THE BOOK BOND will return

Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday. See you all in 2022.

Season's greetings! pic.twitter.com/b9NWxfsah1

— Ian Fleming (@TheIanFleming) December 21, 2021

"The early reactions have been great"

The Express has an excellent profile of author Anthony Horowitz in which the author discussed his life and what inspired him to become a writer. It is well worth a click and read in full. Of course, it also offers a few clues about what to expect in his new Bond novel, With A Mind To Kill, which I've excerpted below:

  

"I wanted a sense of trilogy in my books: my first, Trigger Mortis, was set during the middle of Bond's career, the second, Forever And A Day, at the start, and the new one is the end."

"It's a very different book in tone to the first two. The truth is it's difficult to think up ideas that are better than Fleming's. But if you move the goalposts and come up with a fresh territory then there's a whole new ground to explore.

"So this is a more psychological Bond, it's darker, and the early reactions have been great. I'm really excited about it and proud the estate has come back to me to do two more. It's genuinely been a labour of love; Bond has been so important to me."

"There's a knife fight in the book I've just finished and, as I wrote it, all I thought was: 'How would Fleming write this? Would the camera be on the ceiling looking down at these two small figures facing off, or would it be inside Bond's head looking out?

"One of the joys of writing the third book was that I was intuitively inside Fleming's mind and how he would write. Maybe I'm being too boastful, the book isn't out yet!"

With A Mind To Kill is available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk (UK edition) and Amazon.com (US edition).

James Bond is back WITH A MIND TO KILL

James Bond LIVES! Today Ian Fleming Publications and Jonathan Cape/Vintage reveal the title and cover art for Anthony Horowitz's third James Bond adventure. With A Mind To Kill is due for release on May 26, 2022. I, for one, can't wait to shake off the last Bond film by diving back into the books where 007 never dies (for real).

It is M’s funeral. One man is missing from the graveside: the traitor who pulled the trigger and who is now in custody, accused of M’s murder – James Bond. 

Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former Smersh agents want to use the British spy in an operation that will change the balance of world power. Bond is smuggled into the lion’s den – but whose orders is he following, and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives?

In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.

 

CLICK HERE to pre-order Waterstone's Exclusive signed edition of With A Mind To Kill. The regular edition is also now available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk.

THURSDAY...

 Latest update from Bond author Anthony Horowitz. Cover as well! Can't wait.

New Bond title and cover launching Thursday, I'm told!

— Anthony Horowitz (@AnthonyHorowitz) December 13, 2021

IAN FLEMING's Villa at GoldenEye (video)

I really enjoy David Zaritsky's The Bond Experience and the below video is a gem. Enjoy.

CASINO ROYALE first edition (video)

The good folks at Peter Harrington Books show the details of a true Casino Royale first edition by Ian Fleming. Enjoy.

The (five word) TITLE of Horowitz's new Bond will be revealed soon

If you're like me and thought the end of No Time To Die was a sadistic gut punch from Eon that's best forgotten, know that we might have some news coming soon that gives hope James Bond Will Return. 

Over the past few days author Anthony Horowitz has teased on Twitter that the title of his third Bond novel "will be revealed soon" and that it is "five words" in length. 

No Time To Die Revoked?

The thrid Horowitz Bond will be released in May 2022. You can pre-order the American edition on Amazon.com.

UPDATE: Per a fresh tweet from Anthony Horowitz, the title will be revealed the second week of December.

Date has been pushed to December - 2nd week. Not in my control.

— Anthony Horowitz (@AnthonyHorowitz) November 30, 2021

Bond author JOHN PEARSON passes away at 91

John Pearson, who wrote the excellent 1973 continuation novel James Bond The Authorize Biography of 007 and also a biography of Ian Fleming, has passed away at age 91. His death was announced by his granddaughter on Twitter.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the death of my grandfather, John Pearson at the age of 91. If you wish to share any kind words about John please comment on this post and I will share with the rest of the family.

#johnpearson #johnpearsonuk #ianfleming @TheIanFleming pic.twitter.com/ylYXPklMlR

— John Pearson (@JohnPearsonUK) November 13, 2021

Ultimate BONDCAST Part 3 (NO TIME TO DIE Ranking)

Back in 2017 I had the pleasure of participating in the ULTIMATE BONDCAST with fellow Bond fanatics Brad Hansen, Athena Stamos, Bob Mitsch and Ryan Provencher, in which we individually ranked and debated which James Bond films we think are the best (and worst). Now we've returned to place No Time to Die in our rankings and discuss any updates. This was once again great fun. Hope you enjoy!

