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But if CS is set the year after TMWTGG it's not really happening 'directly after'. It's clearly at least several months later, as you say. The new Horowitz starts only days after the events of TMWTGG, so unless the rest of the story unfolds over the course of a year or so -which would be pretty unusual for a Bond story- it doesn't seem likely to negate CS, surely?
Ah, I see. A very good point. You're quite right. I hadn't read that the new Horowitz Bond novel was set only days after TMWTGG. So it can fit quite snugly between TMWTGG and what happens in Colonel Sun. I'm relieved to hear that from a literary Bond continuity point of view!
Yes, all we know about it at the moment is how Horowitz has described it: "I am very excited to have started my third Bond novel with the continuing support of the Ian Fleming estate. Forever and a Day looked at Bond’s first assignment. Trigger Mortis was mid-career. The new book begins with the death of Scaramanga and Bond’s return from Jamaica to confront an old enemy."
Ah, yes! I see what you mean about the level of immediacy in terms of it directly following the events of TMWTGG. That's the era I'd most like to see Bond's adventures continued into (apart from the modern day) so it's great news for me.
As I said above obsessiveness over timeline continuity has never been a major concern of Glidrose/IFP. Even Fleming played about with the timeline himself with changing Bond's birth date in You Only Live Twice. Still, it's nice when things line up too, especially when it comes to the Bond continuations where many hands have been involved over the last 53 years of its existence.
But perhaps this one will be good
I'm one of the few fans who love TMWTGG novel, so continuing on straight after that is great news for me too.
As am I! I really love that novel and the character of Scaramanga. This new Bond novel from Horowitz is shaping up nicely!
Brilliant stuff.
Yes, it is indeed a great scene. And any man who kills birds in Fleming is sure to be a wrong 'un and soon destined to be going the way of the dodo! :)
Actually I might be wrong: caractcus potts on AJB has made a good point about an exchange in Colonel Sun (I think when Bond is chatting to Tanner at the golf club) about what Bond has done since TMWTGG:
So actually that doesn't leave a lot of room for an unseen adventure, unless Bond is lying or has forgotten it! :) Or perhaps this American visit will play a part in the new story. 'Discourtesy visit' is a nice Flemingy turn of phrase I think, but perhaps not quite enough for a book title.
Yes, when I was flicking through my 1970 Pan paperback copy of Colonel Sun earlier today I saw that bit that appears early on in the novel. You're right in that it doesn't leave a lot of wriggle room for Horowitz to fit his new Bond novel into. He'll either find some way around it or just ignore Colonel Sun altogether and proceed as if he's writing the first Bond book after Fleming. I hope he does the former rather than the latter!
Unless the new story is all about the flop Hong Kong mission back in June. That would be interesting, as Hong Kong has never been a location in the Fleming novels, and `flop' doesn't necessarily mean the mission was a total flop. You could argue Thunderball and OHMSS were also flop missions because Blofeld gets away, yet it doesn't stop the books being exciting regardless.
Getting more intriguing by the second.
Maybe, but he pretty much says that nothing happened in Hong Kong- I think Bond mentions that he felt relieved that he didn't have to do anything there.
The 'back in June' bit is notable though: if TMWTGG was 'last summer' and we're now after June then it must pretty much a year later.
Not yet, but I hope so.
Hope there's some Fleming writing in it... good thing to ask Horowitz on Twitter. He responded to something I asked once which I appreciated
Indeed, and as I said above Glidrose/IFP have never been too strict about the necessity for continuity between Bond continuation novels of different authors. Basically every new author is given a blank slate with perhaps some directives about what is wanted this time around. Gardner incorporated the changes that occurred in Colonel Sun (the killing of the Hammonds and the arrival of the Davisons) but Benson made some changes to what Gardner had done with Bond when he came along as the new Bond author. These included changes to Bond's character, gun and changes within the British Secret Service as well including bringing back the Double-O Section again.
The other one was Faulks's Devil May Care which was set in 1967.
For one thing it's certainly a lot more political and a little more violent than Fleming tended to be. Fleming was on record as saying that he had no great interest in politics and was put off further by his only visit to the House of Commons in the 1930s. He noted with distaste how the Commons was concerned with trying to cajole Mussolini away from Hitler. The overtly political nature of Colonel Sun may be one of the reasons why it's never been filmed by Eon.
A Chinese main villain is now a non-starter too of course given how important a film market China is nowadays. Possibly there could be ways around this with some tactful changes to the plot and villains. The other problem is that sections of it and ideas from it have already featured in the films so they could just continue to pick select pieces from it rather like a magpie rather than adapt it wholesale. More's the pity in my view.
a good writer could adapt it or take what hasn't been adapted and take care of it...
Again a rogue Chinese Villain with Bond working with a Chinese agent could bring in big Chinese dollars...
Yes I'm the same: it's not up there with the Flemings but it is a step above the other continuation novels in terms of being 'canon' for me.
That's true. If the Chinese villain like Colonel Sun was shown to be rogue or a renegade not truly working in tandem with Chinese state forces then that would be one way around it. It's kind of like what Eon did with the Bond films by having Bond's enemies be SPECTRE instead of SMERSH, be renegades acting on their own initiative within the Soviet military or simply be self-employed instead. That way they got around any possible anti-Soviet accusations that could be levelled at the films. Through changes such as these Eon looked forward to detente and the easing and normalising of East-West relations. It also helped not to date the films too much with the Cold War mindset of the times.
I don't know if that's correct or not, but quite interesting I thought.
Nice title. I wonder why nobody thought about it until now. :D
It's even got a double entendre in it. Perfect title for Bond then!
I'm really hoping it's nothing to do with his housekeeper :D
Heh! I thought you meant 'A James Bond Novel' which I thought was pretty effectively to the point; but one called '007' might even happen eventually! :D