All of Ian Fleming's James Bond centenary paperbacks now available

Literary James Bond fans and collectors can now pick up all 14 of Ian Fleming’s original 007 adventures in their new centenary paperback editions.

As previously reported on CommanderBond.net, this year saw the Fleming titles debut in the paperback format at various intervals and now the final set of titles have been added to online bookseller Amazon.co.uk.

The original hardback editions were first published under the Penguin 007 imprint with striking new cover designs by artist Michael Gillette. These editions were quickly coveted by fans and went out of print after just a few months following their May 2008 release (subsequent printings have made them available once again).

Each of these 007 centenary novels retails for £7.99 and can be ordered online:

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

The Blades Library Book Club: SilverFin

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 36th 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 will now move onto Charlie Higson’s Young Bond era and start off with his first novel: 2005’s SilverFin.

Obtaining The Book

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

• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.com
• eBay

Discuss other places to buy SilverFin 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 SilverFin, 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

• 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

New Amazon listing for Ian Fleming's From Russia with Love

CommanderBond.net has come across a listing for a forthcoming edition of Ian Fleming’s 1956 James Bond novel, From Russia with Love on Amazon.com.

This mystery listing includes a release date of 29 June 2010 and also oddly credits a Chris Garver as the illustrator alongside Fleming’s author credit.

This 272-page paperback will be released by Penguin, the main publisher of Fleming’s 007 novels for roughly the past decade. Cover artwork is still to be revealed.

As soon as we learn more about this forthcoming From Russia with Love release, we’ll be sure to let you know.

• Order Ian Fleming’s From Russia with Love from Amazon.com

Charlie Higson's SilverFin Graphic Novel chosen for Angouleme Selection

Ian Fleming Publications alerts us to the news that Charlie Higson’s and Kev Walker’s SilverFin: The Graphic Novel has been chosen for the Angoulême Selection.

The Angoulême International Comics Festival, now in its 37th year, is the biggest comics and comic books convention in the world, and has chosen SilverFin: The Graphic Novel as one of the 58 best graphic novels published in the last year.

For further information, visit the official Angoulême International Comics Festival website.

Keep your browsers pinpointed on the CBn main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest Young Bond news as it becomes available.

Is Young Bond set for a return in 2011?

Our friends at The Young Bond Dossier have stumbled across some potentially huge Young Bond news today.

According to a Northants Evening Telegraph article, Harry Enfield (comedian partner of author Charlie Higson) was a guest at the ‘Kids Lit Quiz’ finals which took place at Oxford Town Hall on Friday, 27 November. Reading further on, the article points out that Mr. Enfield brought along a rather spectacular treat for those in attendance…

‘The guest at the final was comedian Harry Enfield, who did a reading from the first page of the new young James Bond book by Charlie Higson, which is not going to be available until 2011.’

If true, then it looks like the literary James Bond will be back in a big way come 2011. As 007 readers are well aware, Higson’s initial wave of Young Bond adventures concluded with the 2008 publication of By Royal Command, although Higson has hinted that there will be further books in the future.

CommanderBond.net stresses the point that this report from the Northants Evening Telegraph is not yet confirmed as publisher Ian Fleming Publications have issued no formal statement or announcement.

It is possible that the Telegraph are mistakenly referring to the forthcoming book in Higson’s non-Bond series, The Enemy…

…but we hope not.

Keep your browsers pinpointed on the CBn main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest Young Bond news as it becomes available.

Sir Roger Moore's My Word is My Bond paperback released in US

Sir Roger Moore’s superb biography My Word Is My Bond has now arrived in paperback in the United States.

Published in hardback in the UK and US late last year, Sir Roger’s frank, funny and fascinating biography sees the actor recounting his life’s experiences, including, naturally, his years portraying Ian Fleming’s secret agent, James Bond 007.

The paperback edition is published by It Books and retails for $14.99, although Amazon.com currently has the title available at 33% off.

The quintessential suave hero, Roger Moore has had an extraordinary career that has spanned seven decades, from early television to the golden age of Hollywood and on to international superstardom.

Dashing, handsome and every inch the archetypal English gentleman, he is unforgettable as The Saint, as Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders! and, of course, as James Bond, making seven blockbusting films as arguably the most debonair of the 007s.

For the first time, Roger shares his recollections of playing some of the world’s most famous roles alongside a host of legendary stars. With myriad stories from his personal life–from his childhood in London and experiences during the Second World War, to the happy and turbulent times in his later life. Along with anecdotes about his encounters with the stars and his wonderful memories from the heyday of Hollywood, My Word is My Bond is as frank, funny and disarmingly charming as the legend himself.

• Order the US paperback edition of My Word is My Bond from Amazon.com

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

More signed copies of The Young Bond Dossier from Ian Fleming Publications

After the enthusiastic response to the first batch of signed copies of the Charlie Higson’s Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. will have a second extremely limited set, available for purchase from 10:00am on Monday 7th December.

If you are keen to reserve a copy before these books go on sale, please email your request to [email protected]. Please note that we will do our best to reserve copies as requested, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet every request that we receive.

