Win tickets to a screening with Charlie Higson

The Young Bond Dossier is offering fans a chance to attend a special preview screening of a short film for Charlie Higson’s new (non-Bond) book, The Enemy. With make-up done by a movie professional, this promotional film is said to be amazing!

This exclusive VIP screening will be held in London on Tuesday, 23rd June and will be followed by a Q&A with Charlie Higson.

Click here for full details on how to enter.

The Enemy will be published by Puffin on 3rd September 2009. Set in contemporary London after a mystery illness attacks everyone over the age of 14, gangs of kids are left to fend for themselves, dodging adults who are so crazed by disease they have become little better than wild animals who feed on the living!

'Nightbird' takes flight in 2010

CommanderBond.net reports that Titan Books next collection of classic James Bond comic strips will be Nightbird. The collection will contain the title story as well as "Hot-Shot" and "Ape of Diamonds " Release date is March 23, 2010.

First published in June 1976, "Nightbird" finds 007 searching for kidnapped actress Lisa Farrar in Paris and the Aegean. In "Ape of Diamonds" Bond is sent to Cario in search of a mysterious killer gorilla. "Hot-Shot" finds 007 tangling with his old adversary -- Dr. No!

This collection, which was originally announced for 2007 and then delayed, will complete the Titan series.

Nightbird is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Story info from The Bond Files by Andy Lane and Paul Simpson.

Faulks signing 'Devil May Care' at Selfridges, June 4

Sebastian Faulks will be signing the paperback edition of Devil May Care at Selfridges & Co on Oxford Street in London on Thursday June 4 from 17.00-18.00.

This is the first Faulks/Devil May Care signing I've heard of. I don't believe he did any signings or appearances for the hardcover. Only pricey pre-signed limited editions were made available.

This is one event that shouldn't be missed!

Win a Bentley Driving Experience with 'Devil May Care'

To celebrate the release of Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, Borders UK are offering fans a chance to test drive the Bentley Continental GTC.

Bentley was James Bond’s personal choice of car. The car you’ll be driving is the Bentley Continental GTC – a car that can accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 4.7 seconds. It can be three miles away in a mere 60 seconds. It does close to 200mph. The 12 cylinder, twin turbo engine delivers 552bhp through all four wheels and boasts an interior matched only by the most expensive yachts.

Click here to enter at Borders UK.

Good luck!

Devil May Care’s Young Bond connection

Today fans get a double dose of 007. Not only is the paperback edition of Charlie Higson’s By Royal Command released in the UK, but so too is the bestselling Centenary novel Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks.

Devil May Care is set in 1968 and follows the adult Bond in action in France, Iran, and Russia. Young Bond fans should keep a eye out for a reference to the series when Bond visits the Paradise Club in Iran and is reminded of a similar club from his childhood. Of course, this is a nod to Bond’s adventure at the Paradice Club in Double or Die.

“I was very touched by that,” says author Charlie Higson. “I didn’t know he was going to do that. I was reading the book and I said, “Oh, that was nice of him.”

Young Bond is back in A HARD MAN TO KILL

The just released UK paperback edition of By Royal Command contains an exclusive extract of an all-new Young Bond short story by Charlie Higson. For those fans outside the UK who cannot lay their hands on the book, here’s what the extract reveals.

The story is called A Hard Man to Kill and is set between the books Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command. The story finds James and his aunt Charmian traveling the Caribbean aboard the pleasure yacht Amaryllis (fans may recall this was Charlie’s original name for Precious Stone). In Pointe-à-Pitre Guadeloupe, James and Charmian meet up with the French Ocean Liner Colombie for their journey back to Europe. James looks forward to a relaxing, lazy voyage. But a villain named Emil Lefebvre and a mysterious hooded convict named Caiboche suggest this journey may be far from uneventful...

A Hard Man To Kill -- the longest James Bond short story yet written -- will be published in the new companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier, due for release on October 29, 2009.

Purchase By Royal Command at Amazon.co.uk.

'Devil May Care' paperback released in UK

The Centenary Bond novel Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks is released in paperback today in the UK. The book is a trade size paperback sporting cover art featuring model Tuuli Shipster (who posed for the "poppy girl" illustration on the hardcover).

Set in 1968, Devil May Care finds James Bond in action in France, Iran, and Russia. "It's the return of the gunfighter for one last mission," says Faulks.

Devil May Care was Penguin's fasted selling hardcover ever, selling globally over 3000 copies.

Purchase at Amazon.co.uk.

'By Royal Command' UK paperback released

The paperback edition of Charlie Higson’s fifth Young Bond adventure, By Royal Command, is released today in the UK by Puffin Books.

By Royal Command sees James Bond thrown into the midst of a dangerous, spy-ridden plot that threatens both King and country. Set between the two World Wars and moving between Eton and the chilling slopes of the Austrian Alps, By Royal Command sees the young James Bond put to the test as never before.

The new paperback includes an exclusive extract of a new Young Bond short story, A Hard Man to Kill (due to be published in the new companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier in October). Set between the books Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command, the story finds James and his aunt Charmian traveling back to Europe aboard the French Ocean Liner Colombie. James looks forward to a relaxing, lazy voyage. But a villain named Emil Lefebvre and a mysterious hooded convict named Caiboche suggest this journey may be far from uneventful...

By Royal Command can be purchased now at Amazon.co.uk.

It was one year ago...

