AUTHOR Sebastian Faulks has written a new James Bond novel to be published 42 years after Ian Fleming's last superspy adventure, it was announced yesterday. The British novelist, famous for wartime tales Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, was selected by the estate of the late 007 author. Devil May Care, the 15th Bond adventure, is set in the Cold War.
The action is played out across two continents, exotic locations, and "several of the world's most thrilling cities". The book will be published on May 28 next year to mark the centenary of Fleming's birth. No announcements are being made on whether it will be turned into a film, but Bond film producer Barbara Broccoli said the manuscript was so convincing she would have believed it had been found in a dusty corner of Fleming's basement if that is what she had been told.
Spy writers John Le Carre and Frederick Forsyth were tipped as favourites to write the new book after the Fleming estate announced last year that it had commissioned a "well known and highly respected" writer for the task. But it kept the scribe's identity shrouded in secrecy until yesterday. The last of Fleming's 14 books about the suave secret agent was Octopussy and the Living Daylights, published in 1966, two years after his death.
The first was the 1953 book Casino Royale, made into a movie last year with Daniel Craig. Faulks, 54, said his new book was "about 80 per cent Fleming" and admitted being "surprised" that he was the estate's choice. He said: "I was surprised but flattered to be asked by the Fleming estate last summer if I would write a one-off Bond book for the Ian Fleming centenary.
"I told them that I hadn't read the books since the age of 13, but if, when I re-read them, I still enjoyed them and could see how I might be able to do something in the same vein, then I would be happy to consider it. "On re-reading, I was surprised by how well the books stood up." The book will be published by Penguin in Britain and Doubleday in America.
What do you think? Register to have your say on this story. AUTHOR Sebastian Faulks has written a new James Bond novel to be published 42 years after Ian Fleming's last superspy adventure, it was announced yesterday.
News RSS