James Bond Day

October 5th is Bond Day. It was October 5th, 1962, when Dr. No, the first Bond film debuted. In reality the true beginning of Bond was April 13, 1953, when the first Bond novel was released, "Casino Royale" by Ian Fleming.

Kim Sherwood has penned two Bond novels

What is interesting is that the Bond saga didn't end with Fleming's death. The literary world of James Bond is much more complex - and 007 books proliferate. 

For example, "Carte Blanche" a Bond novel by Jeffery Deaver (2011) shows a hard-edged Bond, where Bond tries to determine who killed his parents.

Jeffery Deaver, Bond author

"A Spy Like Me" by Kim Sherwood (2024) is her latest Bond novel (follows "Double or Nothing" (2023) where she has created three 00 agents. In her latest, Sherwood has three agents, 003 - Johanna Hardwood, 004 - Joseph Dayden, and 000 - Conrad Vane. All are introduced in a present-day setting.

"Forever and A Day" by Anthony Horowitz explores what a young Bond would have been like. While "Solo" by William Boyd (2013) is a work that attempts to fill in the Bond literary chronology. 

"Colonel Sun", a novel by Kingsley Amis (1968), who was a close friend of Fleming, penned a comic work where Bond rescues his boss - 'M'. 

All of these works are a great fun read. They prove, once again, that Bond is not a commonplace character but a very complex and deep construct with many favorable attributes but that is also flawed.

Pick up one of these novels which extend the Bond mystique and enjoy the ride.

By: Jim Lavorato