| James Bond | |
|---|---|
| James Bond, 007 character | |
Ian Fleming's image of James Bond; commissioned to aid the Daily Express comic strip artists. |
|
| First appearance | Casino Royale, 1953 novel |
| Last appearance | Carte Blanche, 2011 novel |
| Created by | Ian Fleming |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | 00 Agent |
| Title | Commander (Royal Naval Reserve) |
| Family | Andrew Bond (Father) Monique Delacroix Bond (Mother) |
| Spouse(s) | Teresa di Vicenzo (widowed) Harriett Horner (invalid) |
| Significant other(s) | Kissy Suzuki |
| Children | James Suzuki Bond (son with Kissy) |
| Relatives | Charmian Bond (Aunt) Max Bond (Uncle) |
| Nationality | British |
James Bond, is the fictional protagonist of a series of novels and short stories, first published in 1953. Bond, often referred to by his code name, 007, is a British Secret Service agent; the character was created by journalist and author Ian Fleming, and first appeared in his 1953 novel, Casino Royale; the books are set in a contemporary period, between May 1951 and February 1964. Fleming went on to write a total of twelve novels and two collections of short stories, all written at his Jamaican home Goldeneye and published annually. Two of his books were published after his death in 1964.
Since Fleming's death a number of other authors have written continuation works. Some of these have been novelizations of episodes in the series of Bond films, produced by Eon Productions, whilst others were either continuation novels or short stories. The first author was Kingsley Amis, writing under the pseudonym of "Robert Markham" who produced one novel; he was followed by screenwriter Christopher Wood who write two novelizations in the late 1970s. Writer John Gardner was asked to continue the series and between 1981 and 1996, Gardner wrote fourteen novels and two novelizations. After he retired due to ill health, American author Raymond Benson continued the stories and wrote six Bond novels, three novelizations and three short stories between 1996 and 2002.
There was a hiatus of six years before Sebastian Faulks was commissioned to write a further Bond novel, which was released on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth. This was followed, in 2011, by a novel by American author Jeffery Deaver.
There has also been a spin-off series of books, Young Bond, based around Bond's adventures whilst a schoolboy at Eton College.
Contents |
During the Second World War Fleming had mentioned to friends that he wanted to write a spy novel,[1] but it was not until 17 February 1952 that he began to write his first novel, Casino Royale. He started writing his book at his Jamaican home Goldeneye, typing out 2,000 words in the morning, directly from his own experiences and imagination;[2] he finished work on the script in just over two months,[3] completing it on 18 March 1952.[4] At the time, Fleming was the Foreign Manager for Kemsley Newspapers, an organisation which owned The Sunday Times. Upon accepting the job, Fleming requested that he be allowed three months holiday per year.[1] Publishers Jonathan Cape were initially reluctant to publish the book, but were persuaded by Fleming's brother Peter (1907–1971), who had previously published material through them.[5] On 13 April 1953 Casino Royale was released in the UK in hardcover, priced at 10s, 6d,[6] with a cover that had been devised by Fleming himself.[7] 4,728 copies of Casino Royale were printed, selling out in less than a month;[7] a second print run the same month also sold out,[6] as did a third run of more than 8,000 books published in May 1954.[8]
The novel centred on the exploits of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies.[9] Fleming based his creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war".[10] After the publication of Casino Royale, Fleming used his annual holiday at his house in Jamaica to write another Bond story;[1] in total, between 1953 and 1966, two years after his death, twelve Bond novels and two short-story collections were published, with the last two books—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—published posthumously.[11]
| # | Title | Author | Publisher | UK publishing date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casino Royale[12] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 13 April 1953 | 213 pp (first edition) |
| James Bond is sent to play against and bankrupt Le Chiffre, the paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union, in a high-stakes baccarat game in France. With help from CIA agent Felix Leiter, Bond wins the game, but is betrayed by Vesper Lynd, a double agent. Lynd falls in love with Bond and, instead of betraying him, commits suicide. | |||||
| 2 | Live and Let Die[13] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 5 April 1954 | 234 pp (first edition) |