New DOUBLE O trilogy by Kim Sherwood announced

Looks like we'll have two official novels to look forward to in 2022. In addition to Anthony Horowitz's third James Bond novel (due in May), Ian Fleming Publications announced today the first in a new trilogy of books by Kim Sherwood. The books will be "set in the world of James Bond" and feature "a new raft a Double O agents for the 21st-century." The first book is due for release in September 2022.

James Bond is missing, presumed captured or even killed. All of Bond’s contemporaries are gone and a new generation of Double O agents has been recruited to replace them and battle a global threat. At the same time, M and Moneypenny are searching for a mole in MI6. Will the truth be uncovered in time—or is this the end of the Double O section?

Kim Sherwood says: "James Bond has been one of the enduring loves of my life since I first watched Pierce Brosnan dive from the dam in GoldenEye. I was soon hooked on Ian Fleming’s novels. As a teenager, I chose Fleming when my English teacher asked us to write about an author we admired—I still have the school report. Since then, I’ve dreamt of writing James Bond. It’s rare that dreams come true, and I am grateful to the Fleming family for this incredible opportunity. I feel honoured to be the first novelist to expand the Bond universe through the Double O sector, bringing new life to old favourites, and fresh characters to the canon. I couldn’t be more excited to introduce the world to my Double O agents."

Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, says: “In her first novel, Testament, Kim showed a rare gift for characterisation, time and place. She drew readers into a journey that unfolded in unexpected ways. These talents and her near-lifelong passion for Fleming and Bond make her the perfect choice for this exciting new extension of the 007 universe. I can’t wait for readers to see what she’s created.”

It should be noted that many media outlets are claiming Sherwood is the first woman to write for 007. But this isn't true. Samantha Weinberg wrote an excellent trilogy of Moneypenny Diaries novels between 2005 and 2008.

Kim Sherwood's first Double O section novel is already available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk.

James Bond BIG THINGS collected edition released

A collected edition of Dynamite's James Bond: Big Things by Vita Ayala, Danny Lore with art by Eric Gapstur,  has been released.

When a priceless piece of art is found to be fake, investigations lead down a rabbit hole of international crime and corruption. But what the hell does James Bond know about the world of art forgery?

Agent 007 is a loner, by nature. But finally, he accepts that he needs help. But will trusting someone else help his mission...or lead to the deaths of innocents?

You can purchase James Bond: Big Things at Amazon.com (U.S.) and Amazon.co.uk (UK).

Folio Society releases THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

The Folio Society has released their next illustrated slip-cased Ian Fleming classic, The Man with the Golden Gun.

The twelfth volume in The Folio Society’s spectacular and best-selling James Bond series, The Man with the Golden Gun sees the world’s greatest super spy tackle his most dangerous assignment. 

For The Man with the Golden Gun, series artist Fay Dalton returns with her incomparable vision of Bond and his glamorous, deadly and action-packed world. This gorgeous edition features seven full-colour illustrations, a pictorial slipcase and a binding inspired by Bond’s own impeccable suits. The final full-length novel in the James Bond collection is an unmissable volume for fans and collectors alike. 

Written while Fleming was very ill and published eight months after his death, The Man with the Golden Gun sees Bond once again faced with his own mortality. However, being Bond, he faces the possibility head on, taking risks and repeatedly snatching victory from the jaws of certain death. Perhaps fittingly for the last Bond adventure, Fleming sets this in his beloved Jamaica. His lavish descriptions of exotic locations have always been one of the highlights of the series, and Fleming’s portrayal of Jamaica is especially evocative. The beachside bars, the dusty inland towns and the dangerous mangrove swamps are all alive with the hum of insects and the scent of rum. 

Captured by the KGB and brainwashed into making an assassination attempt on his own commander, James Bond is a shadow of his former self. When his mind is set free of insidious Russian influences, Bond is sent after Francisco ‘Pistols’ Scaramanga, a lethal assassin with a penchant for flashy hardware: the former circus performer’s signature weapon is a gold-plated Colt.45. Bond must infiltrate Scaramanga’s closest confidants, or risk being on the end of a lethal golden bullet...

