Anniversary BONDS for 2025

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to another year of The Book Bond. Here's a rundown of the Bond novels that will be celebrating notable anniversaries this year. Break out the bookmarks and champagne!

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70th Anniversary

Ian Fleming's third Bond novel finds 007 tangling with the megalomanic Elon Musk. I mean Hugo Drax! Moonraker was published by Jonathan Cape on April 5, 1955 in the UK, and in the U.S. by Macmillian on September 20, 1955.

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60th Anniversary

Ian Fleming's final James Bond novel was published posthumously by Jonathan Cape in the UK on April 1, 1965. It was released in the U.S. in August 1965, by New American Library.

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40th Anniversary

John Gardner took 1985 off, but that didn't mean there wasn't a 007 novel that year...if you knew Jim Hatfield. CLICK HERE for the strange tale of this first unofficial James Bond novel, which turns 40 this year.

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30th Anniversary

John Gardner's novelization of the great comeback James Bond film GoldenEye released in November 1995. A rare hardcover edition was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton.

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25th Anniversary

Raymond Benson's fourth original James Bond novel, Doubleshot, turns 25. The book was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on May 4, 2000. The U.S. edition from Putnam was published on June 5, 2000. 

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20th Anniversary

The terrific Young Bond series by Charlie Higson was launched 20 years ago with the first book, SilverFin. Published in the UK by Puffin on March 3, 2005. The U.S. edition from Hyperion was published on April 27, 2005. 

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10th Anniversary

Anthony Horowitz's excellent debut continuation novel Trigger Mortis turns ten this year. Released simultaneously in the UK and U.S. on September 8, 2015.

Happy reading!

IFP and Penfold mark GOLDFINGER anniversary

Ian Fleming Publications announced today new tie-in merchandise to mark the 65th anniversary of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger. Details below.

Goldfinger took out his driver and unpeeled a new ball. He said, “Dunlop 65. Number One. Always use the same ball. What's yours?” “Penfold. Hearts.”

Today marks a full 65 years since the first publication of Ian Fleming’s novel Goldfinger. A tale that revolves around of some of the finer things in life beginning with ‘G’ (gold, golf and Galore, Pussy), Fleming’s seventh Bond story features perhaps the most famous game of golf in literature.

In celebration of its anniversary, the team at Ian Fleming Publications have partnered with Penfold, the iconic British golfing brand, to create two products that celebrate Fleming’s love of the sport.

Featuring both a golf journal and a writer’s pouch, both are designed with functionality and style in mind, whether you’re using them out on the green before cocktail hour or at your writing desk in Jamaica.

As you know, James Bond has a handicap of 9. Perhaps these tasteful new products from Penfold will help you do even better.

You can read more about the collection here.

Anniversary BONDS for 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to another year of The Book Bond. Here's a rundown of the Bond novels that will be celebrating notable anniversaries this year. Break out the bookmarks and champagne!

70th Anniversary

Ian Fleming's second Bond novel brings 007 to the United States on the trail of gangsters and pirate treasure. Live and Let Die was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on April 5, 1954.

60th Anniversary

Ian Fleming sends James Bond to Japan in You Only Live Twice, published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on March 26, 1964. It was released in the U.S. in August by the New American Library.

40th Anniversary

John Gardner planned to take a break after his inital three book contract, but 1984 saw the suprise publication of his fourth Bond, Role of Honor, relased by Putnam in the U.S. in September and Jonathan Cape in the UK on October 4.

30th Anniversary

John Garder nears the end of his run with his 13th orginal Bond adventure, SeaFire, first published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton in August 1994 and by Putnam in the U.S. in September. 

25th Anniversary

My favorite Raymond Benson Bond novel, High Time To Kill, turns 25 this year. The book was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on May 6, 1999. The U.S. edition from Putnam (pictured here) was published on June 7, 1999.

10th Anniversary

Steve Cole continues the Young Bond series with his debute novel, Shoot To Kill, which finds young James in action in Hollywood. The book was released in the UK by Random House on November 6, 2014. There was no U.S. release.

Happy reading!

NEVER SEND FLOWERS blooms at 30

It's another anniversary day. This time it's Never Send Flowers by John Gardner, released in the UK on July 15, 1993. To mark the occasion, here's a review from back in the day.

