James Bond Suits Hit The Auction Block At Bonhams

Numerous items from the James Bond series will be featured at the upcoming Entertainment Memorabilia sale at Bonhams, Knightsbridge on Tuesday, 16 June.

A vast array of items from eight different 007 films throughout the years will be going under the hammer in this impressive sale. The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Octopussy, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day are all represented, and with estimates starting at just £100, there are pieces on offer to suit every budget.

Highlights include two leather jackets worn by Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies (estimates: £4,000-6,000 and £2,000-3,000); a Naval Commander’s battledress jacket worn by Roger Moore as Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (estimate: £3,000-4,000); and even Halle Berry’s wetsuit from Die Another Day (estimate: £800-1,200).

To view all James Bond-related lots available at this upcoming sale, visit the official Bonhams website here.

The Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Sale, Including Items from the Angels Collection of Television & Film Costumes, begins at 11:00am.

Bonhams is located at Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London SW7 1HH. For further details, phone 020 7468 8340.

Keep your browsers locked on the CBn main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news on James Bond-related events occurring around the world.

Looking Back: Ian Fleming's 'Thrilling Cities'

Following up our examination of The Diamond Smugglers, Ian Fleming’s investigation into the diamond smuggling business, CommanderBond.net now moves on to the author’s 1963 collection of travel memoirs, Thrilling Cities.

The book is a collection of articles originally written for the London Sunday Times examining 13 cities throughout the world based on two trips Fleming took between 1959 and 1960. As Fleming states in the opening of the book, the idea originated in October 1959 when Sunday Times features and literary editor Leonard Russell suggested that he should make a ’round trip of the most exciting cities in the world and describe them in beautiful, beautiful prose.’

On 2 November, Fleming set off for a 30-day journey to visit Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York. The series of articles was a success for the Sunday Times and in the spring of 1960, they convinced Fleming to head off once more, this time for a tour of the following European cities: Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Naples and lastly Monte Carlo.

Finally in 1963, the two sets of articles were combined together and the result was Thrilling Cities: a would-be ordinary travel book turned extraordinary and well worth picking up for any fan of Fleming or James Bond.

Round the world with Ian Fleming – even on paper the prospect is enticing. Hong Kong, Macao, Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Naples, Monte Carlo – these are his thrilling cities. He writes about them brilliantly, impressionistically, as no one else would or could, ostensibly for our entertainment yet not without giving us the benefit of some expert observation.

All my life, he says, I have been interested in adventure and, abroad, I have enjoyed the frisson of leaving the wide, well-lit streets and venturing up back alleys in towns. It was perhaps this habit that turned me into a writer of thrillers, and, by the time I had made the two journeys that produced these essays, I had certainly got into the way of looking at people and places and things through a thriller-writer’s eye.

It is not a habit commonly shared with more ordinary or leisurely travellers. Their interests have been studied in supplements of Incidental Intelligence to each chapter. Idiosyncratic information is therefore included in a most original and exciting travel book.

UK Jonathan Cape First Edition Hardback

The 1959 Journey

• Hong Kong
• Macau
• Tokyo
• Honolulu
• Los Angeles and Las Vegas
• Chicago
• New York

The 1960 Journey

• Hamburg
• Berlin
• Vienna
• Geneva
• Naples
• Monte Carlo

Trivia & Notes

Thrilling Cities is one of three non-Bond published works by author Ian Fleming. The other two are The Diamond Smugglers and the popular children’s tale Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

As Fleming mentions in the Author’s Note to the book, Thrilling Cities contains the complete, unedited versions of his articles.

Fleming’s visits to Los Angeles and Las Vegas are combined into a single article in the book.

In each article, Fleming includes a section entitled ‘Incidential Intelligence’ at the end which makes special note of hotels, restaurants and night-life locales worth visiting.

Thrilling Cities was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape in 1963 and in the US by New American Library in 1964 (both regular publishers of Fleming’s James Bond novels). These releases coincided with the debut publications of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and You Only Live Twice.

The UK Reprint Society Book Club edition of Thrilling Cities was a special edition limited to World Books members.

Pan Books split Thrilling Cities into two parts for the first UK paperback printing (the 1959 journey in part one and the 1960 journey in part two).

