I’m not particularly enthused about the Q spinoff either, but I’d say I’m curious to see how it turns out. Truth is, I’m way more okay with something like this in the literary Bond world than I would be if it was something Amazon did for theaters or streaming. The latter feels like a misguided attempt to milk the cash cow (a la Marvel) which could easily backfire, whereas the former is an experiment which, even if it fails, would have relatively little impact on the franchise as a whole. Maybe this is because lit-Bond (outside of Fleming) is pretty niche to begin with, only of interest to the most hardcore fans. Nobody outside these forums particularly cares about some of the weirder ideas we’ve already seen, like Pearson’s Authorized Biography, or 003 1/3, or the Moneypenny Diaries.
I think it’s only a matter of time until we see a television show about Q. It really would depend on what they did. I’d prefer it to be from a mission and not biographical. I quite like the unused SPECTRE idea of Q being kidnapped. You could have him showcasing MacGyver type skills and providing his location before a cameo of Bond blasting in for the rescue.
The Felix Leiter comic is one of the best things Dynamite did. I have to admit if they cast people I really like for these roles I may begin to feel differently.
Raymond Benson penned a Leiter story set in 1952.
Well, here it goes…
Ian Fleming Publications have just announced the digital serialisation and subsequent paperback publication of The Hook and the Eye, a full-length novel penned by Benson that focuses on Felix Leiter, our man in the States. Set in 1952, between Ian Fleming’s Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever, this is a mystery, a romance, a spy story, a road trip tale and a postcard of a lost Americana. The first instalment of the story will be released on May 27th, and you can pre-order it now.
It is 1952. Felix has lost his job at the CIA and finds himself working for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. What starts as a simple surveillance job turns into a matter of life and death when Felix stumbles upon a murder and a cabal of spies embedded in Manhattan. Hired to transport the impossibly beautiful and impossibly secretive Dora from New York to Texas, Felix is thrust into a non-stop adventure, where danger and deceit lie in wait around every bend in the road.
Author Raymond Benson added “Having worked on this project in secrecy since May 2024, I am now pleased and proud to finally present the first ever Felix Leiter novel, appropriately set in Ian Fleming’s timeline of the 1950s between the character’s appearances in Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever . As a native Texan myself, I’ve always had an affinity for 007’s close American friend.”
So how, and when, can you read this new adventure? Starting on May 27th the eBook serialisation will begin with ‘The Hook and the Eye: Episode 1’ containing the first four chapters of the novel. This will be followed every two weeks with a new episode, concluding on September 30th with the tenth instalment. Episodes will be released via updates to the original eBook file, so be aware that in order to read them you’ll need to either enable automatic file updates on your e-reader device, or manually download the updated files. Following the final ‘Episode’ release, we’ll also be publishing a physical paperback edition of The Hook and the Eye . This is currently available to pre-order, exclusively via our website.
Didn’t have Benson returning on my bingo card. But it evidently makes sense giving him the character that’s closest to home. I liked Benson’s version of that guy a lot more than Gardner’s (who only really used him in that Nazi-oil spill thingy; and then as the stupidest Leiter ever). What astonishes me is it’s an in-between-quel period piece. Release as relatively low-priced serialised novel is also a first (and will help them keeping the final print run as close to the demand as possible).
That said, I still don’t know yet if I will pick this up.
Dear Dustin,
We have learned about your doubt regarding purchasing our latest offering when it becomes available starting May 27th, and frankly we are disappointed.
Instead of going the AI route, we dredged up an author from the past, and waited for him to actually write the damn thing, and you “still don’t know yet if I will pick this up.”
What gives with you Bond fans? Either there are complaints about a paucity of product, or when things start flowing, there is Hamletesque hesitancy. And people wonder why EON gave up the ghost.
With your status as a leading voice at the Commander Bond Forums, we certainly hope you will be with us on May 27th, and lead the wave of readers who join with this latest cash grab based on Bond IP.
In solidarity,
Your IFP Family
I’d heard a couple of years ago that Benson was retiring because of arthritis in his hands. So glad he was able to do this.
Source please.
A podcast.
Well…this is interesting and definitely not what I was expecting from the next Bond literary project.
Raymond Benson being back is a huge news item in and of itself. Benson being back to do a Felix Leiter spin-off that’s a 50’s period piece set during the Fleming timeline is…kinda crazy 
Funnily enough, Felix Leiter is probably one of the easiest Bond characters to do a spin-off for (along with 00 agents of course) and I’m surprised its taken this long. I’m like 90% sure Amazon plans to do a Leiter spin-off, and given IFP’s intent to work with Amazon, I can see where this is going.
Hm.
Interesting insofar as it aligns with the theory that the events of Live and Let Die happen in early 1952, and therefore prior to the reign of Elizabeth II.
Not particularly interesting otherwise, but it’s product and that we must have, apparently.
It’s going to be one of the biggest moments in recent Bond franchise history when they actually release something featuring James Bond.
Who’s that?
I think he’s that British fellow that has a cameo in one of those Felix Leiter novels.
Let’s be thankful it’s Raymond Benson coming back, and not Sebastian Faulks. Also, this can also make up for Dynamite Comics leaving their Felix Leiter Comic on a cliffhanger. I’m getting a feeling that an adult Bond announcement is on the way, sooner than we think. Same with a Bond villain spinoff.
I have to admit, I’m intrigued. Felix Leiter would be the one James Bond spinoff character I’d be interested in. Raymond Benson coming out of Bond retirement to do this Leiter novel is shocking, but he is undoubtedly the best man for the job. He’s got the Bond experience, he knows Bond inside and out, he’s American, and he’s a Texan to boot. His plots during his 007 tenure were very good–I’d even venture to say the best of any Bond author–including Ian Fleming! 
That said, I will not be getting the serialized ebook edition. I prefer books. I will wait for the paperback version instead.
The ones that have been mislabelled and sold by the British for decades?
Oh I hate those free-loading Limeys, they’ve been treating us so unfair with this James Bond thing. Bezos, take your head out, here’s the order. Proper Felix Leiter movies to set things straight. Oh, and get Chuck Norris for the lead role.
Agreed with everything you write here, especially the part I bolded. Benson’s writing at first felt a bit amateurish to me, but from HTTK onwards I think he really hit his stride. Plots were unique and clever and, as you write, sometimes even felt more original than Fleming. I was surprised when I first read the Bensons, as the consensus at the time seemed to be that Gardner was the better of the two, but nowadays I hear the opposite more.
Benson returning after 23 years is quite the feat from IFP – I’m curious to see if and how his writing has evolved during this time. First Higson and now Benson. Wow. While I’m not sure I love the idea of a Leiter novel, Benson is certainly the way to do it.
Good to see Benson back. I like all his Bond books, but the Union Trilogy and the Man With The Red Tattoo most of all. I’ll be keeping my ears open about the story to decide if it’s worth buying in paperback form later in the year.
I find it something ironic about the comebacks of Charlie Higson and Raymond Benson. Higson wrote a series of Bond books set in the past (of it’s time of course). Then, his comeback book, On His Majesty’s Secret Service, set in the present day. Now Raymond Benson is doing the opposite. His Bond series of books were set in the present time that they were written. Now his comeback book is set in the past. A unique viewpoint that I noticed during the day. History in someways repeated itself today.