| Bond is sent to the United States to investigate "Mr. Big", an agent of SMERSH and an underworld voodoo leader who is suspected of selling 17th century gold coins to finance Soviet spy operations in America. Bond's friend and CIA ally, Felix Leiter, is captured and fed to a shark whilst Mr. Big's fortune telling-girlfriend, Solitaire runs off with Bond. Solitaire is captured by Mr Big, but Bond saves her and blows up Mr Big's yacht with a limpet mine. | |||||
| 3 | Moonraker[14] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 5 April 1955 | 256 pp (first edition) |
| Bond joins M at Blades to stop a member, Sir Sir Hugo Drax from cheating at bridge. Bond is subsequently seconded onto Drax's staff the "Moonraker", Britain's first nuclear missile project. Bond discovers that Drax is an ex-Nazi, working for the Soviets; he also establishes that the rocket is not a defence, but is to be used by Drax to destroy London. Bond re-coordinates the rocket, sending it into the North Sea, where it kills Drax. | |||||
| 4 | Diamonds Are Forever[15] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 26 March 1956 | 257 pp (first edition) |
| Bond follows a diamond smuggling ring to America and establishes it is run by an American gang, "The Spangled Mob". He closes down the pipeline by killing one of the heads of the gang, Seraffimo Spang, in a train crash; he then travels to Sierra Leone to kill the other head of the gang, Jack Spang. | |||||
| 5 | From Russia, with Love[16] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 8 April 1957 | 253 pp (first edition) |
| SMERSH target Bond to be killed and caught in a compromising situation on the Orient Express. In order to lure him to Istanbul they persuade an attractive young cipher clerk, Corporal Tatiana Romanova, to falsely defect and bring with her a Spektor, a Russian decoding device much coveted by MI6. Travelling with Darko Kerim, head of the British service's station in Turkey they set out on the train; Kerim is killed by a SMERSH assassin, Red Grant, who then pretends to be a fellow British agent. Grant drugs Romanova and attempts to kill Bond, but fails: instead Bond kills Grant. Bond is then nearly killed by Colonel Rosa Klebb, one of the SMERSH planners. | |||||
| 6 | Dr. No[17] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 31 March 1958 | 256 pp (first edition) |
| Commander John Strangways, the head of MI6 Station J in Kingston, Jamaica, and his secretary both disappear and Bond is sent to investigate the matter. Bond finds they had been investigating the activities of Dr. Julius No, a reclusive Chinese-German who lives on Crab Key and runs a guano mine. Bond suspects a connection to the disappearances and, with the assistance of his old friend Quarrel, Bond visits Crab Key. He is captured by Dr. No and establishes that No has been sabotaging American missile tests at nearby Cape Canaveral. Bond escapes and kills No. | |||||
| 7 | Goldfinger[18] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 23 March 1959 | 318 pp (first edition) |
| Bond investigates the activities of Auric Goldfinger, a gold smuggler who M suspects of being connected to SMERSH and financing their western networks with his gold. Bond is captured by Goldfinger and forced to work as a secretary to oversee "Operation Grand Slam", the stealing of the United States gold reserves from Fort Knox. Bond manages to alert the US authorities through his friend, Felix Leiter, and the plot is foiled. | |||||
| 8 | For Your Eyes Only[19] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 11 April 1960 | 252 pp (first edition) |
| "From a View to a Kill" Bond investigates the murder of a motorcycle dispatch-rider and the theft of his top-secret documents by a motorcycle-riding assassin. "For Your Eyes Only" Bond avenges the murder of M's closest friends. |
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| 9 | Thunderball[20] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 27 March 1961 | 253 pp (first edition) |
| An international, non-aligned terrorist organisation, SPECTRE, have hijacked and seized its two nuclear bombs, which it uses to blackmail the western world. Bond is sent to the Bahamas, where he joins forces with Felix Leiter. Bond meets "Domino" Vitali, the sister of the pilot whose bombs were stolen, who is also the mistress of a wealthy treasure hunter, Emilio Largo. Bond and Leiter suspect Largo and, using a nuclear submarine, track him to the bombs: whilst the submarine's crew fight Largo's crew, Bond battles with Largo and is overpowered, but before Largo can finish Bond off Domino, shoots him with a spear gun. | |||||
| 10 | The Spy Who Loved Me[21] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 16 April 1962 | 221 pp (first edition) |
| A young woman is alone, working at a motel when two thugs, hired by the owner, turn up to burn it down for the insurance. They are about to rape the woman when Bond turns up and stops them. Later that night, Bond is attacked, but kills both the thugs. | |||||
| 11 | On Her Majesty's Secret Service[22] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 1 April 1963 | 288 pp (first edition) |
