2121 replies to this topic

[zencat]

Terrorism has actually been part of the lit Bond world for quite a while. Reading Role of Honor at the moment and I'm really struck how it is very much a Bond vs. terrorists book. In '84 it was like, yeah, yeah, nuts in the desert with their "training camps," okay. Now it reads very different to me.

[Jim]

Hmm.

[zencat]

You've been strangely quite on all this, Jim.

(In fact, I'm surprised at how few Team members have had any reaction to this news.)

[Aris007]

I really don't like the fact that Bond will go after 9/11 terrorists! This looks more like Bruce Willis' job, to be honest!

Depends on how it's done. Did you not like it in Casino Royale?

Well yes I liked it! But it Casino Royale it wasn't that obvious, was it? In Casino Royale he wasn't after a bunch of terrorists, he was after their financer! So if it's covered in a way it's fine by me! Do you see what I mean?

Yes I do, and I agree if it was as limited to chasing down guys in a cave. But I don't think that's the thinking. All he said was "post 9/11 terrorists." I think the concept of "terrorists/terrorism" in the Deaver Bond world is going to be like "communists/communism" in the Fleming world. It's the underlying world struggle. It can take many forms, as it did in CR with financing. Maybe some creative and even more terrifying forms that we can't imagine...until 007 uncovers it!

I see your point Zen! If you're right and the thinking is quite similar to Fleming's thinking of communism then it'll be a great option! I'm just afraid if Deaver has a different opinion on this!

[zencat]

You know, I'm wondering if there is any coordination or communication between IFP and Eon so they don't tread the same plot territory. This certainly didn't happen in the 90s when we saw Benson's ZMT and TND (original draft) both be about the Hong Kong handover.

[Aris007]

You know, I wondering if there is any coordination or communication between IFP and Eon so they don't tread the same plot territory. This certainly didn't happen in the 90s when we saw Benson's ZMT and TND (original draft) both be about the Hong Kong handover.

I don't think that they will leave things standing in the air. The franchise is related to the books, but I don't think that Deaver was hired to write a book with plot similar to the films! Having the same base of the plot which in our case is 9/11 terrorists doesn't confuse things as far as I'm concerned becasue there's a thousand stories you can make with 9/11 terrorists.

[zencat]

I'm not saying they want to coordinate them or they want a film-like plot from Deaver. I'm just wondering if they take any steps nowadays to make sure they don't develop the exact same story or use the same major elements. It can happen!

If it were me, I wouldn't tell Eon . I'd just beat 'em.

[clinkeroo]

If it were a writer of lesser talent, with fewer bona fides, I would be very, very nervous.

The proof will be in the pudding, and Mr. Deaver has made some pretty good pudding in the past.

[Aris007]

I'm not saying they want to coordinate them or they want a film-like plot from Deaver. I'm just wondering if they take any steps nowadays to make sure they don't develop the exact same story or use the same major elements. It can happen!

If it were me, I wouldn't tell Eon . I'd just beat 'em.

Who knows? Perhaps! But they're grown-up people! I'm sure they can handle it!

Right?

[Quantumofsolace007]

I'm not saying they want to coordinate them or they want a film-like plot from Deaver. I'm just wondering if they take any steps nowadays to make sure they don't develop the exact same story or use the same major elements. It can happen!

If it were me, I wouldn't tell Eon . I'd just beat 'em.

Who knows? Perhaps! But they're grown-up people! I'm sure they can handle it!

Right?

I want the 3 world Video game Movie and Novel to be cohesive instead of seperate.


I'd Love for the time line to go like this (which i think is realistic)


2011 Jeffery Deever's bond novel Comes out (the first of many) It provides a brief mention of the events of Casino Royale (the film) and Quantum of Solace (the film) as well as the villian is client of Quantum.


2012 (Spring) Bond 23 comes out Directed by Sam Mendes a throway line refences the event in Deever's Novel


2012 Fall A new bond Video Game comes out either based on the Deever novel or Colonel sun (updated and set in our time) With Daniel Craig Providing the voice



That would make me thrilled.

[zencat]

KInd of like how the Star Wars universe keeps continuity (when it can) across all their products. I get it.

My only fear is Eon being in charge of the master continuity. Can you imagine every author having to clear his outline with Eon who would have the power to cut any idea that they "may want to use in the future"?

That wouldn't be good.

[Quantumofsolace007]

KInd of like how the Star Wars universe keeps continuity (when it can) across all their products. I get it.

My only fear is Eon being in charge of the master continuity. Can you imagine every author having to clear his outline with Eon who would have the power to cut any idea that they "may want to use in the future"?

That wouldn't be good.

No but we may get bond 24 with a story by deever

which how cool would that be honestly

[Matt_13]

I think we can all rest assured that the two time lines will be separate in every way. Deaver is going to create his own dark world and establish a whole new setting for future authors to play around in. This project sounds excellent.

