Still curious how Devil May Care did in the United States.

Anyway fans of Faulks in the US will be able to pick up the novel on October 27th. I look forward to reading it. I’ve read several of his books now and I’ve got nothing but praise for his works thus far.

Amazon.co.uk
Pre-order from Amazon.com

“My contract did offer me a second go, but definitely not,” he told The Bookseller. “‘Once funny, twice silly, three times a slap’, as the nanny saying goes. But I think it would be a good gig for someone to do.”

Devil May Care wasn’t that bad in my opinion, but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as I thought it should have been. Read some of Faulks’ most celebrated books like Birdsong and so on and you’d see that Faulks in his own style would have been great for the job. But that’s not what happened.

So who is up next? Charlie Higson? Someone new? Nobody knows, but Simon Trewin (Ian Fleming Publication’s literary agent) is quoted in the same article saying “options are open.”

“A Week in December” is Sebastian Faulks’ first wholly contemporary novel. Set in London, it’s a brilliant social satire, structured like a thriller, that takes place over the course of a single week at the end of 2007. It brings together an intriguing cast of characters, each apparently in his or her own world but – as gradually becomes clear – ultimately intricately related. The anti-hero, John Veals, is a shadily successful and boundlessly ambitious Dickensian figure who is trading billions and other characters include a teenage Muslim fanatic, a Polish footballer, a female tube driver, a literary critic, a care worker and a chutney tycoon. As the story builds to its climax, Faulks pulls together powerful ideas about family, money, religion, and the way we live now.

The title is actually quite close to the rejected Young Bond title “Six Days in December”. Instead we got the fan selected title Double or Die.

US edition: Amazon.com – October 27, 2009
UK edition: Amazon.co.uk – September 3, 2009

UK folks can probably get Devil May Care on bookshelves now in paperback too. The official release for it is May 28th, but Amazon.co.uk is shipping now and according to the official Penguin007 site, which has gone through another makeover by the way, says it’s out now.

Even in the face of a rough economy, Devil May Care led Penguin to record profits with sales up 7% over 2007.

Between this and the UK paperback, I gotta go with the UK paperback, but overall I think I’m rather disappointed with both. Anyone else tired of the old cliche of just dropping a beautiful girl on the cover, sometimes with a gun? I like beautiful girls and I like action movies with big explosions and guns and stuff, but yeah, this is tired. If you’re going to do it, at least try and be creative with it. The UK hardcover of Devil May Care was cool in that regard, so were the Fleming UK Centenary editions. I didn’t think the Centenary editions were all that “special” for the Centenary, but they were still neat.

I’m not really all that much of a fan of this to be honest. That said it is very paperback looking. Reminds me of the early 70s Pan editions or the late 70s / early 80s British Triads with the girl and typically a gun on the cover. I never liked those. Not to say this is the route they should go, but my favorite paperbacks are the early pulp Pan editions – specifically Live and Let Die. Always wished I had a collection of those.

Seems rather bizarre to me they didn’t go for May 28th. Anyway, more news as we get it. Thanks to CommandBond.net.