I have pre-ordered 'Solo' on my Amazon Kindle and I'm looking forward to reading it. I have to say
we don't know much about the book so close to the date of publication:
(If you want to be completely spoiler free, skip the rest of my post, but I'm really jsut writing what has appeared earlier on this thread)
- It's set in 1969
- Bond is 45
- M and Moneypenny are in it
- There are no outlandish villans, gadgets or other typical movie stuff.
- It's not just a mission to Bond
- Some of the plot is set in Africa, Europe and North America. Events in Africa start off the plot.
My primary hope is that the African part of the story will be dramatic and kicks of the story early on. I like that Bond goes to Africa. He hasn't been in Africa before (in the books) and Boyd knows the continent well. Should be interesting!
The Times (UK) is tomorrow (Saturday) including an excerpt from the new Bond novel Solo, just as it did with Faulks' novel a few years back. It's good to get a flavour of where it's going (I groaned at Faulks' timely references to the Stones, namechecked by Bond).
The Atlantic has a "review" of the book--I put review in scare quotes because most of the article is devoted to bashing Fleming and saying Bond is a soulless drone: "The Inner Life of James Bond: The publication of William Boyd’s new 007 novel, Solo, occasions a reexamination of the superspy’s character—or telling lack thereof." (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-inner-life-of-james-bond/309457/)
I left a long comment in any attempt to rebut the article's many idiocies. The comment is under the name "Mr_Neutron" (my favorite Monty Python character), and if you like it, please consider giving it an up-vote.
It seems you need a subscription to read it. Do we have any conservative members here who can help us?
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,573Chief of Staff
That's an excellent response, Revelator....far better written than the original piece....Parker, as you point out, is 'after' the casual Bond fan/observer but your erudite responses rip his piece asunder and mark him as the 'lazy' hack he is. It's a pity they didn't come directly to yourself to write an original piece for them -{
I have voted for Revelator too - and I encourage all AJB-members to do the same :007)
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,652MI6 Agent
Chanced upon the book's listing in my local library's online catalog and no one has reserved it! The only Bond continuation novels I've actually purchased are the Young Bond series. As for the others, my library has come through for me, begining with the Gardner books in the 80s and the 3 week loan period is just right for me to finish these novels.
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
Read the excerpt. Think I'll be getting it out the library rather than buying it; it seems an easier book to admire than love, perhaps a bit like Boyd himself going by the interview.
It seems a hybrid of Deaver and Faulks; Deaver's meticulous attention to plot and commitment to the task in hand: good though you get the feeling Bond is just there to jump thru the writer's plot hoops and isn't in command of the situation; the author is. At least, unlike Faulks, you don't get the feeling he's just taking the money and - oh it's not that much dish is it? - racing for the final chapter, making it up as he goes along to fulfil the contract he made over a late-night bottle of Bourban and a mid-life crisis.
But as with Faulks, the book is set at the end of the 60s with an ageing Bond and all the descriptions we've had oft before of his failing prowess and faculties and so on. Though Boyd is writing as himself, some of the brand names mentioned seems intrusive and a Fleming pastiche. The whole thing of Fleming being racist and anti-Semitic is a bore, I mean we don't get any money grabbing hook nosed Jews as villains do we? The villains are foreigners often but not really demanded; they have an exulted status like ill-loved school teachers. But we do get the Jewish stereotype in Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London; still that's okay cos Orwell's a much-loved lefty. And as with Faulks, we get the sense Boys is a lefty Guardian reader who intrinsically disapproves of Bond and his world and wants to take him down a peg or two, he's not really rooting for Bond. And, as with both authors, the sex seems a bit cringey, I found. It's like you don't want to get turned on by it.
Ultimately I felt there was cold heart at the base of Boyd's world; Fleming was a blend of pulp fiction, travel journalism and guilty pleasure, with a pseudo-Christian traditional basis. It was as comfortable as your old slippers, sitting in the pews in your local Church on Christmas morn, a new Marlborough wine you've found, or a treasured porn stash, all strangely reassuring, a blend of traditional and racy in a controlled environment.
That's an excellent response, Revelator....far better written than the original piece....Parker, as you point out, is 'after' the casual Bond fan/observer but your erudite responses rip his piece asunder and mark him as the 'lazy' hack he is. It's a pity they didn't come directly to yourself to write an original piece for them -{
Thanks very much! And thanks to all of you for the up-votes--there are 40 of them! It's good to know that Bond fans won't let sloppy criticism go by. It's a shame that articles like this still occasionally appear, but I'm optimistic that Fleming's reputation will rise. Boyd's new book looks quite interesting, and I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if it's worth getting.
Got an e-mail from my local bookstore today that my copy of Solo had arrived. Picked it up today and read the first few pages. Am I correct in thinking that I received it 2 days early?
Bond author asked Craig's advice
Author William Boyd asked Daniel Craig's advice before writing the new James Bond novel, but admitted he would cast Daniel Day-Lewis as his ideal 007.
Author William Boyd asked Daniel Craig's advice before writing the new James Bond novel, but admitted he would cast Daniel Day-Lewis as his ideal 007.
The writer, whose book Solo is published on Thursday is the latest in a long line of novelists to continue the adventures of the spy first created by Ian Fleming.
Boyd said he approached the story, which sees 007 embroiled in a civil war in 1969 Africa, as a fan of both the books and films.
He said: "The thing is with the literary Bond, as opposed to the cinematic Bond, is that he's a very complex character. I mean he is a cool, capable guy and he's a very successful operative but what makes him fascinating for readers is the darker side of him, he's troubled, he makes mistakes, and I think that three dimensional portrait of him you get in the novels explains why he's not just some cardboard caricature spy, he's a real living, breathing, interesting individual".
