Faulks… Sebastian Faulks.
As if hardcore James Bond fans weren’t traumatized enough by the recent “re-imagining” of their hero in Casino Royale (which, of course, turned out just fine), now they’re going to have to fret and fuss about another re-imagining in the print realm. According to The New York Times, the Ian Fleming Estate has authorized English author Sebastian Faulks to carry on the 007 series. The new novel, which will go by the title Devil May Care, will by published by Penguin U.K. on May 28, 2008, the 100th anniversary of Fleming’s birth. When asked to compare his approach to Fleming’s, Faulks had this to say:
In his house in Jamaica, Ian Fleming used to write 1,000 words in the morning, then go snorkeling, have a cocktail, lunch on the terrace, more diving, another 1,000 words in late afternoon, then more martinis and glamorous women. In my house in London, I followed this routine exactly, apart from the cocktails, the lunch and the snorkeling.
This isn’t really big news. Several other writers, including the esteemed Kingsley Amis have turned their hand at Bond stories post-Fleming.
You can find a list of all the titles here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_(novels)#Post-Fleming_James_Bond_novels
The fourteen John Gardner novels are actually quite good and much closer to the movies than the original Fleming fare.