Similarly to their last batch, in order to make sure that as many people as possible are able to order a signed copy, Ian Fleming Publications will again be limiting purchases to a maximum of 2 copies per mailing address. Orders of more than 2 copies per individual will be refunded.

Visit the IFP shop on Monday morning to buy your copy, or email [email protected] to request that a copy be set aside.

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

Titan's Ian Fleming James Bond Omnibus arrives in the US

007 fans in the US can now pick up the latest James Bond newspaper strip collection from Titan Books.

Following up a September release in the UK, the The James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1) is now shipping from Amazon.com at a discounted price.

Limited to original Ian Fleming material, this volume will showcase the work of writers Henry Gammidge, Anthony Hern and Peter O’Donnell and artist John McLusky.

Bond adventures included are: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Risico, From a View to a Kill, For Your Eyes Only and Thunderball.

The full blurb follows:

The daring James Bond is back in a definitive bumper edition collecting Ian Fleming’s earliest literary adventures in comic strip form! For the first time, eleven of Bond’s most thrilling and dangerous missions appear in a single volume: “Casino Royale”, “Live and Let Die”, “Moonraker”, “Diamonds are Forever”, “From Russia With Love”, “Dr. No”, “Goldfinger”, “Risico”, “From a View to a Kill”, “For Your Eyes Only” and “Thunderball”!

With an exclusive introduction by Sir Roger Moore, this huge volume features beautiful women, thrilling action, incredible gadgets and the odd Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred…this ultimate collection of Bond’s best is not to be missed.

Printed as a flexi-bound paperback, The James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1) can currently be ordered online at a discounted price. Order links follow at the end of this article.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date illustrated James Bond coverage on the web.

Raymond Benson returns with Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

The second book in Raymond Benson’s Metal Gear Solid series, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, is now available in both the UK and US.

Published in paperback by Del Ray stateside and Orbit in the UK, the book retails for $14.00 and £7.99, respectively.

Benson’s first book based on the popular video game series was released in mid-2008.

The blurb for follows below:

METAL GEAR SOLID: THE BEAST IS BACK.
WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

In a torrential downpour, former FOXHOUND agent Solid Snake stands on the George Washington Bridge–ready to launch himself onto the deck of the U.S.S. Discovery as it passes below. Inside Discovery is a new generation of Metal Gear. But in the next hour, Snake’s world explodes.

Two years later, a young, unproven agent code-named Raiden must penetrate the mystery of what went so insanely wrong that night.

In a labyrinthine superstructure in New York Harbor known as the Big Shell, enemies, allies, secret agents, and double-dealers converge: Russian commandos, a cyber Vamp, a long-legged, leather-clad, rifle-bearing beauty named Fortune, a deformed, finely manicured bomber called Fatman, and a mysterious Mister X. Somewhere in the maze, as well, is the president himself–his biometrics coded to a bomb that can take out Manhattan, his loyalties unknown. Now the rookie Raiden is fighting his way to one discovery after another, including the rebirth of Solid Snake himself and a nightmare organization with a history, a plan, and a terrifying superweapon hidden in plain sight.

• Order the UK paperback edition of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty from Amazon.co.uk
• Order the US paperback edition of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty from Amazon.com

James Bond fans best know Benson as the author of six Bond continuation novels, three short stories and the film novelizations for Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. Click here for CommanderBond.net’s four-part interview with Raymond Benson.

The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader released in US

UPDATE: Release date pushed to 19 January 2010.

007 fans in the United States can now pick up the just-released second edition of Christoph Lindner’s The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader.

Originally published in the UK and US at the end of 2003, The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader features various essays examining from different perspectives the cultural icon that 007 has become.

This new edition of The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader is published in paperback by Manchester University Press. At 272 pages in length, it retails for $24.95. An order link follows at the end of this article.

The book’s original blurb follows:

Sean Connery’s tuxedo, Ursula Andress’ bikini, Oddjob’s bowler hat, and Q’s gadgets are just a few defining features of the 007 world examined in this text. Drawn from the fields of literary, film, music and cultural studies, the essays in this collection range from revitalized readings of Ian Fleming’s spy novels to the analysis of Pussy Galore’s lesbianism, Miss Monneypenny’s filmic feminism and Pierce Brosnan’s techno-fetishism.

Together the essays not only consider the James Bond novels and films in relation to their historical, political and social contexts, from the Cold-War period onwards, but also examine the classic bond canon from an array of theoretical perspectives. What the text aims to show is that there is much more to the 007 series than cheap thrills, fast cars and beautiful women.

With essays by Umberto Eco, Tony Bennett, Tara Brabazon, Toby Miller and Jim Leach, among others, Lindner illustrates not only how the Bond character has conquered the globe, but has sustained its pre-eminence across six decades. Starting with the original books and moving through the films, the music and the marketing, this study should be of use to students of film, media, popular literature, marketing and cultural studies.

• Order the paperback edition of The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader (2nd ed.) from Amazon.com

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