The Man with the Golden Gun Folio Edition can be purchased from the Folio Society website.

Also available: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice.

LINK: The Writer, The Spy and The Silver Beast - John Gardner's 007

Very nice post on the official Ian Fleming Publications website about John Gardner's Bond and his choice of automobile. Click the headline to have a read.

LICENCE RENEWED 40th Anniversary edition

A new 40th Anniversary paperback edition of John Gardner's Licence Renewed is released today in the UK by Orion Books. It includes a new introduction by author M. J. Arlidge.

A brilliant nuclear scientist and a known terrorist - James Bond's most dangerous mission yet. 

Ian Fleming's 007 returns in an original, authorised Bond thriller with a new introduction from Sunday Times bestselling author M J Arlidge

The first of John Gardner's novels featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent. Bond has been assigned to investigate one Dr. Anton Murik, a brilliant nuclear physicist who is thought to have been meeting with a terrorist known as Franco. Together they plan to hijack six nuclear power plants around the world and start a global meltdown, unless Bond can stop them...

You can purchase the Licence Renewed 40th Anniversary paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Horowitz's third BOND has a title

Anthony Horowitz has revealed on Twitter that his third Bond novel has a title. 

I know it now.

— Anthony Horowitz (@AnthonyHorowitz) July 26, 2021

But we'll have to wait to learn what that title is!

I don't dare. The estate would kill me.

— Anthony Horowitz (@AnthonyHorowitz) July 26, 2021

As far as the writing process goes, Horowitz says he's "Seventeen chapters in. Six more to go!"

Dynamite announces JAMES BOND HIMEROS

Dynamite has a new James Bond comic book series launching in October called James Bond: Himeros. The book is written by Rodney Barnes, drawn by Antonio Fuso, and colored by Adriano Augusto. Below is the cover of issue #1 and a plot description.

Billionaire British financier Richard Wilhelm finds himself behind bars, after being charged with trafficking minors to his secluded private island in the South Pacific. Now in custody, his political, personal, and criminal connections to others in high society across the world are in danger of being exposed. Elite arms developer Anton Banes is one of these parties, and he won't stop at anything to cover his tracks. Including hiring a mysterious assassin with the codename Kino to take out Wilhelm and any evidence. Which leads to 007 being brought in to figure things out, and even to protect Wilhelm's right-hand woman Sarah Richmond, with a head full of secrets that everyone on all sides is after. A "Bond girl" like no other, can Sarah be trusted by Bond, and does she have blood on her own hands..?

For sample pages and an alternate issue #1 cover check out Bleeding Cool.

Third ANTHONY HOROWITZ Bond coming in 2022

It's the news we've been waiting for! Ian Fleming Publications announced today (Ian Fleming's birthday) that Anthony Horowitz is currently at work on his third James Bond continuation novel due for release in May 2022. The book will be set directly after the events of The Man With The Golden Gun and will involve Bond "confronting an old enemy." It will be released in the UK by Jonathan Cape and in the U.S. by Harper Collins.

You can read the full press release at Ian Fleming Publications.

IFP promises news tomorrow

Ian Fleming Publications has just tweeted out the following:

To celebrate Ian Fleming's 113th birthday tomorrow, we will be revealing some top secret news.
Keep your eyes on social media tomorrow morning to find out what! pic.twitter.com/XQuHvRmdJu

— Ian Fleming (@TheIanFleming) May 27, 2021

Fingers crossed for news of a new continuation novel! 

UPDATE: It is!

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Bonus

Today we conclude our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with a special bonus post. Collector Gary J. Firuta has been able to provide the three illustrations missing from the group we've been enjoying from the collection of Delmo Walters Jr. So now we have them all! Below are Rick Tulka's illustrations for Parts 6, 7, and the concluding Part 12.

A very big thank you to Delmo Walters Jr. and Gary J. Firuta for sharing these fantastic illustrations. You can revisit each of them below:

Bond for the '80s

Meeting with M

Ascot subterfuge

Lovely Lavender

Caber clobbered

Night flight!

Sniper's roost

Air Murik

Meltdown

Caber gets the boot

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Caber gets the boot

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Today Bond has his final battle with henchman Caber in the back of Anton Murik's C-130.

