Using material left behind by Ian Fleming, bestselling author Anthony Horowitz has been commissioned by the Fleming Estate to write an official James Bond prequel novel, set before Casino Royale.
In a statement posted on Fleming’s official website, Horowitz says he “couldn’t have been happier when the Fleming estate invited me back to write a second Bond. I very much enjoyed writing Forever and a Day, exploring what might have been Bond’s first mission and imagining some of the forces that might have turned him into the iconic figure that the whole world knows. I hope Ian Fleming would have approved!”
Also according to Fleming’s website, Ian’s nephew, Fergus Fleming, says Forever and a Day is “an excellent novel in the best tradition of Ian Fleming. His family would like to congratulate Anthony on such a superb achievement.”
Horowitz has written one other Bond novel, Trigger Mortis (2015), which borrowed elements from a script Fleming wrote for a potential Bond television series that was never made. That novel was a commercial success and widely applauded by fans and critics for its authentic Bond-like feel throughout.
Michael Shavit, publishing director at Jonathan Cape, says, “Anthony has written the ultimate Bond novel — Forever and a Day is a thrilling ride from the very first page. It’s a book that will not only appeal to Bond fans but will introduce a whole new generation of readers to the extraordinary story of how he got his license to kill.”
As for the plot, details are mostly being kept under wraps for now. We do know, however, that the novel will begin with the body of the former 007 agent being discovered, and James Bond rising up to fill his place.
A spy is dead. A legend is born. This is how it all began. The explosive prequel to Casino Royale, from bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.
M laid down his pipe and stared at it tetchily. ‘We have no choice. We’re just going to bring forward this other chap you’ve been preparing. But you didn’t tell me his name.’
‘It’s Bond, sir,’ the Chief of Staff replied. ‘James Bond.’
The sea keeps its secrets. But not this time.
One body. Three bullets. 007 floats in the waters of Marseille, killed by an unknown hand.
It’s time for a new agent to step up. Time for a new weapon in the war against organized crime.
It’s time for James Bond to earn his license to kill.
This is the story of the birth of a legend, in the brutal underworld of the French Riviera.
Ian Fleming introduced the world to James Bond in 1953 with his hit novel, Casino Royale. Fleming then went on to write thirteen more Bond novels, many of them classics. His final Bond book, Octopussy and the Living Daylights, was published in 1966. He passed away on August 2, 1964.
Since then, a number of authors have contributed to the franchise, including Robert Markham, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, and, of course, Anthony Horowitz.
Forever and a Day will be released in the UK on Thursday, May 31, 2018. Publication in the United States is set for sometime in the fall, though no official date has been released.
Praised as “one of today’s finest book reviewers” by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Lynds, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.