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It's Bond versus Bourne again, but this time at the book store
JamesPage
Administrator, Moderator, Director
Their creators are long gone, but that hasn't prevented the publication of a new James Bond book and a new Jason Bourne book – on the same day. Adam Sherwin writes in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/money-never-dies-a-tale-of-two-spies-2289100.html"; target="_blank">Independent</a>about the thrilling showdown.
Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr Bond, I expect you to revitalise the high street book trade by winning a deadly publishing battle with your greatest espionage rival.
James Bond and Jason Bourne go head-to-head today with the launch of new novels that extend the narrative of the famous spies, who have long outlived their literary creators.
Carte Blanche is the 25th Bond book published since the death of Ian Fleming in 1964. In a "reboot" of the franchise by the American thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver, Bond is reinvented as an Afghanistan veteran, thrust into a post-9/11 world where "the other side doesn't play by the rules anymore".
Carte Blanche hits stores alongside The Bourne Dominion, the latest instalment in the adventures of the amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne. It is the sixth novel written by Eric Van Lustbader, since the death of Robert Ludlum, the Bourne creator, in 2001.
"Continuations" of a best-selling series, authorised by the estates of the original authors, are giving publishers a much-needed boost at a time when high street chains like Waterstones are struggling to meet the challenge from online retailers.
Hodder & Stoughton, UK publisher of Carte Blanche, took delivery of the first copies of the book at St Pancras International yesterday from a team of abseiling Royal Marines Commandos.
Millions of copies will be dispatched to 20 countries. An initial UK print run of 230,000 copies has been ordered for the book, which is predicted to beat the sales of Devil May Care, the previous Bond "continuation" by Sebastian Faulks, which became Penguin's fastest-selling hardbook novel in 2008.
Waterstone's is selling a signed, numbered and slipcased limited edition of Carte Blanche for £100. But Bond completists will want the Special Edition produced by Bentley, to mark 007's choice of the marque's Continental GT as his new favoured wheels. The 500 copies, set in a metal case, cost £1,000 each.
Lustbader's Bourne novels, which pick up where Ludlum's trilogy left off, have sent sales of the series to an estimated 80 million copies. The publisher, Orion, is hoping that shoppers driven to bookstores by Bond will also leave with a new Bourne. "If the publishers get it right, they can create a franchise which operates in tandem with the new films and renews itself every two years," said Neill Denny, editor-in-chief of The Bookseller. "These are massive worldwide brands."
However, Denny warned that the spy genre may never match its Cold War heights. "How do you reinvent the spy story in a world where drone pilots fight wars from the Nevada desert? It's not as romantic as Bond saving the world from a global holocaust."
Faulks retained Fleming's period setting for his novel but Deaver opted for a contemporary storyline. He said: "When we sat down with the Fleming estate we decided it would be best to have Bond track down a modern villain. That would have more emotional impact for the modern reader."
The next blockbuster in the "continuations" industry arrives in September, when Orion publishes a new full-length Sherlock Holmes novel, written by Anthony Horowitz, who was commissioned by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate. The new novels inevitably lend themselves to screen adaptations. Mr Deaver said: "I do write cinematically. It's a very visual book with sharp dialogue in exotic locations. I hope the Bond studio will have a serious look at it." Hence the contemporary setting. (The studios ignored Faulks's book, partly because of the period setting.)
But who will win the battle between Bond and Bourne? "I don't see it as a competition," said Deaver. "I hope folks can still afford two books, or go to the library and read them."
Denny believes Carte Blanche will have a head start with fans of the Fleming originals. "Deaver may be a better Bond choice than Faulks," he said. "He fits the plot-driven ethos of the Bond books whereas Faulks's approach is more literary."
Do you expect me to talk? No, Mr Bond, I expect you to revitalise the high street book trade by winning a deadly publishing battle with your greatest espionage rival.
James Bond and Jason Bourne go head-to-head today with the launch of new novels that extend the narrative of the famous spies, who have long outlived their literary creators.
Carte Blanche is the 25th Bond book published since the death of Ian Fleming in 1964. In a "reboot" of the franchise by the American thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver, Bond is reinvented as an Afghanistan veteran, thrust into a post-9/11 world where "the other side doesn't play by the rules anymore".
Carte Blanche hits stores alongside The Bourne Dominion, the latest instalment in the adventures of the amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne. It is the sixth novel written by Eric Van Lustbader, since the death of Robert Ludlum, the Bourne creator, in 2001.
