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When I see that shot - Bond in the center, making an ironic, defiant gesture with one of his hobbies - EON needs to invest in one thing mostly: great directors of photography like Deakins.
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A tweet from The Book Bond about the novel was deleted - but this is the preliminary cover:
And judging from the plot description Horowitz picks up after TMWTGG, with Bond infiltrating the new Russian Smersh-follow up, while in doubt whether his 00-work is still relevant after the Cold War (hmm, sounds familiar?) A planned Russian terrorist act has to be thwarted, with the help of a woman who may be Bond‘s „most“ dangerous enemy yet.
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Cool news!
I loved his previous 2. So I’m really looking forward to a new one!
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Really interesting!
I have a feeling that the Russian scientist character who ‘‘knows what’s in Bond’s head better than Bond himself’’ might be one of the scientists who brainwashed Bond between YOLT and TMWTGG. Bond’s time as a brainwashed Soviet operative is something that’s mostly glossed over by Fleming in TMWTGG, so maybe Horowitz can do some justice to that intriguing premise!
I’m a bit mixed on the whole ‘‘is Bond relevant’’ debate seeping into the books as well now. I mean, it might be interesting to see Horowitz’s take on this subject, and how Fleming’s Bond handles it compared to Daniel Craig’s Bond on-screen. But I can’t help but feel it’s getting a bit repetitive at this point. Still, Horowitz hasn’t disappointed me yet, so I trust he knows what he’s doing.
Last but not least…any guesses on the ‘‘Fleming creation’’ who looks to be the main villain of this? Apparently he’s been ‘‘in the background’’ of two previous books?
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Could be ‘Captain/Colonel Boris’ from On Her Majesty’s and The Man with the Golden Gun. Though I never saw them as being the same person. In the earlier book it’s the man Campbell follows because he bought unusual chemicals and delivered them supposedly at Piz Gloria if memory serves. In the latter book it’s the KGB handler who prepares Bond for his mission in London.
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I suspect you may be right on this. Good eye on the Captain Boris link. I never made that possible connection. When we first heard of this third Horowitz novel and it’s place in the canon, I thought Col. Boris would make an appearance, and that all makes sense now.
When asked if the book has a title.
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Horowitz doesn’t plan on writing a fourth.
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Fair enough. He’s covered the beginning, middle and end of the Fleming timeline. I can see why he feels that way.
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It’s a shame that he likely won’t be continuing as he has been easily one of the best continuation writers (I know, the bar hasn’t really been set that high). He also seems to have really enjoyed doing them. But better to go out before overstaying your welcome. Gardner should have stepped down long before he did.
Man, ain’t that the truth. He stayed on for years past his interest in writing them and it came across in his books. They just became lazy.
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True.
I think Horowitz doesn’t want to write ‘‘just another’’ Bond novel. All of his novels have a very specific conceptual hook. Trigger Mortis was written around an Ian Fleming short story, plus there was the idea of it being a follow-up to Goldfinger (which ultimately ended up not being that significant though). Forever and a Day was a prequel to Casino Royale and an origin story for Bond as 007. The new book is a follow-up to The Man with the Golden Gun and, by the looks of it, will be directly continuing and wrapping up the SMERSH arc from the Fleming novels.
I don’t think Horowitz is remotely interested in writing just another novel about Bond on just another mission.
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Even his early efforts aren’t great. For Special Services is still one of my most disliked Bond stories, you know the one where Felix encourages Bond to bang his daughter. I’m currently reading Licence to Kill and I actually find it somewhat more enjoyable than his others, but that probably comes down to it not being his story.
All of the Goldfinger references could have been dropped and it wouldn’t have made any difference. If anything, it is there just to show that a good porking from Bond doesn’t turn gay women straight. Bond never should have bedded Pussy to begin with.
Well, in the book he doesn’t make a pass on her. From the scenes Fleming describes Tilly Masterson is not exactly fond of Bond - not a surprise given he was the reason her sister died - but gets on well with Pussy Galore fairly quick. Bond is warned by one of the mobsters that ‘his girl’ could easily fall for Pussy, giving Bond a knowing wink and a dirty smirk to make his case.
Bond is not fazed by all this. His motto is each to their own and he‘d surely not try to ‘turn’ Pussy (or Tilly). He tries to protect Tilly but can’t prevent her death and only sees Pussy again once he comes to in the hijacked airplane. Where she smuggles him a note that she’s on his side. On the final pages, when they are fished out of the water by a weather ship, she climbs into Bond’s bunk.
The entire relationship is quite different from the film.
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I’ve really enjoyed the Anthony Horowitz Bond novels, he writes very well. Trigger Mortis is my favourite of his.
What I haven’t done, is read any of the other non-Fleming Bond novels. I’m off on holiday in a couple of weeks and need a good book to read whilst lounging by the pool.
I’ve read mixed things- can anyone recommend one? Colonel Sun? Solo? Carte Blanche?
For my money, Colonel Sun is the best of the post-Fleming continuation novels and maybe because its of its time (60s during the Bond bonanza of popularity) it just feels right without any pretension of trying to capture a retro vibe.
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The continuations are truly a mixed bag. Very few offer a decent adventure with Bond vibes - and how you rate them is entirely subjective. Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis is frequently mentioned as a favourite for obvious reasons: Amis was a huge fan of Fleming and wrote his book closer to the authentic Bond era than any other author.
Oftentimes overlooked are the two film tie-ins by Christopher Wood. Very decent efforts that significantly change not the plot of their source material but the mood.
A personal favourite of mine are Charlie Higson’s Young Bond novels. Initially I was extremely sceptical, an attempt to cash in on the Potter Young Reader craze, a mix of Enid Blyton and James Bond jr. - but the books couldn’t have been further from these concerns. They take Fleming’s original timeline and details he gave about Bond’s youth - and run with this concept to tell some most entertaining tales. Bond is still James in these and we follow him as he gradually develops into a familiar character step by step with each adventure.
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I’d recommend Colonel Sun, definitely. It seems to be the only one that is viewed as true canon. It’s also the only continuation novel that has had elements filmed (I won’t include specifics to avoid spoilers). Christopher Wood’s novelizations are excellent, especially James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me. James Bond and Moonraker also includes an incredible sequence that sadly didn’t make it into the actual film. Outside of that, there’s nothing too great. Devil May Care and Solo aren’t top notch reads. Solo is a bit fresher for literary Bond, but isn’t held in high regard. Devil May Care is like a greatest hits of the literary Bond and not all that exciting. The Gardner efforts aren’t really worth the paper they are printed on, neither are most of the Benson books. Strangely, the Benson books don’t even seem to be continuation novels, but rather try to exist as part of the Brosnan film canon. After Horowitz’s and Amis’s efforts, I’d put the Wood novelizations and Jeffrey Deaver’s Carte Blanche as the best efforts. I haven’t read the young bond novels.
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Ah forgot to say, I’ve read all of the Young Bond novels and for the most part enjoyed them.
It’s the older Bond non-Fleming I don’t have much experience with and by the looks of it I think Colonel Sun is what I’m looking for. I might also try Deaver’s Carte Blanche.
Thanks for the help folks!
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