That said, I'd like to turn my attention for a moment on the subject of Higson. while I most certainly want him to tackle adult Bond, and would be thrilled if he was involved in the 3rd of 4th book of Project X, I would probably be happier if Charlie wrote a period piece along the lines of what Faulks did, only earlier in Bond's 00 career (after, say, the events of Moonraker for instance). I think Higson has so fully immersed himself in Fleming's timeline that it'd be a shame if he couldn't fully mature his own Bond (despite the fact that a fully mature Bond is supposed to equal Fleming's Bond). I wouldn't mind Charlie having his own series as a result. Let him tackle a whole different era, a whole different Bond. Let him build up to Casino Royale, and then let him cut loose with a few adult Bond novels peppered in various intervals of the Fleming time line. Deaver and co. can author a Bond for the 21st Century with Higson taking control of a series all his own. He has certainly earned it. Either way, we WILL be seeing Mr. Higson create an adult thriller one of these days, but the question that remains is when will it take place?

[terminus]

KInd of like how the Star Wars universe keeps continuity (when it can) across all their products. I get it.

My only fear is Eon being in charge of the master continuity. Can you imagine every author having to clear his outline with Eon who would have the power to cut any idea that they "may want to use in the future"?

That wouldn't be good.

That's what happens with the Doctor Who novels and the Doctor Who audio dramas and it doesn't stop the end products being good.

[Zographos]

If I had to take a guess (hope that's okay), I'd say that Bond is no longer a "Cold War relic" and that he's been given an ordinary age span in conjunction with IFP's return to the modern period. Gardner and Benson used the floating timeline, but it's conceivable that another author would find it unwieldy, particularly as we move farther and farther away from the Cold War era.

Guess I nailed it! To be honest it seemed inevitable; I always felt the Fleming timeline was on its last legs as far as continuation novels were concerned.

[DAN LIGHTER]

Is anyone going to get Doctor Shatterhand a pint for all this exclusive.

[terminus]

I'll certainly be happy to if he were ever to be in my neck of the woods, Dan!

[Tybre]

Wow it's been a while since I seriously looked here instead of just skimmed. Missed so, so much important information.

Whole reboot thing sounds perfectly fine to me

[DAN LIGHTER]

I'll certainly be happy to if he were ever to be in my neck of the woods, Dan!

Me to Terminus. I like the fact that Deaver is accessable also. I don't know why, but that always Endears me to them.

[Skudor]

Hmmmm. Not too far off. So it's an almost but not quite. What could be almost but not quite a change of ethnicity - unless they've *gasp* made him American?

As Trident said, the guesswork just fuels the anticipation for the final work.

I love American, but Bond isn't American. To make him a yank would be pointless. Just write a book about Jack Bauer, or Sidney Bristow. Of course he won't be.

[Loomis]

Instead, Deaver is introducing a new character who is either Indian or Pakistanian. No name yet, but he said that there are many Indian maidservants throughout Britain and that May would seem out of place.

Many Indian maidservants throughout Britain? Uh, yeah, and most British policemen are Jewish. Seriously, where does Deaver get his info?

All he said was "post 9/11 terrorists."

Meaning, presumably, non-Muslim terrorists.

[Single-O-Seven]

I wonder if this new reboot will mirror the Fleming series, in that some of the events/characters/plots of the Fleming's are re-introduced and modified in new and modern ways, if only as bits and pieces amongst largely original stories? Not likely, I admit, as most authors probably wouldn't want to rehash anything Fleming already wrote. It'll be interesting, though, if the future "terrorists" will belong to a Spectre-like organisation, in that they will be a recurring adversary with a mysterious leader that Bond will eventually have to face. Just peeing ideas into the wind.

[zencat]

All he said was "post 9/11 terrorists."

Meaning, presumably, non-Muslim terrorists.

I take it to mean terrorists with more of a global infrastructure. Evolved and hardened. Successful terrorists. The kind most people didn't really know existed until after 9/11.

[Brisco]

Perhaps the closest to reality the series has ever come with that step. It's one thing to abolish the 00-section as Gardner did, but never pulled through consequently. Having the 00's deniable and well below the radar of the public is far more logical and indeed crucial in a media world such as ours.

Yes! I love the sound of this. Frankly, I never loved Gardner's abolishing the 00s but Bond would still be M's private 00 agent. Seemed limited and limiting. I think this is the way to go. Modern and cool. "The Double Oh Agent" is back!

Yeah, this is a much better way to update the Double O Section than Gardner's. It sounds kind of like "The Section" on Callan, which is a cool thing! It's also not really a departure from Fleming, just a clarification. Honestly, I never got the feeling in Fleming that the 00s were public knowledge or anything. If Bond had failed to shoot the KGB sniper in TLD, for instance, and been caught by the local authorities, I really doubt Her Majesty's Government would have been speaking up and saying, "Oh, yes, that's our guy!" I suppose by having the Queen offer him a knighthood, that took away from the secrecy a little bit, but isn't there some sort of "secret" knighthood? At any rate, this doesn't feel like a CHANGE, just making something that could have always been the case clearer than it was. And it sounds good!

[Brisco]

Think making May Indian or Pakistani is exactly right.

If something of a sign that the author is an American whose grasp on life in Britain is not quite 100%. May would be far more likely to be eastern European than Pakistani (and very unlikely to be Indian).