"Continuations" of a best-selling series, authorised by the estates of the original authors, are giving publishers a much-needed boost at a time when high street chains like Waterstones are struggling to meet the challenge from online retailers.
Hodder & Stoughton, UK publisher of Carte Blanche, took delivery of the first copies of the book at St Pancras International yesterday from a team of abseiling Royal Marines Commandos.
Millions of copies will be dispatched to 20 countries. An initial UK print run of 230,000 copies has been ordered for the book, which is predicted to beat the sales of Devil May Care, the previous Bond "continuation" by Sebastian Faulks, which became Penguin's fastest-selling hardbook novel in 2008.
Waterstone's is selling a signed, numbered and slipcased limited edition of Carte Blanche for £100. But Bond completists will want the Special Edition produced by Bentley, to mark 007's choice of the marque's Continental GT as his new favoured wheels. The 500 copies, set in a metal case, cost £1,000 each.
Lustbader's Bourne novels, which pick up where Ludlum's trilogy left off, have sent sales of the series to an estimated 80 million copies. The publisher, Orion, is hoping that shoppers driven to bookstores by Bond will also leave with a new Bourne. "If the publishers get it right, they can create a franchise which operates in tandem with the new films and renews itself every two years," said Neill Denny, editor-in-chief of The Bookseller. "These are massive worldwide brands."
However, Denny warned that the spy genre may never match its Cold War heights. "How do you reinvent the spy story in a world where drone pilots fight wars from the Nevada desert? It's not as romantic as Bond saving the world from a global holocaust."
Faulks retained Fleming's period setting for his novel but Deaver opted for a contemporary storyline. He said: "When we sat down with the Fleming estate we decided it would be best to have Bond track down a modern villain. That would have more emotional impact for the modern reader."
The next blockbuster in the "continuations" industry arrives in September, when Orion publishes a new full-length Sherlock Holmes novel, written by Anthony Horowitz, who was commissioned by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate. The new novels inevitably lend themselves to screen adaptations. Mr Deaver said: "I do write cinematically. It's a very visual book with sharp dialogue in exotic locations. I hope the Bond studio will have a serious look at it." Hence the contemporary setting. (The studios ignored Faulks's book, partly because of the period setting.)
But who will win the battle between Bond and Bourne? "I don't see it as a competition," said Deaver. "I hope folks can still afford two books, or go to the library and read them."
Denny believes Carte Blanche will have a head start with fans of the Fleming originals. "Deaver may be a better Bond choice than Faulks," he said. "He fits the plot-driven ethos of the Bond books whereas Faulks's approach is more literary."
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Comments
but i am looking forward to getting my hands on Carte Blanche.. i swear, since the title of the book was released, i've heard this phrase a lot more.... not saying that there is a connection - it's probably just me recognizing it now... but other than it's hideous cover, it seems like it might be a good book.... i've been waiting to get into a post-Fleming Bond book...
here's a question though - is this intended, much like Devil May Care, to be a one off job for Deaver, or, should this book sell well, will he be brought back to write another?... I could like to see some continuity with authors again..
This was actually the original intent of the Robert Markham, Colonel Sun, 1968. Kingsley Amis was supposed to be the first of several authors writing Bond under the pen-name Robert Markham but the idea fell apart after one book.
"Carte Blanche is the 25th Bond book published since the death of Ian Fleming in 1964."
From the Independent story above.
These writers drive me crazy pulling these numbers out of the air. 25th Bond book since Fleming. OK how might that number have been arrived at?
Let me see. We have 14 Gardners and 6 Bensons. That makes 20.
Plus Colonel Sun, The Authorized Biography and Faulks. That makes 23.
Aiee! What's the missing book? It can't be any of the screenplay novelizations as there were 7 of them. Can't be the Young Bonds as there were 5 of them.
I therefore declare the author to be wrong wrong wrong.
Carte Blanche is thus the 24th original post Fleming adult continuation novel, not including the screenplay novelizations. [-(
===as for Bond vs Bourne. Bourne can bite me.
I will be buying the hardcover first day, settling into my most comfortable book reading chair. Maybe pick up a good bottle of Bond worthy brandy ( but not too good. I am kinda cheap that way) and relax and savour.
Bourne I do like, but not enough to spend hardcover money, so I'll either grab it from library or buy the paperback in 6 months. The EVL Bournes are good yarns. Way better than the lame Damon films.
