The grave of IAN FLEMING

The enigmatic Arthur Dark of the YouTube channel Hollywood Graveyard visits the grave of Ian Fleming in part one of his trip to England. Fleming shows up at 08:03. I love these videos.

IFP announces three continuation reprints on Oct. 5

Ian Fleming Publications announced today that they will be re-releasing three out-of-print James Bond continuation novels on October 5 (James Bond Day). They are:

Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis
The first ever James Bond novel published after the death of Ian Fleming. This edition celebrates the novel's 55th anniversary and features a new foreword by Anthony Horowitz. Amazon

Zero Minus Ten by Raymond Benson
Rediscover this classic Bond continuation novel in a brand-new paperback edition. It will include a new introduction from the author himself, Raymond Benson. Amazon

James Bond: The Authorised Biography by John Pearson
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the authorised biography’s publication, this edition will feature a new foreword written by Mark Pearson, John’s son. Amazon

All three books are paperbacks priced at £9.99. A signed edition of Zero Minus Ten is available for pre-order exclusively from the IFP website. Cover art is yet to be revealed.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING paperback released in UK

The paperback edition of Kim Sherwood's first Double O novel, Double or Nothing, is released today in the UK. I always like when paperbacks use unique cover art, and this art is a stunner.

Author Kim Sherwood says, "As the first ever Bond book I bought was a paperback, it’s thrilling now to see Double or Nothing come out in this gorgeous paperback edition. If you’re new to the Double O series, I hope you enjoy the first installment!"

You can purchase the Double or Nothing paperback at Amazon.co.uk.

Title and plot revealed for next DOUBLE O novel

A Spy Like Me is the title of Kim Sherwood's next Double O novel. A good title! After Double or Nothing, I was wondering if all the titles would be a play on the word "double." Looks like that's not the case, and that's fine by me. Below is a plot summary.

An elite team of MI6 agents must go undercover to unravel a smuggling network funding violent terror in the second thrilling adventure in the acclaimed Double O series by Kim Sherwood 

Six days. Three agents. One chance to find James Bond.

 
James Bond is alive.
Or at least, he was when he left a clue at the black site where the insidious private military company Rattenfanger held him captive. MI6 cannot spare any more lives attempting to track down one missing agent―no exceptions, even for Bond. But Johanna Harwood, 003, has her own agenda. Sidelined by her superiors while she grieves the loss of a loved one, Harwood goes on an unsanctioned mission: to find 007. Meanwhile, MI6 has another problem…

 
A bomb has been detonated in London.
Double O agents on the trail of the terrorists responsible acted quickly to prevent mass destruction and save lives. But MI6 failed to neutralize the nation’s enemies before they could strike, and one of their own was seriously injured in the blast.

 
They won’t fail again.
Assigned to root out the source of the terrorists’ funding, Joseph Dryden, 004, and Conrad Harthrop-Vane, 000, enter the field. Tracing clues from Sotheby’s auction house to Crete to Venice, they uncover a money laundering scheme involving diamonds, black market antiquities, and human trafficking. Once a major sale is made, a six-day countdown to the next terror attack begins. As the Double O’s follow the twisting trail, they find themselves unexpectedly inching closer to Bond…

You can pre-order A Spy Like Me at Amazon.co.uk. Release date is April 25, 2024.

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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Summer of '83

This summer sees two important James Bond 40th anniversaries. The first is the anniversary of the Roger Moore Bond film Octopussy, released in June 1983. I loved Octopussy when I saw it that summer and I still love it today. It will always be one of my favorite James Bond films. Remember when Bond movies provided fun and fantasy? Long live Octopussy!

Unfortunately, we never got a proper tie-in edition of Fleming's Octopussy and this was before the resumption of the novelizations (with the exception of these). As with For Your Eyes Only, the closest we came was a Marvel comic book adaptation written by Steve Moore with art by Paul Neary. The FYEO adaptation was published as two standalone comics, a paperback book, and a magazine. For Octopussy we just got the magazine. But you can bet I snapped it up and still have it. 

But there was another Bond release that summer that had me just as excited. John Gardner's third 007 novel Icebreaker was released by Putnam in April in the U.S. and July in the UK. Boy, was this a different James Bond from the movies! I admit at the time I didn't fully appreciate Icebreaker as it felt a little too different, not just from the films, but from Gardner's first two books that stuck closer to the Bond formula. But from day one I loved the title and idea of a largely snowbound 007 adventure set in the Arctic Circle. With subsequent re-reads, Icebreaker has become my favorite Gardner book and one of my favorite continuation novels in general. Long live Icebreaker!

Happy 40th Anniversaries to Octopussy and Icebreaker. For me these were both All Time Highs.

ON HIS MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE enters 2nd printing

Ian Fleming Publications has tweeted that Charlie Higson's On His Majesty's Secret Service has entered its second printing. I don't know how large the first printing was, but it certainly sounds like the book is a success beyond expectations and I think that's fantastic news!

I've read the book and LOVED it. It fully lives up to its name. A traditional heroic James Bond 007 adventure with all the proper ingredients beautifully written by a man born to write Bond. I loved Charlie's Young Bond series and he nailed first crack at the adult Bond. I really hope this inspires IFP to commission more James Bond novels from Charlie as he's clearly the man for the job.

Congratulations to Charlie Higson and Ian Fleiming Publications for scoring this success. Oh, and congratulations to King Charles III as well!

You can purchase On His Majesty's Secret Service from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and direct from Ian Fleming Publications.

ANTHONY HOROWITZ on The Bond Experience

A terrific interview with Bond author Anthony Horowitz and David Zaritsky on The Bond Experience. Horowitz penned three novels, Trigger Mortis (2015), Forever and a Day (2018), and With A Mind To Kill (2022).

With A Mind To Kill U.S. PAPERBACK released

The U.S. trade paperback edition of With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz is released today by Harper Paperbacks. 

Cover art is the same as the U.S. hardcover with the addition of a quote from The Guardian and a blurb touting Horowitz as a New York Times bestselling author. 

You can purchase the With a Mind To Kill U.S. paperback at Amazon.com.