Charlie Higson's Hurricane Gold arrives on audiobook in US

Charlie Higson’s Hurricane Gold arrives on audiobook today in the US.

Young James Bond fans can now pick up Higson’s fourth novel in the series in the just-released audiobook format from Blackstone. The title is available as a 6-CD set, 6-cassette set and on MP3 and is read by Gerard Doyle.

As previously noted on CommanderBond.net, Blackstone has taken over the publication duties for the Young Bond titles on audiobook in the US. They will be releasing Higson’s By Royal Command this May. The three of the previous Higson Bond books were released under the Random House Listening Library label.

Order Hurricane Gold from Amazon.com:

• Order the US audiobook edition of Hurricane Gold from Amazon.com (CD)
• Order the US audiobook edition of Hurricane Gold from Amazon.com (Cassette)
• Order the US audiobook edition of Hurricane Gold from Amazon.com (MP3)

Be sure to keep checking the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest Young Bond-related news.

James Bond: Licence To Quote: The Quotable Double-0 Seven

A brand new book for the James Bond fan is on store shelves this month in the US.

Available now is James Bond: Licence To Quote: The Quotable Double-0 Seven, compiled and edited by Colin M. Jarman, containing more than 1,500 quotes about the world’s most famous British spy.

Published in paperback by Blue Eyed Books, James Bond: Licence To Quote: The Quotable Double-0 Seven retails for $13.99. The publisher’s blurb follows below:

1500 Humorous Quotes about the world’s favorite spy … Licence To Quote is the first quotations book solely dedicated to the ever-expanding universe that surrounds James Bond.

This book of humorous quotes is all about the lighter side of Double-0 Seven—his books, his movies, his life, world, & his cultural footprint. Licence To Quote turns the tables on the world’s favorite secret agent and turns the spotlight on him. A Who’s Who of observers and commentators—from all over the globe—take dead aim at James Bond: man and myth. Comical contributions come from his creators, his critics, his biographers, his imitators, his fans and from selected media sources including film, TV, fansites, etc. The depth and diversity of subject matter in this book clearly demonstrates the incredible level of recognition and the extraordinary fan-base Bond has built up since he first appeared in 1953. For well over fifty years, 007 has been at the summit of the best-seller’s list, on top of the cinema box-office and still remains at the forefront of the world’s consciousness. His iconic image and cultural accessories are legendary and Licence To Quote celebrates that legend.

“James Bond was a suave intellectual who could slice through life’s difficulties with the ruthless efficiency of Oddjob’s hat.” WILLIAM GRIMES in The New York Times (1991) … “I wish he’d get back to the days when Bond head-butted Curt Jürgens in the face, blew up Donald Pleasence’s volcano and went to bed with Barbara Bach.” JEREMY CLARKSON in The Sunday Times (2009) … “Everyone in Bond is named after somebody Ian Fleming knew. Pussy Galore was probably his cleaning lady.” SINCLAIR MACKAY, The Man with the Golden Touch (2008) … for more details go to www.LicenseToQuote.com

Order James Bond: Licence To Quote: The Quotable Double-0 Seven from Amazon.com:

• Order James Bond: Licence To Quote: The Quotable Double-0 Seven from Amazon.com

For up-to-the-minute literary James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums.

All My Flashbacks: The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert released in UK

James Bond fans in the UK can now pick up the newly-published autobiography of three-time James Bond director Lewis Gilbert.

Entitled All My Flashbacks: The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert, the book examines Gilbert’s 50+ years in the film business, from directing classics such as Alfie and Sink the Bismarck! to three of the biggest Bond films ever: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker

All My Flashbacks: The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert will is published in hardback by Reynolds & Hearn Ltd and retails for £19.99.

For an exclusive look at the cover artwork, head over to From Sweden with Love.

The official blurb follows:

Lewis Gilbert shot to prominence in 1950s British cinema by directing such successful films as Reach for the Sky, Carve Her Name with Pride and Sink the Bismarck! In the sixties, he notably directed Alfie. Gilbert has helmed three lavish James Bond movies: You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

In the 1980s he turned to small-scale dramas, directing Willy Russell’s Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. This is Lewis Gilbert’s own story—fifty years at the top of the movie business.

Order All My Flashbacks: The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert online at a discounted price:

• Order the UK hardback edition of All My Flashbacks: The Autobiography of Lewis Gilbert from Amazonc.co.uk

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for all the latest literary 007 coverage and news.