| Bond's continues to search for Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the Thunderball incident. Thorough contact with the College of Arms in London Bond finds Blofeld based in Switzerland. After meeting him and discovering his latest plans, Bond attacks the centre where he is based, although Blofeld escapes in the confusion. Bond meets and falls in love with Contessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo during the story and the pair, but Blofeld kills Bond's wife hours after the ceremony. | |||||
| 12 | You Only Live Twice[23] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 16 March 1964 | 255 pp (first edition) |
| After the murder of his wife, Bond begins to let his life slide. M gives him a last chance of redemption, to persuade the Japanese to share radio transmissions captured from the Soviet Union. The Japanese agree, but only if Bond kills Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, who operates a politically embarrassing "Garden of Death" in an ancient castle. Bond recognises Shatterhand and his wife as Blofeld and Bunt and he infiltrates their castle. He kills Blofeld and escapes, although is injured as the castle explodes; his injury leaves him with amnesia and Bond lives as a Japanese fisherman until he travels to Russia to find out about his past. | |||||
| 13 | The Man with the Golden Gun[24] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 1 April 1965 | 221 pp (first edition) |
| Bond returns to London having been brainwashed by the Russians and assigned to kill M: the attempt ends in failure. To re-prove his worth, M sends him to Jamaica with the seemingly impossible mission of killing Francisco "Pistols" Scaramanga, a Cuban assassin who is believed to have killed several British secret agents. Bond uncovers a larger plot to de-stabilise the region using KGB support and, having killed the American gangsters and KGB representative, also completes his mission with the killing of Scaramanga. | |||||
| 14 | Octopussy and The Living Daylights[25] | Ian Fleming | Jonathan Cape | 23 June 1966 | 94 pp (first edition) |
| The first edition contained only two stories: "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights"; subsequent editions have also contained "The Property of a Lady" and "007 in New York". "Octopussy" Bond tracks down a World War II hero who had murdered his friend to steal a cache of Nazi gold. |
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In the summer of 1958, CBS television commissioned Fleming to write episodes of a television show based on the James Bond character. This deal came about after the success of the 1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale as an episode of the CBS television series Climax!.[26] Fleming agreed to the deal, and began to write outlines for the series; however, CBS later dropped the idea.[27] In January and February 1959 Fleming adapted four of television plots into short stories and added a fifth story he had written in the summer of 1958.[28] The stories were originally titled The Rough with the Smooth, although this was changed to For Your Eyes Only for publication, which included the subtitle Five Secret Occasions in the Life of James Bond.[26]
After Fleming's death a second edition, containing two short stories was released, Octopussy and The Living Daylights.[29] When the paperbacks edition of the book was published, "The Property of a Lady" was also included[30] and, by 2002, "007 in New York" had been added to the book by Penguin Books.[31]
| Short story | Earliest publication |
|---|---|
| "Quantum of Solace" | Modern Woman's Magazine, November 1959[32] |
| "The Hildebrand Rarity" | Playboy magazine, March 1960[33] |
| "From a View to a Kill" | For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960 |
| "For Your Eyes Only" | For Your Eyes Only |
| "Risico" | For Your Eyes Only |
| "The Living Daylights"[nb 1] | The Sunday Times colour supplement, 4 February 1962[35] |
| "007 in New York"[nb 2] | New York Herald Tribune, October 1963[39] |
| "The Property of a Lady" | The Ivory Hammer (Sotheby's annual), November 1963[38] |
| "Octopussy" | Posthumously serialised in Playboy, March and April 1966[30] |
Independent scholar John Griswold constructed a "high-level chronology of James Bond's life", based on the logic of depicted events and actual time periods referred to in the books.[40] This chronology differs from the publication sequence.[41] Griswold also deliberately discounts the chronological significance of actual historic events mentioned in the novels and stories, arguing that Fleming made such references for effect without synchronising them accurately to his fiction.[42]
| Episode | Chronology[43] |
|---|---|
| Casino Royale | May to July 1951, or May to July 1952 |
| Live and Let Die | January 1952 to February 1952 |
| Moonraker | May 1953 |
| Diamonds Are Forever | July to August 1953 |
| From Russia, with Love | June to August 1954 |
| Dr. No | February to March 1956 |
