James Bond 007 Blog

This might be old news to some of you, but with the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming’s birth coming up at the end of the month, Doubleday is releasing a new James Bond novel, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks.

What I find interesting about this book is that rather than putting Bond in the present day, as all the post-Fleming Bond novels have been, Devil May Care is set in the cold war, picking up where Fleming left off in 1966 with Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

The author, acclaimed novelist Sebastian Faulks, is best known for his award-winning French trilogy The Girl at the Lion d’Or, Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, was hand-picked by the Fleming estate to pen the novel in Fleming’s voice. The book is meant to read like vintage Fleming: exciting, sexy, action-packed—everything you would expect from the classic James Bond series.

Here are some thoughts from Faulks on being chosen to carry on the 007 legacy:

I was surprised but flattered to be asked by Ian Fleming publications 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. I put this down to three things: the sense of jeopardy Fleming creates about his solitary hero; a certain playfulness in the narrative details; and a crisp, journalistic style that hasn’t dated.

I developed a prose that is about 80 percent Fleming, I didn’t go the final distance for fear of straying into pastiche, but I strictly observed his rules of chapter and sentence construction. My novel is meant to stand in the line of Fleming’s own books, where the story is everything.

I’m a little nervous about someone trying to expressly write “as” Ian Fleming, but Faulks apparently realizes that this would be impossible and is making sure to go for a balance of Fleming’s style with his own twists.

Hopefully I’ll be getting a copy in a little bit and will share with you the latest Bond adventure. I’m also hoping to get a few copies to be used in a contest giveaway for the site, so stay tuned!

Doubleday Official site of Devil May Care

Penguin Books Official Site of Devil May Care