Calvin Dyson reviews HIGH TIME TO KILL

Calvin Dyson is back with a review of Raymond Benson's High Time To Kill. Once again we are in sync. This is also my favorite Benson novel and possibly my favorite continuation novel of them all. Enjoy.

IFP announce "Q" spinoff series, QUANTUM OF MENACE

Some big news from Ian Fleming Publications today. Press release below.

Zaffre to launch brand-new series expanding the Ian Fleming literary franchise.

Zaffre, the flagship commercial fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has won a three-way auction for a brand-new crime series expanding the Ian Fleming literary franchise, centred around the iconic character of Q from the James Bond adventures. The first book, Quantum of Menace, will be published autumn 2025. This top-secret project has been created in conjunction with Ian Fleming Publications, written by acclaimed crime writer and Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, Vaseem Khan.

UK & Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) in a two-book deal were acquired by editorial director Kelly Smith from Ciara Finan at Curtis Brown.

Filled with wit, humour and verve, Vaseem Khan brings his vibrant and dynamic style to one of Ian Fleming’s most beloved characters.

Q Branch – the Secret Service department responsible for weapons and gadgets – was first introduced in Ian Fleming’s groundbreaking Casino Royale and featured throughout the James Bond books. The armourer in Q Branch, Major Boothroyd, first appeared in Dr No, giving 007 a Walther PPK to replace his Beretta firearm. The character has been a mainstay of the James Bond films and his interactions with the super spy have entered the cultural zeitgeist. Readers and fans of 007 will now get to spend real time with him in the charming milieu of a crime series.

Vaseem Khan said: “I can’t think of anything more exhilarating as a writer than bringing to life such an iconic character, one that I have adored since childhood. I was the kid who watched Bond films just to see what new gadgets Q would come up with for 007. To now recreate Q in a series of contemporary mystery novels, bringing together everything I love about the genre, is the coolest assignment I could hope for. I cannot wait to share my Q with readers. Move over Bond. Q is coming.” 

Kelly Smith, editorial director at Zaffre, said: “I have long admired Vaseem’s work so the opportunity to work with him on any project, let alone one as pitch perfect as this, was one I had to grasp. With his unique wit and flair, cosy crime readers and James Bond fans alike will be unable to resist this series and his imagining of Q.” 

Corinne Turner of Ian Fleming Publications said: “We at Ian Fleming Publications could not think of a better partner to breathe new life into the beloved character of Q. Vaseem’s mystery novels have enthralled me for many years, and I am thrilled with what he is crafting for Q’s first solo missions. This is a modern and exceedingly clever crime series.”

Blurb:
Q is out of MI6 . . .
. . . and into a new world of deceit and death
After Q (aka Major Boothroyd) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6’s OO agents, he finds himself back in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a cryptic note. The police seem disinterested, but Q feels compelled to investigate and soon discovers that Napier’s ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . Can Q decode the truth behind Napier's death, even as danger closes in?

Quantum of Menace will be published in hardback, eBook and audio in October 2025. It's avalible for pre-order now at Amazon.co.uk and Watersons. 

LINK: Deciphering Fleming: Uncorrected proofs

Here's an excellent article by Peter Crush about Ian Fleming proofs. Click the headline or the image below to have a read at James Bond First Editions.

JAMES BOND AND MOONRAKER at 45

Last weekend saw the 45th anniversary of the release of MOONRAKER on June 29, 1979. This is a Bond film I love more and more with every passing year. It was Cubby at the peak of his powers and pure fun. As with The Spy Who Loved Me, an original novelization by screenwriter Christopher Wood and released in hardcover by Jonathan Cape. Below is my Cape copy of James Bond and Moonraker.

The book also saw a paperback release with tie-in movie cover art. Below is the U.S. edition from Jove. I've always thought the way Bond is illustrated here kind of matched the then-current Jove series.

Take the IFP survey

Ian Fleming Publications is conducting a survey asking fans what they'd like to see next. You know what to do!

We want to hear from you! Take our survey to tell us about what books and products you’re interested in seeing from us in the future. Plus, enter your name & email at the end of the survey to be in with a chance of winning one of two prize bundles (open internationally, closes 14/7/24). Take the survey here 👉 https://bit.ly/IFPLsurvey

GARDNER LIVES FOREVER

Here's a full page from the June 15, 1986, Muncie Star with a review of John Gardner's Nobody Lives Forever. This beautifully captures the world in which the book was released. The review even says that Pierce Brosnan will soon be making his first Bond film, The Living Daylights. Yep. And check out those movies! Like paging through my old Bond fanzines, I love seeing my favorite OO7 books and films frozen in time like this.

Click to view and save full size.

OO7 MYRMIDON collected edition released

Dynamite has released a collected edition of their latest "OO7" series, Myrmidon by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with artwork by Marco Finnegan.

OO7 is back in action!

After a high-stakes rescue mission is mysteriously, violently sabotaged, Bond’s future at MI6 hangs in the balance. As he awaits his fate, James Bond is urgently contacted by an old flame and mentor: Gwendolyn Gann, formerly Agent OO3, who warns Bond of an existential threat to England and the global balance of power. But before they can meet, OO3 turns up dead, sending Bond on the most personal mission of his career: find Gwendolyn Gann’s killers, and expose the shadowy organization known only as “Myrmidon.”

Purchase Myrmidon at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. Dynamite's next collected edition will be For King and Country.

Thanks to Double O Section for the alert.