| Goldfinger | April to June 1957 |
| "Risico" | October 1957 |
| "Quantum of Solace" | February 1958 |
| "The Hildebrand Rarity" | April 1958 |
| "From a View to a Kill" | May 1958 |
| "For Your Eyes Only" | September to October 1958 |
| Thunderball | May to June 1959 |
| "Octopussy" | June 1960 |
| "The Living Daylights" | September to October 1960 |
| "The Property of a Lady" | June 1961 |
| Chapters 1–5 of On Her Majesty's Secret Service | September 1961 |
| "007 in New York" | End of September 1961 |
| Chapters 10–15 of The Spy Who Loved Me[nb 3] | October 1961 |
| Chapters 6–20 of On Her Majesty's Secret Service | November 1961 to 1 January 1962 |
| You Only Live Twice | August 1962 to April 1963 |
| The Man With the Golden Gun | November 1963 to February 1964 |
Following Fleming's death in 1964, Glidrose Productions, publishers of the James Bond novels, (since renamed Ian Fleming Publications) approached author James Leasor to write a continuation novel, but he declined.[45] Glidrose then commissioned Kingsley Amis, who, under the pseudonym of "Robert Markham", wrote Colonel Sun, which was published on 28 March 1968.[30]
In 1977, the Eon Productions film The Spy Who Loved Me was released and, due to the radical differences between the film and the original novel of the same name, Glidrose authorised a novelization, James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me. The 1979 film Moonraker was also produced in novel form, as James Bond and Moonraker; both books were written by screenwriter Christopher Wood.[46]
| # | Title | Author | Publisher | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel Sun[47] | Kingsley Amis, writing as Robert Markham | Jonathan Cape | March 1968 | 255 pp (first edition) |
| M is kidnapped and Bond follows the trail to a Greek Aegean island, where he, and Ariadne Alexandrou, a Greek Communist agent, plan to rescue him. M is held by Colonel Sun, a member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army who is in league with a former Nazi, Von Ritcher. Bond battles them both with the help of Ariadne and a friend of her father. | |||||
| 2 | James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me[48] (novelization) | Christopher Wood | Jonathan Cape | 1977 | 222 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of The Spy Who Loved Me. Bond investigates the disappearance of British, American and Soviet ballistic-missile submarines, with the help of KGB agent Major Anya Amasova. The pair identify the culprit as Karl Stromberg, a shipping tycoon, scientist and anarchist, who they battle and beat in his undersea Atlantis base. | |||||
| 3 | James Bond and Moonraker[48] (novelization) | Christopher Wood | Jonathan Cape | 1979 | 221 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of Moonraker. Bond investigates the theft of a space shuttle, leading him to Hugo Drax, the owner of the shuttle's manufacturing firm. Along with space scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond follows the trail into outer space to prevent a plot to wipe out the world population and to re-create humanity with a master race. | |||||
In the 1980s, the Bond series was revived with new novels by John Gardner, although initially almost turned the series down.[49] Between 1981 and 1996, Gardner went on to write sixteen Bond books in total; two of the books he wrote – Licence to Kill and GoldenEye – were novelizations of Eon Productions films of the same name. Gardner stated that he wanted "to bring Mr Bond into the 1980s",[50] although he retained the ages of the characters as they were when Fleming had left them.[51] Even though Gardner kept the ages the same, he made Bond grey at the temples as a nod to the passing of the years.[52] In 1996, Gardner retired from writing James Bond books due to ill health.[53] With the influence of the American publishers, Putnam's, the Gardner novels showed an increase in the number of Americanisms used in the book, such as a waiter wearing "pants", rather than trousers, in The Man from Barbarossa.[54] James Harker, writing in The Guardian, considered that the Gardner books were "dogged by silliness",[54] giving examples of Scorpius, where much of the action is set in Chippenham, and Win, Lose or Die, where "Bond gets chummy with an unconvincing Maggie Thatcher".[54] Ill-health forced Gardner to retire from writing the Bond novels in 1996.[55]
| # | Title | Author | Publisher | UK publishing date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Licence Renewed[56] | John Gardner | Jonathan Cape | May 1981 | 272 pp (first edition) |
| Bond infiltrates the castle of Dr. Anton Murik, a nuclear physicist who is involved with a terrorist named Franco. Murik hired Franco to hijack six nuclear power stations in order to start a meltdown, but are prevented from doing so by Bond who, posing as Murik, orders them to abort. | |||||
| 2 | For Special Services[57] | John Gardner | Jonathan Cape | September 1982 | 256 pp (first edition) |
