New Bond Author Jeffery Deaver On Spy Tradecraft

What better way to celebrate today's release of Jeffery Deaver's new James Bond continuation novel Carte Blanche than heading on over to The Wall Street Journal to read the author's primer on espionage tradecraft, "Lessons Learned From Bond—James Bond?"  It's a really good overview of the basics of spying that shows that Deaver has done his research and clearly enjoyed his foray into the world of secret agents.  Deaver offers tips worthy of Michael Westen (or William Johnson) on what to do if you think you're being tailed, how to forge a signature, and how to choose good dead drops, among other things.

New Spy Novels Out This Week: James Bond and Tom Clancy

This is a huge week in America for high-profile spy novels.  Two of the biggest names in the genre go head-to-head at bookstores today giving spy fans plenty of pages to keep them engrossed on the beach this summer: James Bond and Tom Clancy.  And both of them have help.  Bond is aided by the highest-profile and bestselling author to pen a 007 continuation novel since Kingsley Amis, American thriller writer Jeffery Deaver.  With no offense intended to John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Charlie Higson and Samantha Weinberg (each of whom penned some terrific entries in the series), this is probably the first time since Colonel Sun that a James Bond continuation novel has boasted a "marquee value" author capable of selling a ton of books without the Bond name, and therefore capable of drawing legions of new readers to the brand. Clancy, meanwhile, is aided by co-author Peter Telep, whose previous novels span all genres.  Since returning from his seven-year hiatus following The Teeth of the Tiger, Clancy has opted to work with collaborators.  (Grant Blackwood co-wrote last year's Jack Ryan novel Dead or Alive.)

It was a little over a year ago that we first heard the exciting news that Ian Fleming Publications had tapped Deaver to pen the first contemporary James Bond continuation novel in nearly a decade.  (Higson, Weinberg and Sebastian Faulks had written period pieces set roughly in the timeline of Fleming's original novels; Benson was the last author to tell a Bond story set in the present day.) Then, this book was known only as Project X. In the interim, it's gained a real title, Carte Blanche, and been released in Britain, last month, to very favorable reviews.  The plot finds a Bond firmly rooted in the 21st Century driving a Bentley, traveling to Serbia, Dubai and South Africa, and taking on a villain who built his empire on refuse! I only just received my UK edition (a lousy Second, grumble, grumble) from Amazon, so I'm only about 100 pages in, but I must say, so far I'm loving it.  Interestingly, I picture Daniel Craig when I read Deaver's Bond.  In other books, I've always pictured a literary 007 quite separate from any actor.  I'll post a full review when I finish, but I don't want to rush; I want to savor the new James Bond novel!  Order Carte Blanche from Amazon here.

Deaver's book may well clock in as the longest Bond novel ever at 432 pages (in the US edition), but it's got nothing on Clancy's and Telep's tome, a typical 768-page behemoth!  This one caught me by surprise when we first heard about it a few months ago, because Clancy just had a novel out late last year which isn't even in paperback yet! I haven't yet picked up Against All Enemies, but it's my understanding that this novel does not feature Clancy's perennial hero Jack Ryan.  Instead, it introduces a new hero, CIA agent (and ex-Navy SEAL) Maxwell Moore. Moore's mission takes him from Pakistan to another desert in America's own backyard: Mexico.  According to the book's copy, "Here a drug war rages between the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels. The landscape is strewn with bodies, innocents and drug dealers alike, but is there an even deadlier enemy lurking in background? Into this deadly brew, Moore leads a group of specially selected agents whose daring actions reveal shocking answers and uncover an unholy plan—a strike against the very heart of America."  It sounds like a vintage Clancy plot, and I'm excited by it.  Despite a couple of less than stellar later books, I'm hopeful that this one will represent a return to form for the man who ruled the spy genre in the 1980s. And while the next Jack Ryan movie remains in limbo (as reported recently), now Clancy fans can at least get their fix in print!  Order Against All Enemies from Amazon here.

