Solo: William Boyd's new Bond novel title revealed.

gt007gt007 Station G
edited April 2013 in News Posts: 1,182
William Boyd revealed the title for his new James Bond book at the London Book Fair this morning.
The new book will be titled 'Solo'.

SOLO-holding-cover-book-cover.jpg


Edit: Cover added.
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Comments

  • Posts: 57
    Disappointing. Was looking for a more unique title. :(
  • Posts: 101
    It's not as though you could read it anyway :))
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Sounds like a weak title to me.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    It's not as though you could read it anyway :))

    Troll or not - thats actually pretty funny.

    Pretty feeble title though.

    Not a patch on Carte Blanche or even Devil May Care. Lets hope that this means it reverses the current trend of good title = weak book.
  • gt007gt007 Station G
    Posts: 1,182
    Here's the cover:

    bh4ybnqciamjz4mjpglarge.th.jpg
  • Storey line sounds very much like a Licence To Kill theme. The SOLO 007 logo for the front could be good
  • gt007 wrote:
    Here's the cover:

    bh4ybnqciamjz4mjpglarge.th.jpg

    If that is the cover then my idea of a 007 link in the title goes down the pan.

    Another idea is that the Bond producers were trying to get Skyfall filming in Africa, very early on in the planning. This fell through, obviously, but could the setting in South Africa be a plan to get this book turned into a film. Bond is 45 years old, around what Daniel Craig is?
  • gt007gt007 Station G
    Posts: 1,182
    And here's the official Press Release, as posted on MI6:

    Press Release
    William Boyd, whose James Bond continuation novel is set to be one of this year’s publishing highlights, has today announced that his book will be called Solo.

    The announcement came on the opening day of The London Book Fair, where Boyd is Author of the Day.

    He explained his choice of title:

    ‘Sometimes less is more. For me as a novelist the simple beauty of Solo as the title of the next James Bond novel is that this short four-letter word is particularly and strikingly apt for the novel I have written. In my novel, events conspire to make Bond go off on a self-appointed mission of his own, unannounced and without any authorization - and he’s fully prepared to take the consequences of his audacity.

    ‘The journey Bond goes on takes in three continents – with the main focus honing in on Africa. It’s what happens to Bond in Africa that generates his urge to “go solo” and take matters into his own hands in the USA.

    ‘Thus far and no further, at this stage…’

    He continues: ‘Titles are very important to me and as soon as I wrote down Solo on a sheet of paper I saw its potential. Not only did it fit the theme of the novel perfectly, it’s also a great punchy word, instantly and internationally comprehensible, graphically alluring and, as an extra bonus, it’s strangely Bondian in the sense that we might be subliminally aware of the “00” of “007” lurking just behind those juxtaposed O’s of SOLO…’

    Very little else has been revealed about the book at this stage, other than that it will feature a veteran secret agent, with Bond aged 45. It will be published on 26 September in the UK by Fleming’s original publisher, Jonathan Cape, an imprint of Vintage Publishing, part of The Random House Group, in hardback, ebook and audio editions. HarperCollins will publish the book in Canada and the U.S. on 8 October.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    Even if it's a bit underwhelming, it's nice to have a title at last.
  • Posts: 9,730
    Lame title.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    It's not a great title but I like it for it's simplicity and hope that the story itself is great enough to not only entertain and put a smile on my face (the last Bond book to that was Higson's by royal command) but to add a deeper sense of significance to the title.
  • Posts: 7,653
    I do not mind the title, it is the book I am curious about. If it is a great novel then nobody minds the title really.
  • doubleonothingdoubleonothing Los Angeles Moderator
    Posts: 864
    I was at the event this morning.

    Boyd certainly seems passionate enough about Bond. I hope this passion translates into a fantastic book.

    Solo seems as though it will be a continuation novel in the truest sense of the word, with it fitting in with Fleming's chronology.

    There will be two female characters in the novel whom Bond will get to know, and there will also be a car - although the gadgets will be thin on the ground.

    The year it is set, 1969, is significant to the plot, too. The geopolitical situation of that year will come into play.

    Bond will travel from Europe to Africa and then on to America. Boyd hints that the title "solo" will have some reference to what happens to him in Africa.

    Anyway, more will be up on the main site soon.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    It's not a bad title and could mean many things, maybe the name of something as well as how Bond handles the mission.

