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Literary Tag


Pile of Bond Books - Fleming

James Bond originated in the novels and short stories of Ian Fleming, and between 1953 and his death in 1964, he had written fourteen books. Since then no less than six other writers have contributed to the series which Fleming started, bringing the total up to forty books, licenced by the Fleming estate. As with the films, and other media, some of these stick far closer to Fleming's original vision than others.

Ian dog

Ian Fleming at work

There is now a wide world of Bond media including films, comic strips, comic books, and video games. The various Post-Fleming continuation authors (1968-present) created their own separate literary continuities, whose only connection to one another is often Fleming's original novels.

Several novelizations, a number of spin-off books, film tie ins, short stories, and anthologies have also been published.

History[]

Fleming[]

After serving in the British Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, Fleming was inspired to write a novel about an international spy. Fleming bragged to his friends about how good he believed the book would be.

BondBirdsWestIndies

A nod to the original James Bond and his book "Birds of the West Indies" as featured in Die Another Day

Fleming spent much of his time in Jamaica, and was a keen birdwatcher. He derived the name of his character from an American bird expert whose book on Caribbean birds he had enjoyed, and considered it to be bland yet masculine sounding.

Fleming gave the James Bond character some of his personal interests, including international travel, golf and gambling. He began writing his first Bond novel in 1952 in Jamaica over two months to take his mind off his upcoming wedding and pregnant fiancé. Casino Royale was published in 1953 to moderate reviews but great sales in the UK. It catered to a lot of wish fulfilment there, not just because of its beautiful women and exciting storyline, but also because Britain was still under rationing in the early fifties. The war itself had ended over five years earlier, but Britain was still littered with bomb sites and debt - Fleming's novel allowed ordinary people to enter a world of luxury, where characters drove fast cars, travelled the world, ate caviar and drank champagne.

Fleming, whose full time job was a foreign manager for a UK newspaper, used his annual three-month holiday to write each Bond book. This resulted in 1954's Live and Let Die, 1955's Moonraker, 1956's Diamonds Are Forever, 1957's From Russia with Love, 1958's Dr. No, 1959's Goldfinger, 1960's For Your Eyes Only -- a collection of short Bond stories -- 1961's Thunderball, 1962's The Spy Who Loved Me, 1963's On Her Magesty's Secret Service, and 1964's You Only Live Twice. Fleming was a heavy drinker and smoker and suffered heart disease. He suffered his first heart attack in 1961 and a fatal heart attack in August 1964. His final two books, 1965's The Man with the Golden Gun and 1966's collection of short stories Octopussy and The Living Daylights were published posthumously.

However, Fleming did live to see some of his work onscreen. He was apparently very impressed with Sean Connery in the role, and the films, and their influence affected the latter novels. Only Fleming's works were directly adapted for the screen, although other novelists have influenced later films. From the beginning, major changes were made to his work - the first TV adaptation of Casino Royale, Fleming's first novel, made Bond an American, and its first cinematic adaptation in 1967 departed from the novel even more, venturing into sixties psychedelia, slapstick and parodies of German Expressionism. Eon productions proclaim themselves as the official Bond film series, but while Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Goldfinger stayed reasonably faithful to the source material, Eon veered away from it after Fleming's death, with the likes of Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker owing very little to the original novels. As fashions and attitudes have changed, Bond films have also moved far away from Fleming's original conceptions.

Gildrose Publications[]

Kingsley Amis

Kingsley Amis

With the success and fortune found by Casino Royale, Fleming purchased the small publication company Gildrose Publications, which had only published his novel. Gildrose, latered renamed Ian Fleming Publications in 1999, continues to license the Bond franchise to this day, and to expand the literary catalogue.

Gildrose had planned on having several authors use the pen name "Robert Markham" to continue to produce more Bond books but this idea was scrapped after just one work, Colonel Sun, was written by English author and Bond fan Kingsley Amis in 1968. Amis was already a highly respected novelist by the time he came to Bond. When he wrote a short story about an elderly Bond returning in a time of crisis he was refused permission to publish it.

Gildrose produced two novelizations to the EON films, James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me and James Bond and Moonraker in 1977 and 1979, respectively, written by Christopher Wood.

DSCF0137

John Gardner

Gardner[]

After a thirteen year hiatus of original content (and recently after the death of Anne Charteris, Fleming's wife) Gildrose contracted John Gardner to come up with several new Bond novels and to bring Bond into the 1980s. In 1981 Licence Renewed was published to mediocre critical response and sales. Nevertheless Gardner wrote a total of sixteen Bond novels, including two novelizations of feature films. In 1996 Gardner published his last Bond book, COLD.