| Bond teams up with CIA agent Cedar Leiter, daughter of Felix, to investigate Markus Bismaquer, who is suspected of reviving SPECTRE. Bond establishes SPECTRE are to take over the NORAD headquarters in order to gain control of America's military space satellite network. Bond foils the plot and finds that Bismaquer's wife, Nena, is the daughter of Blofeld and the head of SPECTRE. | |||||
| 3 | Icebreaker[58] | John Gardner | Jonathan Cape | July 1983 | 256 pp (first edition) |
| Bond is teamed with an alliance of agents from the CIA, the KGB and Mossad to find and stop leader of the National Socialist Action Army (NSAA), Count Konrad von Glöda, an ex-Nazi SS officer who now perceives himself as the new Adolf Hitler. | |||||
| 4 | Role of Honour[59] | John Gardner | Jonathan Cape | October 1984 | 224 pp (first edition) |
| Bond goes undercover to be sacked from MI6 and is hired by SPECTRE. He joins Jay Autem Holy, a SPECTRE agent and becomes involved in a plot to destabilise the Soviet Union and the United States, by forcing them to rid the world of their nuclear weapons: a plot he foils with the help of Miss 'Percy' Proud, a CIA agent. | |||||
| 5 | Nobody Lives for Ever[60] | John Gardner | Jonathan Cape | June 1986 | 192 pp (first edition) |
| A price is put on Bond's head by Tamil Rahani, the current leader of SPECTRE, who is dying from wounds received in Role of Honour. Bond's housekeeper, May, and Moneypenny are both missing and Bond attempts to find them whilst avoiding the assassins who are attempting to kill him. | |||||
| 6 | No Deals, Mr. Bond[61] | John Gardner | Jonathan Cape | May 1987 | 224 pp (first edition) |
| The murder of two women connected to a Cold War mission are brutally murdered. Bond is subsequently sent by M, "off the record", to find the remaining members of the mission before they suffer the same fate. | |||||
| 7 | Scorpius[62] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | June 1988 | 224 pp (first edition) |
| Bond is threatened by a cult known as "The Meek Ones", who commit several acts of terrorism including multiple terrorist bombings and several assassinations of British politicians. Bond established the man behind the cult is an arms dealer, Vladimir Scorpius, who Bond locates and kills. | |||||
| 8 | Win, Lose or Die[63] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | ?? 1989 | 220 pp (first edition) |
| the Brotherhood of Anarchy and Secret Terrorism infiltrate and destroy a top-secret British Royal Navy aircraft carrier-based summit between American President George H. W. Bush, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev: Bond breaks their hijack and rescues the three leaders. | |||||
| 9 | Licence to Kill[48] (novelization) | John Gardner | Coronet Books | 1989 | 224 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of Licence to Kill. Drugs lord Franz Sanchez is caught by Bond and Felix Leiter, but escapes and ambush Leiter and his wife Della: Leiter is maimed by a shark as Della is raped and killed. M orders Bond to a mission in Istanbul but Bond refuses and he is suspended and his 00 licence is revoked. Bond sets out on a revenge mission against Sanchez, surreptitiously helped by MI6 armourer Q. | |||||
| 10 | Brokenclaw[64] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | July 1990 | 192 pp (first edition) |
| Bond investigates Brokenclaw, a half-Blackfoot, half-Chinese philanthropist and economic terrorist who is trying to start a worldwide economic collapse by attacking the main global currencies. Bond is challenged by Brokenclaw to a torture ritual known as o-kee-pa and kills him using bow and arrows. | |||||
| 11 | The Man from Barbarossa[65] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | August 1991 | 231 pp (first edition) |
| Bond teams up with Mossad, the French Secret Service and the KGB to infiltrate a Russian terrorist group called the "Scales of Justice" who are attempting to supply Iraq with nuclear weapons before the United Nations-led coalition invades. | |||||
| 12 | Death Is Forever[66] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | July 1992 | 224 pp (first edition) |
| James Bond and CIA agent Elizabeth Zara "Easy" St. John are assigned to track down the surviving members of "Cabal", a Cold War-era intelligence network that received a mysterious and unauthorised signal to disband. | |||||
| 13 | Never Send Flowers[67] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | July 1993 | 256 pp (first edition) |
| Bond investigates the murder of a member of the Secret Service and connects the death to four political assassinations that take place within a week. Bond discovers a link with a former actor, David Dragonpol, who is responsible for the deaths. | |||||
| 14 | SeaFire[68] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | August 1994 | 247 pp (first edition) |
| Bond investigates Max Tarn, a billionaire business tycoon who is determined to reunite Germany under a new Fourth Reich. Tarn is also involved in eco-terrorism with a massive oil spill fire in Puerto Rico. Bond averts the ecological damage and kills Tarn. | |||||