The UK editions of Thrilling Cities contain numerous photographs, while the US editions instead have illustrations by Milton Glaser that preceed each article.

The US Aeonian Press hardback, published in 1976, is particularly difficult for collectors to obtain as only 150 copies were printed.

In March 2008, it was announced that The Diamond Smugglers and Thrilling Cities, both long out of print, would be published in all-new hardback editions to mark the centenary of author Ian Fleming. Both titles are slated to be released in 2009. The Diamond Smugglers will be introduced by Fergus Fleming and Thrilling Cities by Jan Morris.

Release Timeline

• 1963: 1st British Jonathan Cape Hardback Edition
• 1964: 1st American New American Library Hardback Edition
• 1964: 1st British Pan Paperback Edition (Part 1)
• 1964: 1st British Pan Paperback Edition (Part 2)
• 1964: 1st British Reprint Society Book Club Hardback Edition
• 1964: 1st American New American Library Book Club Hardback Edition
• 1965: 1st American Signet Paperback Edition
• 19??: 1st American Dutton Hardback Edition
• 1976: 1st American Aeonian Press Hardback Edition
• 1987: 1st American Amereon Press Hardback Edition
• 2009: 1st British Penguin Books Hardback Edition

007 in New York

As Ian Fleming makes quite clear in his article examining New York, it was the city he clearly enjoyed the least on his worldwide tour. Editors of the US edition of Thrilling Cities picked up on this and asked Fleming to provide some sort of additional material to counterpoint the author’s apparent distaste for the city. Fleming obliged by including the (short!) James Bond short story 007 in New York:

‘By way of a postscript I might say I am well aware these grim feelings I’ve expressed for New York may shock or depress some of my readers. In fact, I would be disappointed if this were not the case. In deference to these readers, I here submit the record of another visitor to the city, a friend of mine with the dull name of James Bond, whose tastes and responses are not always my own and whose recent minor adventure in New York (his profession is a rather odd one) may prove more cheerful in the reading.’

Ian Fleming

The 007 in New York short story was only included in US editions of Thrilling Cities and for several decades remained the only place for literary Bond fans to turn to read it (although the story was originally published in the The New York Herald Tribune in 1963). It finally debuted in the UK in 1999 in a magazine supplement to the Sunday Times. Following this, it was added as the fourth short story to the Octopussy and The Living Daylights collection, which was first published in the UK by Penguin Books in 2002 and in the US in 2004. It remains in this collection in all reprints and new publications since then.

For complete details on 007 in New York, including the recipe for Scrambled Eggs “James Bond”, visit this CommanderBond.net article.

‘It’s almost as fun as 007 battling SMERSH for the safety of Fort Knox. Other travel tomes may list beaches and shopping centers but Fleming concentrats on the more interesting matters: bawdy houses, GIRLS, gambling, GIRLS, whiskey, GIRLS, dirty entertainment—with and without GIRLS. He provides a sort of Playboy guide to…the cities where James Bond would go for recreation.’

Denver Post

Your Own Opinion On Thrilling Cities

Want to share your thoughts and opinion on Thrilling Cities? Feel free to discuss this little-known non-Bond book by Ian Fleming by visiting this thread on the CommanderBond.net Forums.

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

Is James Bond Bound For Afghanistan?

According to guardian.co.uk, James Bond may be headed to the Middle East for his next adventure.

The site reports that a former Foreign Office official from the British Embassy in Kabul was recruited by the 007 team to provide technical advice about the country’s lucrative opium trade.

The official has reportedly signed a confidentiality agreement that precludes them from discussing the project.

What might give this report extra credence is the fact that last year’s bestselling centenary novel, Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care, was concerned with the opium trade in Persia (now Iran). Bond producers had previously ruled out a Devil May Care adaptation.

Ian Fleming’s 007 short story “Risico”, from the For Your Eyes Only collection, also featured a plot involving the drugs trade.

Eon Productions refused to comment on the Afghanistan reports.

The drug trade in Afghanistan also featured prominently in 1987’s The Living Daylights, starring Timothy Dalton.

Keep turning to the CBn main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for the most up-to-date Bond coverage on the net.