I've always liked Never Send Flowers. For me, it was a step up after The Man From Barbarossa and Death is Forever. I've always suspected Gardner was influenced by Silence of the Lambs and initially decided to write a James Bond horror novel. He seems to really be going for horror atmosphere. But he's not a horror writer, and after a few chapters he seems to give up on that approach and the book turns into a tale of James Bond in the world of make believe and the theatrical, culminating with a climax in EuroDisney. People poke fun at the idea of 007 at Disneyland. But I think the climax works and is in keeping with the theatrical theme. I also liked that the U.S. edition (released in May) went with black for their cover color this time.

If you want to give Never Send Flowers a try, you can buy the 2015 reprints at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Celebrating ICEBREAKER

 Ian Fleming Publications celebrates the 40th Anniversary of John Gardner's Icebreaker, released in the UK on July 7, 1983.

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Anniversary BONDS for 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to another year of The Book Bond. Here's a rundown of the Bond novels that will be celebrating notable anniversaries this year. Break out the bookmarks and champagne!

70th Anniversary

"This is the big one, Double-Oh-Seven." This year sees the 70th Anniversary of the book that started it all. Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale, was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on April 13, 1953. It wouldn't be released in the U.S. until the following year.

60th Anniversary

Another Fleming classic, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, turns 60 this year. In this one Bond gets married and, well, you know the story! O.H.M.S.S. was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on April 1, 1963. It was released in the U.S. in August by the New American Library.

50th Anniversary

This overlooked continuation novel is, IMHO, a true gem! James Bond The Authorized Biography of 007 by John Pearson was first published in 1973 by Sidgwick & Jackson in the UK and William Morrow & Co. in the U.S. [Read: THE BEST JAMES BOND NOVEL YOU'VE NEVER READ.]

40th Anniversary

My personal favorite John Gardner Bond novel, Icebreaker, marks its 40th. In this one 007 heads to the frozen forests of Northern Finland to battle Neo-Nazis. The first U.S. edition (pictured) was published by Putnam around April 1, 1983. The UK edition by Jonathan Cape arrived on July 7, 1983. 

30th Anniversary

John Gardner's 12th original James Bond novel, Never Send Flowers, finds 007 facing off with a psychotic actor. A late era Gardner novel that I've always liked. The U.S. edition from Putnam was published on May 31, 1993. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on July 15, 1993.

25th Anniversary

A strong second novel from Raymond Benson, The Facts of Death finds 007 on a mission in Greece and Cyprus. The UK edition was released by Hodder & Stoughton on May 7, 1998. The U.S. edition from Putnam followed on June 15, 1998.

10th Anniversary

SOLO by William Boyd turns 10 this year. I really like this novel about the older 007 on a mission in Africa. The UK edition was released by Hodder & Stoughton on September 26, 2013. The U.S. edition from Putnam was released on October 8, 2013. [Read: SOLO is the thinking man's OO7.]

A good line-up of anniversary Bonds this year if I do say so myself. Happy reading!

30 years of FOREVER

It was 30 years ago that John Gardner's 11th original James Bond novel Death Is Forever arrived in the U.S. bookstores. This was one of handful of titles that was released first in the United States. While not one of my favorite Gardner books, it was a thrill to have a new Bond every year and all the Gardner books remain special to me. 

Here's a review of the book from 30 years ago today. Is 007 forever? I think we know the answer to that!

The Indianapolis Star.

My own copy of Death Is Forever, purchased in 1992, has a sticker on the cover pitching it as a "Super Value!" I normally strip off any stickers to have a clean cover. However, when a sticker says something Bond specific, as this one does ("Bond is Back"), it stays. And this wasn't added later in a clearance sale. I bought all the Gardner books the instant they hit the bookstores and this sticker was there on day one. Would love to know the story behind it and how many books may have it.

You can buy the recent reprint editions of Death Is Forever at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

ALOHA, MR. BOND

What could be better than a new Bond book? How about reading that new Bond book in Hawaii! Below is an advert from Honolulu Book Shops for John Gardner's For Special Services, released 40 years ago today.

ZERO MINUS 25

It was 25 years ago today that Raymond Benson's debut continuation novel, Zero Minus Ten, was released in the UK by by Hodder & Stoughton. Raymond offered up a timely 007 adventure dealing with a threat to Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China. He brought back many Bond traditions, notably the structure of the British Secrets Service which John Gardner had altered in his final books. I recently gave Zero Minus Ten a re-read and liked it even more than I remembered. It's a great Bond book!

