It all makes good sense though. I have a backlog of books longer than.. well it’s long. I might have to read Young Sherlock. May have to read this.
]]>Press release after the break
]]>The new James Bond book, due to be published later this year and written by best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, is to be called Carte Blanche. Its title and cover artwork are unveiled today (Monday 17th January), at a special launch event at the InterContinental Hotel in Dubai.
Like Fleming, Jeffery Deaver takes inspiration from exotic locations around the world, and after visiting Dubai for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature last year he decided to set part of Carte Blanche in the United Arab Emirates City.
Carte Blanche is due to be published by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK, a few days before Fleming’s birthday, on 26th May 2011. It has been commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Jeffery Deaver comments, “I’m really excited about being back in Dubai. It is an inspirational and awe-inspiring city and makes a perfect Bond location—especially for a novel that pushes our hero to new extremes.”
Regarding the book’s title, Deaver added, “In the world of espionage, giving an agent carte blanche on a mission comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement. Part of the nonstop suspense in the novel is the looming question of what is acceptable in matters of national and international security. Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross?”
Unlike the most recent James Bond book, Sebastian Faulks’ period piece Devil May Care, Jeffery Deaver’s Bond will have a contemporary setting. As part of his latest assignment, the modern-day secret agent travels with Emirates Airline and spends a number of thrilling hours in Dubai both meeting up with an old friend and tracking a very disturbing villain.
The novel’s setting encompasses Deira and Port Saeed, and the history of the Emirates provides an exciting backdrop for some heart-stopping action.
Bond is renowned for visiting the most exotic and glamorous of cities and this is the first time Dubai has featured in a James Bond novel.
Jeffery Deaver will be making a special appearance at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, on Tuesday 18th January, when he will be speaking about his love of Bond and his experience of writing Carte Blanche.
Carte Blanche also features Fleming’s favourite car – a Bentley. Historically, Bond owned three Bentley cars in the course of the fourteen original novels written by Ian Fleming and, bringing the plot completely up to date, Bond drives a Bentley Continental GT in the new book.
Jeffery Deaver has written 28 novels and sold more than 20 million books worldwide. He is best known for his Kathryn Dance and Lincoln Rhyme books, most notably The Bone Collector, which was adapted for film in 1999, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Before becoming a full-time author, Deaver was a journalist, like Fleming, and attorney. He started writing suspense novels on the long commute to and from his office on Wall Street. His books are now translated into 25 languages and he lives in North Carolina.
Over in the UK the paperback edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier has been published. This is the definitive guide to the Young Bond series by the series’ author Charlie Higson. In addition to in-depth profiles of all characters, cars, etc, you can also read the new short story “A Hard Man to Kill”. The hardcover was previously released in the UK on 29 October 2009.
A release date in the United States is currently unknown, but given that By Royal Command was just released, suspect somewhere around May 28, 2011.
]]>Clearly, this cover art is better than the UK hardcover which I must admit is quite terrible in a Double or Die sort of way (so as not to be confused, I’m speaking obviously of the cover only – I’ve yet to find time to read The Enemy, though Double or Die I think ranks as one of or possibly even my favorite of the Young Bonds). There’s something about the US hardcover that I like the best out of all of them so far. Both it and the UK paperback are kind of cliche, but that’s okay.
Pretty interested in checking this book out though. Been playing a ton of Left 4 Dead / Left 4 Dead 2, and well, while I don’t really expect the characters here to run around with shotguns and Molotov cocktails (or a chainsaw…), I do enjoy checking out cool ways of putting down zombies. This is merely an educational exercise so that I can be ready for the inevitable zombie / vampire / “they’re trying to eat me” apocalypse.
]]>I know it’s unfortunate that I don’t update this site as much as I’d like nor as much as I should, but here we are at the end of my 3rd year nonetheless. As a Bond fan – or rather as a literary Bond fan there’s a lot on the horizon to be excited about. A new James Bond novel by Jeffery Deaver being published a year from today and, for me, a certain amount of new-found optimism that Charlie Higson isn’t done with his Young Bond series and perhaps soon we’ll just move on to the next chapter in Bond’s life. Who knows.
Also Bond 23 (eventually) and an upcoming video game later in the year. A quiet year yet again, but like I said, we’re starting to a see movement on the horizon and at least for now, it looks good.
]]>Today marks the 102nd birthday of Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964), author of the James Bond novels and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Last year I left you with some posts to some older mini-bios of Fleming, this year I’ll just repost the books that I believe you should all read.
And obviously there are many many more.
]]>After about a week Ian Fleming Publication lifted the veil on its secretive “Project X”. Next year the adult James Bond will be back in an all-new novel by American author Jeffery Deaver who is best known as the author of The Bone Collector. The book was adapted to film and starred Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Deaver’s Bond novel will be published on May 28, 2011 by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK and by Simon & Schuster in the US.
For the IFP press release and statements from Deaver about taking the helm of James Bond, check out CommanderBond.net.
]]>Published the same day as By Royal Command is Young Bond’s first adventure in graphic novel form: SilverFin. Artwork was done by Kev Walker who did all the US covers for SilverFin through Hurricane Gold, but oddly didn’t do the new By Royal Command. A pretty fantastic book, you can find a review of it by Matt Weston at CommanderBond.net.
Amazon.com
Also published earlier was Higson’s (non-Bond, post-Young Bond) novel The Enemy. A sequel to that is coming soon in the UK called The Dead.
Amazon.com
Today Charlie Higson’s fifth and (currently) final Young Bond novel, By Royal Command, was published in the United States making the saga complete – well sorta. We still have to wait for Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier which includes the short story “A Hard Man to Kill”. That should be out in the US around this time next year if Hyperion stays on their current schedule.
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