THE BOOK BOND IS BACK(ish)

Earlier this year, I announced that I was putting this blog on hold as it seemed IFP was going all in on spin-offs rather than traditional James Bond adventures. How things have changed! Not only did we get a fantastic new James Bond novel from Charlie Higson, KING ZERO, but IFP has announced a new novella for December, All In by Dan Jones. There's also news of a new Bond graphic novel, Sunbreaker (nice title) by Grant Morrison for IDW. So the classic James Bond is definitely back!

So I'm back as well...kinda. In all honesty, my feelings toward Bond have changed as I've gotten older. While I still enjoy a great Bond adventure, I have a much lower tolerance for violence, and even the sex scenes play differently for me. No Time to Die killed my enjoyment of the modern cinematic Bond (which, IMO, is exactly what Barbara Broccoli and Daniel Craig intended; don't get me started). However, I'm happy the franchise is no longer in EON's hands (what a painful thing to say), and I have high hopes Amazon will help rekindle the joy of a Bond movie. But, for me, my love of the cinematic Bond is mostly nostalgia for what was. Roger Moore will forever be my favorite Bond, and Moonraker will forever live in my Top Five. What comes next belongs to a new generation of fans like Calvin Dyson, and I greatly enjoy seeing their passion and hearing their insights. Go forth and multiply!

There have also been changes at IFP. I don't really have the relationship with the new team that I had with the old guard led by Corinne Turner, who always treated me like family. But they still send me press releases and occasionally invite me to launch events, so I'm happy to share news of their new Bond publications, especially when it's the quality of KING ZERO. I honestly don't know if anyone looks at blogs like this anymore, but it's easy enough to throw up a post, and these days I think of this blog more as a scrapbook that captures the times, like the old fanzines. Why not keep the scrapbook going a while longer?

Despite how all this sounds, I am not going into the sunset or settling into an armchair. I've never been more focused than I am right now. I have embarked on a massive three-volume commitment chronicling the life and career of Harry Houdini, a passion that predates Bond. I'm not only writing these books; I'm also designing and selling them myself through Wild About Harry Press. The first book, Handcuff King: The Conquests of Harry Houdini, 1900–1909, is with the printer and will be available before the end of the year. I'm insanely proud of it, and I can't wait to start working on Volume 2. Like it or not, I'll occasionally promote these books here, even though they have nothing to do with Bond. (I did slip in one reference, and I couldn't help but write "007" as the number in one of my Premium Editions. Fun fact: John Gardner was a Houdini buff.)

Anyway, this is just a long-winded way of saying I will be doing the occasional post and will keep track of the new adventures of the book Bond. 

Where OO7 never dies!

LINK: Bond break (Wild About Harry)

Experience KING ZERO today!

Charlie Higson's new original James Bond novel KING ZERO is released today in the UK. The book is due for release in the U.S. on November 17. 

I can't wait to dive into this one. Higson is back. BOND IS BACK!

Purchase KING ZERO (UK edition) at Amazon.co.uk

Preorder KING ZERO (U.S. edition) at Amazon.com

Calvin Dyson, my primary source of Bond info these days, has given the book a rave review HERE.

When dreams come true

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke. Ian Fleming Publications and Penguin Michael Joseph have announced that a new James Bond novel by Charlie Higson will be published in the UK on September 24, 2026. Yes, this year! Below is the cover and part of the press release for King Zero.

A brand new James Bond novel, KING ZERO, has been announced via a guerrilla projection at sites across London. 

Beginning with the murder of an agent in Saudi Arabia by a weapon never before seen by the Secret Service and spanning the globe in an epic race against time to avert global catastrophe, the novel brings the literary Bond squarely into the twenty-first century, where the old world that made him is crumbling and a terrifying new order emerges while a dangerous villain – the most distinctive since Goldfinger – moves in the shadows. Higson explores themes of power, technology, and international tensions over resources in an extraordinarily timely story.

It will be published in the UK/Commonwealth by Penguin Michael Joseph, and is scheduled for release on 24th September 2026. Publisher Joel Richardson acquired rights from Viola Hayden and Ciara Finan at Curtis Brown, on behalf of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. North American Rights have sold to Amazon Publishing.

Higson said: “Having warmed up with my Young Bond series, and the short story, On His Majesty’s Secret Service, I’m beyond excited to be writing my first full blown adult Bond adventure. 20 years after first writing “The name’s Bond, James Bond,” it still sends shivers down my spine every time I type it. I'm having a blast with this new novel, which is absolutely set in the modern world, and I hope will sit comfortably on the airport bookshelves alongside other contemporary thrillers. It embraces the worlds of both the literary Bond and the cinematic Bond, and my bad guy has all the elements we expect from a classic Bond villain, with a twist that’s not been done before”.

This is exactly what I've been hoping for, and everything about this sounds great. I especially love what I don't hear. No Fleming tie-in gimmick. No indication that it's "personal." Just a straight-ahead contemporary James Bond OO7 novel with a standout villain by an author steeped in Bond. This is just what the Doctor (No) ordered. 

This isn't enough to pull me back entirely from my sabbatical. I'm deep in the weeds on my own 2026 book, which, coincidentally, also has "King" in the title (you can see my own title reveal HERE). But I will let you know when the book is released. And if this kicks off a Higson Bond series (I hope), I won't miss a single shot!

You can pre-order King Zero by Charlie Higson at Amazon.co.uk.

THE BOOK BOND WILL RETURN

As we begin a new year without any news of a traditional James Bond novel in the works, I've decided to put The Book Bond on hiatus while I focus my energies on my own books. 

In my absence, I highly recommend Peter Crush's fantastic James Bond First Editions Blog. Peter is doing the kind of work I should be doing here. But he has the knowledge and the passion, and that is where the book Bond is being best represented. To make this easy, I've embedded his feed above.

There's also the terrific YouTube channel by Calvin Dyson, who is reviewing his way through all the novels. Calvin represents a new generation of Bond fans, and I am a regular watcher of his channel. He's also a huge Moonraker fan, so...

There are also some stellar Facebook groups, such as James Bond Collectible Books Worldwide, The Literary James Bond, and The Ian Fleming Foundation. My friend Matthew Bradford does a great job of covering the literary Bond and more at Double O Section.

Ian Fleming Publications is the place for news of new Ian Fleming-related books and the James Bond spin-off novels, such as Double O, The Q Mysteries, and James Bond and the Secret Agency Academy. I'm sure these will be fine books and will have many readers. I wish them all the success in the world. I'm just an old traditionalist who likes his straight-ahead James Bond adventures, and I feel like a bit of a fraud promoting these books when I'm not reading them myself.

But, hey, at least we have many ways to enjoy James Bond. We have new films on the way, video games, graphic novels, and spin-offs. So enjoy James Bond OO7 in whatever way you like. Just remember, it all started with THE BOOK BOND.

Cheers.