Raymond Benson would go on to pen a total of six original Bond novels, three novelizations, and three shorts stories. So here's to the beginning of the Benson era. These were fun years.

You can buy Zero Minus Ten at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Anniversary BONDS for 2022

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to another year of The Book Bond. This year will see a NEW Bond adventure, With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz. 2022 also marks a few anniversaries. How time flies when you're having fun!

60th Anniversary

Ian Fleming's most experimental Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me, is told entirely from the point of view of the heroine, Vivienne Michel. Published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on April 16, 1962. Released the same year of the first James Bond film, Dr. No.

40th Anniversary

John Gardner's second James Bond novel, For Special Services, finds 007 teaming up with the CIA and the daughter of Felix Leiter.  The first U.S. edition was published by McCann and Geoghegan on May 3, 1982. The UK edition by Jonathan Cape (pictured) came in September.

30th Anniversary

John Gardner's 11th original James Bond novel, Death Is Forever, finds 007 is a race to stop a terrorist attack on the newly opened English Chunnel. The U.S. edition from Putnam was published in June. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on July 2, 1992.

25th Anniversary

Raymond Benson debuts as the new continuation author with Zero Minus Ten, a timely 007 adventure dealing with a threat to Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on April 3, 1997. The U.S. edition from Putnam was released on May 5, 1997.

20th Anniversary

Raymond Benson's final Bond adventure, The Man With The Red Tattoo, sees James Bond returning to Japan. The UK edition (pictured) was released by Hodder & Stoughton on May 2, 2002. The U.S. edition from Putnam was released on June 10, 2002.

Other anniversaries include: From Russia With Love (65th), Colonel Sun (55th), Serpents Tooth (30th) Tomorrow Never Dies (25th), Die Another Day (20th), Double or Die and Hurricane Gold (15th), and Red Nemesis(5th).

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.

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.

2020 Anniversary BONDS

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to another year of The Book Bond. 2020 marks a few anniversaries, any one of which is sure to make someone feel old!

60th Anniversary

Ian Fleming's For You Eyes Only 

Published April 11, 1960

A departure from the full-length James Bond novels, For Your Eyes Only is a stunning collection of five stories that sends 007 to Bermuda, Berlin, and beyond, and places him in the dangerous company of adversaries of all varieties.

30th Anniversary

John Gardner's Brokenclaw

Published August 2, 1990

During a vacation trip to San Francisco, James Bond confronts a complex espionage plot and his deadliest enemy yet--Fu-Chu Lee, an evil super-criminal known to both the underworld and intelligence agencies as Brokenclaw.

25th Anniversary

John Gardner's GoldenEye

Published November 1995

Once Xenia worked for the KGB. But her new master is Janus, a powerful and ambitious Russian gang that no longer cares about ideology. Janus's ambitions are money and power; its normal business methods are theft and murder. And it has just acquired GoldenEye, a piece of high-tech space technology with the power to destroy or corrupt the West's financial markets. But Janus has underestimated its most determined enemy. . . James Bond

20th Anniversary

Raymond Benson's Doubleshot

Published May 4, 2000

The criminal conspiracy called the Union has vowed its revenge on the man who thwarted its last coup - James Bond. As the Union's mysterious leader sets out to destroy Bond's reputation and sanity, 007 edges closer to the truth about their elaborate plan to destroy both SIS and its best agent.

Other anniversaries include Moonraker (65th), The Man With The Golden Gun (55th), The Quasimodo Gambit (25th), SilverFin (15th) and Trigger Mortis (5th).

IFP celebrates 60 years of DR. NO

The Ian Fleming Publications website is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Ian Fleming's Dr. No. Their page doesn't show the first U.S. edition (which spelled out "Doctor"), so I thought I'd share it here from my own collection. This was published by Macmillan. I've always liked this cover.

Check out DR NO 60th Anniversary at Ian Fleming Publications.

The first JAMES BOND novelization turns 40

It was 40 years ago that the great James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me was released to theaters. Along with the film came the very first James Bond novelization. James Bond, the Spy Who Loved Me (so titled to differentiate it from the Fleming novel) was penned by screenwriter Christopher Wood and is generally considered as the best of all the Bond novelizations. Some even compare it favorably to Fleming!

In the UK, James Bond , the Spy Who Loved Me was released in hardcover by the original Bond publisher Jonathan Cape, which make it seem all the more like a "legit" Bond novel.

