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Yes, the answer is that of course Fleming would have kept the contemporary setting had he written Bond novels into the 70s. Colonel Sun being cited as an example by @PussyNoMore only takes him so far - it was not a period piece but written (like all of the rest of Fleming) in a contemporaneous setting. Yes, it did help that it was written and set around the same time as Fleming's last Bond novels. This greatly added to its sense of verisimilitude.
Let us not forget that the fashion for setting a Bond novel in the distant past is only a new phenomenon of the last ten years or so due to the publication of Sebastian Faulks' Devil May Care in May 2008.
And back then I was hoping that was just a one off.
No, it seems to be the direction of play now with a fourth Bons novel being published later this year as a period piece. Only Deaver's Carte Blanche (2011) followed the contemporary settings norm of Amis, Gardner and Benson. Have we seen the last of such traditional continuation Bond novels? I hope not, but I have my doubts...
I would agree with you if they had done what the films did and made a hard reboot. It's hard to believe Gardner's Bond and Benson's in the 80's, 90's and 2000's is meant to be the same as Fleming's from Casino Royale in 1953. Yet references are made to past Fleming adventures.
If they had started a new chronology in the early 80's and made Bond in his mid 30's again then it would have been easier to swallow.
Of course it's possible to read the books as timeless, but every so often the authors throw particular dates in which take me out of it. And not to mention Bond protecting Thatcher, Reagan and Gorbachov. He would have been in his 60's doing that!
I personally prefer the 50's and 60's set literary Bond, so my personal timeline consists of:
1 : Young Bond
2: Fleming's Bond (with Trigger Mortis between Goldfinger and For Your Eyes Only)
3: Colonel Sun
4:Devil May Care
5 Solo
6:John Pearson's "Authorised Biography"
Then from Gardner on is a different Bond. And Carte Blanche's Bond is a different Bond again :-)
Me too. They were the ones I became a fan of first, before the other "celebrity authors" quartet came along. They've got to convince me that their way is right as opposed to the old tried and tested method of Amis, Gardner and Benson, and not the other way around. That's how I see it, anyway.
Yeah, this is what I have always done. In Gardner's and Benson's books, I've always just pretended that Bond is in his prime in his 30's and early 40's and that the events of his past like becoming an SIS agent have just been moved forward in time just like what I do for the films. It's just stupid to think of a Bond in the 80's in Gardner's books as being in his 50's and 60's. He should be in M's position at this age. Obviously he couldn't have been a field agent at this age.
Bring on the new Bond book!
Well now you have to tell us what it said ;)
Well it was an f-word I'm guessing...
He's commenting peoples comments now. Hm…
__________
Maybe he's borrowing the title of A-ha's song Forever Not Yours?
I really enjoyed it too. The one thing that bugged me (and the reason I prefer Colonel Sun overall) was the GF link. I don't mind references to the other books but carrying on in that way made it feel a bit fanfictiony imo, I'm hoping this one stands on its own two feet a bit more.
I'm already at the level of 'please announce a publication date and some signings so I can get it on my calendar'.
:-D
Can't wait to hear the title! Will be refreshing that Twitter feed again and again throughout the day!