If this once again seems strangely familiar, that's because Bond has his climatic fight with henchman Necros in the back of a C-130 in the 1987 Bond film, The Living Daylights. Eon Productions appeared to freely harvest ideas from the Gardner books. It's shame they never did a proper adaptation, starting with License Renewed.

Tomorrow: Bonus

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Meltdown

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Today Bond desperately tries to halt Anton Murik's mad plan to initiate several simultaneous nuclear power plant meltdowns.

It might interest yopu to know that the original announced title for License Renewed was "Meltdown."

Tomorrow: Caber gets the boot

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Air Murik

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Today we find James Bond and Lavendar Peacock captives aboard Anton Murik's C-130 aircraft control center.

Tomorrow: Meltdown

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Sniper's roost

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Today we find 007 closing in on Anton Murik's fashion show assassin in Perpignan, France.

Tomorrow: Air Murik

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Night flight!

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

This time Tulka shows us Bond's late night escape from Anton Murik's Scottish castle in his fully equipped Saab 900 Turbo.

Yes, James Bond drove a Saab in the first three John Gardner books, and it was awesome! At least I thought so. Check out my post: BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB.

Tomorrow: Sniper's roost

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Caber clobbered

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed, here's another terrific illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Postserialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Today's image sees Bond victorious in his Highland wresting match with henchman Caber (with an assist from Q-branch).

Click to enlarge.

Tomorrow: Night flight!

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Lovely Lavender

Today we continue our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Here Bond gets a surprise visit from the enigmatic Lavender Peacock, high fashion model and ward of the villainous Anton Murik.

Tomorrow: Caber clobbered

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Ascot subterfuge

Today we continue our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Today Bond infiltrates the inner circle of Anton Murik using some sleight of hand at Ascot Racecourse.

Click to enlarge.

If this image seems familiar, it's because the 1985 James Bond film A View To A Kill also used Ascot as a setting, although not as well as in License Renewed (IMO). This certainly wasn't the only idea from a John Gardner novel that mysteriously found their way into the films. Speaking of films, Bond looks a lot like Timothy Dalton here, doesn't he?

Tomorrow: Lovely Lavender

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Meeting with M

Today we continue our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and come from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

Bond's adventure begins, like so many others, in a familiar office overlooking Regent's Park.

Click to enlarge.

It's surprising how much Tulka's M resembles Robert Brown, who would not actually appear in the role until 1983's Octopussy.

Tomorrow: Ascot subterfuge

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Bond for the '80s

Here's a very special treat for the 40th anniversary of John Gardner's License Renewed. Our good friend Delmo Walters Jr. recalls that the book was serialized in the New York Post in late July/August 1981. The installments included original illustrations by artist Rick Tulka, whose style you might recognize from his work in MAD magazine. I was not aware of this serialization nor have I ever seen Tulka's Bond artwork. So Delmo kindly sent over ten illustrations from his own collection for all of us to enjoy.

My plan is to share one illustration per day for the next ten days. So let's kick it off with Rick Tulka's vision of 007 in the 1980s. Gotta love the tie!

I described to the Glidrose Board how I wanted to put Bond to sleep where Fleming had left him in the sixties, waking him up now in the 80s having made sure he had not aged, but had accumulated modern thinking on the question of Intelligence and Security matters. Most of all I wanted him to have operational know-how: the reality of correct tradecraft and modern gee-whiz technology. — John Gardner

Tomorrow: Meeting with M

LICENSE RENEWED TURNS 40

On April 27, 1981, James Bond returned in John Gardner's License Renewed. The book was first published in the U.S. by Merek/Putnam. (Jonathan Cape would publish the book in the UK in May.) The novel finds an un-aged but updated James Bond 007 battling a tyrannical Scottish Laird who is threatening to cause a series of nuclear meltdowns. It became a New York Times Bestseller and spawned a series of 14 original books by Gardner, proving that James Bond could have a literary life beyond his creator.

License Renewed holds a lot of significance for me personally. While I had always enjoyed James Bond films–my first being Diamonds Are Forever on television and The Spy Who Love Me in theaters–it was the summer of 1981 that I became a fanatic. Everything seemed new and fresh and filled with possibility. I was seeing advance posters and stills from the upcoming Bond film, For Your Eyes Only, which promised to be a very different Bond for the '80s. I had my first car, a Fiat Spider 2000, so suddenly I was living a Bond lifestyle, if only in my head. And to top it all off the literary Bond returned in License Renewed, a book I read and loved.