Raymond Benson

Raymond Benson

Benson[]

After Gardner's departure, Raymond Benson was contracted by Gildrose to continue the Bond story. Some fans accused Benson of Americanising the stories, but Benson also attempted to return to a more Flemingesque flavour than Gardner had provided.

Benson wrote six original Bond novels, starting with 1997's Zero Minus Ten. Benson's novels, like Gardner's, featured James Bond in a contemporary setting. He also wrote three film novelisations and three Bond short stories. In 2002, Benson left the Bond series. He is, to date, the only post-Fleming author to have had any Bond short stories published.

Faulks1

Sebastian Faulks

2000's (21st Century)[]

Ian Fleming Publications then asked British author Sebastian Faulks to pen a new Bond novel in the early 2000s. Faulks delivered a novel in 2008 entitled Devil May Care, which was set in the 1960s; this was a break from the contemporary settings which Gardner and Benson had attempted.

Faulks chose to not continue and was replaced with American author Jeffery Deaver who penned Carte Blanche in 2011 as a reboot of the character, returning to a modern setting.

In 2013 Ian Fleming Publications announced that William Boyd would write the thirty-eighth Bond book in time for the 60th literary anniversary. Solo was released in September 2013 in the UK and October 2013 in the US.

In 2014 it was announced that Anthony Horowitz would write the thirty-ninth Bond novel. He would be using previously unreleased material by Fleming as an inspiration. This would take the form of several plot treatments for a James Bond television series that was never made, many if which had previously been used as the basis of the short stories that formed the collections For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy and The Living Daylights. The book entitled Trigger Mortis was released in September 2015.

After a positive reaction to the novel, Horowitz was announced as writing a further Bond novel (also utilising material from Fleming) which released in 2018.[1] In February of that year it was announced that the new novel Forever and a Day would serve as a prequel to Casino Royale, adding to the list of authors writing period pieces to better fit into Fleming's world as opposed to bringing Bond forward into the modern era.

Entering the new decade, Ian Fleming Publications issued a message on social media about upcoming projects. They expressed a desire to bring new voices into the franchise with authors from varying backgrounds, and in 2021 it was announced that for the first time since 2008, a spin-off series was to be produced alongside a third continuation novel by Horowitz. The spin-off series, currently titled "Double 0" is set to have three entries written by novelist Kim Sherwood; the first of these was published in 2022 and was notable for being the first novel set in the Bond universe not to feature Bond. Charlie Higson will be writing a new adult Bond novel On His Majesty's Secret Service. It is due in May 2023. It has been commissioned to Celebrate King Charles’ Coronation. It is unknown if he will write another novel.

In February 2023, it was announced that new editions of the Fleming Bond novels would be published to mark the franchise's 70th anniversary. Controversially, aside from having content disclaimers added to the books, the series will undergo editing and expurgating to remove references considered offensive to modern-day readers.[2][3]

List of books[]

