By Royal Command US paperback and The Dead hit Amazon

The U.S. paperback edition of Charlie Higson’s fifth Young Bond novel, By Royal Command, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Release date is May 10, 2011.

No cover art yet, but I've confirmed with Disney that the paperback will feature the same Owen Richardson cover art as seen on the U.S. hardcover released in May of this year.

Also just listed on Amazon (with cover art!) is the U.S. hardcover edition of Charlie Higson’s second zombie-horror novel, The Dead. Release date is June 14, 2011. The paperback edition of Book 1, The Enemy, is also available for pre-order with a May 10, 2011 release date.

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.

A personal message from Deaver, Jeffery Deaver

Project X U.S. edition hits Amazon with teaser cover art

The U.S. edition of Jeffrey Deaver's highly anticipated upcoming James Bond novel is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The website has also revealed publisher Simon & Schuster's very own "teaser" cover art. Nice!

Click to enlarge

The new novel, codenamed "Project X", will be released in the UK on May 28, 2011. Interestingly, the U.S. date on Amazon shows June 14, 2011 (we'll see if that date sticks). Amazon is also listing the abridged and unabridged audiobooks.

CBn: 007 Magazine Archive Files: The James Bond Girls – File #3 The 1980s

New Bond game lifts Caspian Sea Monster from DEVIL MAY CARE

So it appears the new James Bond videogame from Activison, Blood Stone, has lifted one of the better ideas from Sebastian Faulks 2008 Bond novel, Devil May Care. A look at the game release trailer reveals none other than the Caspian Sea Monster.

Pretty naughty of them, I'd say. But at least they had the wisdom to put Bond onboard.

James Bond novels launch as eBooks in the UK

Ian Fleming’s classic James Bond novels are to be published for the first time in the UK as eBooks on 4 November 2010. The 14 books, which include Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, From Russia with Love and Dr No, will be sold under the Ian Fleming Publications Ltd imprint and will be available through major retailers including Amazon and Waterstone’s. The eBooks will be priced in line with the lowest-priced Bond paperback editions available on the market.

Corinne Turner, Managing Director, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, comments: “Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels to be read and enjoyed by everyone, and we are always looking for opportunities to introduce new audiences to Bond’s adventures. Fleming loved good, new technology, and I am sure he would have been thrilled by the idea of his books being available electronically.”

Fleming’s James Bond novels first launched as eBooks in the United States to mark the Ian Fleming centenary in 2008 and were sold through Sony’s special edition 007 Reader and the Amazon Kindle. The availability of the eBooks in the US marked a new chapter in Bond publishing, and it is anticipated that this success will be matched with the forthcoming UK launch.

Further James Bond titles including Charlie Higson’s bestselling Young Bond series will follow from December.

The eBook rights for the new James Bond novels Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks and the as yet untitled novel by Jeffrey Deaver, to be published next year, remain with the publishers – Penguin and Hodder & Stoughton respectively.

Project X manuscript imminent

A recent update on the official Project X website has confirmed that Jeffery Deaver is nearly finished with the manuscript for his new James Bond novel due for release May 28, 2011.

28.10.10 – Stop press: Rumours of a manuscript

Rumours are circulating that Mr Deaver has nearly finished writing Project X, and that the papers will soon be delivered to a top-secret location. This is causing huge excitement in the Hodder and Ian Fleming offices and we can’t wait to read it. Although, like you, we’re going to have to wait until May next year to discover James Bond’s latest adventure.

In early October Deaver reveled in a Q&A on his official website, "It's largely completed, though there'll be some more editing to do (you can never do too much rewriting)."