However de next Sherlock Holmes novel will almost certainly be obtained by my person. Perhaps out of sheer curiosity but I like the old detective somehow.
Carte Blanche is already on its way to my house so that is a bo-brainer.
I also look forward to the latest Harry Dresden installment Ghost Story this July, even more than the new 007. \m/
"Carte Blanche is the 25th Bond book published since the death of Ian Fleming in 1964"
Were Young Bond and the MP Diaries not Bond books? They most certainly were. Clearly he's not including the screenplay adaptations, if he even knows they exist, and they were certainly Bond books too.
And in the writer's defense, I myself hadn't heard about the screenplay adaptations from the 70s until rather recently and I have been a Bond fan since 2006. Though I must say that I am particularly curious to search out those books and give 'em a read at some point in the future. ;-)
Ah, Mr Bond. A new book? We’ve been expecting one. Yes, since Ian Fleming, the creator of 007, died in 1964 there have been no fewer than 24 novels continuing the exploits of the shaken-not-stirred British spy and now American author Jeffery Deaver has penned the 25th
Carte Blanche, released this week, is said by the Fleming family to have brought Bond“scorching into the 21st century”. However the brand-new Bond has competition in the spy-books-with-an-ultra-famous-cinema-icon-hero stakes. Released on the very same day is the new Jason Bourne book, the Bourne Dominion, written by Eric Van Lustbader and furthering the trials of amnesiac assassin Bourne, who was heralded as James Bond’s successor from his first outing. They even have the same initials. By all accounts, however, Bond is not going quietly. So how do the two measure up?
THE HERO
Bond: Super-suave secret agent with a licence to kill and to lure the ladies into bed. Even the MI6 secretary becomes all-a-quiver when Bond utters the phrase “Ah, Miss Moneypenny”. Able to pull off missions while gambling and downing martinis. Viewed by some as a Sixties cliché, his sexist demeanour has mellowed but the gadgets, if not his affections, have remained true.
Bourne: Soldier-turned-CIA operative who has been betrayed by his bosses, can’t remember his identity and who now wants only two things:– the truth and to survive. Matt Damon thinks Bourne’s gritty realism is a world away from 007: “Bourne is a serial monogamist whose girlfriend is dead and he does nothing but think about her. He doesn’t have the support of gadgets and feels guilty about what he’s done.”
THE CREATORS
Bond: Eton-educated author Ian Fleming was a naval intelligence officer during the Second World War (code name 17F, slightly less catchy than 007) and was reportedly a jet-setting womaniser who could seduce girls in four languages. He was noted for his “Fleming flair” and liked his martinis shaken and not stirred. Sound familiar? Certainly Fleming had real-life experience to draw from but he would joke that Bond was braver and more handsome than him. His first Bond novel Casino Royale was published in 1953 and 11 more full-length 007 books followed as well as nine short stories, which he tended to write at Goldeneye, his Jamaican retreat. He also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Bourne: Writer Robert Ludlum was a former US marine, actor and theatre producer before he transformed himself into a phenomenally successful thriller writer. Responsible for the first three Bourne books – The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum – he is also author of The Holcroft Covenant and The Prometheus Deception. Ten years after his death in 2001, reportedly from a heart attack, his nephew and biographer Kenneth Kearns hired private investigators to look into the circumstances of his death which Kearns believes are suspicious.
THE NEW AUTHORS
Bond: While the likes of Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Sebastian Faulks have all furthered Bond’s adventures, Jeffery Deaver is the first non-Brit sanctioned by the Fleming estate to continue the series.
The author of 26 novels, including The Bone Collector which was turned into a Hollywood film with Angelina Jolie, Deaver has sold more than 20 million books worldwide. His 21st- century Bond is reinvented as an Afghanistan veteran in a post-9/11 world where “the other side doesn’t play by the rules any more”. Ian Fleming’s niece Lucy has promised Deaver’s book delivers “the most horrible Bond villain and a fantastic plot”. The first copies of the new novel were delivered to publisher Hodder & Stoughton by a team of abseiling Royal Marine Commandos.
Bourne: Bestselling thriller and fantasy writer Eric Van Lustbader took up the reins after Ludlum’s death and The Bourne Dominion is his sixth Bourne book. In it “Bourne finds himself in a world where friend and foe go hand in hand. Bourne’s journey will lead him down a path of brutal murder and destruction from which there is no escape.” Sounds about right.
