Who Should Write the Next Bond Continuation Novel?

007InVT007InVT Classified
edited February 2014 in Literary 007 Posts: 893
My clear choice for this right now is Charles Cumming.

He's ex-MI5; has written cracking spy thrillers with 'Trinity Six'; 'A Foreign Country'; 'Typhoon' and 'A Spy By Nature'; he's a fan of Fleming and all the great spy novelists such as Greene, Le Carre and Ambler.

He gets my vote.

Other considerations?

Stella Rimington - a woman writing a Bond novel for a change?
Alan Furst
William Boyd - Again?
Charlie Higson - Of Young Bond fame
Ian McEwan
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Comments

  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Andy McNab
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.
  • If it has to be done, let David Stone do it. Provided he still lives.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).
  • edited February 2014 Posts: 12,837
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).

    Are those worth reading? I watched Stormbreaker a few weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good.
  • Posts: 7,653
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).

    That is perhaps the best reason for him not doing any Young Bond novels, but have him take a shot at an adult 007 novel. I did enjoy his House of Silk.

  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).

    Are those worth reading? I watched Stormbreaker a few weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good.

    I feel they are. Take everything you like about James Bond, hand it off to a 14 year old kid, there you go.
  • Posts: 1,478
    Probably someone who's a regular contributor to this website.
  • CrabKey wrote:
    Probably someone who's a regular contributor to this website.

    That sounds mad, but you actually make a good point. Hence, rather than going for a "name" author or a prestigious author, the Fleming estate would do better to find a writer--no matter how obscure--who actually understands and loves Fleming's Bond.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).

    Are those worth reading? I watched Stormbreaker a few weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good.

    They are great books that actually have a very good story arc, however once you read them you will hate what they did to the Stormbreaker film. I know I did.
  • Thanks guys, I've downloaded the first one on my kindle. I'll start reading it soon :)
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).

    Are those worth reading? I watched Stormbreaker a few weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good.

    They are great books that actually have a very good story arc, however once you read them you will hate what they did to the Stormbreaker film. I know I did.

    What, exactly, do you speak of? I love the books and the film.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    I remember the SB film being garbage. However, there were some interesting casting choices.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    With the exception of Alex Pettyfer looking a little too tall for a 14 year old, I didn't find a problem with the cast. The first ten minutes made me want to see a prequel with Ewan McGreggor being a badass superspy.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Give it to Anthony Horowitz. He's a huge fan of Fleming. His Alex Rider books were essentially Young Bond books, and he did a cracking job with the Sherlock Holmes novel "House of Silk", maintaining Conan Doyle's style while infusing it with his own. He'd do a respectable job with Fleming.

    He would probably be the best choice. He would probably have been the best choice for the Young Bond books (Alex Rider feels more like novels about a young Bond than the Young Bond novels do).

    Are those worth reading? I watched Stormbreaker a few weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good.

    They are great books that actually have a very good story arc, however once you read them you will hate what they did to the Stormbreaker film. I know I did.

    What, exactly, do you speak of? I love the books and the film.


    The overall general tone of the film which was more akin to Agent Cody Banks than James Bond. The forced inclusion of the Sabina character even though there was absolutely no need for her to be there. The transformation of Alan Blunt from a socially awkward but deadly serious intelligence officer to a bumbling idiot. Damian Lewis was pretty much the only casting choice that was bang on the money.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    edited February 2014 Posts: 7,854
    The overall general tone of the film which was more akin to Agent Cody Banks than James Bond. The forced inclusion of the Sabina character even though there was absolutely no need for her to be there. The transformation of Alan Blunt from a socially awkward but deadly serious intelligence officer to a bumbling idiot. Damian Lewis was pretty much the only casting choice that was bang on the money.

    I've never seen Agent Cody Banks (and I do not regret that decision in any way), so I can't speak for the tone of the film. It may just come with the territory, making a film about a teenage spy. I'm certain Sabina was placed in the film (remember, Horowitz was actually the film's screenwriter) to set up her character in further films. Her introduction in Skeleton Key was pretty much, "Hey, Alex has been here a while and he made a friend!" No real weight behind it, and then she becomes an important character. Alan Blunt seemed pretty socially awkward to me, just based on his speech patterns and his movements. Bumbling... yeah, maybe. Perhaps you could just blame that on Bill Nighy's acting. And I am so going to disagree with you about the casting. Damian Lewis, yes, was perfect. But so was Ewan McGreggor. May have been a small part, but he did great in it. Mickey Roarke was great as Sayle (though I don't really understand why they changed his character from Egyptian to American; maybe Roarke's casting affected it, I don't know), and Stephen Fry makes the perfect Q... okay, maybe he's wrong for the character he's playing (which I will say nothing more about, because of spoilers), but he was a great gadget master.

    And now, I'm going to stop, because maybe we should make an Alex Rider thread.
  • edited February 2014 Posts: 12,837
    Like I said, I haven't read the books yet, but I didn't really like Damian Lewis in Stormbreaker. Good actor and cool character (love the bit where he shot the fork lift driver for dropping one of the computers) but I thought that he was unconvincing, his Russian accent sounded naff imo. Bill Nighy I thought was great. Maybe he's different to the original character but I thought he was funny, if a bit OTT.