(Why is May needed at all? The idea of a 30-something James Bond in 2011 employing a live-in housekeeper seems incredibly old-fashioned, not to mention suggesting that he has the income of a hedge fund manager.)

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. What thirty-something has a line-in housekeeper? Of course, we don't know that she's live-in, and we don't know that she's even named May. (Well, perhaps Dr. Shatterhand knows for sure.) Perhaps Bond has a Pakistani cleaning woman who somehow factors into the plot of the novel. That would be a reason for specifically making her Pakistani, if it ties in somehow with whatever's going on. I kind of suspect it will, because Deaver seems quite sharp in terms of rejecting things that don't work for this day and age. (Like smoking.)

[zencat]

From a page back...

Just in case some of you might have misunderstood, May, Bond's Scottish housekeeper will not be part of this reboot. Instead, Deaver is introducing a new character who is either Indian or Pakistanian. No name yet, but he said that there are many Indian maidservants throughout Britain and that May would seem out of place.

[Brisco]

I agree that the movie an book worlds (and the comic and videogame ones, for that matter--if there ever are comics again) should all be separate and the creators in each medium free to do their own thing. The basic concept of Bond makes that easier than Star Wars. The intense continuity control in the Star Wars Universe is only possible because Lucasfilm wholy controls the license, not Fox or Dark Horse or Del Rey (do they still publish the books?) or anyone else. With Bond, EON and IFP are separate entities. I agree with Zencat that it would be potentially detrimental for EON to have veto power over book authors!

As for post-9/11 terrorists, I agree with everyone who says that that is the world today and it's unavoidable. Terrorism is the new backdrop for any contempory espionage story. That's not to say that they all have to deal with it head-on, but it IS the backdrop. Just as the Cold War was the backdrop to Fleming's world. And think of how many fantastic plots he was able to concoct in that world, some of which were directly affected by those geopolitics and some of which weren't. But you were always kind of aware of that backdrop. It makes perfect sense that Deaver's world (and the world of the authors beyond him) would reflect current times.

Let me be clear: I hate terrorism and it scares the hell out of me and I wish it could just go away, but one side-effect of this horrible evil has been to reinvigorate the spy genre in books and films and television. After the end of the Cold War, authors didn't really know what to do with spies. We got a few short-lived TV shows (like Sam Raimi's Spy Game) about rogue agents who were out of work and causing trouble after the end of the Cold War, but there really wasn't much out there. Even the Brosnan-era Bond movies felt like they were treading water, not really sure what to do with the character. And then suddenly spies had a clear purpose in the world again, a clear enemy. Alias, 24 and Doug Liman's The Bourne Identity all happened to come along in the year after 9/11, and frankly I think that their success can partially be attributed to people's sudden fear (similar to the fear they felt in the Cold War) and need for heroes of that sort, for secret protectors. None of those series were purposely tied into that kind of terrorism (although they all ended up incorporating it to some degree), but all filled the same void in the public psyche. Suddenly, audiences NEEDED spies again. It's completely logical that both Daniel Craig's Bond and Jeffrey Deaver's would fit into this world.

[zencat]

Yeah, that's an excellent point about terrorists and terrorism reinvigorating the spy genre.

Thank you, terrorists.

[DAN LIGHTER]

Cold war adventures can some times feel a world away from our own. Terrorism can effect us all, which I think would make a gritty and real Bond adventure.

[Brisco]

I think we can all rest assured that the two time lines will be separate in every way. Deaver is going to create his own dark world and establish a whole new setting for future authors to play around in. This project sounds excellent.

That said, I'd like to turn my attention for a moment on the subject of Higson. while I most certainly want him to tackle adult Bond, and would be thrilled if he was involved in the 3rd of 4th book of Project X, I would probably be happier if Charlie wrote a period piece along the lines of what Faulks did, only earlier in Bond's 00 career (after, say, the events of Moonraker for instance). I think Higson has so fully immersed himself in Fleming's timeline that it'd be a shame if he couldn't fully mature his own Bond (despite the fact that a fully mature Bond is supposed to equal Fleming's Bond). I wouldn't mind Charlie having his own series as a result. Let him tackle a whole different era, a whole different Bond. Let him build up to Casino Royale, and then let him cut loose with a few adult Bond novels peppered in various intervals of the Fleming time line. Deaver and co. can author a Bond for the 21st Century with Higson taking control of a series all his own. He has certainly earned it. Either way, we WILL be seeing Mr. Higson create an adult thriller one of these days, but the question that remains is when will it take place?

I totally agree! I think that IFP's spokeswoman made it very clear to Zencat that the door was still open for period Bond stories. I would hope that we do continue to see them occasionally (although the trick, of course, is branding them separately so as not to confuse people), and Higson would be IDEAL for one. I definitely want to see him eventually write an adult Bond novel, and I definitely want it to be set in the same continuity as his YB novels: ie, Fleming's. I think IFP recognizes that there's a place for both kinds of stories, and I hope they figure out a way to do it! Personally, I'd certainly be excited for both of them.