Cover redesign for first three Young Bond novels

Young Bond is back in the US this upcoming May in Charlie Higson’s By Royal Command and publisher Disney/Hyperion has decided to slightly revamp the covers for the entire series to mark the occasion.

The Young Bond Dossier reports that the paperback covers for the first three Young James Bond adventures—SilverFin, Blood Fever and Double or Die—will have some slight changes when they are reprinted.

According to the site, changes will include the enlargement of the title itself, changing the Young Bond logo from blue to red and a more emphasized “Book 1… Book 2… Book 3…” etc. marking. These new covers are expected to debut around the time the By Royal Command hardback is published.

Keep your browsers pinpointed on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest news from the world of Young Bond.

Titan's James Bond Omnibus Volume 2 cover art revealed

Earlier this month, CommanderBond.net reported that Titan Books would be releasing another collection of classic 007 newspaper strips later this year entitled James Bond Omnibus Volume 2.

We can now reveal the cover artwork for the series, which also confirms the inclusion of the following stories: The Spy Who Loved Me, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and many others.

This collection follows the release of Volume 1, which arrived in late-2008 and was comprised of 11 original Ian Fleming-based adventures, featuring the work of writers Henry Gammidge, Anthony Hern and Peter O’Donnell and artist John McLusky.

Bond fans can currently pre-order at Amazon, where the title is listed for release on 28 September 2010 at a retail price of £12.75 / $19.95 (order links follow below).

Keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

By Royal Command US cover artwork revealed

The Young Bond Dossier has struck again with another exclusive and this time it’s the newly released cover artwork for the US hardback of Charlie Higson’s By Royal Command.

Click Here To View

This dark, moody cover for the fifth Young James Bond adventure features the work of artist Owen Richardson (taking over for series regular Kev Walker, who created the previous four covers in the series).

As the Dossier notes, Richardson brings his own artistic flair to the cover, but continues in Walker’s vein of creating a Bond vs. Villain theme. As an additional note, Roan Power, the Bond girl of the story, is also prominently featured.

Disney/Hyperion will publish By Royal Command in hardback on 18 May 2010. Retailing for $16.99, the title can currently be pre-ordered from Amazon.com for a discounted price…

• Order the US hardback of By Royal Command from Amazon.com

Keep your browsers pinpointed on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest news from the world of Young Bond.

Michael Gillette designs new Quantum of Solace cover

Artist Michael Gillette has returned once more to the world of James Bond to design a cover for a forthcoming edition of Ian Fleming’s Quantum of Solace (which collects together the short stories from the For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy and The Living Daylights collections).

The cover (viewed right) will adorn the new Portuguese edition of the book due to be published next month by Contraponto. As many literary 007 fans are aware, Gillette designed the covers for all of the Fleming Bond adventures for their 2008 centenary printing.

Originally released in hardback, the titles were later made available in paperback at various intervals throughout 2009.

For further information, visit Gillette’s official blog, Pencil Squeezing.

Keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

The Blades Library Book Club: Blood Fever

Welcome back to The Blades Library Book Club – the place for quality discussions of the books of James Bond!

Every two months a James Bond 007 novel is chosen for the club members to read. A thread is posted in the CommanderBond.net Discussion Forums listing locations where you can find the novel. Discussions about the book will go on as the book is read and when it is finished. Another thread will be created so that club members can post their review and give a rating on the current book.

All fans of the Literary Bond are eligible for membership. All you need to do to sign up is register on the CBn Forums (it’s free and only takes a minute) and then post your name in the sign up thread.

The Book Club’s 37th Book

We are progressing though the James Bond 007 novels in chronological order, since quite a number of members are using the club as an opportunity to read the books for the very first time. After moving through the Bond novels by Ian Fleming, Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Raymond Benson the club most recently moved onto Charlie Higson’s Young Bond era and now continues with his second novel: 2006’s Blood Fever.

Obtaining The Book

Ordering online should be fairly easy. Blood Fever can be ordered online from the following sources:

• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.com
• eBay

Discuss other places to buy Blood Fever or where you got your copy in this thread.

Discuss The Book While Reading

Want to talk about the book while reading it? Post a new thread in The Blades Library.

Review And Rate The Book

After you have finished reading Blood Fever, you can discuss it with other club members in The Blades Library, and give the book your personal rating out of five in this thread.

If you have any questions or suggestions just post them in a new thread. Happy reading.

