Amazon.co.uk has posted a pretty good (though short) Q&A with Sebastian Faulks on the upcoming Devil May Care. You can check that out here. There’s also a short video with Faulks at the “James Bond Store” on Amazon.co.uk.
Devil May Care hits both the UK and the US simultaneously in just 15 days.
Thanks to CommanderBond.net.
You’ve probably seen all the new Centenary edition covers of Ian Fleming’s Bond novels, but what about the spines? Wonder how it’ll look on your shelf? (Die hard fans tend to think of these silly things) Here’s two images: the first is the full jacket for Casino Royale. The second is all the spines lined up.
These new hardcovers designed by Michael Gillette will be available on May 29th, just one day after Ian Fleming’s 100th birthday and the arrival of Sebastian Faulk’s Devil May Care among other Centenary events and releases.
Bentley and Penguin have teamed up to offer Bond fans a special edition of Sebastian Faulk’s upcoming Centenary Bond novel, Devil May Care. Released the same day as the regular editions, there will only be 300 copies of this printed and if you’re looking to get one, it’ll set you back £750 ($1500).
From the press release about the design:
Evoking the feeling of the Cold War period in which Devil May Care is set, the edition is bound in Bodoniana style cases and finished in burnt oak leather sourced from the tannery in Italy which provides the hides for Bentley’s interiors. The iconic Bentley diamond pattern found on the radiator grille and upholstery of modern Bentley’s, is hand-stitched on the leather casing and the front cover and spine is finished with the silver Bentley ‘Flying B’—the radiator cap of the Bentley’s of Bond’s time.
The inside of the casing is trimmed in deep red hotspur leather and has the striking fluting used on the 1950s and 1960s Bentley interior upholstery. Each book has a unique edition number embossed on a black aluminium plate produced the same company that makes the Bentley engine plates.
Fleming described in detail a modified Bentley R type in Thunderball and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which Bond loving called ‘the Locomotive’. The car never existed but, using Fleming’s exact specifications, a cast and polished 1:43 scale model of the car has been hand crafted by Bentley for this edition. The miniature is inserted into the book in a car-shaped hole and is individually numbered to match the plate on the inside cover. Each book is protected by a custom-made Plexiglass slip case, which will be sealed in protective and numbered wrapping.
For more information, check out the official Bentley/Penguin site here. There you can also read a brief history of Bond and Bentley, though they omit Bond’s “British Racing Green Bentley Mulsanne Turbo” from John Gardner’s Role of Honour. Of course, obviously the site is catered specifically to Fleming’s Bond.
CommanderBond.Net also has a Q&A with Bentley’s Chief Designer, Dirk van Braeckel. Read it here. Also watch the video.
The next game in the popular James Bond video game franchise now has an official site. The game is due out later this fall from developers Treyarch, Beenox, and Vicarious Visions. The site also cites Eurocom as a developer. Eurocom previously developed the old James Bond Jr. video game for the NES/SNES and developed Nightfire.
The game appears to be a combination of both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Concept art shows locations including Montenegro, Miami, and Venice (all from Casino Royale) as well as Lake Como (both Casino Royale and Qunatum of Solace), Siena, Austria, and Bolivia (all from Quantum of Solace) – not to mention London and “Outskirts”.
Check out the banner for the link to the site.
Thanks to CommanderBond.net for the heads up.
The Young Bond Dossier has a very early first look at SilverFin’s upcoming graphic novel. Coming in at 160 pages with approximately 300 color illustrations, the book won’t be released till 2 October in the UK.
First Look at SilverFin Graphic Novel
Looks great to me, but I’ve yet to see something of Kev Walker’s that I don’t like. He’s hit the nail on the head pretty much every time.
Activision will instead be hosting a “Gamer’s Day” the same week of E3. It’s possible we could see Quantum of Solace then. Maybe. Could be earlier, could be later.
Andrew Lycett, who wrote probably the definitive biography on Ian Fleming in 1996 wrote up a piece in the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) about Ian Fleming and TLS.
Just kind of an interesting article that I thought I’d pass along. Towards the bottom Lycett mentions the newly purchased Queen Anne Press by the Fleming family with the intent to release limited editions of Fleming’s works. I believe he’s referring to this.
I just realized a lot of old articles from the Times Literary Supplement are online too. If you want to read the original 1953 review of Casino Royale for instance, check this link out.
Surprisingly, at least to me, Moonraker was chosen in the top 10. I figured with Faulks doing Devil May Care he’d pick a Fleming novel for his top 40 influential books, but I didn’t think he’d go with Moonraker. I assumed if he picked one he’d go with one of the more critically acclaimed novels like From Russia with Love or Casino Royale. A very interesting choice though. Moonraker is one of my favorites as well. I’d say it’s probably my third favorite following the other two I listed here.
Order it from Amazon.co.uk
Don’t forget that on May 13th, Guardian Angel, the first book in the trilogy makes it’s way stateside. Pre-order it on Amazon.com
This week two promotional posters have hit the Internet. The first can be found exclusively at CommanderBond.net and promotes the upcoming Centenary release of Sebastian Faulks’ Bond novel Devil May Care. See it here.
The second is a poster for Charlie Higson’s fourth Young Bond novel Hurricane Gold which will finally make its way to paperback in May. See it the YoungBondDossier.
Both books are actually due for release on May 28th.
