Last August James Bond author John Gardner tragically passed away just before his novel No Human Enemy was published. I kind of assumed it would be his final novel, however, John Gardner will return on November 10, 2008 for his third and obviously final Moriarty book which he completed before his death. The book simply titled Moriarty will be posthumously published by Harcourt simultaneously in the UK and the US. Gardner announced via his website in 2005 that he had been contractually signed to write a third book in the series following The Return of Moriarty (1974) and The Revenge of Moriarty (1975).

Gardner once said he had been waiting 25 years to write this book. Guess it took 33 just to get published, which unfortunately he won’t be able to see.

I really dig the cover art.

Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Awhile back I read and wrote this review for The Battle For Bond by Robert Sellers. I never published it due to the banning of the first edition. With the recent release of the second edition (see Amazon.co.uk), I dusted off my review to essentially let you read my opinion on a topic and a book that you should have already read by now. Any and every Bond fan should read this book.

(Read more…)

Yesterday, I covered the sales and ranking in the United States. Today, word comes from theBookseller that Devil May Care has chalked up another 27,842 copies in sales in the UK last week. Add this to the initial sale of 44,093 copies in the first 4-days. If you remember, the UK had a first print run of 100,000 meaning that approximately 28,000 first edition, first print copies remain in stores. (I’m guessing, anyway)

The Young Bond Dossier reports that Hurricane Gold can now be pre-ordered at Amazon.com. Still a long ways off from its scheduled release of April 7, 2009, I highlight this because of the prototype U.S. Hurricane Gold cover that can be seen on YoungBond.com from artist Kev Walker. YBD has a picture of it and a little info on that here.

Obviously Devil May Care did not have the big marketing push in the United States that it did in the UK. Just for reference, in the UK Devil May Care ranked #1 until just a day or so ago at Amazon.co.uk, now sits comfortably at #2. In the United States it dropped from #36 to #56 on the USA Today’s bestseller’s list (which also includes non-fiction). It dropped from #8 to #11 on the New York Times’ list and on the Chicago Tribune’s list it dropped only 1 spot to #9.

Still hanging in there. Overall, not to shabby in my opinion.

The second edition of the ‘banned’ book The Battle For Bond by Robert Sellers is available for order from Tomahawk’s website. The new edition will be available in stores starting on the 23rd. The Battle For Bond was banned early this year for allegedly using copyrighted material owned by the Fleming Trust. Due to the banning, interest and demand in the book sharply rose paving the way for this second edition. This new edition in addition to having the disputed material removed is cheaper, has fewer pictures, and offers a new foreword by author Len Deighton.

Amazon.co.uk – pre-order

The first edition is still available at Amazon.com, although they also have a listing for this new second edition here.

There’s no doubt that Devil May Care in the UK is a huge bestseller. It is the fastest-selling Penguin published book of all time. According to the Guardian Devil May Care sold 44,093 copies in its first 4 days with 19,000 copies being sold at Waterstone’s alone, the special souvenir edition being sold out by the morning, and the expensive (£750) Bentley special collector’s edition being sold out in just 2 hours. Devil May Care continues to be a force in the UK still managing to hold on to the number one spot on Amazon.

In the United States, Devil May Care wasn’t as successful, but still successful. While I can offer no specific sales details like the UK edition, Devil May Care has made a number of bestsellers list. It ranks #38 in USA Today’s bestsellers list (note: USA Today’s list includes only 4 days of sales and also includes non-fiction books). It ranks #8 on Chicago Tribune’s bestsellers list and probably most notably it ranks #8 on the New York Times bestsellers list.

Every year Ian Fleming Publications sponsors the Crime Writers’ Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award, which goes to the best thriller published in the UK. The winner receives £2000 and also receives a steel dagger, which is based on the weapon used by Special Forces during World War II. The 2008 shortlist has been revealed to consist of:

• Mo Hayder – Ritual – Transworld
• Gregg Hurwitz – I See You – Little, Brown
• Michael Robotham – Shatter – Sphere (Little, Brown)
• Tom Rob Smith – Child 44 – Simon & Schuster
• David Stone – The Echelon Vendetta – Penguin

The judging panel includes: Corrine Turner (Chair and Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications), Charlie Higson (author of the Young Bond series of novels), Michael Jecks (author from Knights Templar series), Simon Robertson, Zoë Watkins (Publishing Manager of Ian Fleming Publications), and Gordon Wise.

The winner will be announced on July 10, 2007 at the Four Seasons Hotel in London’s Park Lane.

Awhile ago I threw up a video of Higson talking about Young Bond. A bunch more are made available courtesy of Border’s Bookzone with Charlie talking about Young Bond, Samantha Weinberg talking about The Moneypenny Diaries and Ben Macintyre talking about For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming + James Bond.

Check them out here.

CommanderBond.net has an article today about Sean Connery’s upcoming autobiography/memoir called Being a Scot. The book is do out in the UK on 21 August just in time for his 78th birthday on the 25th.

This is kind of odd that his will be on 21 August and Moore’s is coming out a month later on 2 October. It’s like the “Battle of the Bonds” all over again, in literary form this time.

Pre-order Being a Scot at Amazon.co.uk.