Seems I wasn't the only one feeling a sense of new beginnings. In a widely syndicated review of the book for the New York Daily News, critic Bob Green wrote:

James Bond is alive! And in a way it's appropriate that he should be coming back at precisely this time. When Ian Fleming died in '64 the world was just beginning to go into its mass nervous break down, which made society so schizoid for so many years. In the late '60s and '70s, there was really no place for a man like Bond.

Somehow, though, 1981 appears to be the year in which heroes are welcome again. People seem to be a little less cynical, perhaps even less selfish, than they have been for a while. Who better to step into this new world than James Bond himself, the last great hero from the pre-craziness era?

Words that could apply 40 years later!

Feel free to share your own memories of License Renewed in the comments below.

The Folio Society releases YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

The Folio Society has released their next illustrated slip-cased Ian Fleming classic, You Only Live Twice.

The eleventh book in the enormously popular Bond series sees the agent fighting not only for his life, but for his very livelihood. The last book to be published before Fleming died, You Only Live Twice contains in abundance everything that makes a Bond novel so thrilling: exotic locations, glamorous women, grotesque villains – while also revealing a little more of what makes the agent tick. Fay Dalton continues her incredible work on this series, with seven gorgeous colour illustrations and a show-stopping pictorial slipcase. Japan makes an especially alluring location for both writer and artist, with Fleming giving Bond a whistle-stop tour of Japanese culture, while Dalton’s bewitching artworks make the most of every lush scene she brings to life. An unmissable volume in one of Folio’s landmark collections.

You Only Live Twice Folio Edition is priced at $69.95 and can be purchased from the Folio Society website.

Also available: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

CHARLIE HIGSON talks You Only Live Twice

Young Bond author Charlie Higson talks about his first and still favorite James Bond movie You Only Live Twice on the Smersh Pod podcast. It's good to hear Charlie talking Bond again. Enjoy.

For my money, Charlie Higson's Young Bond novels are among the very best James Bond continuations, and I'd love to see him get a crack at doing an adult Bond novel. Maybe this is the right time for that?

Every SIGNET printing of every Fleming Bond novel

Mega Bond book collector Brad Frank recently posted this photo on the excellent JAMES BOND COLLECTABLE BOOKS WORLDWIDE Facebook group. This shows every Signet printing of every Ian Fleming James Bond novel in Brad's formidable collection.

Click to enlarge.

"It adds up to 331 copies of the 14 books. Since I'm still missing about 5 printings, I used duplicates of other printings as place-holders for those. But this gives you a graphic representation of how many printings there were. Still looking for: 

DAF 4th & 28th printings
SWLM 8th printing
YOLT 7th printing
MWTGG 6th printing"

For more on the Signet Bonds check out my posts from 2011: James Bond Signet paperbacks.

Finding what's NEW in the past

Movie Bond fans may think they have it tough having to endure yet another delay in the release of No Time To Die. But at least they have something to wait for! Us book Bond fans don't even have that much. And try as I might, I just cannot get my literary Bond fix from the Dynamite comics. I'm starving.

So in these desperate times, I've gone into the past to find something new. Below are some goodies from the 1980s when the literary Bond was BACK every year. We know it can happen!

May 3, 1981.

May 1, 1983

Click to enlarge.

Greek HOROWITZ

Here are Greek editions of Anthony Horowitz's two Bond novels, Trigger Mortis and Forever and a Day, that use unique cover art. While I've seen plenty of variations of Trigger Mortis, most international editions of Forever and a Day stuck with the UK art. This one is a variation on that art to be sure, but it does lose the idea of the boat as bullet. Still, it's nice to see something different.

Will we get the announcement of a third Anthony Horowitz Bond novel this year? Or maybe a new author? We are well over do for something.

Dynamite reveals JAMES BOND: AGENT OF SPECTRE

Dynamite has revealed their next original James Bond series, James Bond: Agent of SPECTRE by Christos Gage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series sees "Bond recruited into the terrorist organization by Ernst Stavro Blofeld to end an internal power struggle that could have apocalyptic consequences." The first book is due for release in March 2021.

It's a cool concept. Of course, for those of us who know the continuation novels know the idea of 007 being recruited by SPECTRE first played out in 1984's Role of Honor by John Gardner.