EXCLUSIVE: NEW YOUNG BOND SILVERFIN SPECIAL EDITIONS

Special Edition paperback

After a long dry spell of Young Bond news, today we have a sensational exclusive thanks to our good friends at Penguin UK.

On May 5, 2011, Puffin Books will mark the return of James Bond in Carte Blanche by releasing TWO special editions of Charlie Higson's bestselling first Young Bond novel, SilverFin.

First up is a numbered, Limited Edition hardcover with a new introduction by Charlie Higson. The hardcover will sport a spectacular glow in the dark cover featuring the iconic eels and comes in an engraved Perspex slipcase. All copies will be signed by Charlie Higson and will be limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Price is £50.

Also available on May 5th will be a Special Edition of the existing SilverFin paperback with ALL NEW material and a fantastic redesigned cover.

The SilverFin Limited Edition Hardcover and Special Edition paperback are available to pre-order now at Amazon.co.uk.

Limited edition hardcover with glow-in-the-dark cover

Limited edition hardcover in slipcase

Young Bond: SilverFin Limited Edition (HB)
ISBN 9780141339641
Publishing 5 May 2011
Hardback, 384pp, £50.00
Pre-order on Amazon.co.uk

Young Bond: Silverfin Special Edition (PB)
ISBN 9780141338217
Publishing 5 May
Paperback, 384pp, £7.99
Pre-order on Amazon.co.uk

Go get him, Charlie

UPDATE: CLICK HERE to watch a clip from Charlie's interview (not available in all areas).

A "cryptic" interview with Jeffrey Deaver

Nick Higham interviews Jeffrey Deaver about his new Bond novel inside St Andrew Church in Holborn, London. This interview was filmed in July 2010 when the book was still only known as "Project X."

Tobias Menzies as Ian Fleming in Any Human Heart

Tanner over at the superb spy blog Double O Section (truly one of my favorite destinations on the web) has the scoop that Tobias Menzies, the actor who played M's assistant Villiers in the 2006 Bond film Casino Royale, stars as Ian Fleming in the Channel 4 production, Any Human Heart, which airs this weekend on PBS's Masterpiece Theater.

The miniseries is based on the William Boyd's 2004 novel of the same name. Check you local PBS listings for times. For more, head on over to Double O Section.

OO7 Magazine #54 now shipping

OO7 Magazine issue #54 is now available for purchase worldwide from the OO7 Magazine website.

This latest issue will be of particular interest to us book Bond fans as it contains a cover story on graphic designer Raymond Hawkey, who created many of the classic Bond paperback covers of the 1960s.

This issue also contains an interview with legendary Bond screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz and Associate Producer Stanley Sopel.

Bond's Bentley rolls out for the press

Even though we already covered the news that James Bond would be driving a Bentley in Jeffery Deaver's upcoming Carte Blanche, there is a now an official press release and pics of the author in Dubai with 007's new ride. According to the release:

"Bond is back, and as ever he is sporting the best in luxury cars. In the pages of Carte Blanche, the new James Bond book by international best-selling author Jeffery Deaver, the fictional British spy has continued with his classic preference of luxury sports car by selecting the breathtaking new Bentley Continental GT as his transport of choice.

While James Bond’s new car may be better suited for a secret agent in understated tones, the author of the book admired a less inconspicuous model. Set in stunning white with a blood-red interior, the new Continental GT mixes svelte good looks with power, poise and exceptional prowess. The hand-stitched leather interior contains all the high-tech gadgetry Bond could ever need. And with the famed sound dampening that only lets through the captivating sound of the wonderful engine, the cabin provides a true Quantum of Solace for Fleming’s jet-setting gentleman spy."

(Read the full press release at CommanderBond.net) 

Sounds good to me. Here are a few more shots.

Gardner's Cars

Anyone who has spent any time reading this blog or my posts at CBn know that I have a thing for the cars of the John Gardner era. Probably because I came of Bond-age in the '80s and owned a Saab 900 Turbo (license plate: "SAAB 007").

So I was pretty happy to nab this gem off eBay. This article from the September 4, 1985 issue or Autocar is all about Gardner's cars from Bond and before. I love it when he says, "I do like letting the horses out when the road is clear just to show them what the car will do." That sounds like the Gardner Bond voice to me. Anyway, this just arrived in the mail, so I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Click to enlarge

Click here to read: BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB.

The world is enough: Carte Blanche foreign publishers

Here is a list of confirmed foreign publishers for Carte Blanche, the new James Bond novel by Jeffery Deaver due for release in the UK on May 26 and the U.S. on June 14. If you don't see your country in the list, don't fret, some deals are still being finalized. This list is as of Feb 8, 2011. We should have some cover art to show you in due course.

• Spain: Ediciones Urano
• Germany: Blanvalet Verlag
• Slovak Republic: Ikar A S
• Czech Republic: Domino
• Hungary: Pecsi Direkt/ Alexandra
• Slovenia: Mladinska knjiga
• Korea: Woongjin ThinkBig Co
• France: Editions Flammarion
• Italy: Rizzoli
• Russia: AST
• Poland: Wyndawnictwo Albatros
• Brazil: Grupo Editorial Record
• Taiwan: Yuan-Liou Publishing Co, Ltd
• Thailand: Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited
• Japan: Bungeishunju
• The Netherlands: Unieboek/ Het Spectrum BV

Thanks to Ian Fleming Publications.

Link: Faulks says James Bond is a snob not a hero

Author Sebastian Faulks' has told BBC Breakfast he thinks James Bond is a snob, not a hero, despite having himself penned recent Bond novel Devil May Care. Click on the headline to watch the video at BBC News.