| 15 | GoldenEye[48] (novelization) | John Gardner | Coronet Books | October 1995 | 218 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of GoldenEye. Nine years after a mission which saw the death of his colleague 006, Bond investigates the theft of a prototype Eurocopter Tiger helicopter and its subsequent use in the attack on the Russian command bunker that controls the GoldenEye satellite weapon. Bond finds the crime syndicate behind the theft and attack is run by 006, who is trying to destroy London's financial centre which will cover a large-scale bank theft. | |||||
| 16 | COLD[69] | John Gardner | Hodder & Stoughton | May 1996 | 264 pp (first edition) |
| The crash of a Boeing 747-400 at Dulles International Airport and the supposed death of Bond's friend and former lover, the Principessa Sukie Tempesta leads Bond on a personal revenge mission that uncovers a fanatical society: COLD – the Children of the Last Days. | |||||
In 1996, American author Raymond Benson became the author of the Bond novels. Benson had previously been the author of The James Bond Bedside Companion, first published in 1984.[70] By the time he moved on to other, non-Bond related projects in 2002, Benson had written six Bond novels, three novelizations and three short stories.[71] Benson followed Gardner's pattern of setting Bond in the contemporary timeframe of the 1990s[72] and, according to Jeremy Black, had more echoes of Fleming's style than John Gardner,[73] he also changed Bond's gun back to the Walther PPK,[74] put him behind the wheel of a Jaguar XK8[75] and made him swear more,[76] which led Black to note that there was an increased level of crudity lacking in either Fleming or Gardner.[73] However, the Peterborough Evening Telegraph stated that with Benson's 007, in keeping more with Fleming, "PC-ness goes out the window and it’s a more ruthless Bond with bad habits."[77] The Sunday Mercury in 1999 said, "Benson has made Bond less gimmicky, concentrating on the action rather than the gadgets. The result is a slick enough read for dedicated Bond fans who like blazing guns (Walthers, of course) and beautiful women"[78] and Kirkus Reviews called Benson's 007 "a chip off the old block and, if not a gilt-edged Bond, at least a double-A."[79]
| # | Title | Author | Publisher | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Blast From the Past"[74] (short story) | Raymond Benson | Playboy | January 1997 | — |
| Bond receives a message, apparently from James Suzuki, his son asking him to come to New York City on a matter of urgency. When Bond arrives, he finds his son murdered. He learns that James was killed in revenge by Irma Bunt for the murder of Blofeld. Bond meets and kills Bunt. | |||||
| 2 | Zero Minus Ten[80] | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | April 1997 | 259 pp (first edition) |
| Ten days before Britain returns Hong Kong, a series of terrorist attacks occur. Bond established that behind them is wealthy shipping magnate Guy Thackeray, whose company is taken over by the Chinese. By way of revenge, Thackeray plans to detonate a nuclear weapon in Hong Kong: Bond disarms the bomb and kills Thackeray. | |||||
| 3 | Tomorrow Never Dies[48] (novelization) | Raymond Benson | Coronet Books | November 1997 | 213 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of Tomorrow Never Dies. Bond investigates media baron Elliot Carver, who is trying to create news by causing a war between Britain and China, which would also allow him broadcasting rights in China. Bond joins forces with Wai Lin, a Chinese agent, to defeat Carver and avoid war. | |||||
| 4 | The Facts of Death[81] | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | May 1998 | 284 pp (first edition) |
| Sinister organisation The Decada are behind a series of poisonings aimed at British and Turkish military personnel. Bond tracks the head of the organisation to Greece where he is trying to cause a war between Greece and Turkey, which Bond stops. | |||||
| 5 | "Midsummer Night's Doom"[76] (short story) | Raymond Benson | Playboy | January 1999 | — |
| Bond attends a party at Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California where Ministry of Defence secrets are expected to be sold to a representative of the Russian Mafia. | |||||
| 6 | "Live at Five"[82] (short story) | Raymond Benson | TV Guide (American edition) | November 1999 | — |
| On the way to a date with a female TV news reporter, 007 recalls how he once helped a Russian figure skating champion defect in full view of TV cameras. | |||||
| 7 | The World Is Not Enough[48] (novelization) | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | November 1999 | 200 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of The World Is Not Enough. Bond is tasked with protecting Elektra King after the murder of her father inside the MI6 building. Bond establishes a connection between her head of security and the international terrorist Renard, who is stealing plutonium in order to destroy Istanbul on behalf of Electra. Bond kills both Renard and Electra. | |||||
