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Really fitting. You and Bentley seem to share the same problem with auto-correct.
I think the intended word was dedication but when it comes to IFP I wouldn't put it past them defecating on it!
The thing I wonder about though is how long should the Fleming estate have to wait for Higson? There a business. They can't just sit there twiddling their thumbs forever.
That's what seems to have happened as they've of course now went with somebody else.
Yes, I am. Just my first draft post. The culprit was my bad typing I'm afraid - I don't touch the Devil Drink!
Pearson's book IMO is hands down the best of the continuation novels. Unfortunately the later continuation authors, post Benson, such as Higson, chose to ignore it. However this book does exist. It's excellent, and along with Colonel Sun, are IMO the two perfect companion continuation-novels to the Fleming originals..
Higson goes off on another timeline thread, so we basically have a double Young Bond continuity. I do think its a shame that Higson didn't take the time to work with the Pearson continuity, but what's done is done.
For me Pearson's Authorized Bio is canon. It came first and its friggin Fleming worthy excellent.
I enjoy Higson as an alternative take though. What's done is done. Interesting @Bounine you referenced Cox's suggestion that Boyd planted possible threads of Cole's new Young Bond series in Solo. Cox also suggests that Faulks referenced Higson's Young Bond in DMC. That is also interesting, although I didn't catch it myself. It does seem we may have a new continuity timeline involving Higson, Faulks, Boyd and Cole. I like this - the later (2000's) authors actually paying attention to each other.
I'm looking forward to the Cole books, simply because I like reading Bond. I don't need Higson to continue. A fresh take on Young Bond might be interesting. Still the kid's only 14-15. He's not likely to be killing anyone despite more of what I am sure will be crazy OTTP adventures, worthy of the adult Bond, a la Higson. These young Bond books are a bit much, but still fun to read.
The Pearson take from back in the day, makes much more sense I think, but its not a big adventure a year deal, so there wasn't much more to flesh out, Young-Bond wise.
IFP probably needed Higson's adventures to really milk this cow, which is why I think Pearson's take was set aside.
Yes the Cole books do seem like more cow-milking. I trust eventually Bond will find his way to Paris and get to the war even if we are all in rockers by then, with shelves full of Young Bond books, collected along the way.
Meantime I must confess I haven't read a word of the Boyd book. I'm still waiting for a good price. That last effort (Deaver) was so awful, I lost the urge to rush out and grab the latest right away, but I will be reading the new Boyd in short order, as soon as I get off my wallet.
I agree. I've always felt that it was quite a shame that Higson didn't reference Pearson's book. I really wish he had have worked around what Pearson wrote. Why this excellent Bond biography was overlooked, I'll never know. Someone asked Higson this in his talk and signing I attended a few years ago but I can't remember what he said now. He had mentioned it in an interview I read somewhere too but I can't recall his response. I do remember thinking at the time though that it wasn't a particularly justified response.
"These young Bond books are a bit much, but still fun to read."
My thoughts too.
As for Solo, I enjoyed it. I feel it is much better than DMC, CB and some of the other continuation novels. Boyd develops Bond's character well and there are some interesting, entertaining situations but it does lack a solid plot so if this bothers you then you may not like it. It was a bit of a downside for me and the mission M gave Bond is far fetched.
In terms of Bond's character, there is this incident near the beginning of Solo involving Bond's new love interest and her house which is out of character for Bond I think. God knows why Boyd wrote this.
Of all the adult continuation novels CB seemed to not even make any effort to even try to read like a Fleming book. It's Deaver's re-invented 2011-Bond all the way.
Back to Higson's ignoring of Pearson's work. Personally I don't think there is much to analyze. There was a 32 year gap (1973-2005) between their respective efforts. I think Higson felt he could go his own way and re-work the Bond back-story to his own liking. Not the worst thing really, considering what he was trying to do, which was have Bond as full blown super-adventure kid. Pearson's narrative wouldn't have accomodated such extremes. Pearson's young Bond had more the upbringing, that I think we might have expected from the pen of Fleming.
Again, for me, Pearson is post-Fleming canon. Higson is alternative take; ie Young
Bond as super-adventure save-the-world kid.
I do think that it may have been possible for Higson to work around Pearson's work. Pearson's biography covered Bond from the time of his birth right up until post TMWTGG. If I remember correctly, the section of the book that covered Bond's Eton years was fairly brief and went into little detail where as Higson's books took place the entire time Bond was at this school. So, I feel that Higson could have probably incorporated all these adventures within this period of Bond's life but as I said, maybe it was for the best that he didn't. However, what Higson did with the maid incident was vastly different to the simple situation Pearson concocted. Still, Higson needn't have weaved this incident into the plot as he did in By Royal Command (I'm currently reading this book for a second time and I'm enjoying it just as much as the first time).
Very true and well said. This would be my take on the 'Young Bond' juggernaught.
DMC while written as a pastice worked a lot better for me as a 007 novel.
SOLO with its lack of real involvement feels more like 007 portraited the post colonial English Empire that involved in the political struggle but watches from the sideline while stuffing his face with food and drink (that salad recipe really took the ...) and while shagging some ladies of which one he is a bloody peeping Tom, shags her and leaves her for selfish reasons he knew all along (Does that symbolises the British Empire in decline?)
I feel that Boyd did take the mickey with this book and kind of symbolised the British Empire through 007's behaviour. And of course the US had to save the day.
I look forward to Cole's effort as it cannot become worse I hope.
I definitely felt like Faulks took the mickey what with having a villain with a monkey paw!
If you read my post I find that Boyd has pushed "taking the mickey" several levels up.
Cheers. You know, I kind of wish that Higson had have been hired to write adult Bond books instead and used the young Bond stories he scribed with tweaks here and there obviously for the purposes of an adult Bond working for the SIS.
Yes, that would have been great.
When he says "fun fan fiction" I wonder if he is referring to his own first Young Bond draft or other people's work?
I wonder what he means by "real". I keep pondering about what he's done.
Looking forward to this book.
He means that since it is being edited he feels that he is actually writing a actual Bond novel and not some online fan-fiction.
He seems excited about this which is increasing my hopes for what could be the best Bond novels since well Higson's YB 5-parter.
http://www.thebookbond.com/2014/03/young-bond-goes-hollywood.html
Thank you @doubleoego.
Many a fanboy will be ready to butcher the ideas, Higson did more than deliver even If there was a large amount of scepsis.
I'm looking forward to this too but with the great work Higson consistently put out, a bit of scepticism and worry is to be expected when someone new takes over. With the great talent we've had working on adult Bond and the results being not as we all would have hoped, it does very little to calm the nerves despite Cole being a very good novelist.
I have to say, I don't really like the thought of Bond mixing with celebrities. Bond's world and the celebrity world should remain separate. Maybe he'll just briefly run into one of them. I keep thinking that he'll be on movie sets but maybe he'll just be in this area in LA.
Interesting title. Thanks for making us aware of this breaking news.