UK hardcover.

The novelization also saw release in paperback in the U.S. and UK with covers more in line with what one expects from a movie novelization.

U.S. paperback

UK paperback

30 years ago it was NO DEALS, MR. BOND

This has been a big month for anniversaries, so how about another! It was 30 years ago that John Gardner's sixth Bond novel, No Deals, Mr. Bond, was released by Putnam. Unlike most of the Bonds, this one first appeared in the U.S. I'm not sure of the exact date of publication, but the ad below appeared in the April 19, 1987 Los Angeles Times Book Review, so we'll let today be the anniversary.

My own recollection of No Deals Mr. Bond was finding it in the University Village Waldenbooks during my second semester at USC. I was so involved in school, I didn't even know when this one was coming! Sorry to say it was not one of my favorite Gardner books, then or now, but each Gardner title holds a special place in my memory, and looking at the cover of No Deals still brings me back 30 years.

U.S. edition from Putnam (left). UK edition from Jonathan Cape (right).

No Deals, Mr. Bond is available in a new reprinted edition via Amazon.com (U.S.) and Amazon.co.uk (UK).

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE turns 60

Ian Fleming's From Russia With Love celebrates its 60th Anniversary this month (first published April 8, 1957). To mark the occasion, Ian Fleming Publications has released this anniversary image and is holding a special competition. Details below.

First published in the UK on the 8th April 1957, Ian Fleming's legendary James Bond thriller FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is 60 years old today! 

The novel, famous for its inclusion on President Kennedy's top ten book list, has been published and enjoyed all over the world, with many fans citing it as their favourite Fleming thriller. 

With its unforgettable sequences on the Orient Express, in the backstreets of Istanbul and in the dark corridors of the SMERSH headquarters, we're very pleased to announce this anniversary and encourage readers old and new to delve into the pages of this 50s classic. 

Help us celebrate and win some special James Bond prizes by entering our cover design competition, details HERE.

ZERO MINUS TEN at 20

It was 20 years ago this month (April 3) that Raymond Benson's first continuation novel Zero Minus Ten was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton. It marked the first of six original novels and three novelizations by the author.

In ten days, Hong Kong will pass into the hands of the Chinese–and 007 is on his way there to undertake his most dangerous and thrilling mission yet. 

In the Australian desert, a nuclear bomb explodes. There are no survivors, and no clues about who has made it or detonated it. 

In England, two police officers are shot dead when they apprehend a cargo vessel in Portsmouth dock. Vast quantities of heroin are later found on board. 

And in Hong Kong, an explosion rips through one of the colony’s famous floating restaurants, killing the entire Board of Directors of EurAsia Enterprises Ltd, a multi-billion dollar shipping corporation. 

The People’s Republic of China is about to resume control after a century and a half of British rule–and the colony is a powder keg waiting to explode. The tension reaches breaking point when a solicitor from one of Britain’s most prestigious law firms is killed in a car bomb at Government House. 

These apparently random events are connected–and Bond must find out how and why. From the seedy strip clubs of Kowloon, 007’s investigations bring him into conflict with ruthless Triad gangs, a power-hungry Chinese general–and a beautiful night club hostess called Sunni Pei. 

All enquiries seem to lead to EurAsia Enterprises Ltd–and its assassinated owner. James Bond is about to come up against one of the most formidable adversaries of his career. 

A new era of high adventure, intrigue and danger begins for James Bond with Raymond Benson’s eagerly awaited 007 thriller–a story of sensuality and nonstop excitement.”

Zero Minus Ten was released in the U.S. by Putnam on May 5, 1997.

CASINO ROYALE (the movie) turns 10

Today marks the tenth anniversary of Daniel Craig's debut as James Bond in Casino Royale. The film was an adaptation of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. A great book and a great film. Below is a trade paperback from Penguin which re-released the book with movie poster art.

For the record, the Bond book that year was Charlie Higson's Blood Fever, which many consider the best of the Young Bond novels. So this was a good year for Bond!

For more tie-in editions CLICK HERE.

YOUNG BOND TURNS 10

It was 10 years ago today that the first Young Bond novel, SilverFin, was published by Puffin in the UK.

Read about how the Young Bond series got its start in: THE SECRET HISTORY OF YOUNG JAMES BOND, PART I: YOUNG BOND BEGINS.

You can also read my original BOOK BOND REVIEW of SilverFin HERE.