UK pre-order: Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming's World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction

Following up a release in the US this month, Nigel West’s Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction is now available to pre-order in the UK.

Fusing together entries on Fleming’s famous 00-agent James Bond and detailed information on cases of espionage, real-life spies, MI5, SIS, CIA, KGB, and others, Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction asks the question: What proportion of Fleming’s output is authentic, and what comes directly from the his imagination?

Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction is published in hardback by The Scarecrow Press and retails for £49.95 / $80.00. The title is due for release on 1 February 2010 in the UK and is currently available in the US.

Amazon order links follow at the end of this article.

Twelve novels and nine short stories define one of the most extraordinary fictional characters of all time, creating the basis for the most successful movie series in cinematographic history, watched by more than half the world’s population. The single person probably more responsible than any other for glamorizing the murky world of espionage is Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, who himself lived a remarkable double life of spy and writer. Everyone has an opinion on why 007 became so successful, but one possible explanation is the ingenious formula of fact, fiction, and sheer fantasy. Certainly the author drew on friends and places he knew well to provide the backdrop for his drama, but what proportion of his output is authentic, and what comes directly from the author’s imagination?

These questions and more are examined in the Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction. This is done through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on actual cases of espionage, real-life spies, MI5, SIS, CIA, KGB, and others. It also contains entries on Ian Fleming’s novels and short stories, family and friends, his employers and colleagues, and other notable characters.

• Order Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction from Amazon.co.uk
• Order Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction from Amazon.com

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest literary 007 coverage.

The Blades Library Book Club: The Man with the Red Tattoo

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 club forums listing locations on 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 35th 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 and John Gardner, the club most recently embarked upon the Raymond Benson Bond era and now continues with his sixth novel: 2002’s The Man with the Red Tattoo.

Obtaining The Book

Ordering online should be fairly easy. The Man with the Red Tattoo can be ordered online (although in used condition) from the following sources:

• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.com
• eBay

Discuss other places to buy The Man with the Red Tattoo 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 The Man with the Red Tattoo, 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

• 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

Ian Fleming's Goldfinger to be adapted for BBC Radio

Ian Fleming’s seventh James Bond novel, 1959’s Goldfinger, has been announced as an upcoming BBC Radio adaptation.

The Stage reports that independent production company Jarvis and Ayres will be behind this 007 production. It is owned and run by actors Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres.

This Goldfinger adaptation will follow last year’s Radio 4 production of Dr. No (also produced by Jarvis), which was produced to mark the Fleming centenary in May.

Jarvis told The Stage he had initially been given approval from Bond film company Eon Productions to produce Dr. No on a ‘special one-off’ basis. However, he said they had been so impressed with the reworking of Dr. No, which starred Die Another Day baddie Toby Stephens as 007 and David Suchet as Dr. No, that they approached Jarvis and Ayres to ask them to make another.

Jarvis added that Goldfinger will be similar to the Dr. No production, which featured narrations from a Fleming character, played by Jarvis. Casting is yet to be confirmed, but he stated that he was keen to get Stephens back again for the role of Bond.

The production is expected on Radio 4 early next year.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date news from the world of James Bond.

By Royal Command wins Oxfordshire Children's Book Award

Charlie Higson’s fifth Young James Bond adventure, By Royal Command, has been announced the winner of the 2009 Oxfordshire Children’s Book Award.

The Young Bond Dossier reports that the news was announced over this past weekend on the official Ian Fleming Publications website.

The winner of this award was decided upon by nearly 1,000 children in the Oxfordshire area.

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

US Young Bond tour with Charlie Higson in 2010

Earlier this week, we reported on the many different Young Bond-related releases scheduled to hit the US in May 2010. Now, The Young Bond Dossier features the exclusive news that author Charlie Higson will be embarking on a US tour the exact same month.

Designed to promote the release of By Royal Command, SilverFin: The Graphic Novel and the non-Bond horror adventure The Enemy, this will be Higson’s first tour stateside since the release of Blood Fever in 2006.

