Double Or Nothing

"Yes, we’re now up to date. We’ve had adult Bond books coming out with regularity. These 50+ works have been focused on one agent, 007. Now Ian Fleming publications have invited Kim Sherwood to write a trilogy of books, the first of which is Double or Nothing . The second, which is coming out in April, is called A Spy Like Me . These are about the next generation of Double O agents. The concept in Double or Nothing is that James Bond is missing, presumed dead, and they have to find out what happened. For Bond enthusiasts, the idea of a James Bond novel without James Bond is anathema. But it’s not accurate to say that James Bond is absent from the book. One, he appears with some regularity in flashbacks and there are dialogue scenes with him. The other agents also all talk about him. He has a personal relationship with all these characters. So he is very present in the book, even though he’s also the MacGuffin. He’s the thing that they’re all chasing and you get three different agents who are looking for him, including one named Johanna Harwood, who was named after the first Bond screenwriter. Now I know a lot of people say, ‘Oh, she was the first female Bond screenwriter.’ In fact, Harwood was the first Bond screenwriter full stop. They all come at Bond from different points of view and different opinions. The Harwood character and Bond had a relationship. He was the mentor to another agent. Generally, they all like him now. They’re not antagonistic towards Bond. They see him for his complexities and his faults but, for the most part, they admire him. I wouldn’t say favourite, but if the question was, ‘What would you give to someone who’s interested in exploring Bond?’ I might go with any of the Anthony Horowitz books. He is a huge student of Bond and is telling Bond stories by trying deliberately to keep true to Fleming’s spirit. If you’re looking for a fun, action-packed book—where you’re putting the character of James Bond into an oversized movie adventure—then you might want to check out Raymond Benson. If you like a good mystery, give The Moneypenny Diaries a chance. Yes, my book is an overview of all the James Bond books written after Ian Fleming’s death. It’s meant to guide the reader through all the books and help them select something that will be for their tastes, as well as providing an overview of the literary history of Bond. There is also original art by Pat Carbajal that depicts keys scenes from the novels. Each book gets its own chapter. That includes a summary of what happens in the book and commentary about what the author is trying to accomplish. Different books serve different functions. So I try to help the reader make sense of all of it. James Bond After Fleming also explores how each continuation novel approaches Bond’s character and has added to Bond’s personal history, his mission history, his tastes, attitudes, thinking, work life, adventures, and work methods. It also tells you how Bond has requested his eggs in each book. You can’t be left without knowing Bond’s egg order, I think. James Bond After Fleming is the first book dedicated to the Bond continuation novels. I was surprised that no one had written this kind of book before. So, I gave it a go. I hope readers find it to be a useful reference book and resource. Yes, you can’t escape them. The general public doesn’t separate the books from the movies. One thing I will say is that, in my opinion, it is Ian Fleming Publications’ goal to write Bond novels and spin-off works that are true to Ian Fleming’s literary canon and not the movies. It’s hard for the authors to separate them, but the goal—to the extent that they can—is to ignore the movies and be true to Fleming. These novels are much more twisty and turn-y than Fleming’s originals. For a biography of Ian Fleming , I would go for the new one, by Nicholas Shakespeare. There’s also a collection of Ian Fleming’s letters, The Man with the Golden Typewriter , edited by his nephew, Fergus Fleming. For the Bond books by Fleming, go with the first one, Casino Royale ."