'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' Voted #1 Bond Soundtrack

To mark the centenary of James Bond prouducer Albert R. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, LastBroadcast recently conducted a poll to discover the most popular 007 soundtrack of all time.

With voting over, the results have been published on their website and the top 10 have been revealed.

Unsurprisingly, John Barry’s fan-favourite score for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service emerged as the winner, grabbing nearly a full one-third of the votes cast. It was followed by The Living Daylights, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and David Arnold’s Casino Royale.

Rounding out the top 10 were Live and Let Die, Thunderball, Moonraker, Tomorrow Never Dies and The Spy Who Loved Me.

Agree or disagree with the results? Sound off here on the CommanderBond.net Forums.

As always, keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond.

'By Royal Command' On Independent Booksellers Prize Shortlist

Charlie Higson’s latest Young James Bond adventure has been included on the children’s shortlist for a 2009 Independent Booksellers Prize.

The Young Bond Dossier reports the news that 2008’s By Royal Command will compete against 9 other selected titles.

Fans can vote for By Royal Command as their favourite by picking up a voting postcard in participating retail stores or emailing their choice to [email protected] before 28 August 2009. The winner will be announced in September.

The following shortlist of titles was voted for by Booksellers Association members from a longlist derived from sales data of bestselling books at independent bookshops.

Children’s – Independent Booksellers Prize

• The Crossing of Ingo by Helen Dunmore (HarperCollins)
• Running on the Cracks by Julia Donaldson (Egmont)
• The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson (Macmillan)
• Tiddler by Julia Donaldson (Scholastic)
• Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton (Egmont)
• Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy (HarperCollins)
• Then by Morris Gleitzman (Puffin)
• Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer (Puffin)
• By Royal Command by Charlie Higson (Puffin)
• Kaspar by Michael Morpurgo (HarperCollins)

• Order the UK paperback edition of By Royal Command from Amazon.co.uk

Stay up-to-date with all the latest literary James Bond news at CommanderBond.net main page—and be sure to check out our brand new Twitter feed too.

James Bond Prefers Brunettes

Gentlemen may prefer blondes, but according to a newly released academic study, that isn’t quite the case for James Bond.

According to the Telegraph, a group of researchers have found that the famous secret agent in fact prefers brunettes overall—specifically, those with long hair, an American accent and who carry weapons.

This decidedly odd research information resulted from a group of academics who assessed the physical traits of 195 female characters in the first 20 official James Bond movies, then contrasted the characteristics of the 98 who had ‘sexual contact’ with Bond with those of the 97 who did not.

Their findings have been published in the journal Sex Roles and are meant to examine how Bond girls have changed over the years as well as exploring what kind of women end up with 007.

Unsurprisingly, those classified as Bond’s sexual partners tended to be younger, slimmer and more attractive than the women he does not bed. They are also less likely to wear glasses. Examples included Moonraker‘s Lois Chiles as Dr Holly Goodhead and Lana Wood as Plenty O’Toole in Diamonds Are Forever.

The average age of the women was estimated at 26. Overall, 46 were deemed to have had ‘strong’ sexual contact with Bond, while a further 52 were classified as having ‘mild’ contact (such as kissing).

27% were blonde, while 40% had black hair, 19% brown and 9% red. For whatever reason, Bond more often ended up getting intimate with the dark-haired Bond girls. Furthermore, 18% of women with long hair were more likely to end up in a sexual situation with 007 than the 22% who had short hair.

Bond girls with an American accent accounted for one-fourth of the total, but but those that did were more likely to have some form of sexual contact with Bond than the 43% who had a European accent of some kind.

‘A majority of female characters engaged in some sexual activity, particularly those in major roles. And the great majority of sexual behaviours involved Bond himself,’ says the research team, led by Kimberly Neuendorf, professor of communication at Cleveland State University, Ohio.

‘Every Bond film has multiple female characters who variously tempt, distract, and assist James in his latest mission. At least one ‘Bond girl’ is particularly striking—a woman with an adventurous nature, cunning attributes, strong potential for romantic entanglement with Bond, and a sense of self-assurance, whose name—Pussy Galore, Honey Ryder, or Holly Goodhead, for example—is as provocative as the character she portrays.’

