Was the future of Young Bond decided today?

Is Charlie Higson going to return and pen a Young Bond series 2? That decision could very well have been made today, according to a tweet from Charlie Higson himself @monstroso.

“Various meetings today to discuss the future of Young Bond, the Enemy, Monstroso & 1 with an academic to discuss the past -Randall & Hopkirk”

Unfortunately, this tweet was logged 9 hours ago, so we were unable to redirect our Book Bond spy satellite on London and listen in.

Guess we will just have to wait for some official word about the future of Young Bond, but here’s hoping the meeting went well!

From Russia With Love gets the Penguin Ink treatment

Ian Fleming classic James Bond novel From Russia With Love has been released as a part of the "Penguin Ink Series."

The cover art is designed by Chris Garver, who is widely considered to be among the world's best tattoo artists.

Pretty nice!

Deaver’s 007 will be a younger Bond

During his recent US book tour (promoting The Burning Wire), newly minted James Bond continuation author Jeffery Deaver revealed some choice new information about his upcoming Bond novel codenamed Project X.

First off, Deaver’s 007 will be a young Bond. Deaver confirmed that Project X will be a contemporary “reboot” and will feature a James Bond somewhere around 28-30 years of age. “We haven’t exactly settled on an age yet,” he says. Born in the 1980s, Bond will be a veteran of the Afghan War (Operation Herrick) and part of an elite new double-oh section which specialized in assassination and whose agents are disavowed if ever compromised. Fans on the CBn forums have tagged this new Bond, "XBond."

But Deaver took pains to point out that while this is a new, younger James Bond, he will still be very much the complex and somewhat dark character created by Ian Fleming.

Deaver revealed the story will span 4 or 5 days and will retain classic elements including M (who will be male again), Miss Moneypenny, and Mary Goodnight. Bond will still have a housekeeper, although it will not be the Scottish May (Deaver hinted at a Pakistani or Indian nationality). Also, prompted by my question, Deaver assures that the book will be spiced up with some nice Flemingesque sex.

Currently there is no title, but Deaver says he’s come up with a list of some 45 titles to choose from. He hinted that the title would refer specifically to the object of Bond’s investigation, so it doesn’t sound like we’ll get a generic Bond title like Devil May Care (although with 45 selections there must certainly a few generics in there, so it’s a little early to say for sure).

While the official Project X countdown clock shows a May 28, 2011 release date (Ian Fleming’s birthday), Deaver noted that this is a Saturday, so it’s not certain whether the book will be released on that exact day.

Deaver said he and IFP have some nice web-based promotions planned (currently there is a teaser on the Project X website promising a “one-of-a-kind event”), so keep checking The Book Bond for the latest breaking news on Project X.

Become our fan on Facebook

The Book Bond is now on Facebook. While we will still blog official press releases and exclusive news here, our Facebook page is really the place that will keep you up-to-date on ALL the breaking James Bond literary news.

On our Fan page not only do we post our own news, but we track all the best James Bond websites, publisher sites, and author sites to keep you updated quickly. We've also posted galleries of cover art and more. With the run-up to Project X, you're going to want to stay up-to-date, so become our "fan" on Facebook today.

If you are a member of Facebook, just GO HERE and click on the "Like" button. That's it. So what are you waiting for? Go!

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Deaver talks titles, release date

At a book signing in Los Angeles today, newly minted Bond author Jeffery Deaver revealed that he has list of 45 possible titles for his Bond novel currently known as "Project X."

Devear says he and IFP are seeking a title that works for the book and also echoes the great Bondian titles of Ian Fleming.

He also pointed out that because May 28, 2011 is on Saturday, chances are Project X will not be released on that precise day, but sometime around that date. May 28 is Ian Fleming's birthday and currently the official Project X countdown clock due date.