*New* Archive Of All Past Read Books

Additionally, club members can review or comment on any of the past read books in the club any time they want. Click here for the full archive of the past read books in the club.

Previous Books Read

• SilverFin: December 2009 – January 2010
• The Man with the Red Tattoo: October 2009 – November 2009
• Never Dream of Dying: August 2009 – September 2009
• Doubleshot: June 2009 – July 2009
• High Time To Kill: April 2009 – May 2009
• The Facts of Death: February 2009 – March 2009
• Zero Minus Ten: December 2008 – January 2009
• COLD: October 2008 – November 2008
• SeaFire: August 2008 – September 2008
• Never Send Flowers: June 2008 – July 2008
• Death Is Forever: April 2008 – May 2008
• The Man From Barbarossa: February 2008 – March 2008
• Brokenclaw: December 2007 – January 2008
• Win, Lose Or Die: October 2007 – November 2007
• Scorpius: August 2007 – September 2007
• No Deals, Mr. Bond: June 2007 – July 2007
• Nobody Lives Forever: April 2007 – May 2007
• Role Of Honour: February 2007 – March 2007
• Icebreaker: December 2006 – January 2007
• For Special Services: October 2006 – November 2006
• Licence Renewed: August 2006 – September 2006
• Colonel Sun: June 2006 – July 2006
• Octopussy & The Living Daylights: April 2006 – May 2006
• The Man With The Golden Gun: February 2006 – March 2006
• You Only Live Twice: December 2005 – January 2006
• On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: October 2005 – November 2005
• The Spy Who Loved Me: August 2005 – September 2005
• Thunderball: June 2005 – July 2005
• For Your Eyes Only: April 2005 – May 2005
• Goldfinger: February 2005 – March 2005
• Doctor No: December 2004 – January 2005
• From Russia, With Love: September 2004 – November 2004
• Diamonds Are Forever: July 2004 – August 2004
• Moonraker: May 2004 – June 2004
• Live and Let Die: May 2003 – June 2003
• Casino Royale: March 2003 – April 2003

Behind the scenes of Raymond Benson's Doubleshot

Our friends over at Spywise.net have a brand new special feature targeted at fans of author Raymond Benson and the literary James Bond in general… Behind The Scenes of Doubleshot: How and Why Raymond Benson Put Me Into His Fourth 007 Thriller by Iwan Morelius.

This memoir and photo-fest from Sweden’s Iwan Morelius traces his relationship with Benson and how they travelled together in Spain while the then-current 007 continuation author was researching material for what became his fourth official Bond novel, 2000’s Doubleshot.

The second novel in Benson’s Union trilogy, Doubleshot finds James Bond squaring off once again against the criminal organization known as the Union, who have vowed revenge against the British agent after he foiled their Skin 17 plans in the previous novel, High Time to Kill. With a detailed and intricate plot and locations including Gibraltar and Spain, Doubleshot is often cited by fans as a high point in the Benson Bond canon.

As a result of their valued assistance to Benson during his research trip, both Morelius and his wife were transformed into characters in the final novel. Readers will recognize them as the Swedish plastic surgeon Iwan Morelius and the seductive, but deadly assassin Margareta Piel.

Complemented with numerous photographs from the trip, Behind The Scenes of Doubleshot: How and Why Raymond Benson Put Me Into His Fourth 007 Thriller is a must-read for literary Bond fans. The seven-page long PDF file can be located in the James Bond Files section of Spywise.net…

SPYWISE.NET: Behind The Scenes of Doubleshot: How and Why Raymond Benson Put Me Into His Fourth 007 Thriller by Iwan Morelius

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for all the latest literary 007 coverage and news.

First look at Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier UK paperback cover art

Literary 007 fans can now get their FIRST LOOK at the cover artwork for the UK paperback edition of Charlie Higson’s Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier.

As the Young Bond Dossier website points out, this is the first official literary James Bond release to feature the Bond character prominently on a UK cover in quite some time.

Due for release on 3 June 2010 and published by Puffin Books, this edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier will retail for £6.99.

Touted as the complete and definitive guide to Higson’s Young Bond, the aptly-titled Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier includes in-depth character profiles, information on the cars, weapons and exotic locations, plus photographs, maps, and illustrations by artist Kev Walker.

As an added bonus, the book also features a brand new Young Bond story by Higson entitled A Hard Man to Kill. For more details on that story, click here.

• Order the UK paperback edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier from Amazon.co.uk

Be sure to keep checking the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest Young Bond-related news.