Top secret Bond novel hits shelves

A NEW James Bond novel is to be published tomorrow, the 100th anniversary of the birth of his creator, Ian Fleming, but as befits the British fictional superspy, the plot is being kept top secret.

Devil May Care was penned by the award-winning British novelist Sebastian Faulks at the request of the late author’s family.

Bond’s 15th adventure in print, written in the style of Fleming, is being kept a closely guarded secret, although its publisher said it is a return to the original Bond, after so many adaptations of the character on film. So far, all that is known is that the adventure takes place in 1967, during the Cold War, and takes 007, licensed to kill to Paris, London and the Middle East.

“The new novel is in the spirit of the original and very funny,” said Faulks, whose favourite screen Bond was Sean Connery.

Faulks, famous for the war trilogy Birdsong, The Girl at the Lion D’Or and Charlotte Gray, told a news conference he wrote the book in six weeks. Fleming himself used to write novels in one stint at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica.

Faulks said a decision on a film version of his Bond novel could be taken in the coming months. There is even speculation that Leonardo Di Caprio’s production company is working on a screenplay of Fleming’s life.