| 8 | High Time to Kill[83] | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | May 1999 | 304 pp (first edition) |
| A top secret British formula hidden in microfilm, codenamed "Skin 17" was stolen by two traitors who plan to sell it to the terrorist organisation "The Union". The microfilm is on a plane that crashes in the Himalayas and Bond climbs Mount Kangchenjunga to retrieve it. He battles a traitor in the climbing team, but retrieves the secret. | |||||
| 9 | DoubleShot[84] | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | May 2000 | 320 pp (first edition) |
| After he foiled their plans, terrorist organisation The Union target Bond with a plan to plunge Britain into war and destroy Bond's reputation in the process by having a Bond double kill the British Prime Minister and the Governor of Gibraltar. Bond uncovers the plan and kills the double, preventing the assassination. | |||||
| 10 | Never Dream of Dying[85] | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | November 2001 | 320 pp (first edition) |
| Bond is again in the hunt for The Union and is chasing Le Gerant, the Blind head of the organisation. After a police raid goes wrong René Mathis goesafter Le Gerant, followed by Bond. | |||||
| 11 | The Man with the Red Tattoo[86] | Raymond Benson | Hodder & Stoughton | May 2002 | 320 pp (first edition) |
| Bond is in Japan to protect the prime minister at a conference and to investigate mysterious deaths in the McMahon family, who ran pharmaceutical giant CureLab. Bond reunites with Tiger Tanaka to pursue terrorist Goro Yoshida. Yoshida is using biological weapons to punish Western society and plots an end to western domination. Bond kills him and negates any threats. | |||||
| 12 | Die Another Day[48] (novelization) | Raymond Benson | Coronet Books | November 2002 | 245 pp (first edition) |
| A novelization of Die Another Day. Bond investigates the North Korean Colonel Tan-Sun Moon and tracks his assistant Zao to clinic where his appearance is altered. Bond finds diamonds on Zao bearing the crest of British billionaire Gustav Graves and establishes Graves is the facially-reconstructed Moon. Moon is attempting to reunite North and South Korea by force, which Bond stops, killing Moon in the process. | |||||
Glidrose twice approached Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels, about writing a Bond novel but he turned them down.[87] Ian Fleming Publications then commissioned Sebastian Faulks to write a continuation novel, which was released on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth.[88] The book—titled Devil May Care—was published in the UK by Penguin Books and by Doubleday in the US.[89] Faulks ignored the timeframe established by Gardner and Benson and instead reverted to that used by Fleming and Amis, basing his novel in the 1960s;[72] he also managed to use a number of the cultural touchstones of the sixties in the book.[90] Faulks was true to Bond's original character and background too, and provided "a Flemingesque hero"[72] who drove a battleship grey 1967 T-series Bentley.[75]
American writer Jeffery Deaver was then commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications to produce Carte Blanche, which was published on 26 May 2011.[91] The book updated Bond into a post 9/11 agency, independent of MI5 or MI6.[92]
| # | Title | Author | Publisher | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devil May Care | Sebastian Faulks | Hodder & Stoughton | May 2008 | 295 pp (first edition) |
| Bond investigates Julius Gorner, a businessman who is producing heroin that threatens England, as well as wanting to attack the Soviets, who will retaliate against Britain. Bond foils the plot and kills Gorner. | |||||
| 2 | Carte Blanche | Jeffery Deaver | Hodder & Stoughton | May 2011 | 448 pp (first edition) |
| Bond investigates the activities of Severan Hydt, a waste-disposal magnate. Hydt had been tasked by an American pharmaceutical company to detonate a device at a British university to kill a researcher who was on the verge of creating a cancer drug. Bond foiled the plot and a second plot to use food aid to give the Sudanese government a pretext to go to war with rebels and prevent Southern Sudan from seceding. | |||||
The Young Bond series of novels was started by Charlie Higson[93] and, between 2005 and 2009, five novels and one short story were published.[94] The first Young Bond novel, SilverFin was also adapted and released as a graphic novel on 2 October 2008 by Puffin Books.[95] Comic book artist Kev Walker illustrated Higson's novel.[96] Young Bond is set in the 1930s, which would fit the chronology with that of Fleming.[97]
I deliberately steered clear of anything post Fleming. My books are designed to fit in with what Fleming wrote and nothing else. I also didn’t want to be influenced by any of the other books...for now my Bible is Fleming.
