rdner, Raymond Benson and Sebastian Faulks have all continued the literary adventures of 007 - and of course there were a couple of movie tie-in novels by Christopher Wood but for this article those movie books don't really exist. They stand aside from accepted literary Bond continuity in any case. And the less said about the Young Bond books the better."When first approached by Ian Fleming's estate and the pu
blishing company that oversees his work to ask if I'd be interested in writing the next book in the Jame
s Bond series, I can't describe the thrill I felt. " Jeffery Deaver.Kinglsey Amis delivered a great Bond thriller, Colonel Sun in 1968 - he also completed Fleming's Man with the Golden Gun after the authors death - and he produced a winning story that was set very much in Fleming's universe. After that the next proper Bond novel was 1981's Licence Renewed by John Gardner.
"I felt Fleming's influence early. My first narrative fiction, written when I was eleven, was based on Bond. It was about a spy who stole a top-secret airplane from the Russians. " Jeffery Deaver.
Now John Gardner was a superb thriller writer and several of his fourteen Bond novels are excellent reads, though light on Fleming and heavy on the by then quite distinct movie character. Out of all h
is novels - Licence Renewed, For Special Services and Icebreaker stand out.Gardner wrote more Bond novels than Fleming himself and when he decided enough was enough. the golden pen was handed over to respected American author, Raymond Benson. The author wrote six James Bond novels, all of them providing great reads but like Gardner his Bond owed more to the screen Bond than Fleming - in fairness this was on the insistence of the Ian Fleming Foundation who were under the misguided notion that the film Bond was where it was at. Benson's Union trilogy though should be read by all Bond fans. Benson touches Fleming in this trio of books - High Time to Kill, Doubleshot and Never Dream of Dying - the trilogy is currently available in a single volume.
" I can still recall the moment when I heard on the news that Fleming had died – I was in my mid-teens. It was as if I had lost a good friend or uncle. Nearly as troubling was the TV anchorman who reported that Bond, too, would die in the final pages of the last book, The Man with the Golden Gun. I was in agony until I could buy it the moment it was released. I read it in one sitting and learned the truth - at least I'd only have to mourn the loss of one of my heroes, not two." Jeffery Deaver
Then in 2008 highly respected author Sebastian Faulks delivered a new Bond novel. Devil May Care was billed as being a return to basics and would be a period piece, picking up from where Fleming left off.
The book was a huge seller though opinion was mixed - personally I loved it, thought it was great fun and was dissapointed that it was only going to be the one Bond book that Faulks would write.
Now the news that bestselling author, Jeffery Deaver is to continue the series is absolutely wonderful. Not only is Deaver a massive seller but he is a life long fan of Fleming's Bond - the real Bond.
The
new book is also to be a reboot of sorts - set in the modern day but retaining the persona Fleming created all those years ago."I have won or been nominated for a number of awards for my thriller writing but the one that I'm the most proud of is the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, presented in conjunction with the UK's Crime Writers' Association, for my thriller Garden of Beasts. The award is in the shape of a commando knife that Fleming is said to have carried in his days working for the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. The imposing award sits in the middle of my mantelpiece at home." Jeffery Deaver
Deaver understands how to keep readers turning the pages - he wouldn't have sold so many books were that not the case. And the fact that he is so high profile a thriller writer should tempt new readers into the Bond literary universe. And then maybe some of those people will seek out Fleming's original classics which really set a blueprint for this sort of fiction.
THE NEW BOND - WORKING TITLE PROJECT X - WILL BE PUBLISHED 2011 - Information about the content of the book remains top secret. Author Jeffery Deaver says “I don’t want to give much away about the new book yet, except to say that the novel will maintain the persona of James Bond as Fleming created him and the unique tone the author brought to his books, while incorporating my own literary trademarks: detailed research, fast pacing and surprise twist.
OFFICIAL PROJECT X WEBSITE
RELATED NEWS -WATCH OUT FOR THE ARCHIVE'S JAMES BOND THEMED WEEKEND THIS JULY.
2 comments:
While always hoping for the best, I am concerned about the "reboot" aspect of Mr. Deaver's IFP assignment.
James Bond -- Fleming's Bond, at any rate -- was very much a product of the existential conflict that was World War II. That epic struggle against an evil of titanic proportions was the crucible in which cold warriors like 007 were formed. I'm sorry, but a "James Bond" born in 1980 would not, and could not, be the same personona that Fleming created. I'm sure Jeffery Deaver will deliver us a competent and effective British Secret Service agent who will rout the bad guys with great aplomb, but it won't be the mythopoeic archetype -- the single combat warrior sent off to battle evil wizards and dragons -- that the authentic James Bond is.
John Gardner and Raymond Benson had the luxury of being able to "continue" Fleming's Bond, i.e. the Cold War 007 who had previously tangled with the likes of Dr. No, Auric Goldfinger, and Ernst Stavro Blofeld; who had wooed and loved Vesper Lynd and Tiffany Case and Tracy di Vicenzo. They were allowed to condense all of the literary Bond's career into "sometime in the past" and allow him to keep his live-for-today catalog of personally destructive vices.
A contemporary James Bond, born in 1980, will probably have never even tried a cigarette, or have even heard of baccarat, much less enjoy slugging down a couple of double bourbons. He'd be leery of the cholesterol count of a plateful of scrambled eggs and bacon, and would think caviar is gross. God only knows what kind of car he would think appropriate to drive, much less what his idea of a powerful motorcar would be -- probably a Lambo (or other type of penis substitute).
I wish Jeffery Deaver all the luck in the world with Project X. If he can successfully conjure up a contemporary James Bond 007 that we all can recognize, it will be something of a literary miracle. No knock on his skills as a writer, but rather misgivings as to the feasibility of the idea to begin with.
Here's to hoping...
Paul Baack
Paul, some interesting point raised there. But Jeffery is a proper thriller writer so I have high expectations of this. I too think period piece is probably the way to go but then making Bond modern, as long as they keep the essentials, may make the character more accessible to fans who have only ever seen the movies. I also think Jeffery could bvring new readers into the fold.
Fingers crossed
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