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SOLO - How will Boyd ensure continuity?
With Boyd's SOLO scheduled for release on September 26th, it is interesting to speculate the characters and items that Boyd will include to legitimise his Bond and ensure continuity. The year is 1969 and chronologically his epic should follow 'CS' and 'DMC'.Here's my personal take on the characters and accessories that may be featured and the personal odds I would give to them appearing:
CHARACTERS
1) 'M' = 1/9
2) 'Moneypenny' = 1/9
3) 'May' = 2/1
4) 'Bill Tanner' = 1/1
6) 'Scaramanga' = 2/1
7) 'Blofeld' = 3/1
8) 'Teresa di Vicenzo' = 2/1
9)'Ariadne Alexandrou' = 20/1
10)'Colonel Son' = 20/1
11)'The Hammonds' = 20/1
12)'Dr.Julius Gorner = 100/1
13)'Felix Leiter = 1/1
ACCESSORIES/BRANDS
1) 'Bentley' = 1/1
2) 'Aston Martin' = 3/1
3) 'Rolex Oyster Perpetual' = 1/9
4) 'Gunmetal Cigarette Case' = 3/1
5) 'Oxidised Ronson Lighter' = 3/1
6)'Morland Special Blend Cigarettes with 3 Gold Bands' = 3/1
7)' Blue Serge Suit' = 1/1
8)'Black Knitted Silk Tie' = 1/1
9)' Black Slip On Shoes with steel toe caps' = 3/1
10) 'White Sea Island Cotton Shirt' = 1/1
12) 'Walther PPK 7.65mm = 1/1
13) 'Colt .45'= 3/1
14) 'Smith & Wesson .38' = 5/1
What do you think and what odds would you associate with your choice?
CHARACTERS
1) 'M' = 1/9
2) 'Moneypenny' = 1/9
3) 'May' = 2/1
4) 'Bill Tanner' = 1/1
6) 'Scaramanga' = 2/1
7) 'Blofeld' = 3/1
8) 'Teresa di Vicenzo' = 2/1
9)'Ariadne Alexandrou' = 20/1
10)'Colonel Son' = 20/1
11)'The Hammonds' = 20/1
12)'Dr.Julius Gorner = 100/1
13)'Felix Leiter = 1/1
ACCESSORIES/BRANDS
1) 'Bentley' = 1/1
2) 'Aston Martin' = 3/1
3) 'Rolex Oyster Perpetual' = 1/9
4) 'Gunmetal Cigarette Case' = 3/1
5) 'Oxidised Ronson Lighter' = 3/1
6)'Morland Special Blend Cigarettes with 3 Gold Bands' = 3/1
7)' Blue Serge Suit' = 1/1
8)'Black Knitted Silk Tie' = 1/1
9)' Black Slip On Shoes with steel toe caps' = 3/1
10) 'White Sea Island Cotton Shirt' = 1/1
12) 'Walther PPK 7.65mm = 1/1
13) 'Colt .45'= 3/1
14) 'Smith & Wesson .38' = 5/1
What do you think and what odds would you associate with your choice?
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Comments
I think Villiers53 has more or less nailed it.
CHARACTERS
1) 'M' has to be featured the key question is will his kidnapping by CS be referenced?
2) 'Moneypenny' - no Bond novel would be credible without her.
3)'May' - If the novel features London in a meaningful way, she should be there.
4) 'Bill Tanner' - could be a twist if Sir Miles has retired and Bill has been promoted to
'M' status but probably to creative for a continuation author.
6) 'Scaramanga' - if he chronologically follows TMWTGG he will be obliged. Hopefully
he'll have the good sense to follow CS.
7) 'Blofeld' - essential for fleshing out the past.
8)'Teresa di Vicenzo' - key for positioning Bond as a tortured soul.
9) 10) & 11) Possible but probably not. If he references 'The Hammonds' it shows he hasn't read CS.
