Over at the YoungBondDossier they’ve posted the official cover art for Hurricane Gold’s US hardcover edition. The artwork is in the same vein as the hardcover for Double or Die and the upcoming paperbacks for SilverFin and Blood Fever (Double or Die’s too).
Try as they are, Double of Die’s is still the best in my opinion. Still, not a bad cover by any means.
Pre-order at Amazon.com
If you read the Young Bond Dossier you’d know that Charlie Higson has a new series of books (non-Bond) coming in 2009 starting in September from Puffin Books. Personally I can’t wait to find out more on this and more importantly when he plans on continuing Young Bond (because I bet he will at some point). Anyway, 2009 will actually be a really good year for Charlie since in addition to Young Bond in the US his earlier works will also be republished in the UK. Here’s an outline of what’s coming:
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))Maybe even Blood Fever in graphic novel form? Who knows. Like I said, a really good year.
We knew in September that former Bond author Raymond Benson was writing a sequel to his Metal Gear Solid novelization which was released in May of this year. Today comes confirmation from Benson himself that the sequel will be Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Obviously this makes sense. It’s the second game in the Metal Gear Solid series (though not the Metal Gear series) and was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. It was later released as Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for the Xbox in 2003.
I guess if this is successful Benson could be back for Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PlayStation 2, 2004) and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3, 2008).
According to Raymond the book should be out sometime next autumn. If you’re interested in the first, check out Amazon.com
For the past few days the Young Bond Dossier has been revealing the cover art for the upcoming paperback reprints of Young Bond in the United States. Actually, two are reprints: SilverFin and Blood Fever, while Double or Die will be a first edition. Double or Die will be reusing the cover art from the US hardcover (pictured), but the other two will be brand new designs from Kev Walker. Supposedly, Double or Die’s cover did rather well which is why SilverFin and Blood Fever are being set in a similar style.
Of the three, I don’t think it needs mentioning that Double or Die’s cover is the superior one. This new style has something of a classic Hardy Boys style don’t you think? Maybe that’s all young male literature. I don’t know. Usually had the protagonist up front and center trying to get away from something. That’s like 80% of the Hardy Boys covers.
Links:
SilverFin
Blood Fever
Double or Die
Cover art for the forthcoming US hardcover edition of Hurricane Gold should be unveiled soon. Expect it to be in this same style.
I completely forgot about this, but this November John Gardner’s final novel (presumably), Moriarty, was released to stores. In the UK it was released on the 6th and in the US it was released on the 10th. Gardner once said he had been waiting 25 years to write this book. It took him 33 and unfortunately he passed away before he could see it published.
I still dig the artwork here. Very fitting, appealing.
Check it out at Amazon.com
On a related note, www.John-Gardner.com has been relaunched with an all-new design.
Hot on the heals of the UK paperback, the US paperback edition of Sebastian Faulks’ first and only James Bond novel, Devil May Care, has been revealed.
Between this and the UK paperback, I gotta go with the UK paperback, but overall I think I’m rather disappointed with both. Anyone else tired of the old cliche of just dropping a beautiful girl on the cover, sometimes with a gun? I like beautiful girls and I like action movies with big explosions and guns and stuff, but yeah, this is tired. If you’re going to do it, at least try and be creative with it. The UK hardcover of Devil May Care was cool in that regard, so were the Fleming UK Centenary editions. I didn’t think the Centenary editions were all that “special” for the Centenary, but they were still neat.
As a rule these days, I don’t generally talk about the films on this site. I leave that to my big brother CommanderBond.net, but last night I saw a Bond movie that I feel compelled to discuss here.
For 2 to 3 weeks now, I’ve been hearing how Quantum of Solace wasn’t that good. These reports from some friends, others from critics around the world. I think I bought into that. My expectations for this movie dropped like a rock. But after finally seeing this movie for myself last night, I gotta admit: I’m confused as to what everyone is talking about. I thought it was terrific.
Completely forgot about this myself, but Samantha Weinberg’s (aka Kate Westbrook) final Moneypenny Diary has been released in paperback in the UK. I’ve yet to read any of them (shamefully), but I’ve only ever heard good things. I bought the first book when it was published in the US, but life intervened and I never got around to reading it. It’s my goal to start it sometime this year. I wonder if it did well enough here to pave the way for a release of Secret Servant. I’ve heard nothing.
The Moneypenny Diaries: Final Fling was released on 30 October. (Amazon.co.uk)
The official news source for Young Bond news, YoungBondDossier, is offering up an exclusive look at the upcoming paperback edition of Young Bond’s latest release, By Royal Command. It’s the same idea as the hardcover, just of an actual flag with different colors. Personally, I think it’s the best looking paperback cover of all the Young Bond’s thus far.
The paperback will be due out on the 101st birthday of Ian Fleming - 28 May 2009.
It’s not due out till February 24, 2009, but artwork for Raymond Benson’s next Spike Berenger novel, Dark Side of the Morgue, is now available for viewing. Obviously taking its title from the Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon”, this will be Benson’s second novel in the series following A Hard Day’s Death which was released earlier in April of this year.
From the cover:
“Benson is a top-class thriller craftsman who knows showbiz and music like the back of his hand. An unbeatable combination.” - Lee Child
Benson’s Bond anthology, The Union Trilogy is due out soon or.. is out depending on who you talk to. I’ve heard it’s shipping from Amazon.com
