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New James Bond novel will arrive this fall

Booker Prize-nominated author William Boyd is the newest writer to be asked to pen a Bond adventure by the estate of the original spy author, Ian Fleming.

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Francois Duhamel/Sony Pictures/AP
James Bond is currently portrayed by actor Daniel Craig in the film series.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Following the phenomenal success of the most recent James Bond movie installment – November’s “Skyfall” – the famous spy will be appearing in an all-new print adventure.

Writer William Boyd will be penning a new Bond novel, which is scheduled to come out this September in the UK (published by Jonathan Cape) and early October in the US and Canada (released by HarperCollins). Boyd was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his 1982 novel “An Ice-Cream War.”

According to a statement from the estate of original Bond author Ian Fleming, the book will be “a return to the classic Bond era,” with a 45-year-old Bond living in 1969.

Any other information on a title or plot details is being kept secret for now.

Taking on a Bond novel is a “fantastic, exciting challenge,” Boyd told Reuters.

The author had criticized how some adaptations had handled the spy in the past during an interview with Radio Times in December.

“In the films Bond is a cartoon character,” Boyd said. “But in the novels he is far more troubled, nuanced and interesting... Bond’s father was Scottish and his mother was Swiss so he didn’t have a drop of English blood in him. He’s not the suave Roger Moore-type English toff at all.”

Boyd, who was asked to pen his Bond novel by the Fleming estate, is only the most recent author requested to take on spy-writing duties. After Fleming died in 1964, authors including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Raymond Benson have written new Bond works for the Fleming estate. “Birdsong” writer Sebastian Faulks published one in 2008 titled “Devil May Care,” while writer Jeffery Deaver of the Lincoln Rhyme series wrote “Carte Blanche” in 2011.

“Skyfall,” the newest Bond movie, became the highest-grossing movie in the series last year and was also well-received critically, currently holding a grade of 81 on the review aggregate site Metacritic.

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