12) Dr.Julius Gorner - God I hope not!
13) Felix Leiter - with Boyd sending Bond to the USA, Felix will have to get a mention.
ACCESORIES
1) & 2) Bentley - has to be. The AM was only ever a company car!
3) Rolex - the only watch for Bond. That Omega thing would never have graced our man's wrist.
4)5)&6) Smoking - in SOLO, he's 45 and he started with the weed when he was 15 so,
he's been sucking down 60 a day for 30 years. If he hasn't stopped, he'll either be lugging an oxygen tank around with him or have a tumour the size of a rugby ball. Boyd must have as an ex-smoker who is drinking more than his fair share but if he's still with the fags, these are the tools he'll carry.
7)8)&9) Clothes - yes. This will be his town clobber. It might be 1969 but Bond won't be wearing a Kaftan!
12)13)&14) Guns - the Walther 7.65mm definitely but I hope he substitutes the Gaylor holster for the Berns Martin - the latter was always a mistake as it was fashioned for revolvers not automatics. Fleming's error!
Great posting Villiers - let's see how much of this stuff Boyd puts into SOLO. I have a good feeling about this one.
Regards,
Bentley
I think Villiers53 has more or less nailed it.
CHARACTERS
1) 'M' has to be featured the key question is will his kidnapping by CS be referenced?
2) 'Moneypenny' - no Bond novel would be credible without her.
3)'May' - If the novel features London in a meaningful way, she should be there.
4) 'Bill Tanner' - could be a twist if Sir Miles has retired and Bill has been promoted to
'M' status but probably to creative for a continuation author.
6) 'Scaramanga' - if he chronologically follows TMWTGG he will be obliged. Hopefully
he'll have the good sense to follow CS.
7) 'Blofeld' - essential for fleshing out the past.
8)'Teresa di Vicenzo' - key for positioning Bond as a tortured soul.
9) 10) & 11) Possible but probably not. If he references 'The Hammonds' it shows he hasn't read CS.
12) Dr.Julius Gorner - God I hope not!
13) Felix Leiter - with Boyd sending Bond to the USA, Felix will have to get a mention.
ACCESORIES
1) & 2) Bentley - has to be. The AM was only ever a company car!
3) Rolex - the only watch for Bond. That Omega thing would never have graced our man's wrist.
4)5)&6) Smoking - in SOLO, he's 45 and he started with the weed when he was 15 so,
he's been sucking down 60 a day for 30 years. If he hasn't stopped, he'll either be lugging an oxygen tank around with him or have a tumour the size of a rugby ball. Boyd must have as an ex-smoker who is drinking more than his fair share but if he's still with the fags, these are the tools he'll carry.
7)8)&9) Clothes - yes. This will be his town clobber. It might be 1969 but Bond won't be wearing a Kaftan!
12)13)&14) Guns - the Walther 7.65mm definitely but I hope he substitutes the Gaylor holster for the Berns Martin - the latter was always a mistake as it was fashioned for revolvers not automatics. Fleming's error!
Great posting Villiers - let's see how much of this stuff Boyd puts into SOLO. I have a good feeling about this one.
Regards,
Bentley
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/5018/should-boyd-novel-reference-colonel-sun-or-devil-may-care
With regard to your specific question I believe the novel HAS TO include M and Moneypenny, and I would prefer Felix leiter to be in it as well. Bill Tanner is pretty much a secondary character, but if I were to guess I'd assume he'll be in it as well.
Sorry DB5 but I think Villiers53 thread poses much more interesting questions than your thread. He really knows the lexicon and it will be fascinating to see if Boyd is as well informed.
Bentley- Frankly I'm not in a competition with Villiers53 or anyone else for that matter as to who has the more interesting thread. I provided a link to my thread because I wanted to inform him and everyone else here on MI6 that it existed. If you prefer his thread to mine because you feel he "really knows the lexicon" (with the implied message that I don't) that's your opinion and you're welcome to it.
