The surprising scarcity of Steve Cole's last two YOUNG BOND books

Every collector knows that some books marketed as a "limited edition" can turn out to be anything but. Or, even if limited (i.e., expensive), they never really become desirable enough to increase in value, and often decrease. This has happened with some of the recent James Bond continuation novels, which have seen multiple "special" and "limited edition" releases. But many can still be found at their original price or lower.

The exception appears to be the last two Steve Cole Young Bond novels, Strike Lightning and Red Nemesis, both of which were released as a "limited edition" hardcovers at the same time as the paperback editions. These hardcovers have proved to be very elusive and are now listing online for quite a bit of money. That is if they show up at all. At the moment, I can't locate a single copy of Red Nemesis. Chances are this final book may have had an especially small print run.

Publishers sometimes print only what is pre-ordered. This is what happened with the John Gardner novels. Gardner's later books are harder to find than his earlier works, with his last book, COLD, especially difficult to find in hardcover. But it now looks like Red Nemesis might be even harder to find than COLD, and this only a few year after publication.

So if you bought these at the time...feel good about it!

Thanks to Tanner at Double O Section for the alert.

STRIKE LIGHTNING eBook now available in U.S.

Steve Cole's latest Young Bond novel Strike Lightning is now available as a Kindle eBook in the U.S. from IFP. As always, they've created unique original cover art for the eBook release. So far, Steve's Young Bond novels have only been released as eBooks in the U.S.

Purchase Strike Lightning for Kindle at Amazon

STEVE COLE'S NEW YOUNG BOND 'STRIKES' TODAY IN UK

Steve Cole's third Young Bond novel Strike Lightning is released today in the UK in paperback and as a limited hardcover.

Steve Cole's first two Young Bond novels were serviceable adventures with some good ideas. But Strike Lightning is a HUGE step up. In my opinion, this is far and away Steve's best Young Bond novel, and one that even challenges Charlie Higson's books. I'd even place it in my top ten best James Bond continuation novels.

What I like best about this adventure is it has a strong narrative flow and a great sense of the period (which was almost completely absent from Heads You Die). Also, this time Steve doesn't overpopulate the book with Bond's friends along for the ride. Here we only have a Bond ally (Perry Mandeville) and a Bond girl (Kitty Drift). Classic. In fact, this one truly nails all the aspects of a classic James Bond adventure, and continues the story of Young Bond very effectively. This feels like the book we've been waiting for.

Congrats to Steve Cole. His third strike is a HIT!

No sign yet of a U.S. eBook, but know that the UK editions are available via third party sellers on the U.S. Amazon.com.

New Kev Walker images from STRIKE LIGHTNING

The official Young Bond website has posted new Kev Walker character images from Strike Lightning, Steve Cole's third Young Bond novel due out next week. The descriptions are a little spoilerish, so don't read if you want to stay pure.

View more at YoungBond.com

I'm currently half-way through the book and I'm thrilled to report this is Steve's best yet. In fact, this one could rival some of Charlie Higson's work.

Strike Lightning will be released in the UK as a limited hardcover and in paperback on September 1st. It can be pre-ordered now Amazon.co.uk.

Young Bond: Strike Lightning BOOK TRAILER

Today I'm excited to share a first look at the book trailer for Steve Cole's upcoming Young Bond novel, Strike Lightning.

Strike Lightning will be released in the UK on September 1, 2016. You can pre-order the limited hardcover and paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Ready to STRIKE...

Author Steve Cole says tomorrow he'll be signing copies of the limited hardcover edition of his next Young Bond novel, Strike Lightning. As with Heads You Die, the hardcover will include bonus content.

Publisher Penguin Random House has given me a preview of book's prologue titled, "The Dead Land." It contains a murder in the Scottish countryside, a German villain name Mr. Blade, and a mysterious super weapon called "Steel Shadow."

Strike Lightning will be released in the UK on September 1, 2016. You can pre-order the limited hardcover and paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

UPDATE: You can now read the prologue for yourself at the official Young Bond website.

Plot summary for STRIKE LIGHTNING

Here's a plot summary for Steve Cole's upcoming Young Bond novel, Strike Lightning.

James Bond is back again in Steve Cole's third Young Bond adventure.

When James stumbles upon a horrific sight, he knows things are not what they seem. His school is determined to make him believe what happened was an accident, but James believes what he saw was murder.

The significance of the events at school only come to light in the course of an adventure that takes James across Europe and puts him within range of a warmongering villain. Has James got what it takes to triumph over this man, the worst kind of enemy, who boasts a new kind of weapon?

Strike Lightning will be released in the UK on September 1, 2016. You can pre-order the limited hardcover and paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Steve Cole teases STRIKE LIGHTNING details

In response to a fan, Young Bond author Steve Cole teased some Strike Lightning plot details via Twitter:

@AshleyB71957875 @PuffinBooks I can tell you James Bond is at Fettes College, the Bond girl is awesome, and to trust no one!