On a negative note, the study also found that one in five female characters were dead by the end of the movie, including many who had had sexual contact with Bond.

On a bizarre note, Bond was more likely to have sexual contact with a woman if she used a weapon than if she did not. Two women attempted to kill 007 before sexual contact, two tried during sex, and a further 10 tried afterwards.

‘The women of Bond are eternally attractive,’ the report stated. ‘Their typically slender body type … is unchanged over time. The women of Bond continue to be portrayed in a rather limited and sex-stereotyped manner. The ultimate penalty for a woman in a Bond film—death—seems to accrue from promiscuity and daring to threaten the ultimate iconic masculine hero, James Bond.’

‘This study provides further evidence of the continued sexualisation, marginalisation, and disposability of women within Bond films. The Bond films glorify the sometimes chauvinistic persona of Bond.’

‘Bond single-handedly takes on any ‘bad guy’, saves the world and always gets the girl. Bond accomplishes these feats by the power of his wit and more importantly through violence.’

Keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest news from the world of James Bond.

'Bond, James Bond' Concert: A Review

‘Bond, James Bond’ Concert: A Review

Written by Carlos Perez

Back from my trip. My grandparents decided the tickets for this show would be a nice first-year anniversary present for the wife and I. The wife’s a Bond fan by proxy, at first she impatiently sat through them, but when she realized the level of obsession with which I felt about Bond, she learned to accept it as an important part of my life. I was worried she would feel shafted with this anniversary present, but it turns out she was excited and had a wonderful time. My parents and grandparents went with us. I won’t bother you with my life’s history, but just know that my dad introduced me to Bond when I was nine years old, so they all knew the films, the music and my obsession. As such, they all enjoyed the show very much.

Prior to the concert, they had an Aston Martin outside for people to pose with, and I knew the guy who transported it from Orlando to the show, so he let me sit in it. Do I really have to describe how cool that car is?

Inside the lobby, there as a poster display with an eight-foot, original Goldfinger similar to the one-sheet but with more pictures. They also had a huge Thunderball poster of the panel where Bond lifts off with the jet pack, this poster was about six feet by six feet.

And they had martinis. And we drank martinis. Multiple martinis. Drinking the “Casino Royale” martini, as they called it, was nice (even though their bar-back couldn’t supply Lillet). I noticed several people attempt the Bond martini, but unable to finish it. I saw one girl guzzle the bottom-half of a Bond martini just before the show began (no drinks allowed inside) and I would have proposed right there if I wasn’t already spoken for.

I was very happy to see so many people dressed for the show. I wore a linen suit but was worried that I would be overdressed. Fortunately, there is some culture left in the world (even in a town like Jacksonville, where I was born by the way), and men wore jackets and women wore gowns. Some were very decked out in Bond-girl attire, and that was nice eye candy.

Onto the music…

They opened with the James Bond theme, however the conductor, Carl Davis, chose the version from The Living Daylights (ironically, my first Bond experience). It started with a bang and didn’t let up. A great rendition.

Next, “From Russia With Love.” Instead of the theme, they performed the instrumental titles version. This was definitely the highlight of the show for me. The performance of this work was phenomenal, with the loud, boisterous segments juxtaposed with extremely the softer, more melodic moments. Truly a great experience.

Two songs from Goldfinger were performed. The title song, obviously, was sung by vocalist Mary Carewe, whom Bond fans might recognize from her work on The Best of Bond with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis. Her range was amazing and she held the last note almost exactly as long as Shirley Bassey did on the original recording.

Secondly, also from Goldfinger, “Dawn Raid at Fort Knox” was performed. This one was especially amazing as the conductor kept precisely to John Barry’s original. Everything from the xylophone to the horns just exceeded perfection. Definitely a crowd favorite that night.

“Thunderball” came next, and although instrumental, was fantastic. The use of horns came wonderfully, and the 60’s vibe came through the symphony hall in spades.

I’m running out of superlatives.

