2121 replies to this topic

[Jeff007]

It's a wonderful title. White card. A clean slate. A new deck.

[zencat]

I've added the full press release. Info on locations and car!


http://www.thebookbo...is-back-in.html

[Jeff007]

I've added the full press release. Info on locations and car!


http://www.thebookbo...is-back-in.html

Excellent update!

New car:
Bentley Continental GT

[zencat]

About time Bond got a Bentley GT! I've been calling for that for years.

[Jeff007]

“In the world of espionage, giving an agent carte blanche on a mission comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement. Part of the nonstop suspense in the novel is the looming question of what is acceptable in matters of national and international security. Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross?”

Jeffery Deaver

[Captain Tightpants]

I like the title. CARTE BLANCHE. It's not my first choice, and it's not in the Fleming tradition, but what does interest me is the double meaning. On the one hand, it means unconditional authority, but on the other, it means to surrender. "Carte blanche" originated as a French term meaning "white paper", which the military used to surrender. I find it fascinating that the one term can mean two polar opposites. I wonder if - and certainly hope - they'll both come into play ...

[zencat]

I'm just loving this. It's completely opposite what I expected. I expected a very action-oriented cover and an aggressive title, something that screamed XBond. This screams Fleming. It's sophisticated, literary, subtle, classy. But still deadly. This is like looking at the cover of Casino Royale in 1953. I really didn't expect to feel the spirit of Fleming here. It also just looks like a real book! I think they've nailed it.

[David Schofield]

Very good, clever title.

Like the car, too, however cliched.

So far so good, Jeff.

Impressed.

[Jeff007]

This is more than I could ever hopped for. Perfect title which screams Fleming and a great book cover. Just the smoke from our new MI6 assassin's gun. Deaver is perfect for this new Bond adventure. Great work IFP!

[zencat]

Very good, clever title.

Like the car, too, however cliched.

So far so good, Jeff.

Impressed.

Excellent! Glad you like it, David.

This might be the perfect note to end the night on. Bedtime.

[Peaceful]

Ok, I love it now, didn't take me long. lol
Dubai setting - LOVE IT
Bentley - LOVE IT
A disturbing villain - LOVE IT
Old friend (Felix, if it is?) - LOVE IT
(Hmmmm does she love it you all wonder?) lol

I'm only hoping he's using a Beretta instead of a Walther (not the .25 a more modern one)
Peaceful out!

Ah, never mind. I see you got the pics.

What pics?
:-)

[Gobi-1]

Better then I could have hoped for. This is a title Ian Fleming himself would have used. I like the simplicity of the cover as well. Question, will there be a different cover for the US, as was the case with Devil May Care?

[zencat]

Another pic.

[doubler83]

Nice cover. Nice title. Looking forward to it!

[whiteskwirl]

Good title, interesting location, finally going back to Bentley. Looking forward to it.

[zencat]

I changed the title of this thread.

Okay, now I'm going to bed. Really.

[TheSaint]

I've heard worse titles.

I'm underwhelmed by the cover. I've given up expecting decent cover designs nowadays.

I'll get it. Hopefully Bond won't be playing tennis in it.

[Captain Tightpants]

I wonder if the smoke has anythig to do with the plot ... after all, the girl on the cover of DEVIL MAY CARE was styled as a poppy.

[sharpshooter]

Elegant, classy title. Will surely have real meaning with regards to the plot too. Avoids the cliched Bond titles. Like!

It wasn't what I was expecting. So I was initially underwhelmed by both the title and cover. But I'm now in full agreement with you on each point you raise. This is good. We're off to a solid start.

[David Schofield]

Another pic.

Fairly minimalist cover, from what I can see.

But isn't the lettering lovely and simple?

No JEFFREY DEAVER in mile-high letters, as seems to be the case on his own novels.

No Ian Fleming plastered all over the damn thing together with James Bond, just a simple "A James Bond Novel". That is quite enough; if you don't know who created James Bond, I suggest you leave the Planet. The fault of the Benson and Faulks covers was overkill in that respect, as if the book wouldn't sell without stating the bleedin' obvious; no confidence in your authors back then, IFP; damn things looked like cheap pulp.

CARTE BLANCHE up front and centre as the title. As it should be.

A genuine skeptic of the project, I am encouraged by today's developments.

[The Shark]

As I've said elsewhere, I think this has something to do with Cate Blanchett.

[sharpshooter]

Agreed, David. This cover reminds me of an old school kind of thing. De-mythed, but still evocative. As if it’s the 1950s right now, and Bond is brand new. Like going into a library and pulling out an old Fleming book with a modest, bare bones Live and Let Die first edition-esque cover. I like that aspect. The idea that it’s just a novel, nothing pretentious, that happens to feature some guy called James Bond. And the inside does the talking, so to speak. It’s not cheesy. It’s classy. And it’s able to be taken more seriously and even stand alone.

And the car selection was the right one. True to the literary roots.

[Captain Tightpants]

No JEFFREY DEAVER in mile-high letters, as seems to be the case on his own novels.

...

CARTE BLANCHE up front and centre as the title. As it should be.

There's a reason why it's usually the other way around. When people are looking to buy (or borrow from a library) a book, they tend to go via author rather than title. So in order to attract the interest of a potential reader, the author's name is written in large letters. Look at any established author, from Tom Clancy to James Patterson to Jody Picoult - their names will take precedence over the title. It's kind of a status symbol in the writing community; it means you've been writing long enough to sell a book based on your name alone. As for new authors, they tend to have to rely on the title to sell their books, which is why their titles are in larger letters; after all, who would pay them any mind if they were a debut writer and their name was as large as that on a Tom Clancy novel?