U.S. Cover Art For Carte Blanche Unveiled

The Book Bond (always the best place to get the latest news first about anything pertaining to the literary 007) has landed the cover artwork for Simon and Schuster's American edition of Jeffery Deaver's upcoming James Bond continuation novel, Carte Blanche.  It's definitely a striking image that should stand out on shelves... but not really to my taste for Bond covers. I think I prefer the UK one we saw earlier this week, when the title was announced. No matter which dust jacket ends up wrapped around the copy I read first, though, I can't wait for this book! With a bestselling author like Deaver (who I must confess I've never read), Carte Blanche should be the highest profile Bond continuation novel ever. Click here for more information on it.

Ian Fleming's Master Spy James Bond 007 in Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver

Jeffery Deaver revealed the title and UK cover art (as well as the car) for his forthcoming James Bond continuation novel today in Dubai and on his website.  At the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai, Deaver unveiled this cover and the title Carte Blanche. A corresponding press release doesn't give away many details about the plot (other than that part of the story takes place in the UAE, which we already knew), but it does answer another burning question that's sparked intense debate in the Bond fan community of late: what car will 007 drive in this modern day-set novel? "Carte Blanche also features Fleming's favourite car – a Bentley. Historically, Bond owned three Bentley cars in the course of the fourteen original novels written by Ian Fleming and, bringing the plot completely up to date, Bond drives a Bentley Continental GT in the new book." Sounds good to me! (Though I'm not sure about that bit about Bentley being Fleming's own favorite car.  While it's true that his character favored it, I'm pretty sure Fleming himself drove Thunderbirds and Avantis in the days when he was chronicling Bond's adventures. But that's nitpicking.) I love the looks of the cars Bentley has been making of late (I'd hoped we might see one in Casino Royale, but the Aston Martin DBS was a more than adequate substitute), and the Continental GT is no exception. See for yourself at Bentley's website.

That's not much to go on, but regular readers will know well that I never shy away from flounting the adage and judging books by their covers. So what do I think of the title and cover?  Well, the first thing I thought looking at it was, "Cate Blanchett? What does she have to do with this?"  That was just my first thought looking at those words in that title treatment.  I know, I'm weird.  (And I spent years working on the Lord of the Rings movies where her's was a name that popped up a lot.)  Anyway, as for the title, I like it.  It doesn't have quite the ring of Devil May Care, but it still sounds Bondian and I have every confidence this novel will outshine that disappointment.  One good indicator is the fact that IFP aren't pulling that offensive "writing as Ian Fleming" nonsense that they did with Sebastian Faulkes. The cover image (for the Hodder and Stroughton UK edition) is stark and suitably spyish (shades of Mission: Impossible) and modern looking, all of which are good things.  It's not ideal (I'm not quite sure what it is: is it a fuse or just a plume of smoke?), but it looks good.  I'm surprised they resisted making the curves in the smoke into a woman's body ala the flower on the UK Devil May Care cover or the flames on The World Is Not Enough's teaser poster, but I suppose it looks more contemporary this way. 

A photo accompanying the press release depicts Deaver posing with some mock-ups of the book (at least I assume they're mock-ups!), and honing in on that detail, I like the overall look. Assuming it's about the same size as the classic UK firsts of Fleming and Gardner, the whole design seems very appropriate. Hodder and Stroughton have also set up a mini-site dedicated to the novel, complete with a countdown to its release and a cool little 3D animation of the book itself. Check it out at 007carteblanche.co.uk.

The Hodder and Stroughton edition of Carte Blanche comes out two days in advance of Ian Fleming's birthday on May 26, 2011. The American edition, published by Simon and Schuster, follows a few weeks later on June 14. This book is one of the spy events I'm most looking forward to this year, which is itself the subject of a follow-up post to my Best of 2010 round-up that I've been working on since New Year's Day and hope to have up soon.