2121 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

Very exciting news.

Time to seek out some of his books on my next Borders/Barnes & Noble run...

[Righty007]

Will Felix Leiter appear, and if so is it pre- or post-his encounter with the shark?

I would prefer him post-attack but I don't mind as long as Felix Leiter returns!

[zencat]

I'm stating to warm to this idea of a literary Bond reboot. Not sure that's what Deaver is doing, but I'm starting to see how it could work and maybe free him up in a way Gardner and Benson were never totally free (they always had to reconcile Bond with the memory of Tracy, a maimed Leiter, etc.).

[Righty007]

1981: John Gardner brings Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 into the 1980s...

2011: Jeffrey Deaver brings Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 into the 2010s...

I'm so excited for May 28, 2011!

[zencat]

Check out this video of JD talking about his writing method. Very encouraging.

http://www.amazon.co.../m23GYGNVF1T2LL

[Righty007]

Is it just me or does this look like something we all know well?

[zencat]

Nice! And that's the book IFP liked. That's the one I'm going to get and have him sign. With that cover and the association, it's sort of a Bond collectible.

[Righty007]

Nice! And that's the book IFP liked. That's the one I'm going to get and have him sign. With that cover and the association, it's sort of a Bond collectible.

I was thinking about getting Garden of Beasts for my Kindle.

[Qwerty]

Nice! And that's the book IFP liked. That's the one I'm going to get and have him sign. With that cover and the association, it's sort of a Bond collectible.

Definitely. That's the perfect cover.

[clinkeroo]

Wow .

Random thoughts:

*Amazing, gifted writer. More importantly after DMC, amazing, gifted, thriller writer. Good with language, good ear, excellent pacing, very meticulous in detail without being overbearing (Clancy).

*Shocked they picked another American from Illinois. That may make some of the Brits nervous, but not those that have read Deaver. To those that have not, check out the Lincoln Rhymes novels. This is my favourite, living American thriller writer not named Connelly, Leonard, or Parker, and I wouldn't trust any of them to handle Fleming's Bond, I would Deaver. You see, the Deaver’s in the details, he does his homework, and has the prerequisite skills to smooth it out and back it up.

*What's up with the modern setting? This makes me nervous. I always thought IFP/Glidrose really hobbled Gardner and Benson by forcing a creation of the cold war, a member of the Greatest Generation, into the politically correct, soft-bellied modern world. This is not pre-mature criticism, just concern; I believe this will be good, but period work is one of the most appealing aspects of recent Bond adventures for me (YB and MP.).

*I am flabbergasted that they were able to sign someone this good who is still in his prime. It makes me think this could really be a passion project for JD. The last great writer who I thought had true passion for Bond, and was willing to take a stab at it, was Amis. Gardner...great writer, no passion for Bond. Benson...buckets of passion, but green as a writer. Faulks, great character-piece writer who curiously gave us a shallow, aping version of Bond.

Wow .

Jeffery "Frickin'" Deaver; that's amazing. Now, I have a whole year to temper my overwhelmingly high expectations. It's going to be tough.

[zencat]

What fantastic day this has been. Not unlike the day Daniel Craig was announced (expect no news crew came over in the afternoon). I've been glued to the computer all day like a junkie -- in a pure Bond fanboy haze. Time to come down, finish watching Looking For Mr. Goodbar, and pay attention to my neglected cat. But I might just binge on this all day tomorrow as well.

Signing off.

[Trident]

I guess I'm just feeling apprehensive about the contemporary setting because I'm afraid of the whole affair moving too close to the films. On the other hand, strangely enough, I feel a modern reboot could reinvigorate the series. Although Gardner and Benson both went with contemporary settings, I feel they always were hampered by pretending there was a continuity from 'Casino Royale' to 'The Man With The Red Tattoo'. Now I would like to see Bond free of such strings.

At the moment the only thing I feel sure we won't get is a Bond-revolution, so I doubt there will be too obvious references and/or discrepancies with Fleming, Amis, Gardner, Benson, Pearson and so on. Project X will most likely be a 'straight' pageturner and, surprisingly enough, I actually welcome this. Anything more aspiring would come as icing on the cake to me.

[Glenn]

Brilliant news

Now we jut have to wait an entire year for it to be released........by which time I'll be 40

Having Mr "Bone Collector" write it is just great. I didn't post on the speculation, but I couldn't see Lee Child writing a Bond, he is just too busy with his Jack Reacher stories. I was holding out for Ken Follet though.

[tristanjblythe]

I'm excited...never read one of his books before, may have to make a trip to the library soon.

A modern day Bond novel - cool. Perhaps it will be adapted for Bond 24? It would save EON having to come up with a story and provided the book is well received could be a smart move.

I know they never did it with Gardner/Benson but given how they acknowledged and praised DMC (alright they stood to gain as it was the centenary so all eyes were on Fleming/007) and the current "back to Fleming/basics" approach, it seems a possibility to me.

I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy!

[DAN LIGHTER]

Is it just me or does this look like something we all know well?

Nice! And that's the book IFP liked. That's the one I'm going to get and have him sign. With that cover and the association, it's sort of a Bond collectible.

Greattip off and a good way to start with his work. Title reminds me of YOLT.

[Jim]

Interesting decisions.

[marktmurphy]

I like that it's Hodder. Back to the original publisher.

BTW, message from JD on Twitter.

http://twitpic.com/1rn9qd

Deaver's tweet seems to hint at a series of novels...

Yeah, it does, doesn't it? Interesting.