DB5 - M, Moneypenny and Leiter (given the American leg) are probably a slam dunk. For me, Tanner is more than a secondary character as Amis fleshed him out in the first part of CS and it will be interesting to see if Boyd continues in that vein.
Personally, I hope that he chronologically follows CS and not TMWTGG as it would be interesting to see how he references the kidnapping of 'M' etc..
The Daever book was a decent attempt but unlike Gardner he failed to woo me in modernising 007.
The Faulks novel had some great moments especially in the choice of where the adventure took place Persia/Iran ( had had some great dr. Jason Love flashbacks from a similar place of adventure). Even if he did do a great job at the setting and time of the story he failed to excite me a whole book long.
In that sense did the Charteris books that were ghostwritten by other writers as Charteris give a far better quality if reading material. Why does it not happen to the continuation writers of Ian Fleming? perhaps he should have said something like the great Gregory McDonald did say about his creations:
Though he wrote more than two dozen books, he remained best known for the Fletch novels. He found this a mixed blessing, and after “Fletch, Too” (Warner, 1986), he vowed there would be no more. He did not kill off his hero, but instead issued a very precise threat.
As Mr. Mcdonald said in an interview in 2002, “I’ve told my family and so forth that if, after I kick the bucket, somebody takes over writing Fletches and Flynns under my name or in conjunction with my name or as a franchise, I will come back from the grave and twist their heads off.”
Interesting points from @SaintMark. Particularly regarding the late, great Leslie Charteris and the quote from George MacDonald Fraser.
Personally, I find his (MacDonald Fraser's) position regarding continuity a little hypocritical given that he lifted Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays!
I know that Modesty Blaise's fabulous creator, Peter O'Donnell, held a similar view to Fraser and said that he didn't want anybody else to write about his characters. More legitimate in my opinion, given that he was the creator.
Also interesting that he references Dr. Jason Love. A little known fact is that Love's creator, James Leasor, was the first author approached by IFP to write under the pseudonym of Robert Markham - he refused and then came Amis. Shame in a way, although I love Colonel Sun, I think Leasor would have given us a great Bond book.
Back to Bond - IMNSHO (IN MY NOT SO HUMBLE OPINION), DMC and CB had zero merit.
Hopefully Boyd will pull it off - if not literary Bond will be increasingly consigned to history.
The way that great literary characters are handled by continuity authors will always be a subject of great debate.
Personaly I think that Anthony Horowitz's recent Holmes novel 'A Study In Silk' is a master class in how to do it. A great book that ranks with Conan Doyle's best and it will be interesting to see if Boyd can reach this standard with Bond.
O'Donnell did, of course, take the ultimate step to ensure that Willie and Modesty would never have to face the ignomy afforded Bond by Benson, he came out of retirement and killed them both off in his last novel, 'Cobra Trap'.
Not a technique IFP would employ with Bond even at 45 years of age, Universal Exports compulsory retirement age. The financial stakes are way too high!
Actually you picked the wrong writer Gregory McDonald wrote the Fletch and Flynn series. But I picked hime for his remarks toward continuation as he did create two brilliant characters.
How right you are @ SaintMark. My apologies.
[/quote]
The way that great literary characters are handled by continuity authors will always be a subject of great debate.
Personally I think that Anthony Horowitz's recent Holmes novel 'A Study In Silk' is a master class in how to do it. A great book that ranks with Conan Doyle's best and it will be interesting to see if Boyd can reach this standard with Bond.
O'Donnell did, of course, take the ultimate step to ensure that Willie and Modesty would never have to face the ignominy afforded Bond by Benson, he came out of retirement and killed them both off in his last novel, 'Cobra Trap'.
Not a technique IFP would employ with Bond even at 45 years of age, Universal Exports compulsory retirement age. The financial stakes are way too high!
