Wiki update says Lee Child will be 2012 Bond author

It looks like the speculation on who's going to write the next Bond novel officially kicks off today with an errant update on Wikipedia that says Lee Child will be the next author to pick up the 007 pen.

An eagle-eyed fan on the CBn forums spotted this addition to the Jack Reacher Wiki page:

"The schedule for the Reacher series - previously one-per-year - was stepped up with 61 HOURS/WORTH DYING FOR both released in 2010. This was done in order to make room for Child penning the next James Bond novel for Ian Fleming Publications in 2012."

Cool news if true, but let's not get too excited. Doing a little digging reveals this update was added on June 19 by an anonymous user who sourced the Ian Fleming Publications website which, of course, says nothing about this. No new author or book has yet to be announced.

So while we should probably discount this one (for now), Child would be a terrific choice, and IFP has shown interest in him in the past. Child was one of the authors approached for the Centenary novel in 2008 (read why he turned it down here).

Thanks to Peaceful and Jay Tee for the tip.

Child explains why he passed on Bond

In April of last year a representative for author Lee Child informed me (via The Young Bond Dossier) that he was not the 2008 Centenary novelist. Now K1Bond007.com has uncovered an interview in which Child himself talks about his close call with Bond fame and explains exactly why he passed...twice!

“Twice over the period of five years they’ve asked me to write the series, no regrets really because I think it is a thankless task in terms of first financial remuneration, as the terms were more favourable to the Ian Fleming estate than to me, and secondly there is the technical and cultural aspect. I see this as an impossible job as it’s now 2007, around 50 years on from the world that James Bond first appeared in. The world has changed, and one of the reasons the world has changed is because of James Bond, this country has altered its cultural frame of reference because of things like James Bond, so any follow-up fifty years later would be somewhat self-referential, and reading the book would be like watching an ABBA tribute band – i.e. what’s the point?”

ABBA tribute band? Well!

New Adult Bond Novel Coming in 2008

Ian Fleming Publications have announced plans to commission a one-off adult James Bond novel to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth in 2008.

Following the success of Charlie Higson's Young Bond series (Book 2, Blood Fever is to be released in January 2006), IFP are keen to commission a big-name author to pen the new novel.

"We are still in the planning stages, but at the moment the idea would be to have it done by an established author - potentially a big name," said Zoe Watkins of IFP. "The literary Bond is something we want to focus on and any work would have to be in keeping with the literary aspects of the books. If it was successful there could be scope for further novels."

According to Ms Watkins, the new novel will be far removed from the gloss of 007's cinematic incarnation, marking a return to the dark and complex nature of Fleming's early works.

Scotsman.com reports the early favorites to be approached to pen the new novel include Lee Child (Killing Floor), Frederick Forsyth (The Day of the Jackal) and John le Carré (The Tailor of Panama).

John Gardner, who penned 16 James Bond novels throughout the 1980s and 1990s (including two novelisations) has ruled himself out for taking on the new project. "Sorry, but for me Bond is very much in the past. No more comments, no more interviews."

The adult literary James Bond went on hiatus in 2002, following the publication of Raymond Benson's The Man With The Red Tattoo and the novelisation of Die Another Day. Earlier this year, Penguin released the first in a series of five novels by Charlie Higson, focussing on Bond's time at Eton in the 1930s.

Asked about the possibility of him writing the new adult Bond novel, Higson commented, "I'm very honored. But I'm busy writing the young Bond books and I can't take the time out. It's a shame because I'd love to do it."

Source: CommanderBond.net