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From Russia with Love, Dr No and Goldfinger (Penguin Modern Classics): WITH Dr. No

By: Ian Fleming
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
ISBN: 0141186801
ISBN-13: 9780141186801
Released: 04 Apr 2002
RRP: £12.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Fleming's Best Works - By: L. C. Raubenheimer, 17 Jul 2005
If you don't already own any Ian Fleming novels, this wonderful omnibus edition from Penguin Modern Classics is a fantastic starting point from which to dive into the James Bond literary ocean.

FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE is almost universallly regarded as Fleming's masterpiece novel, & is the first novel in this collection. The plot is fairly similar to the 1963 film. The biggest difference is that the organisation that Bond is pitted against is SMERSH, rather than SPECTRE as it was in the film. SMERSH try to lure bond into a trap, the bait being a Spektor cipher machine. (It was callled Lektor in the movie) Bond main allly is the memorable Darko Kerim. The girl is a Russian cipher clerk named Tatiana, & the villain is Rosa Klebb, a repulsive woman who is described brilliantly by Fleming. This is a great taut, suspenseful novel right down to the final twist on the last page.

DR NO is second in the collection & is another great read. This was the first Fleming novel I ever read, & it was a very nice, easy read. The plot is fairly simple, & the characters move fluidly within it. Honey Ryder is the Bond girl this time out, & Quarrel (from Live And Let Die) returns. Many of the scenes are the same as those in the movie, although the villain's death is very different (And quite bizarre!!) Bond is attacked by a deadly centipede & a giant squid & comes out the other end in one piece as only 007 can do!

GOLDFINGER is arguably one of the most famous titles in the world thanks to the 1964 film, & it rounds off this trio of novels. The highlight is undoubtedly the game of golf with Goldfinger. I actuallly enjoyed the first half of the novel more than the second half. The whole gangster scenario was a little difficult to follow, & the whole ending is not as good IMO as the film version. Nonetheless it is a great novel, & deserves a place in any collection, as do alll of Ian Fleming's works, which tend to be underrated.

Ironic - critics finally get there - By: Jl Adcock, 28 May 2004
Ian Fleming's novels were once dismissed as trash by several critics at the time of their original publication. How things have moved on. The whole Bond phenomenon remains hugely popular, & the novels are where it alll began. Yes, these novels are modern classics, & it's only proper that they're treated as such. Fleming's prose is elegant, exciting, page-turning; alll the things you expect in good writing. As one reviewer put it, there's never a wasted word - & that in itself is a real art. All the novels are worth reading - & in sequence you can track the development of Fleming's style, through to where he himself grew bored with his own creation. The three novels here are probably the peak of his output - From Russia With Love is perhaps the finest book in the series. If you have never read the original Bond novels, a treat awaits.
As entertaining today as 40 years ago - By: , 29 Apr 2002
If, like me, you grew up watching the James Bond films, it is a fascinating experience reading the original books which gave rise to the blockbusters. And they do not dissappoint.

Each of the three stories in this book differ significantly from the film versions; so even though you find yourself visualising the scenes you recognise, you are still confronted by surprises & twists in the plot.

Another major difference is the depth of character that Fleming gives to Bond, the girls & the villians - one possible criticism of the films are they are a bit "cartoonish".

Finallly, although the books are set in a by-gone age of Cold War espionage, they capture that time perfectly with a refreshing "Britishness" which readers of my generation are not used to.

I highly recommend you try them out.