[/quote]
@Bentley,
If Boyd can scale the heights in the way Horowitz did with his Holmes novel we'll be in for a hell of a ride — he (Horowitz) really did a superb job.
Great point you make about Bond's retirement age. I recently re-read 'Moonraker' and it was clearly stated that 45 was the compulsory retirement age from the service with 00 operatives having to step down from the section some years before they! Wonder how Boyd will handle that in SOLO?
Haig & Haig Whiskey
Cooper's Orange Marmalade
Gordon's Gin
Dunhill Lighter
The Times
Floris
With you @007VT but wasn't the lighter an 'Oxidised Ronson'?
I believe that it was, yes. A battered Ronson lighter.
Not always I thought - hmm, need to pull the file on that one.
He gives my namesake (Bentley) 1/1 - good punt and clear favourite but it has to be said, the mark was not at its zenith in '69. The Bentley of the day was the t1 and much as I love the really old Bentleys and the Bentleys of today, the t1 was large and cumbersome. Not in my opinion, the car for Bond.
Next up, @villiers 53 gives us Aston Martin at 3/1. The Aston of '69 was the DBS as featured in the movie, OHMSS. Not their most elegant vehicle.
Personally, I'd love to see him behind the car that Enzo Ferrari said was the most beautiful ever built, the e-type Jaguar. This quintessential English beauty would be the perfect car for 1969. I'm introducing the Jag at 2/1. He would of course drive the serious two 4.2L coupe in either black or silver. A truly beautiful machine and as British as a Bulldog.
Last thought, if the Jag is too populist, I'll go for a Bristol 410. Very sexy car and less media type than the Jag. I'll put it in at 5/1 but he'd be hard pressed to catch a villain driving an e-type with it.
I love pondering over this.
Don't forget that the last car referenced as Bond's personal vehicle by Fleming was the Bentley Mark 11 continental in OHMSS (1965) - a much sleeker car than the t1. What's to say he hasn't just kept it?
Much as I adore the e-type I don't see it as a Bond car. Back in '69, the jag was a real hipster's ride (John Barry had one). Bond was much more old money.
Sorry @Bentley, I can't see 007 in an e-type. Beautiful as they are.
Back in the day they were really the voiture for the young media types. You are correct, the late great John Barry drove a fabulous white one around town but that doesn't make it a Bond car.
That said, I won't be upset if Boyd goes that route because the e-type was extremely fast (145mph) for it's day but only in a straight line. The cornering was fare from great because of the long chassis. But it was English to the core!
The problem for Boyd, if he wants Bond to stay with a British car in '69 - and he must - is that a lot of the great British rides were small roadsters like the Lotus Elan. There wasn't a lot of great luxury GTs around. Small roadsters are fine for Bond's ladies but lack the stature and luxury for the man himself.
This leaves the DBS or the Bentley. Personally, I think he'll stick with the Bentley Mark 11 with it's Arnott supercharger controlled by the magnetic clutch that voided the manufacturer's warranty!
Or dare I say it Ford Capri!! Both of which were on the open market in 1969 any thoughts ?
Rover P6 3500, would be fine for a junior cabinet minister or a doctor.
Capri 3.0GT, fine car that it was would be more suitable for Gene Hunt than James Bond!
I'll take it!
I will be very interested to see which way he jumps on this. I think Boyd will savour describing the Bond lifestyle as it will ground his novel firmly in '69 whilst playing to today's interest in the sartorial.
The car is key in this and Bond has played a huge role in the success of Aston Martin and he is not inconsequential to Bentley.
I'm not really an AM fan and would love to see him go for a Bentley. The problem is, the T1 was a bit of a bus when compared to the fabulous Mark 11 Continental Coupe. Bond is clearly not a man to change his tailor or car every 5 minutes so maybe he's kept the Mark 11 post OHMSS?
At least he won't have to consider Tracy's OHMSS legacy when making his choice - she was driving them in her Lancia when she met her sticky end!