# Title Year Author Cover Artist
1 Casino Royale (First Edition) Casino Royale 1953 Ian Fleming Ian Fleming
2 Live And Let Die (1st Edition) Live and Let Die 1954 Kenneth Lewis
3 Moonraker (1st Edition) Moonraker 1955
4 Diamonds Are Forever (First Edition) Diamonds Are Forever 1956 Pat Marriott
5 From Russia, With Love (1st Edition Cover) From Russia with Love 1957 Richard Chopping
6 Dr No First Edition Dr. No 1958 Pat Marriott
7 Goldfinger (novel) first edition Goldfinger 1959 Richard Chopping
8 ForYourEyesOnlyBook For Your Eyes Only (short stories) 1960
9 Thunderball (1st Edition) Thunderball 1961
10 The Spy Who Loved Me (First Edition) The Spy Who Loved Me 1962
11 On Her Majesty's Secret Service (First Edition) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1963
12 You Only Live Twice (1st Edition) You Only Live Twice 1964
13 The Man With The Golden Gun (First Edition) The Man with the Golden Gun 1965
14 Octopussy & The Living Daylights (First Edition) Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories) 1966
15 Colonel Sun (First Edition) Colonel Sun 1968 Kingsley Amis Tom Adams
16 LicenceRenewed Licence Renewed 1981 John Gardner Richard Chopping
17 ForSpecialServices For Special Services 1982 Bill Botten
18 Icebreaker Icebreaker 1983
19 RoleOfHonour Role of Honour 1984 Trevor Scobie
20 NobodyLiveForever Nobody Lives For Ever 1986
21 NoDealsMrBond No Deals, Mr. Bond 1987
22 Scorpius (1st Edition, Hodder & Stoughton) Scorpius 1988
23 WinLoseOrDie Win, Lose or Die 1989
24 Brokenclaw (1st Edition, Hodder & Stoughton) Brokenclaw 1990
25 Gardneruk 10 The Man from Barbarossa 1991
26 Death is Forever (1st Edition, Hodder & Stoughton) Death is Forever 1992
27 Never Send Flowers (1st Edition, Hodder & Stoughton) Never Send Flowers 1993
28 SeaFire SeaFire 1994 David Scutt
29 COLD (Berkley Books American paperback) COLD 1996
30 Zero Minus Ten (1998 paperback) Zero Minus Ten 1997 Raymond Benson
31 Facts of Death (1998 Coronet paperback) The Facts of Death 1998
32 High Time to Kill (1999 Coronet Books paperback) High Time to Kill 1999
33 Doubleshot (2000 Coronet Books paperback) Doubleshot 2000
34 Never Dream of Dying (1st edition cover) Never Dream of Dying 2001 Steve Stone
35 The Man with the Red Tattoo (1st edition cover) The Man with the Red Tattoo 2002
36 Devil May Care (First Edition) Devil May Care 2008 Sebastian Faulks Kevin Summers
37 Carte Blanche (First Edition) Carte Blanche 2011 Jeffery Deaver
38 Solo 1st ed Solo 2013 William Boyd Suzanne Dean
39 Triggermortis Trigger Mortis 2015 Anthony Horowitz Joy Cohn
40 180303-forever-day-cover-uk Forever and a Day 2018 James Iacobelli
41 Horowitz Bond III teaser With a Mind to Kill 2022 TBA

List of novelisations[]

Title Year Author Cover Artist
Jbtswlm James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Christopher Wood Bill Botten
Jbam James Bond and Moonraker 1979
Licence to Kill paperback (Coronet Books) Licence to Kill 1989 John Gardner Keith Hamshere
Goldeneye 1995 big GoldenEye 1995 Terry O'Neill
TomorrowNeverDiesNovel Tomorrow Never Dies 1997 Raymond Benson
World The World is Not Enough 1999
DAD novel Die Another Day 2002

List of spin-off works[]

Title Year Series Author
003 cover 003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior 1967 R. D. Mascott
James Bond - The Authorised Biography (Sidgwick & Jackson) James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 1973 John Pearson
James Bond in Win Place or Die James Bond in Win, Place or Die 1985 Find Your Fate R. L. Stine
James Bond in Strike It Deadly James Bond in Strike It Deadly Barbara Siegel & Scott Siegel
James Bond in Programmed for Danger James Bond in Programmed for Danger Jean M. Favors
James Bond in Barracuda Run James Bond in Barracuda Run Steven Otfinoski
007SilverFin SilverFin 2005 Young Bond Charlie Higson
BloodFever Blood Fever 2006
DoubleorDie Double or Die 2007
Hurricane Gold Hurricane Gold
By Royal Command By Royal Command 2008
Shoot to Kill paperback Shoot to Kill 2013 Steve Cole
Heads You Die Heads You Die 2016
Strike Lightning Paperback Strike Lightning
Red Nemesis Paperback Red Nemesis 2017
Guardian Angel -- The Moneypenny Diaries Guardian Angel 2005 The Moneypenny Diaries Samantha Weinberg
Secret Servant -- The Moneypenny Diaries Secret Servant 2006
Final Fling -- The Moneypenny Diaries Final Fling 2008
Double O book 1 teaser Double or Nothing 2022 Double O Kim Sherwood

Continuities[]


Pearson Biography
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Young Bond
   
   
James Bond Origin
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Ian Fleming novels
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Kingsley Amis novel
   
   
Christopher Wood novels
   
   
John Gardner novels
   
   
Raymond Benson novels
   
   
The Moneypenny Diaries
   
   
Sebastian Faulks novel
   
   
Anthony Horowitz novels
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
William Boyd novel
   
   
   
   

References[]

  1. "Anthony Horowitz to Write the New James Bond Novel", Ian Fleming Publications, 4 October 2016. Retrieved on 5 January 2017. 
  2. Simpson, Craig. "James Bond books edited to remove racist references", The Telegraph, 25 February 2023. Retrieved on 3 March 2023. 
  3. Crumlish, Callum. "James Bond fans rage at Ian Fleming book 'censorship' - 'Give me a break!'", Daily Express, 27 February 2023. Retrieved on 3 March 2023. 
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