— Steve Cole (@SteveColeBooks) July 19, 2016

Strike Lightning will be released in the UK on September 1, 2016. You can pre-order the limited hardcover and paperback at Amazon.co.uk. This is Steve's third Young Bond novel.

Young Bond STRIKE LIGHTNING cover art revealed

Cover art for the limited hardcover and paperback editions of Steve Cole's upcoming Young Bond novel, Strike Lightning, have been revealed.

Limited edition hardcover.

Paperback edition.

Strike Lightning will be released in the UK on September 1, 2016. You can pre-order the limited hardcover and paperback at Amazon.co.uk. This is Steve Cole's third Young Bond novel.

Latest on STRIKE LIGHTNING - a "chilly" location?

A few updates on Steve Cole's upcoming Young Bond Strike Lightning due for release on September 1st. Like Heads You Die, the book will be released as a signed limited hardcover with extra content and as a paperback.

No cover art or plot description yet, but Steve Cole recently tweeted a response to a fan who asked where he should read the book. Steve suggested: "somewhere chilly?"

Could this mean Strike Lightning might have a snowbound location?

Both John Gardner and Raymond Benson chose to send Bond into the snow for their third continuation novels, Icebreaker (1983) and High Time To Kill (1999).

Pre-order Strike Lightning limited hardcover and paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Amazon shows STRIKE LIGHTNING release Sept. 1

Amazon now has a pre-order listing for Steve Cole's third Young Bond adventure, Strike Lightning. It shows the book will be released in hardcover on September 1, 2016. Steve's newest Young Bond, Heads You Die, was release simultaneously in paperback and hardcover. I'm wondering if we'll see the same for Strike Lightning?

Pre-order Strike Lightning at Amazon.co.uk

So far Steve Cole's Young Bond novels have only been released in print editions in the UK. But all the books are available at The Book Depository which offers worldwide free shipping.

UPDATE: Like Heads You Die, this will be "signed limited-edition hardback with exclusive extra content."

THE NEXT YOUNG BOND IS 'STRIKE LIGHTNING'

Our friend Stephan Bäckman of the excellent blog James Bond The Secret Agent is at the Witlit Festival and has given us the scoop on the title of Steve Cole's next Young Bond novel. At the conclusion of Steve's talk, he flashed the following on screen:

Young Bond: Strike Lightning will be released in Fall. Steve's latest Young Bond novel, Heads You Die, out now in the UK in paperback and as a limited edition hardcover.

Thank you Stephan! Be sure and check out  James Bond The Secret Agent.

Next YOUNG BOND title revealed tomorrow

Young Bond author Steve Cole has posted the following to his twitter.

Tomorrow at my Heads You Die event at @whitstablelit I shall be revealing the title of my 3rd Young Bond novel... pic.twitter.com/mTkIyeDNcV

— Steve Cole (@SteveColeBooks) May 12, 2016

Steve's second Young Bond adventure, Heads You Die, is out now in the UK in paperback and as a limited edition hardcover.

Steve Cole confirms 3rd YOUNG BOND coming in Fall

Young Bond author Steven Cole has confirmed on his blog that his third Young Bond novel will be relased in Fall.

"I’ve also been wrapping up work on my 3rd Young Bond (out this autumn) while planning the story for my 4th. So my thoughts are very action-packed and James-flavoured at the moment."

When Steve was announced as the new Young Bond author in 2013, it was reported his contract was for four books total.

Steve's second Young Bond adventure, Heads You Die, is out now in the UK in paperback and as a limited edition hardcover.

Will we get TWO Young Bond books this year?

Steve Cole has tweeted this pic of the limited hardcover edition of his second Young Bond novel, Heads You Die, which will be released May 5 in the UK along with a paperback edition. The limited hardcover will be signed and numbered and contain extra material. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon.co.uk.

But what I'm more interested in this morning is what the eagle-eyed folks at the CommanderBond.net Twitter (@CBn007) spotted in the author description below. Is it possible we'll get Steve's third Young Bond adventure later this year?

Steve's only comment, "Never mind that, I just can't believe how young I was when that picture was taken."

Thanks to CBn.

UPDATE: This also appears on the official Penguin website, so I'm thinking we can bank on seeing Young Bond 8 this year!

Steve Cole updates YOUNG BOND progress

Steve Cole has posted to his official blog an update on his progress with his Young Bond books:

"Well, since last I wrote I’ve written two drafts of my third Young Bond, finished off the second Young Bond, and been visiting a lot of schools and theatres."

Steve has been commissioned to write four Young Bond novels. His first, Shoot To Kill, was released in 2014. His next, Heads You Die, will be released in the UK on May 5, 2016.