Interestingly, “The Look of Love” from 1967’s Casino Royale was next. Carewe came back out to sing, and this one received a glowing reception when performed. I forgot to mention that Carl Davis provided a humorous and educational commentary throughout the night, and with this work he described Burt Bacharach’s score as being the one redeeming factor from the film. Rightfully, I might add.

“You Only Live Twice” and “We Have All The Time In The World” followed. The first was sung by Carewe and did great service to Nancy Sinatra. I was saddened that the title theme to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was rejected, as I’m sure it would have been rousing. However, Louis Armstrong’s song played beautifully. Performed instrumentally, it was certainly a gem.

Carewe returned onstage for “Diamonds Are Forever” and channeled Shirley Bassey even more than before. This was definitely her best performance of the night and the crowd responded with great enthusiasm. Maybe this was my favorite of the night…

With “Live And Let Die,” the orchestra performed their most rocking tune with Carewe. I wondered if my grandparents would appreciate it volume (it wasn’t all that loud by today’s standards), but they immensely enjoyed it.

The last performance before the intermission was from The Spy Who Loved Me. Before the title song, Davis chose to perform “The Voyage to Atlantis.” Just pop in your soundtrack and listen to this one, imagining it being performed live. I was surprised with this choice but completely enveloped and consumed by its performance. Davis’ admiration of Hamlisch was evident and this work was a joy to experience.

“Nobody Does It Better” came through just as you’d expect: fascinating, gorgeous and wonderful. What more can I say about this one?

Following the intermission, “For Your Eyes Only,” “Moonraker” and “The Man With the Golden Gun” were performed, in that order. Davis claimed “Moonraker” to be his favorite lyrical Bond theme. Carewe sang all three, and, surprisingly, “The Man With The Golden Gun” was the standout. Similar to the performance of “Live And Let Die,” the symphony rocked this number and Carewe danced as she sang. Of these three, this was my favorite.

“The Living Daylights” was performed instrumentally. I am very fond of the soundtrack to this movie, and with John Barry’s brilliant orchestration in the film itself, I was underwhelmed by the performance here. I don’t want to take anything away from it, the tune was beautiful and I certainly enjoyed it, but sometimes you have such high expectations for a live performance that it can’t be met.

If I have one exception to the selection of songs performed that night, it is the inclusion of “Licence To Kill” at the sacrifice of “A View to a Kill.” While the song performed is beautiful and Carewe did a great job with it, I just salivate at the thought of hearing Duran Duran’s brilliant Bond theme performed by such a brilliant conductor.

Eric Serra’s “A Pleasant Ride in St. Petersberg” was claimed to be the next song, but as they began to play, I noticed that this was not the song being performed. In fact, the music performed was John Altman’s version of the tank chase. Certainly a pleasant surprise (I don’t have the extended soundtrack and, thus, have never heard that music outside of the film), the discerning Bond fan took exception. The bass of the timpani and the highs of the xylophone sounded exquisite and precisely modeled after the music from the film.

Fortunately, they didn’t leave out GoldenEye‘s theme. Carewe sang and the drummer desperately tried to emulate Nellee Hooper’s production, but overall the high expectations I held for my favorite Bond theme were not met. However, Carewe managed to take Tina Turner’s performance and make it her own, which was admirable.

“The World Is Not Enough” came next, and with it a wonderful performance missing nothing of the guitars in Garbage’s version. This orchestral masterpiece worked beautifully and certainly surprised me.

Lastly, “You Know My Name.” Different, but good. Unfortunately, the guitars were sorely missed in this one. Carewe did her best, but, surely, would they have ended with that?

No.

Encore:

The composer came back out and said, “Well, we have a little something…” He went on to explain that there are two types of people in the world, those that leave as a film’s credits roll and those that stay to see the names of the caterer, best boy and accountant in the credits. Those that stayed for the end credits of Tomorrow Never Dies were treated to David Arnold’s theme for the film, “Surrender.” This was amazing, I can’t describe how wonderfully the horns belted the theme and drove home the distinct, Bondian sound. Carewe delivered, too. I cherished this moment, as I never assumed this one would have been performed.

