Thursday, April 24, 2008

Charlie Higson says YOUNG BOND SERIES II a possibility


Charlie Higson told BBC News today that a second cycle of Young Bond books is a possibility, but cautioned it would only happen after he’s taken a break to complete some other non-Bond projects.

“I want to have a break and do some other stuff for a while. But I'd love to come back and write some more.” Higson told the BBC. "One thing I've been talking about possibly doing is a second sequence of books...maybe taking him up to and into World War II.”

Higson says a second series would be aimed at a “slightly older readership” than his first cycle of books that concludes with By Royal Command in September.

“He's approaching the age of 15 in this latest book and I couldn't continue writing this type of book for this age group with Bond at the age he is,” says Higson.

“The question of sex is the hardest thing - one of the facts we get from one of Bond short stories is that he lost his virginity aged 16 in a brothel in Paris. I don't think I can quite get away with that for a 10-year-old reader.”

Asked if the French brothel would feature in the first of the new “older Bond” books, Higson said: “It would certainly be part of the next sequence - I think we would see a bit more of what was going on there.”

He added: “It's been fantastic writing these books, I would hate to sever my partnership with the world of Bond. I know quite a lot of the Fleming family now, and they're all fantastic.”

But Young Bond fans shouldn’t pop the champagne corks just yet. I can confirm that Ian Fleming Publications have not commissioned any further Young Bond novels and are currently concentrating on the centenary year, which includes By Royal Command and the SilverFin graphic novel. So, at the moment, a Young Bond Series II is just a beautiful dream.

Ironically, almost exactly a year ago, I speculated on what a second Young Bond series could look like HERE.

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