Higson stated that he was instructed by the Fleming estate to ignore all other interpretations of Bond, except the original Fleming version.[99] As the background to Bond's childhood, Higson used Bond's obituary in You Only Live Twice as well as his own and Fleming's childhoods.[100] In forming the early Bond character, Higson created the origins of some of Bond's character traits, including his love of cars and fine wine.[99]
| # | Title | Author | Publisher | Date | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SilverFin[101] | Charlie Higson | Puffin Books | March 2005 | 372 pp (first edition) |
| Bond meets Lord Randolph Hellebore, an arms dealer and father of fellow Etonian George Hellebore; Hellebore has a castle near to Bond's new home on Scotland and, whilst on holiday, Bond investigates the disappearance of local boy Alfie Kelly. Bond soon finds out that Hellebore is involved in creating a pill to create better and stronger soldiers by manipulating the endocrine system and had tested this pill on Alfie, but that Alfie had died. With help, Bond brings an end to the tests. | |||||
| 2 | Blood Fever[102] | Charlie Higson | Puffin Books | January 2006 | 384 pp (first edition) |
| Whilst on a school trip to Sardinia, Bond comes up against the Millenaria, a secret Italian society that has plans to restore the Roman Empire. Bond meets Count Ugo Carnifex, the head of the Millenaria who tortures him by using mosquitoes. Bond escapes, rescuing the sister of a fellow Etonian in the process and Carnifex's castle is destroyed by an embittered employee. | |||||
| 3 | Double or Die[103] | Charlie Higson | Puffin Books | January 2007 | 389 pp (first edition) |
| An master from Eton is kidnapped and sends a letter back to his boys with cryptic clues about his kidnap. Bond's room mate Pritpal Nandra solves most of the clues whilst Bond and fellow school friend Perry Mandeville go in search of the missing master. Bond finds the master, who has been kidnapped by the Russians in order to build a prototype computer and, with help, manages to recue him. | |||||
| 4 | Hurricane Gold[104] | Charlie Higson | Puffin Books | September 2007 | 372 pp (first edition) |
| Bond is on holiday with his aunt when the house in which he is staying is violently burgled and the two children are kidnapped. Bond give chases and is captured, but convinces them he is a local street thug and they allow him to join the gang. One of the children is ill and a villain has a change of heart and smuggles him away to a local hospital: Bond eventually rescues the second child. The pair then chase the one remaining gangster to an island retreat for villains where Bond runs La Avenida de Muerte in order to escape. | |||||
| 5 | By Royal Command[105] | Charlie Higson | Puffin Books | September 2008 | 354 pp (first edition) |
| Bond travels to Kitzbühel, Austria on an Eton school trip, but is under surveillance for the journey. On his return to Eton Bond foils a plot to assassinate King George V. Still under surveillance, Bond falls in love with a communist maid at Eton and is eventually forced to flee back to Austria, from where the plot originated. | |||||
| 6 | Silverfin[106] | Charlie Higson & Kevin Walker | Puffin Books | October 2008 | 155 pp (first edition) |
| The graphic novel of SilverFin: Bond battles Lord Randolph Hellebore and stops Hellebore's research into creating mutant soldiers; he also finds out the fate of a missing local boy in the process—killed during the testing process of Hellebore's drug. | |||||
| 7 | "A Hard Man to Kill"[107] (short story) | Charlie Higson | Puffin Books | October 2009 | — |
| Bond and his Aunt Charmian are travelling back from the Caribbean on the SS Colombie but come across a villain named Emil Lefebvre and a mysterious hooded convict named Caiboche. | |||||