Charlie Higson says Young Bond 2 would be a trilogy

During his appearance at the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington D.C., Charlie Higson revealed that should there be a Young Bond Series 2 it would be a “trilogy” of books.

Charlie also mentioned this “trilogy” idea during his appearance in St. Louis, where he also confirmed a new series would be set at Fettes, the school Bond attended after Eton.

It’s still uncertain whether Charlie will pen a new Young Bond series. Currently he is busy with his new horror series (also a trilogy) for Puffin Books and has only just completed the second book, The Dead.

Thanks to ‘Dlibrasnow’ for the tip.

Bond authors show support for Deaver

With the announcement of Jeffery Deaver as the new James Bond continuation author, past Bond authors have shown their support.

Tweeting from the road during his recent world book tour, Young Bond author Charlie Higson says, "Good luck with the gig. From one Bond scribe to another."

Simon Gardner, speaking on behalf of his late father, John Gardner (Bond author from 1981 to 1996) says, "JG was a big fan he would be sending his best wishes if he was still with us. Good luck with the gig from all @johngardnercom."

Finally, Raymond Benson, Bond scribe from 1997 to 2002 says, "Jeffery Deaver and I are good friends. We served on the Jury (with Val Kilmer!) of the 2005 Noir in Festival (film noir festival) in Courmayeur, Italy, and have participated in many writer conferences together. Great guy."

Young Bond in China

Browsing Amazon’s Chinese website today, I stumbled on these very unique Chinese editions of the first three Young Bond novels by Charlie Higson.

Click to enlarge

Published in 2008, the three books definitely do their own thing in regards to cover art. But if you look closely, each cover includes a special identifier besides just color and number.

Within each of those Young Bond police badges is a unique image. Book 1, SilverFin, shows an image of Bond and Wilder on a horse (also used on an earlier Chinese edition); book 2, Blood Fever, shows a pirate ship; and book 3, Double or Die, has what appears to be a cemetery.

I wasn’t able to turn up a copy of Hurricane Gold on the site.

Yes, you can already pre-order "Project X"

Leading fansite CommanderBond.net points out that the just-announced new Bond novel by Jeffery Deaver, codenamed "Project X", is already available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk. Mind you this is the UK edition from Hodder & Stoughton. The U.S. edition from Simon & Schuster has yet to appear on Amazon.

In regards to whether or not this contemporary novel marks an end to period James Bond adventures (such as the Young Bond series), Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications tells us, “Don’t worry we haven’t left the past behind entirely, but it’s nice to do something different – and keep everyone guessing!”

Keep up with all the latest on Project X at the official website and on Twitter.

Could Project X spell the end of Young Bond?

Bond fans are still buzzing over the announcement of a new adult James Bond continuation novel by Jeffery Deaver (codenamed Project X) due for release in May of next year. But within the announcement is a cord of concern for those of us who have hopes for a Young Bond Series 2.

The new novel will be set in modern times, abandoning the idea of locking the literary James Bond within the original Ian Fleming timeline. Of course, the Young Bond series has taken full advantage of this idea, setting the action in the early 1930s.

So if Bond is headed to the present, does that mean we will see no more adventures set in the past? Does this mean Young Bond 2 -- should Charlie Higson decide he’d like to do it -- is now off the IFP drawing board?

I put the question to our very own “M”, Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications, who sent this encouraging response:

“Don’t worry we haven’t left the past behind entirely, but it’s nice to do something different – and keep everyone guessing!”

Good news.