Specific times and dates are yet to be announced, but we’ll post the information up as soon as we hear more.

• Order the US hardback of By Royal Command from Amazon.com
• Order the US hardback of SilverFin: The Graphic Novel from Amazon.com
• Order the US paperback of SilverFin: The Graphic Novel from Amazon.com
• Order the US hardback of The Enemy from Amazon.com
• Order the US paperback of Hurricane Gold from Amazon.com

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

Several Young Bond releases now available for US pre-order

The Young Bond Dossier alerts us that a wave of Young Bond titles available for pre-order have been added to Amazon.com today.

All of the following titles are due for release on 18 May 2010. Pre-order links follow at the end of the article.

Likely the most anticipated amongst these for US Bond fans in the hardback edition of Charlie Higson’s fifth novel in the series, By Royal Command. To be published by Disney/Hyperion Books, the novel will retail for $16.99. Cover artwork is yet to be revealed.

Also coming up is the US debut of SilverFin: The Graphic Novel (with illustrations provided by Kev Walker). 007 fans will the choice between a hardback and paperback edition, retailing for $19.99 and $9.99, respectively. Click here for your first look at the cover.

While not apart of the Young Bond canon, Higson’s horror adventure The Enemy (which just recently arrived on UK bookshelves) will also debut in the US. This hardback will retail for $16.99.

It’s safe to say that while there is still quite a wait for these releases, Young Bond fans in the US have plenty to look forward to.

• Order the US hardback of By Royal Command from Amazon.com
• Order the US hardback of SilverFin: The Graphic Novel from Amazon.com
• Order the US paperback of SilverFin: The Graphic Novel from Amazon.com
• Order the US hardback of The Enemy from Amazon.com
• Order the US paperback of Hurricane Gold from Amazon.com

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

In conversation with Sebastian Faulks at Cheltenham Literature Festival

While Young Bond author Charlie Higson is set to take the stage at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in roughly a week from now, literary 007 fans attending tomorrow will be treated to an appearance by Sebastian Faulks.

The author of James Bond centenary novel Devil May Care will be giving a talk tomorrow night, 9 October, at the Everyman Theatre.

Faulks will be discussing his critically acclaimed novels, including the just recently published A Week in December.

The event (#23) kicks off at 8:45pm and will last for 75 minutes. Reserved ticket prices are £8.00.

For full details on attending, visit the official Cheltenham Literature Festival website.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary 007 coverage on the web.

Win Titan's Ian Fleming James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1)

CommanderBond.net is giving away a free copy of the just-released collection from publisher Titan Books: The James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1).

The James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1) is the definitive collection of James Bond’s adventures in comic strip form, collecting together for the first time eleven of Bond’s most thrilling and dangerous missions, adapted from Fleming’s novels that inspired the James Bond movies. Featuring an introduction from former 007 star Sir Roger Moore.

The first bumper volume of its kind from Titan, ‘Volume 001’ presents 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.

This competition is open to all members of CommanderBond.net (CBn). You must be a registered member of the CBn Forums and answer the following question correctly to be eligible to win. Not yet a member of CBn? Register here now—it is free and only takes a minute!

How To Enter:

To enter, fill out the following questionnaire and send a Communiqué/Private Message on the CBn Forums to ‘CBn Competition’ (Subject: CBn Oct09 Titan) by Midnight EST on 23 October 2009 (simply click on the link in this paragraph).

1. Which of the following James Bond comic strips was aborted prematurely during its original Daily Express run?

1. Moonraker
2. Goldfinger
3. Thunderball
4. Octopussy

2. What is your CBn Forum Screen Name?
3. What country/state do you live in?

Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming's World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction released in US

Nigel West’s Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction is now available in the US.

Fusing together entries on Fleming’s famous 00-agent James Bond and detailed information on cases of espionage, real-life spies, MI5, SIS, CIA, KGB, and others, Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction asks the question: What proportion of Fleming’s output is authentic, and what comes directly from the his imagination?

Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction is published in hardback by The Scarecrow Press and retails for $80.00. An Amazon.com order link follows at the end of this article.

Twelve novels and nine short stories define one of the most extraordinary fictional characters of all time, creating the basis for the most successful movie series in cinematographic history, watched by more than half the world’s population. The single person probably more responsible than any other for glamorizing the murky world of espionage is Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, who himself lived a remarkable double life of spy and writer. Everyone has an opinion on why 007 became so successful, but one possible explanation is the ingenious formula of fact, fiction, and sheer fantasy. Certainly the author drew on friends and places he knew well to provide the backdrop for his drama, but what proportion of his output is authentic, and what comes directly from the author’s imagination?

These questions and more are examined in the Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction. This is done through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on actual cases of espionage, real-life spies, MI5, SIS, CIA, KGB, and others. It also contains entries on Ian Fleming’s novels and short stories, family and friends, his employers and colleagues, and other notable characters.

• Order Historical Dictionary of Ian Fleming’s World of Intelligence: Fact and Fiction from Amazon.com

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest literary 007 coverage.

Charlie Higson interviewed: from Young Bond to The Enemy

As many literary 007 fans are well aware, last month saw the release of Charlie Higson’s non-Bond adventure novel The Enemy in the UK.

Although best known in the world of Bond for his (so far) five Young Bond novels, in a new interview with the Irish Times, Higson discusses some of the themes in this new horror story that aren’t so different from his past adventures featuring the young British spy in the making.

‘Obviously, there are things kids are interested in and not interested in,’ Higson states. ‘They’re not interested in mid-life crises and marriages breaking up, but that still leaves a huge range of human emotions they are interested in. You’ve got to take a subject that is going to be relevant to them. I don’t think there necessarily has to be kids in it for them to like it, but it helps for them to have someone to identify with. I didn’t approach it differently to the four adult thrillers I wrote in the early 1990s. You have to watch the language, of course, but that’s it.’

He continues: ‘As a kid, if I read something I liked, I tried to write something like it. I enjoy the process of writing—the idea of creating something that wasn’t there before. In my teenage years, I’d be writing big, long fantasy books instead of doing my homework. Back then, there was very little of that kind of Tolkien-style medieval romance around; it hadn’t taken over the world like it has now. I loved myths and legends, King Arthur and Robin Hood. I used to like to read things where the hero had a sword. That to me was a good book.’

The scent of danger and violence is often a winning formula for drawing in young boys to stories like The Enemy and the Young Bond books. As Higson explains, he had to push this point when embarking upon his 2005 Bond debut, SilverFin: ‘Children’s publishing is run almost entirely by women, which is by no means a complaint, but occasionally they can lose sight of what it is boys want in fiction. I had early meetings with Puffin, and they’d say: “It’s quite violent. Does it need to be?” I’d say: “It’s James Bond!” Even a 10-year-old is going to come to it with certain expectations about violence. You have to give them that or they’ll be bored and won’t accept it. And when [Puffin] saw the effect it had, and the fact that boys loved them, they relaxed. They were concerned that the teachers, parents, librarians and booksellers were going to say “We’re sorry but these books are too violent.’ But because boys did like the books, they all got behind it.’

‘Since I started, a lot more people have come into the boys’ action-adventure field and now you get guns on the cover, which was absolutely forbidden before.’

He further credits Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling for generating a new level of respect for children’s novels. ‘The children’s book chart was originally created because books for children wouldn’t show up in the bestsellers’ list,’ Higson states. ‘They created their own list, and now they have to keep the children’s chart because if they put them back together there would be no adult books on it—apart from people like Dan Brown. All of us kids’ writers are eternally grateful to JK Rowling for opening the eyes of publishers and of the media generally. Now, kids’ books are respectable.’

There’s much more. Head over to the Irish Times for the complete interview.

• Order the UK hardback edition of The Enemy from Amazon.co.uk
• Order the UK paperback edition of The Enemy from Amazon.co.uk
• Order the UK audiobook edition of The Enemy 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.