Then, lastly, the obvious. My dad and I waited with baited breath for the words, “A View to a Kill” to spring forth from Davis’ mouth, but we were surprised with, “Another Way to Die.” A fitting end to the show, Carewe took on both Jack White and Alicia Keys to bring this one out and did a very good job. The orchestration was very effective, making the most of the theme and the guitars were not missed. Certainly a brilliant performance of the highest caliber considering that was the first of many future symphonies performing the latest Bond theme.

As always, keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond-related events taking place around the world.

'SilverFin' Graphic Novel Slated For July 2010 In US

Good news today for Young James Bond fans in the US. The Young Bond Dossier reports that SilverFin: The Graphic Novel is slated to be released in July 2010.

Disney Publishing will release the graphic novel adaptation of Charlie Higson’s first Young Bond novel in both hardback and papeback formats.

SilverFin: The Graphic Novel first arrived in the UK this past October and featured more than 300 full-colour illustrations from artist Kev Walker. Click here for CommanderBond.net’s detailed review.

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest details on the SilverFin graphic novel and all Young Bond-related news—be sure to check out our Twitter feed too.

Pierce Brosnan: Keeping James Bond Relevant

Following up the first part of a retrospective of Pierce Brosnan’s Tomorrow Never Dies, Voices From Krypton has now posted the second half of an audio interview with the James Bond star.

Taking place in late 1997, interviewer Ed Gross had the opportunity to speak with Brosnan just as he was about to embark upon a massive press and publicity tour for the then-upcoming 18th official 007 film, Tomorrow Never Dies.

In this section of the interview, Brosnan stressed the importance of he film’s focus on the power of the media and how this was integral to keeping Bond relevant today.

He said: ‘The question over and over again is now that the Cold War is over, what is James Bond going to do? Well, we’ve still got MI6/MI5 and Russia still has some semblance of whatever they’ve got over there … you know, countries still have secrets. So, I think Bond is still relevant in regards to world events.’

Nowhere is the media more noticeable in Tomorrow Never Dies than in its lead villain, the eccentric Elliot Carver. Commenting on the charater, Brosnan said: ‘When you have someone as charismatic and flamboyant as Jonathan Pryce playing this Ted Turner-Rupert Murdoch character to create World War III, I think it’s a great hoot and also quite real. He has his own personal agenda. He wants to get rich. He wants to rule his own empire. He’s enamored with power.’

Brosnan also discussed his wish to give a more indepth backstory to Paris Carver, portrayed by Teri Hatcher.

‘I’d asked at the beginning that if we could have a woman that was meaningful to [Bond] and not just someone he picks up in the movie and doesn’t know, but someone from his past. So they took that and it came in the package of Teri Hatcher, who is very good in the movie. She’s the old flame. A woman that he really loved, but she got too close … there’s an emotional chord there that has a resonance throughout the piece. Which is good. If we go again on a [third film], I’d like to see it continue. Just more character.’

There’s much more… Head over to Voices From Krypton for the complete interview, including Brosnan’s idea for different genre Bond films (Horror Bond, Science-fiction Bond, etc.), the possibilities of Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino directing 007 and adapting Casino Royale as a low-budget character study.

Keep turning to the CommanderBond.net main page—as well as our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest James Bond news and coverage.

Ian Fleming's 'The Diamond Smugglers' And 'Thrilling Cities' Coming This Year

The updated Ian Fleming Publications website has a few promising notes for literary James Bond fans.

First up is the news that 2009 will see Fleming’s two non-fiction (and non-Bond) books The Diamond Smugglers and Thrilling Cities finally reprinted.

As reported on CommanderBond.net, both titles were originally slated to be released last year, but this never occurred. The new hardback editions of The Diamond Smugglers will be introduced by Fergus Fleming and Thrilling Cities will be introduced by Jan Morris. CBn will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Next is the news that IFP will be continuing to release 007 novels as e-books. All 14 of Fleming’s Bond adventures were made available for the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader last year.

The final bit of news promises that more literary Bond adventures (in some shape or form) are on the way:

Ian Fleming Publications is constantly considering new ways to extend the Bond brand, and plans for James Bond following Ian Fleming’s Centenary are well under way.

What do you think the company should do next? Voice your opinion here on the CommanderBond.net Forums.

Keep watching the CBn main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.