I like the way the IFP person says it was Garden of Beasts that made them think he could do a period thriller: and then he goes and does an updated Bond!

Garden of Beasts sounds quite good: anyone recommend it?

[marktmurphy]

I guess I'm just feeling apprehensive about the contemporary setting because I'm afraid of the whole affair moving too close to the films. On the other hand, strangely enough, I feel a modern reboot could reinvigorate the series. Although Gardner and Benson both went with contemporary settings, I feel they always were hampered by pretending there was a continuity from 'Casino Royale' to 'The Man With The Red Tattoo'. Now I would like to see Bond free of such strings.

Interesting point. Whereas I like the idea of the new BBC Sherlock Holmes moving him into the modern day in order to clearly showcase his character (which is often clouded by hansom cabs, fog and top hats), I can sort of see how this might benefit Bond, but Bond in the modern day is something we're all very familiar with. Maybe making him an Iraq veteran or something might be interesting but... I'm not sure it'll make much difference in the long run.

[[dark]]

Jeffery Deaver discusses his approach to Project X

"I am not writing this book as if I were Ian Fleming. No-one can really do that."

[Trident]

I guess I'm just feeling apprehensive about the contemporary setting because I'm afraid of the whole affair moving too close to the films. On the other hand, strangely enough, I feel a modern reboot could reinvigorate the series. Although Gardner and Benson both went with contemporary settings, I feel they always were hampered by pretending there was a continuity from 'Casino Royale' to 'The Man With The Red Tattoo'. Now I would like to see Bond free of such strings.

Interesting point. Whereas I like the idea of the new BBC Sherlock Holmes moving him into the modern day in order to clearly showcase his character (which is often clouded by hansom cabs, fog and top hats), I can sort of see how this might benefit Bond, but Bond in the modern day is something we're all very familiar with. Maybe making him an Iraq veteran or something might be interesting but... I'm not sure it'll make much difference in the long run.

I think it's perhaps less about the backstory (not that much to be found about Bond apart from CR, MR and YOLT) and more about the general approach of Bond himself as a character. And here the genre, as well as the entire society, has seen a definite shift from the days when one could sort of 'drift into' the espionage/counter-espionage game, as Bond/Fleming did.

Today, candidates are no longer 'spotted' but apply in a perfectly ordinary way on a position via job offer, get trained in regular courses and finally posted with a scheduled three-year rotation on various posts. Implanting into this drab bureaucratic routine an animal such as Bond, conspicuous, adventurous, at times undisciplined to the point of downright insubordination, is certainly not an easy task. I hope the book will stay as far from the films as possible when basically sharing the same central character. But as 'updating' goes the EON films show at least how difficult finding a balance here is.

Personally, I would have voted for a definitive reboot, but suspect we'll get at the most something that could be interpreted as both, reboot and/or continuation.

Jeffery Deaver discusses his approach to Project X

"I am not writing this book as if I were Ian Fleming. No-one can really do that."

Very wise words indeed.

[sharpshooter]

Deaver said exactly what I wanted to hear. He's got the right mindset.

[Safari Suit]

I for one am in favour of the contemporary setting. There have been enough Fleming pastiches of one kind or another. Moving forward temporally is often the best way to move forward creatively. May it end up taking the books too close to the films? It's certainly possible, but I have faith that Deaver will avoid that pitfall (although, if I'm honest, I wouldn't be too bothered by a shift towards the cinematic Bond if it were done well).

[Trident]

I for one am in favour of the contemporary setting. There have been enough Fleming pastiches of one kind or another. Moving forward temporally is often the best way to move forward creatively. May it end up taking the books too close to the films? It's certainly possible, but I have faith that Deaver will avoid that pitfall (although, if I'm honest, I wouldn't be too bothered by a shift towards the cinematic Bond if it were done well).

But that's exactly the biggest problem the continuations of Gardner&Benson had IMO, trying to merge film and lit Bond, have it both ways. I always felt that were the weakest moments of many good initial efforts, when the infamous Q-scenes and gadgets were forced into the show and drowned what otherwise could have been really original takes.

I don't say it absolutely cannot be done; it just seems so incredibly difficult to pull off from my view. So I'd rather the film world were left well alone in lit Bond.

[Righty007]

@007ProjectX is now on Twitter!

[[dark]]

Good find, Righty. And #007PX is the hashtag we're being encouraged to use to discuss Project X.

[Righty007]

Good find, Righty. And #007PT is the hashtag we're being encouraged to use to discuss Project X.

I encourage all Twitter users to use the #007PX hashtag when discussing Project X so that all tweets related to the project can be found easily when doing a search.

Edited by Righty007, 28 May 2010 - 12:19 PM.

[Trident]

Good find, Righty. And #007PT is the hashtag we're being encouraged to use to discuss Project X.

I encourage all Twitter users to use the #007PT hashtag when discussing Project X so that all tweets related to the project can be found easily when doing a search.

#007PT???


T???


Why ever T ?

[Righty007]

Good find, Righty. And #007PT is the hashtag we're being encouraged to use to discuss Project X.

I encourage all Twitter users to use the #007PT hashtag when discussing Project X so that all tweets related to the project can be found easily when doing a search.

#007PT???


T???


Why ever T ?

[dark] and I mean't #007PX! Sorry!

[Trident]

[dark] and I mean't #007PX! Sorry!

Phew, never mind. Glad I wasn't completely gone round the bend already...

[Righty007]

Follow @HodderBooks and @simonschuster also!