Happy birthday IAN FLEMING (and DMC)

Today makes the 105th birthday of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Visit the official Ian Fleming Publications website to see how the day is being celebrated with special events and offerings, as well as the official announcement of who will be reading AudioGo's final two Ian Fleming audiobooks.

Today also marks the 5th anniversary of the publication of Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care. No matter what you thought of the book, you can't say that it wasn't a spectacular day for fans of the book Bond.

May 28, 2008 - Sebastian Faulks delivers his new Bond novel to Waterstones.

LICENSE RENEWED Finnish edition

I'm re-reading John Gardner's first James Bond novel, License Renewed, and I just finished the chapter in which Bond attempts his nighttime escape from Murik Castle in his Saab. It made me think of this cover, so I've plucked it off the shelf and gave it a scan for us. This is the Finnish first edition hardcover featuring a close but not quite 007 movie logo and a (red?) Saab. I love it.

All the John Gardner James Bond novels were recently reprinted. Visit The Book Bond's special Gardner Renewed page for links to all the Gardner-Bond reprints in the U.S. and UK.

John Gardner's OTHER FELLOW returns to print

When John Gardner wrote his 14 book James Bond series in the 1980s and 90s, he also penned an original series of espionage novels featuring his own MI6 agent, Herbie Kruger. Gardner's five Kruger novels were: The Nostradamus Traitor (1979), The Garden of Weapons (1980), The Quite Dogs (1982), Maestro (1993) and Confessor (1995).

Now Bello, as imprint of Pan Macmillan, have brought John Gardner's five long out-of-print Herbie Kruger novels back to readers as new trade paperbacks and ebooks.

You can purchase all five Herbie Kruger books direct from the Pan Macmillan website or Amazon.co.uk.

These new Bello print and eBook editions are not available U.S. and Canada. However, you can get new Kindle editions in the U.S. from Mysterious Press/Open Road via Amazon.com.

Thanks to Sarah at Four Coleman Getty.

SOLO U.S. temp cover gets a make-over

U.S. publisher HarperCollins has revamped their temporary cover art for Solo, the new James Bond novel by William Boyd. As you can see below, they've jettisoned their own design and now are using artwork that matches the UK temp art by Jonathan Cape (except with the U.S. release day, October 8, 2013).

Old U.S. temp cover (left) and the new (right).

Yeah, it's definitely an improvement. But it's always nice to have variant artwork on each side of the Atlantic, so I hope they didn't do this just for me. :p

Solo will be released by Jonathan Cape in the UK on September 26, 2013 (Amazon.co.uk) and by HarperCollins in the U.S. on October 8, 2013 (Amazon.com).

SOLO's international publishers (so far)

Here is a list of foreign language publishers (so far) for Solo, the upcoming new James Bond novel by William Boyd. No word on specific release dates for these international editions.

France
Editions du Seuil

Italy
Einaudi

Brazil
Objetiva

The Netherlands
Uitgeverij Atlas Contact

Germany
Berlin Verlag

Spain
Alfaguara

Poland
Foksal

Solo will be released by Jonathan Cape in the UK on September 26, 2013 (Amazon.co.uk) and by HarperCollins in the U.S. on October 8, 2013 (Amazon.com).

Thanks as always to Phoebe at IFP.

Cover art for THE JAMES BOND COLLECTION

Cover art had been revealed for Amazon's upcoming The James Bond Collection. The paperback includes unabridged versions of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale, Diamonds Are Forever, and Dr. No. It's due for release from Amazon's Thomas & Mercer on May 21, 2013.

Pre-order The James Bond Collection on Amazon.com.

Thanks to W. Perry Bullock and SpyVibe for the tip.

New U.S. temp cover for SOLO

U.S. publisher HarperCollins has released new temporary cover art for Solo, the new James Bond novel by William Boyd. Solo is due out in the U.S. on October 8, 2013.

Solo will be released by Jonathan Cape in the UK on September 26, 2013 (Amazon.co.uk) and by HarperCollins in the U.S. on October 8, 2013 (Amazon.com).

UPDATE: If you didn't care for this art, rejoice, it has been changed.

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN GARDNER'S 'ICEBREAKER'

After his successful comeback in License Renewed and For Special Services, John Gardner's James Bond returned in his third adventure, Icebreaker. The book was first published in the U.S. by Putnam in late April 1983 (I've never been able to nail down the exact date). It was released in the UK by Jonathan Cape on July 7, 1983.

In Icebreaker James Bond is dispatched by M to Northern Finland where he must join a team of agents from the CIA, Mossad, and the KGB. Their mission is to discover whether a Neo-Nazi terrorist organization is stock piling and distribution weapons from within the Arctic Circle. Matters get quickly out of hand and Bond finds himself battling terrorists and his own partners in the frozen forests of Lapland. Ultimately 007 faces off with the terrorist mastermind, Count Konrad von Gloda, inside his massive bunker lair, the Ice Palace.

For me, Icebreaker was that magic #3. It was a bold departure from Gardner's more movie formula-based first two books and was firmly rooted in the world of the literary James Bond. One could not picture Roger Moore in Icebreaker. The book also introduced, for better or worse, hallmarks of the Gardner era, such a double and triple crosses. Icebreaker is a true espionage tale with fresh locations (Libya, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Lapland, Arctic Russia), great characters, a fiendish torture, and one of the best titles ever. For many years Gardner named it as his favorite book. It's still my favorite.

Interestingly, while Icebreaker was far removed from the films in 1983 (the year of Octopussy), I think it's now the Gardner book that is most suited to the more realistic Daniel Craig era. Sure, the Neo-Nazi plot would need to be updated (not too difficult as it's really about terrorists), but it seems to me the idea of Bond being forced, reluctantly, to work as the part of a team is a good next step for Craig's Bond. After Skyfall, Craig's Bond is now firmly 007. But can he tamp down his urge to always go solo and work with agents who might not share his worldview? Can he trust? Should he trust? That is the core of what Icebreaker sets up and explores.

Icebreraker U.S. and UK first editions.

Icebreaker was recently republished in new paperback editions from Orion in the UK and Pegasus in the U.S. I'd say this is one definitely worth revisiting in its anniversary year.