    I liked Stormbreaker. It was pretty much just a Bond film but with a teenager. There were some cheesey, crap bits that didn't even need to be in the film (what was the point in the horse riding bit? Or the Oddjob rip off at the end? Or that fight scene in the house with the American girl?) but overall I thought it was fun.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    I liked Stormbreaker. It was pretty much just a Bond film but with a teenager. There were some cheesey, crap bits that didn't even need to be in the film (what was the point in the horse riding bit? Or the Oddjob rip off at the end? Or that fight scene in the house with the American girl?) but overall I thought it was fun.

    The horse riding bit (so I've heard) is because Alex couldn't legally drive a car, so they couldn't have a car chase between Alex and Sayle.

    The Oddjob rip off, probably just to have an Oddjob rip off get his nuts kicked twice.

    The fight scene with Jack (American girl) and the German woman, probably just to have a chick fight to appeal to men (what can I say, it worked, but then again, I like Alicia Silverstone, not much of an actress, but damn fine to look at).
  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    Well that got off-topic!
  • edited February 2014 Posts: 12,837
    I liked Stormbreaker. It was pretty much just a Bond film but with a teenager. There were some cheesey, crap bits that didn't even need to be in the film (what was the point in the horse riding bit? Or the Oddjob rip off at the end? Or that fight scene in the house with the American girl?) but overall I thought it was fun.

    The horse riding bit (so I've heard) is because Alex couldn't legally drive a car, so they couldn't have a car chase between Alex and Sayle.

    The Oddjob rip off, probably just to have an Oddjob rip off get his nuts kicked twice.

    The fight scene with Jack (American girl) and the German woman, probably just to have a chick fight to appeal to men (what can I say, it worked, but then again, I like Alicia Silverstone, not much of an actress, but damn fine to look at).

    Oh she's fit, don't get me wrong, but that whole bit was just really cheesey imo, especially when the German woman started doing the karate poses.
  • edited March 2014 Posts: 802
    007InVT wrote:
    My clear choice for this right now is Charles Cumming.

    He's ex-MI5; has written cracking spy thrillers with 'Trinity Six'; 'A Foreign Country'; 'Typhoon' and 'A Spy By Nature'; he's a fan of Fleming and all the great spy novelists such as Greene, Le Carre and Ambler.

    I think @007InVT has it cracked with Cumming if it is going to be a contemporary Bond.
    I say this because Charles knows the modern technology of spying and he manages to incorporate it into his works without loosing suspense, character or narrative flow.
    If Bond is to continue in the '60s, I would go for Andrew Horowitz (the 'House Of Silk' is fabulous) or Alan Furst who is, without doubt today's Eric Ambler.
    All of that said, the best idea for the next adult continuation is to have Charlie Higson take us through Bond's war and up to 'Casino Royale'. There must be a trilogy in that?
    As for another one from Boyd - I'll die with my leg up before he'll see any more of my money after the last debacle!
  • Posts: 802
    Although I'd vote for Charlie Cumming as a contemporary Bond continuation author a close second, if Bond is to be set in modern times, would be Barry Eisler.
    Eisler is the writer of the great 'John Rain' series and he is extremely Flemingesque in his approach. His books are terrific. Laced with sex, violence and spookery. Great stuff!
  • Posts: 802
    Coincidently, having added the above, I've just read Eisler's latest Rain novel; 'Graveyard Of Memories'. It's the eight in the series and is actually a prequel to the other seven. All of which detail John Rain's life as a freelance assassin in chronological order.
    Apart from being a great book in its own right (think Trevanian, Le Carre, Fleming on steroids) it's a fabulous mechanism to introduce new readers who will doubtless go on to buy the others.
    Why on earth don't IFP do the intelligent and obvious thing by getting Higson, Cumming or Eisler to write a prequel to 'Casino Royale'?
    If the artistic merits of this route don't resonate with them, perhaps their insatiable appetite for our wonga will lead them to see the commercial advantages!
  • Posts: 2,483
    Two wongas don't make a right.
  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    I like the prequel idea.

    I'll have to give Eisler a try soon.
  • Posts: 7,653
    007InVT wrote:
    I like the prequel idea.

    It is called the Young Bond series and has with Charlie Higson already 5 installments, and a new one coming up soon by Stephen Cole.

  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    @SaintMark - I understand that; was thinking the build up or year before to CR unless you're saying Higson does just that?
  • Posts: 802
    SaintMark wrote:
    007InVT wrote:
    I like the prequel idea.

    It is called the Young Bond series and has with Charlie Higson already 5 installments, and a new one coming up soon by Stephen Cole.

    Young Bond by Higson was terrific but was 'Young'. Obviously we are talking adult prequel in this context.
    Featuring a young, dynamic Bond in his '20s.
  • Posts: 7,653
    007InVT wrote:
    @SaintMark - I understand that; was thinking the build up or year before to CR unless you're saying Higson does just that?

    In one of the Young Bonds there was a short chapter with James Bond as a youngish secret agent. It read nicely and I would not have minded Higson doing 007 in the beginning of his carreer. Especially as he got the period feel down very well.

  • edited May 2014 Posts: 14,800
    Nobody.
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