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It is a wild one. Some of his origin story can be read in John Gardner's Never Send Flowers. The stuff with him falling out of the the attic and bumping his head and being able to hear and speak.
Anyway, I imagine I'm on to a winner here with this novel. David Dragonpol will surely outdo David Brent:
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/lcy-CqwjeNk
Lovely stuff. I can see it now:
Q: The Intern.
Personally I'd rather not have any Bond spin-offs of any kind. I'd much prefer them to just simply focus on the adult Bond and his adventures. Sadly that's the last thing IFP seems to want to do at the minute.
We'll see about IFP and their upcoming projects. They do know how to make surprise announcements. I do know that they have some unannounced projects in the works. Also, keep your eyes open around May 28th (Ian Fleming's birthday). There is an announcement or two around that time, usually. As for characters like Rene Mathis, Kerim Bay and similar characters, I'd rather have them be the lead in a short story before a full novel.
Yes, good point about the 28th May. For just one example, I recall that Devil May Care was published on the day of Fleming's Centenary - 28th May 2008. So hopefully IFP will pull a rabbit out of the hat for literary Bond fans!
It’s possible it hasn’t been their choice; they licensed Bond from Danjaq don't forget.
Yes, that's true. IFP could merely be bowing to external pressure. I find it a bit mad that IFP have to licence Bond from Danjaq. You'd have thought as Fleming created the character originally they could do pretty much as they please. Has it always been the case that Bond is licensed from Danjaq or is this a newer thing? I get the impression it's a newer thing but I could well be wrong.
Although Danjaq obviously had the film rights from the 60s, I think it was since the 90s that they owned the whole thing..? I find the legal stuff a bit hard to follow, but I think Gildrose were still around until the 90s and had literary Bond and then James Bond in its entirety belonged to Danjaq, I'm not sure about that though.
Bear in mind that IFP not only license James Bond, but I think they license Ian Fleming from the Ian Fleming Estate too! :)
I do think the way that Bond hasn't reappeared in print (save for a one-off charity novella) since the whole Amazon hiatus started is quite possibly a coincidence as Horowitz only intended to do three and had just finished, but I could also believe that Eon maybe wanted the character to be taking a bit of a break in the books too.
I know that on May 27th will be the start of the ebook version of The Hook and the Eye. The Felix Leiter novel by Raymond Benson. Maybe a side announcement will be revealed.
I believe that IFP has a new author writing a new book(s). It just hasn't been announced yet. Anthony Horowitz has confirmed (via his interviews with Mark Edlitz in Keeping 007 Alive), he's done.
Again there was that rumor about a modern day bond trilogy which I would of loved but as of current date its just a rumor annoyingly…
I dont get why Amazon and IFP are so afraid of 007
Do you have a link to that rumor, @Risico007 or not? I'd be curious to read it. And yes, I hope that we get some Bond modern day novels that ACTUALLY have Bond in the story.
https://inews.co.uk/news/entertainment/james-bond-is-being-rebooted-for-the-new-world-order-heres-everything-we-know-3580808
You were the one who posted it a few months ago lol
Thank you, my mistake! Lots of things have happened in the real world and the Bond world! Here’s hoping IFP is really cooking something up for us, set in the modern day!
Trust me I know i am about 400 posts behind on the eon sold bond thread and my in laws might have to move in with us due to my father in law not finding a job…. Yeah
Sorry to hear that, @Risico007. I know that there is more to life than Bond and forums. Life gets in the way of our hobbies and interests. Interests like Bond can however be a release valve from work and life tensions. It's all a balancing act. Anyway, I hope things work out for the best for you and yours.
To quote my third favorite spy ethan hunt “Relax its much worse than you think” my wife losing her best friend of 25 years due to an argument, my parents selling my childhood home, my weight staying the same and not losing, both my bands being stuck in the mud for lack a better term
(Also if i had to list my favorite spies I may almost put Macgyver over Bond as at least he has had the same three producers since the 80’s its a tough battle between then especially now with the brilliant books)
I could see some Macgyver influences with Q possibly having make gadgets out of ordinary things on the run. That’s a good comparison @Risico007 best of luck with your in-laws. We are here for you!