    As has been said, it's the novel itself that really matters. It better be good.
  • edited April 2013 Posts: 2,594
    As long as the story is good...

    The title isn't overhelming but it's simplicity amd meaning does create an air of mystery. Atleast it's not some known saying like 'Devil May Care' or 'Carte Blanche'. I do have confidence in this book. I'm all for some rich character movement with some welcome doses of psychology. I welcome more than what Fleming gave us. I hope Boyd is given some freedom regarding detail and that he isn't made to cut too much out. I like how Bond will be returning to the USA. I wonder what city. Anywhere outside of the state of California would be good.

    Don't know why Bond has to continually globe trot though in these modern Bond thrillers.

  • edited April 2013 Posts: 1,407
    Hey as long as the book is well written and entertaining. Devil May Care did not impress me and while I enjoyed Carte Blanche (still would have preferred a new book in that continuinity) I did have some problems with it. So even with an underwhelming title (it's not terrible) I'll be really looking forward to this

    EDIT. Also I'm hoping that Bond returning to the USA finally means him coming to Chicago. My home town would be perfect for Bond. At least that's what I've always thought. Was very surprised Raymond Benson never put Bond there as he lives in the same suburb I do (which is mentioned in Never Dream of Dying)
  • Posts: 136
    Hmm. Bit lame - although the graphic designers will have a field day with the double 'O's...

    I don't know why the books (continued) can't nail titles - the previous two both had cliche phrases (as opposed to a Fleming twist of a phrase). And this one is just a bit...blank

    Still, the quality of the books is pretty good. I enjoyed Devil, though know some did not, and I really liked the Deaver one. I'm pretty sure this will be a good read.

    Thinking about it, Charlie Higson is the only one who has delivered some very Bondian titles....
  • Posts: 2,594
    Yeah, Higson know his (Bond) stuff. The only one to deliver Bondian titles post Benson.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited April 2013 Posts: 13,350
    I wonder if Boyd will write another book? Or will it be back to someone else after another three year wait?
  • Posts: 1,407
    Samuel001 wrote:
    I wonder if Boyd will write another book? Or will it be back to someone else after another three year wait?
    IFP needs to get a new continuation writer. I don't mind the jump back to the 60s again but we do need some continuity. Sign someone up for a minimum of 3 books
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,417
    I thought it was a crossover with "The Man With U.N.C.L.E"....
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited April 2013 Posts: 13,350
    bondbat007 wrote:
    Samuel001 wrote:
    I wonder if Boyd will write another book? Or will it be back to someone else after another three year wait?
    IFP needs to get a new continuation writer. I don't mind the jump back to the 60s again but we do need some continuity. Sign someone up for a minimum of 3 books

    Knowing our luck, next time it will be a present day novel set in 2016!

    I agree, a sense of continuation for the novels would be nice again.
  • Monsieur_AubergineMonsieur_Aubergine Top of the Eiffel Tower with a fly in my soup!
    Posts: 642
    I wonder if Goldfinger ever did retrieve his gold from the late Mr. 'Solo' ? Theres the premise right there. :-)
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    This is very interesting indeed. I wait to read this novel with great relish, and hope that Boyd's eloquence in speech and passion for Bond translates into a cracking story. I will try my best to go into it mostly fresh, but I do look forward to purchasing this come September.
  • MrcogginsMrcoggins Following in the footsteps of Quentin Quigley.
    Posts: 3,144
    Try as I might I can't help but think of the Man From UNCLE
    Anyway I have it on order from Amazon and will have to wait and see.
  • Title uninspiring. Cover very lacklustre. Should hopefully be a great read then! Ah well, time will tell.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    A simple name, but an intriguing one. But what really matter is that the content is good! I loved the name and the cover of Devil May Care and I hatted the content so perhaps they are inversely correlated?!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,368
    Bad title and cover, but I'm still looking forward to reading it.
  • Sandy wrote:
    A simple name, but an intriguing one. But what really matter is that the content is good! I loved the name and the cover of Devil May Care and I hatted the content so perhaps they are inversely correlated?!

    Hopefully. That's a good theory to go with.
  • Connotations with Goldfinger, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Star Wars. And, er, that 1981 Felicity Kendal/Carla Lane sitcom. The latter, I'm sure, will cause the most confusion. Especially if Bond is playing a woman who changes her life after discovering her live-in boyfriend has had an affair. (Thanks, Wikipedia)
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