her shoe. Poisoned by the blow, Bond dies. In Dr. No, Bond has recovered; the poison wasn't as deadly as From Russia With Love had stated.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^The story goes that Fleming was considering just killing the character off there and ending the series, but was persuaded otherwise. And the episode was used as the impetus of the famous changing of Bond's gun.

I agree with a lot of what you said. It just goes to show you he really is a mediocre writer.

The fact that the man is a product of his time and environment doesn't say anything about his writing ability. You can't judge the man's work by modern standards of political correctness that didn't exist then.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

^The story goes that Fleming was considering just killing the character off there and ending the series, but was persuaded otherwise.

Correct. And by none other than Raymond Chandler, the creator of Philip Marlowe.

 

[trevanian]

^The story goes that Fleming was considering just killing the character off there and ending the series, but was persuaded otherwise.

Correct. And by none other than Raymond Chandler, the creator of Philip Marlowe.

I thought Chandler only talked Fleming out of killing Felix Leiter in L&LD.

 

[Greg Cox]

I read the novel before seeing the movie and was disappointed that there was no giant squid . . . .

Also, the nitpicker in me has to point out that Fu Manchu was played by several other actors before Christopher Lee, most notably Warner Oland and Boris Karloff.

 

[Lonemagpie]

It's actually my favourite of the books...

 

[Professor Zoom]

The fact that the man is a product of his time and environment doesn't say anything about his writing ability. You can't judge the man's work by modern standards of political correctness that didn't exist then.

For me, though, it's not the lack of modern "political correctness" that makes him a mediocre writer at the beginning of the series...it's the pacing, the structure, the two dimensional quality to the characters, just the writing itself.

He definitely gets better, but yeah, he's not that great at the beginning.

 

[TedShatner10]

I say Fleming's characters and dialogue is slightly trite, but most of his effort goes into the locations and situations; very immersive and not that badly dated.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

...it's the pacing, the structure, the two dimensional quality to the characters, just the writing itself.

I love Fleming's style. He brought a vividness, a directness to his writing. It was a writing of details that made the world come alive. Fleming could make baccarat or a game of cards (say, in Casino Royale or Moonraker) tense and rivetting.

Years later, I described Greg Cox's novelization of Underworld as having that Flemingesque feeling. The way Selene's world was described, the smells she encountered, the way her guns worked... I was reminded powerfully of Ian Fleming.

 

[TedShatner10]

Ian Fleming was not a bad writer, but his racism and sexism seem an embarrassment, even back in the 1960s.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Dr. No was not a bad writer, but his racism and sexism seem an embarrassment, even back in the 1960s.

I liked his popular science books: "Sabotaging Rockets for Dummies" and "The Idiots Guide to Terrorizing Superstitious Black Folks."

 

[CaptJimboJones]

Dr. No was not a bad writer, but his racism and sexism seem an embarrassment, even back in the 1960s.

Uh, "Dr. No" was the character in the novel and the book's title, not the author. It was written by Ian Fleming (note the correct spelling) and given that it was written in 1957 and published in 1958, I fail to see how it was an "embarrassment, even back in the 1960s."

And yes, like most of Fleming's works, the novel has some racism and sexism, the type which was extremely common in popular fiction of the era. To condemn the book on that measure based on today's standards is simply unfair.

It's also a ripping good tale that's far more engrossing and entertaining than most of the suitably politically correct crap that passes for popular fiction today.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And yes, like most of Fleming's works, the novel has some racism and sexism, the type which was extremely common in popular fiction of the era.

That doesn't make it right.

To condemn the book on that measure based on today's standards is simply unfair.

Why?

 

[TedShatner10]

Uh, "Dr. No" was the character in the novel and the book's title, not the author. It was written by Ian Fleming (note the correct spelling)

I meant Ian Fleming, it was a typo error you irritating and pedantic fucktard!!!

and given that it was written in 1957 and published in 1958, I fail to see how it was an "embarrassment, even back in the 1960s."

Of course it was an embarrassment you asshole, since other forms of fiction such as Doctor Who that came out in 1962 never seemed so crassly racist and bigoted, and as I said earlier the bigoted elements of Fleming's writing were toned down for the movie version of Dr. No that was screened a few months earlier. I didn't get the same sense of crass snobery and bigotry from JRR Tolkien.

 

[TedShatner10]

I liked his popular science books: "Sabotaging Rockets for Dummies" and "The Idiots Guide to Terrorizing Superstitious Black Folks."

And Useful Ways of Turning Women into Feed for Sea Life.

 

[Greg Cox]

...it's the pacing, the structure, the two dimensional quality to the characters, just the writing itself.

I love Fleming's style. He brought a vividness, a directness to his writing. It was a writing of details that made the world come alive. Fleming could make baccarat or a game of cards (say, in Casino Royale or Moonraker) tense and rivetting.

Years later, I described Greg Cox's novelization of Underworld as having that Flemingesque feeling. The way Selene's world was described, the smells she encountered, the way her guns worked... I was reminded powerfully of Ian Fleming.

Wow! That's high praise indeed. Thanks!

 

[Orintho]

...it's the pacing, the structure, the two dimensional quality to the characters, just the writing itself.

I love Fleming's style. He brought a vividness, a directness to his writing. It was a writing of details that made the world come alive. Fleming could make baccarat or a game of cards (say, in Casino Royale or Moonraker) tense and rivetting.

Years later, I described Greg Cox's novelization of Underworld as having that Flemingesque feeling. The way Selene's world was described, the smells she encountered, the way her guns worked... I was reminded powerfully of Ian Fleming.

I've never read Fleming and am not familiar with his style. Would you say that it might be similar to Robert E. Howard's ability to make what was essentially pulp fiction into something much more?