I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Dr. No!!!!  I'm shocked that I liked it so much.  Ruf does a very good Jamaican accent and his voice of Honeychile was funny.  But just the whole story was great (I don't remember liking the film that much at all).  And I could totally picture Rufus as Bond in my head as I listened.  Now I am NOT one of those people that ever wanted Rufus to be James Bond on film.......I NEVER wanted that at all.  But listening to him, I could see him as Bond, I could picture every scene...........it was quite delicious!

I think that is what Rufus does so well, he makes us believe he is the character, and though this is a book and he is, technically, playing all the characters, the WAY he reads, he puts just as much of himself into reading stories as he does into playing a part in a film!

From the first chapter, I was drawn into the story, and I am not a James Bond fan really.  As I was driving along on some very lonely stretches of road, I found myself picturing the scenery and the people in the story as Rufus read the words.  I found myself caught up in what was happening. 

And the story itself is very sweet, not at all like what you would think of as a typical James Bond story.   Of course there is the danger, the intrigue, the 007 stuff you think of..... but there is more to me.  The moment "Honey" appears in the story, there is a softness to it, the two characters are drawn together in a way that is different that other Bond stories.......it's a true connection, not just a physical thing.  Granted, they are stuck on an island controlled by an evil and insane person, and they each are put in grave and mortal danger, but we are shown that each of them tries that much harder to make it and live, more because of their caring for each other, than for their own want of survival.  And again, it's a caring, not a carnal thing. 

To me "Dr. No" is more of a real story, one in which I remained glued to until the very end, than a "spy novel".  And hearing it read by Rufus just made it all the more alluring!  It is, so far, my favorite of the Bond books Rufus has read

!MCR5137~