THE VILLAINS
Bond: Surely 007 wins the prize for most flamboyant, most megalomaniacal villains hell bent on world domination enacted from some super-secret hideaway? No quirk or physical deformity is too far-fetched. Witness Blofeld’s facial scar and penchant for stroking Persian cats while swivelling in a chair. Then there’s Scaramanga, the man with the golden gun and a third nipple and Jaws, a 7ft 2in giant with a mouth full of steel.
Bourne: He frequently thinks the villain might be him. “I can see their faces – everyone I ever killed. I just don’t know their names,” he cries as his conscience gnaws away at him. Really, though, the villains of the piece are his would-be puppet masters, those CIA bosses back at US HQ who have turned him into a killing machine and now he’s gone AWOL are intent on hunting him down. Most of them have a hidden past and just want to destroy Bourne or continue to use him.
THE GIRLS
Bond: Known as much for their suggestive names as their sultry beauty Bond girls are generally male fantasies who either succumb to Bond’s charms with an “oooh James” or put up a feisty fight and then succumb. More modern Bond girls tend to fall into the latter camp. A stream of beautiful women have taken on the role from Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore in Goldfinger) to Ursula Andress (Honey Ryder in Dr No) and Eva Green (Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale) while perhaps the most tongue-in-cheek is Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, a femme fatale who crushes the life out of her victims with her thighs as part of her seduction process.
Bourne: Bourne girls don’t really exist, although Jason does hook up with the bohemian Marie (Franka Potente) in the Bourne Identity, only for her to take a bullet meant for Bourne in the opening credits for The Bourne Supremacy. Shame.
THE ACTORS
Bond: The Bond biggies are Sir Sean Connery (seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983), Sir Roger Moore (seven between 1973 to 1985), Pierce Brosnan (four between 1995 and 2002) and Daniel Craig (two so far). Craig is credited with creating the most muscular and modern 007. George Lazenby took the role in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Timothy Dalton followed suit in The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill.
Bourne: Synonymous with Matt Damon who starred in the ultra-successful Bourne trilogy. Richard Chamberlain (of Thorn Birds fame) played him on TV in the Eighties.
THE BEST LINES
Bond: Where do we start? Probably with, “The name’s Bond – James Bond” but there’s also the celebrated exchange with Goldfinger: “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.” For Bond polishing off a psychopathic villain wouldn’t be the same without delivering a witty one-liner which can equally be used to distract your nemesis from pointing a laser beam at your nether regions (see Connery in Goldfinger).
Bourne: Not one for jolly repartee Bourne is the strong, silent type but is surprisingly fluent in a number of languages. He’s generally too busy jumping off buildings to indulge in conversation, droll or otherwise.
THE GADGETS
Bond: For 007 the car is often the star – and he has been helped out over the years by a variety of underwater and invisible vehicles. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale had his vehicle equipped with a defibrillator, particularly helpful for those occasions when your heart suddenly stops. Then there’s the exploding Parker pen (GoldenEye) and the jet pack (Thunderball). Villain gadgets include Oddjob’s flying razor-rimmed bowler hat.
Bourne: Relies on nothing but his own mettle.
HOW LUCRATIVE?
Bond: Over 100 million book sales. Gross takings for the film franchise are approximately £7billion
Bourne: Over 80 million book sales while the films’ gross takings amount to around £600million.
"25th Bond book" though is rather sloppy writing. He should have the sense to know that that is a rather vague descriptor.
The fault is with the sloppy lazy Publisher's PR people or with IFP. They should have a handle on the literary history of their licensed character. We faithful readers do. It's not that hard if you are invested in the character.
What the accompanying media handouts should have said is that "Carte Blanche is the 23rd of the post-Fleming continuation novels" or "the 23rd adult-Bond book since Fleming," or something to that effect.That would be accurate.
Carte Blanche follows(1 Amis,14 Gardners, 6 Bensons and 1 Faulks)
Not including, Pearson's Authorized Biography, screenplay adaptations, MP Diaries or YB, as these titles could all be considered to be spin-off. Carte Blanche is best lumped in with the other adult-Bond-as-featured-character books
Reporters simply work with the background info provided by the publisher's PR people.
If the PR people do their job, then the news stories have accurate info.
Alas they were incompetent, so its up to us actual readers to do their work for them and set the record straight.
Happy to be of service. Should send an invoice to IFP.