I'm sorry to hear that, @Risico007. They say that troubles come in threes. We all go through these rough patches in life at some point or other. I know I have several times now. I sincerely hope that everything will work out for the best for you. I bought the first season of Macgyver on DVD some years ago from an exchange shop. I really must watch it some time as I've heard good things about that show.
I was first shown MacGyver in the mid-2000s in junior high. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed watching it in the background when I worked at a TV station. It also sounds like only the MI6 regulars are the only familiar characters in the book. All other characters are original.
Classification: Gold level (For Your Eyes Only)
Dear colleagues,
I was recently required to attend a special oversight committee where the subject under discussion was the ongoing ‘licence to kill’ enjoyed by MI6’s Double O section. Given that we here at Q Branch serve as chief armourers to the Double Os, my presence was considered expedient. It seems that some are querying the right of our field agents to prosecute their orders with extreme prejudice. Never mind that our foes may be out to destroy the world or that the Double Os themselves are often sent in to face almost certain death in pursuit of their objectives.
The fact is that assassination has long been a vital component of any self-respecting intelligence agency’s toolkit. Indeed, Section 7 of the 1994 Intelligence Services Act explicitly offers protection to field agents involved in actions that might otherwise be considered criminal: bribery, kidnap, torture and murder. And, in 007’s case, blowing things up wholesale. It goes without saying that MI6 employ this licence with great care. The Double Os are surgical operatives, and each kill is properly vetted and authorised.
Nor are we alone in our philosophy. The Americans have long believed in the negotiating power of the gun. During Fidel Castro’s long reign numerous attempts were made by the CIA to bring a full stop to the Cuban leader’s activities. The many colourful assassination methods have gained notoriety in the intelligence community – some of you may recall the Channel 4 documentary 638 Ways to Kill Castro - from exploding cigars to poisonous fountain pens to hired mobsters. My personal favourite: an attempt to destroy Castro’s image by arranging for his shoes to be dusted with thallium salts, the hope being that this would lead to his beard falling out. Not exactly murder, but perhaps even more grievously wounding.
Finally, congratulations to WILL D. for correctly ascertaining the answer to the puzzle in my previous memo, and for being fortunate enough to be picked at random from all the correct entries. The answer, of course, was HAL 9000 (or just HAL), the name of the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the film that inspired David Bowie’s Space Oddity. Below you will find this edition’s puzzle. Good luck!
Sincerely,
Major Boothroyd
Head of Q Branch
P.S. Here is this edition’s puzzle. One ‘winner’ shall be picked at random from all correct entries and will be mentioned in my following memo. MI6 Archives shall rustle up a book to send to you* Pot luck, I’m afraid! Fill in this form to enter... This month’s puzzle is as follows:
What is the name of the deadly handgun that Bond was given (by Major Boothroyd!) in the novel Dr. No?
*UK entrants only, alas!
If anyone gets this riddle wrong, then they clearly aren't a Bond fan. Also, based on the responses on this site, none of the members on here are interested in the book. Which saddens me a bit. The other IFP Bond spinoffs have been generally positively received overall.
I'm sure it is to the kids growing up nowadays. Most of them probably have no idea who James Bond even is. And this spinoff stuff isn't exactly helping to get Bond's name out there.
I genuinely don't know how the title 'Quantum of Menace' got past the editors. It's almost like an AI came up with it (in fact I doubt an AI would come up with anything quite as bad).
But yeah, I'm not quite sure who this is for.
Puns on previous titles should really be avoided when it comes to Bond. It makes the book sound frivolous from the get go. I think this series of mysteries is aimed at those who read the likes of Richard Osman and Rev. Richard Coles, i.e. cosy mysteries. Whether that crosses over into the Bond readership remains to be seen. I don't think I'll be buying this one. Even I have to draw the line somewhere.
To be fair those aren't books I personally read. But it seems to me rather an odd readership to go for anyway with something like this. I mean, the Young Bond series - whatever one might think of those books - make more sense in this area. They're young adult novels that feature Bond, and the teens that read them may well be introduced to the literary or cinematic series through those books.
This on the other hand... well, it's all very strange to me.
Towards the end of the Sunday Times piece:
No it hasn't. I think the Sunday Times released some information earlier than expected.