It was one year ago that Bondmania swept London as the first (adult) Bond novel in six years was released to mark the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth. "Centenary Week" saw London awash in billboards and store displays, newspaper extracts, and a spectacular launch event which saw model Tuuli Shipster and Royal Marines transport the first copies of Devil May Care via speedboat to a battleship on the Thames, and then onto Waterstone's Picidilly via a fleet of Bentleys. What a week it was for Bond fans!

Here are a few links to coverage of the week.

'Devil May Care' Launched in High Style

Sebastian Faulks on the launch day event

Young Bond Centenary events

Centenary Week Photo Gallery

Penguin 007 website redesigned

The official Penguin 007 website has been redesigned in time for the release of Devil May Care in paperback in the UK on May 28. Pretty slick. They've also revamped the Devil May Care MySpace page.

Did Danjaq buy Young Bond?

Note the copyright info on a recent Young Bond competition webpage. A mistake? Or did Danjaq (the makers of the James Bond films) purchase Young Bond? Curious.

Absolute Radio's Young Bond giveaways

To celebrate the release of By Royal Command in paperback on Thursday, May 28, Absolute Radio is running special Bond programming all week.

Starting Monday, May 25, Absolute will be airing a series of pre-recorded trails and live reads from By Royal Command, as well as offering fans a chance to win a copy of the book. This will culminate Saturday (May 30) on the Jo Russell morning breakfast show where 2 phone-in listeners will battle it out to win a family holiday in Jamaica!

Full details on the Absolute Radio Young Bond page.

Stay tuned for more tie-in giveaways coming next week, including a very special exclusive competition from The Young Bond Dossier.

U.S. 'Devil May Care' paperback released in two versions

The bestselling Centenary Bond novel Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks is released in paperback today in the U.S. In what is a first for a Bond novel, consumers have a choice of getting the book as mass market paperback or a larger trade edition. The books have different cover art -- which means any self-respecting Bond obsessive will be getting both, of course!

Set in 1967, Devil May Care finds James Bond in action in France, Iran, and Russia.

A Bond by any other name

I'm always fascinated to learn rejected or working titles for the James Bond books. Here's a list of Bond books by some proposed original titles:

The Double-Oh Agent (Casino Royale)
You Asked For It (Casino Royale US paperback title)
The Undertaker's Wind (Live And Let Die)
Monday's Are Hell (Moonraker)
Too Hot To Handle (Moonraker US paperback title)
The Richest Man In The World (Goldfinger)
Death Leaves An Echo (For Your Eyes Only)
Paris Courier (From A View To A Kill)
The Belles Of Hell (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
The Golden Gun (The Man With The Golden Gun)
Trigger Finger (The Living Daylights)
Meltdown (License Renewed)
You Only Die Once (Nobody Lives Forever)
Tomorrow Always Comes (No Deals, Mr Bond)
Licence Revoked (Licence To Kill)
Blonds Prefer Gentlemen (Gardner choice for unknown book)
No Tears For Hong Kong (Zero Minus Ten)
The World is Not Enough (The Facts of Death)
A Better Way To Die (High Time To Kill)
Doppelganger (Doubleshot)
Red Widow Dawn (The Man With The Red Tattoo)
Out of Breath (SilverFin)
Double M (Blood Fever)
Shoot the Moon (Double or Die)
Lagrimas Negras (Hurricane Gold)
The Shadow War (By Royal Command)
Endgame (Moneypenny Diaries: Final Fling)

I've yet to learn of any rejected titles for Devil May Care.

The Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s James Bond

K1Bond007 report that Scarecrow Press will be publishing The Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s James Bond by Nigel West on September 28, 2009.

Twelve novels and nine short stories define one of the most extraordinary fictional characters of all time, creating the basis for the most successful movie series in cinematographic history, watched by more than half the world’s population. The single person probably more responsible than any other for glamorizing the murky world of espionage is Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, who himself lived a remarkable double life of spy and writer. Everyone has an opinion on why 007 became so successful, but one possible explanation is the ingenious formula of fact, fiction, and sheer fantasy. Certainly the author drew on friends and places he knew well to provide the backdrop for his drama, but what proportion of his output is authentic, and what comes directly from the author’s imagination?

These questions and more are examined in the Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s James Bond. This is done through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on actual cases of espionage, real-life spies, MI5, SIS, CIA, KGB, and others. It also contains entries on Ian Fleming’s novels and short stories, family and friends, his employers and colleagues, and other notable characters.

The Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s James Bond retails for $80 and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com.

Final cover art for 'The Girl Machine'

CommanderBond.net and Double O Section have posted final cover art for Titan's next collection of classic James Bond comic strips, The Girl Machine.

The collection will contain the title story as well as "Beware Of Butterflies" and "The Nevsky Nude."

The Girl Machine will be released on is July 23, 2009 is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

'Devil May Care' artwork

These illustrations by Paul Cox appeared along with an extract of Devil May Care in the July 2008 issue of Vanity Fair.

We are now "The Book Bond"

We've changed our name. The Literary 007 is now "The Book Bond." You'll need to update your bookmarks with our new URL: http://thebookbond.blogspot.com/

Covers, Covers, Covers!

I love exotic James Bond cover art, and that's why I'm giving a very big shout out to Illustrated 007, a fantastic website that features James Bond cover and poster art from all over the world. If you love Bond art like I do, you will love this site. So go!