THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION BY RAYMOND BENSON

 

JEFFERY DEAVER'S JAMES BOND - WHY WE SHOULD BE EXCITED

This is not the first time other authors have taken up Fleming's pen - Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, 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 publishing company that oversees his work to ask if I'd be interested in writing the next book in the James 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 his 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.