There are a few exceptions to the rule; the Harry Potter series srings to mind, but it's an exception because the books are sold because they're Harry Potter novels, not JK Rowling. This mostly applies to fantasy novels - I'm four books into Robert Jordan's THE WHEEL OF TIME series at the moment, and neither title nor author is particularly large. Instead, it's the logo of the series that gets prominence. For an established author to have the title larger than their name is basically suicide, which is why it's an odd choice here. It probably has something to do with the Fleming estates. Sebastian Faulks did the same with DEVIL MAY CARE. But otherwise, having the title of a book written in larger font than the name of an established author is never, ever "as it should be".

[David Schofield]

No JEFFREY DEAVER in mile-high letters, as seems to be the case on his own novels.

...

CARTE BLANCHE up front and centre as the title. As it should be.

For an established author to have the title larger than their name is basically suicide, which is why it's an odd choice here. It probably has something to do with the Fleming estates. Sebastian Faulks did the same with DEVIL MAY CARE. But otherwise, having the title of a book written in larger font than the name of an established author is never, ever "as it should be".

But IIRC, the Ian Fleming James Bond first editions had the titles in larger (and certainly no smaller) characters than Fleming's name....



The way Carte Blanche does it, seems appropriate under those circumstances, no?

[Jim]

All very interesting. Clever title. Abstracty cover. Very Bond.

[Captain Tightpants]

Heh, just found out that Lee Child was approached to write what would become CARTE BLANCHE. I'm glad he didn't get the gig - I tried reading NOTHING TO LOSE a while ago and it was just stupid. He seemed fixated with telling his audience just how much of a badass his cahracter was by regularly having him get into fights with half a dozen men and emerging without so much as a scratch.

But IIRC, the Ian Fleming James Bond first editions had the titles in larger (and certainly no smaller) characters than Fleming's name....

Yes, because they were first editions. The first edition of a book almost always has the title larger than the author's name. You don't just release one book and then your name gets printed in larger letters than the title. You have to achieve a certain level of success. I'm not sure how it was done in the 1950s, and maybe it's more of a modern convention, but the point is that the more successful an author you are, the bigger your name gets to be to make it easier for your readers to locate your latest release. Subsequent printings of the original Fleming books - particularly those printed after 1962 - would have Fleming's name in larger print than the title.

I suspect that the reason why Deaver's name is smaller than the title is because he is writing on behalf of the Fleming estates. No doubt the estates would have a significant issue with Deaver's name appearing in larger letters than the title, because the Bondverse is not an original creation of his. Even Sebastian Faulks was credited as "Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming".

[David Schofield]

Heh, just found out that Lee Child was approached to write what would become CARTE BLANCHE. I'm glad he didn't get the gig - I tried reading NOTHING TO LOSE a while ago and it was just stupid. He seemed fixated with telling his audience just how much of a badass his cahracter was by regularly having him get into fights with half a dozen men and emerging without so much as a scratch.

But IIRC, the Ian Fleming James Bond first editions had the titles in larger (and certainly no smaller) characters than Fleming's name....

Yes, because they were first editions. The first edition of a book almost always has the title larger than the author's name. You don't just release one book and then your name gets printed in larger letters than the title. You have to achieve a certain level of success. I'm not sure how it was done in the 1950s, and maybe it's more of a modern convention, but the point is that the more successful an author you are, the bigger your name gets to be to make it easier for your readers to locate your latest release. Subsequent printings of the original Fleming books - particularly those printed after 1962 - would have Fleming's name in larger print than the title.

I suspect that the reason why Deaver's name is smaller than the title is because he is writing on behalf of the Fleming estates. No doubt the estates would have a significant issue with Deaver's name appearing in larger letters than the title, because the Bondverse is not an original creation of his. Even Sebastian Faulks was credited as "Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming".

Well, whatever the vagaries of modern publishing - of which you know far more than I (though I'd point of that CARTE BLANCE is a First Edition) - IFP have clearly decided to adopt the simple, small, subtle approach of the Fleming firsts, where the title of the book was the most important thing about it.

Oh, and I agree on Child. He'd have been absolutely disasterous. I got about a dozen pages into a Reacher book (I've even forgotten which one!) a few years and threw it down. Horrible stuff, dreadful writing. He's a Brit and he's have written a crap James Bond novel.

[Captain Tightpants]

(though I'd point of that CARTE BLANCE is a First Edition)

It's not the edition of the book that dictates the size of the author's name relative to the size of the title - a first edition of a book can have an author's name larger than its title - but the status of the author. I don't know the conditions by which an author's name will grow in size on the cover, and it's probably different for easy publishing house, but once an author becomes well-known, their name increases in size. I have a few of the early books by Matthew Reilly where the title is considerably larger than his name (hell, in ICE STATION, the "ice" takes up at least have the cover), but by the time he released his fifth book, SCARECROW, his name dominated the cover and had been moved from the bottom of the cover to the top.

Oh, and I agree on Child. He'd have been absolutely disasterous. I got about a dozen pages into a Reacher book (I've even forgotten which one!) a few years and threw it down. Horrible stuff, dreadful writing. He's a Brit and he's have written a crap James Bond novel.

I found Reacher to just be totally bland. His whole pitch was that he was a military policeman turned vagrant and good samaratin. Not even reomtely interesting.

[chrisno1]

CARTE BLANCHE
Hmm
Overtures of Casino Royale,
nice understated cover to go with the understated title.

[The Shark]

Good, understated title, but the cover's fairly bland. Looks like a cheap photoshop effect knocked up in about half an hour.