Boyd, who has written screenplays for films starring three Bond actors - Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Craig - said he had "discussions" with the current 007 about whether he should write the book. He said: "I knew he was going to say yes."
The writer, whose novel Restless was adapted for television last year, said it was "highly unlikely" Solo would be made for the cinema.
He said: "It is set in 1969 and the Bond films are always set in the present day. They'll never make a retro Bond, I suppose they can take my plot and update it but then it would be different and because it's set in the 1960s it gives it a particular flavour."
Boyd, who has written his personal recipe for the perfect dry martini into the book, added: "If there was to be an actor to play my James Bond, I'd choose another actor who has also been in a film of mine and who I also know and who is also called Daniel - Daniel Day-Lewis - because I think Daniel Day-Lewis actually resembles the Bond that Fleming describes."
The book was launched at the Dorchester Hotel in central London where seven numbered and signed copies were driven off in vintage Jensen cars like the vehicle Bond drives in the novel. They were then flown around the globe to destinations including Los Angeles and Cape Town to mark the publication.
Boyd follows in the footsteps of authors including Kingsley Amis and Sebastian Faulks who have written new Bond books since Fleming's death in 1964. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of Fleming's first James Bond novel Casino Royale. He wrote 14 Bond books and the series has sold more than 100
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
The book was launched at the Dorchester Hotel in central London where seven numbered and signed copies were driven off in vintage Jensen cars like the vehicle Bond drives in the novel.
The Times recently had a long interview with Boyd regarding the novel. Though it's behind a pay-wall, some kind soul has reprinted the entire interview here: http://jimidisu.com/?p=3842
Boyd comes off well, though the interviewer is a smug dunce.
All are posibilities, but since Boyd grew up in Ghana and Nigeria I'd say the start of the book will be set in Nigeria.
And in the boyd interview it is stated that the civil war takes place in a fictious country in "a civil war that is reminiscent of the 1967-1970 Nigerian-Biafran War." I feel rather self-satified now
Comments
Obviously you've been holding coats again
Really ? Haven't asked at mine...but £9 from Amazon will be difficult to beat !
we don't know much about the book so close to the date of publication:
(If you want to be completely spoiler free, skip the rest of my post, but I'm really jsut writing what has appeared earlier on this thread)
- It's set in 1969
- Bond is 45
- M and Moneypenny are in it
- There are no outlandish villans, gadgets or other typical movie stuff.
- It's not just a mission to Bond
- Some of the plot is set in Africa, Europe and North America. Events in Africa start off the plot.
Have you heard/read anything else?
learing too much about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFFBYsJmVH4
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I left a long comment in any attempt to rebut the article's many idiocies. The comment is under the name "Mr_Neutron" (my favorite Monty Python character), and if you like it, please consider giving it an up-vote.
Oops, forgot to do that ;%
So just done it now -{
It seems a hybrid of Deaver and Faulks; Deaver's meticulous attention to plot and commitment to the task in hand: good though you get the feeling Bond is just there to jump thru the writer's plot hoops and isn't in command of the situation; the author is. At least, unlike Faulks, you don't get the feeling he's just taking the money and - oh it's not that much dish is it? - racing for the final chapter, making it up as he goes along to fulfil the contract he made over a late-night bottle of Bourban and a mid-life crisis.
But as with Faulks, the book is set at the end of the 60s with an ageing Bond and all the descriptions we've had oft before of his failing prowess and faculties and so on. Though Boyd is writing as himself, some of the brand names mentioned seems intrusive and a Fleming pastiche. The whole thing of Fleming being racist and anti-Semitic is a bore, I mean we don't get any money grabbing hook nosed Jews as villains do we? The villains are foreigners often but not really demanded; they have an exulted status like ill-loved school teachers. But we do get the Jewish stereotype in Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London; still that's okay cos Orwell's a much-loved lefty. And as with Faulks, we get the sense Boys is a lefty Guardian reader who intrinsically disapproves of Bond and his world and wants to take him down a peg or two, he's not really rooting for Bond. And, as with both authors, the sex seems a bit cringey, I found. It's like you don't want to get turned on by it.
Ultimately I felt there was cold heart at the base of Boyd's world; Fleming was a blend of pulp fiction, travel journalism and guilty pleasure, with a pseudo-Christian traditional basis. It was as comfortable as your old slippers, sitting in the pews in your local Church on Christmas morn, a new Marlborough wine you've found, or a treasured porn stash, all strangely reassuring, a blend of traditional and racy in a controlled environment.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Thanks very much! And thanks to all of you for the up-votes--there are 40 of them! It's good to know that Bond fans won't let sloppy criticism go by. It's a shame that articles like this still occasionally appear, but I'm optimistic that Fleming's reputation will rise. Boyd's new book looks quite interesting, and I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if it's worth getting.
Bond author asked Craig's advice
Author William Boyd asked Daniel Craig's advice before writing the new James Bond novel, but admitted he would cast Daniel Day-Lewis as his ideal 007.
That's a good choice of vehicle for starters!
Nigeria (Biafra) 1967-70
Rhodesia 1968-80
Uganda 1979-79
All are posibilities, but since Boyd grew up in Ghana and Nigeria I'd say the start of the book will be set in Nigeria.
Boyd comes off well, though the interviewer is a smug dunce.
And in the boyd interview it is stated that the civil war takes place in a fictious country in "a civil war that is reminiscent of the 1967-1970 Nigerian-Biafran War." I feel rather self-satified now