COLONEL SUN 50TH

New release: The first James Bond continuation novel, Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis,  is scheduled for a 50th anniversary hardcover release on March 6th, 2018. From the press release: "The first James Bond novel published after the death of Ian Fleming in 1964, this classic thriller follows James Bond on a mission to a small Aegean island to track down M’s kidnappers―the malign Colonel Sun Liang-tan and his ex-Nazi commander cohort, the deadly Von Richter. Lunch, a quiet game of golf, a routine social call on M, who is convalescing in his Regency house in Berkshire―the life of secret agent James Bond has begun to fall into a pattern that threatens complacency, until the sunny afternoon when M is kidnapped and all of his house staff savagely murdered. The action ricochets across the globe, but quickly enough lands Bond on a volcanic Greek island, where the malign Colonel Sun Liang-tan of the People's Liberation Army of China is collaborating with the ex-Nazi commander, Von Richter, in planning a world-dominating conspiracy. The stakes have never been higher, nor the dangers more complex. Bond’s allies―the beautiful, brown-haired Greek agent, Ariadne Alexandrou; along with a tough-as-nails former World War II resistance fighter―are quickly neutralized by the venomous Colonel Sun. Alone and unarmed, faces off against these two nefarious villains. Stripped of all professional aids, James Bond faces the deadly devices of Colonel Sun and his Nazi cohort in a test that brings him to the verge of his physical abilities." The novel was first published by Jonathan Cape on March 28th, 1968. More info at Amazon. I unearthed an interesting case of design doppelgängers on Spy Vibe in 2013, where the original Colonel Sun Cape jacket illustration showed up on another book! See my Double 007 Design II post. In other news, my episodes of the Cocktail Nation radio show from Australia are now live: Episode #1(Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) Episode #4 (Roger Moore/The Saint), Episode #5 (The Avengers). Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Spy Vibe Radio 4, 1960s Pop Models, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Fahrenheit 451 50th, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art.

UNPRODUCED IAN FLEMING FILM

The rare screenplay for an unproduced movie based on Ian Fleming's Diamond Smugglers was sold at auction this fall. The movie project, which included contributions by Kingsley Amis (Colonel Sun), had remained obscure and lost to the public for decades, until author Jeremy Duns (Dead Drop, Paul Dark series) spotted a reference in The Letters of Kingsley Amis about a Fleming script. Duns immersed himself in detective work and uncovered the story in a 2010 article for The Sunday Times. With the auction sale of the original script in recent news, Duns posted a complete "director's cut" of his findings on his blog here. 

Ian Fleming's The Diamond Smugglers was published in 1957 and featured a non-fiction account of the International Diamond Security Organization's efforts to stop the illegal traffic of gems leaving South Africa. Fleming dealt with the same topic in his 1956 James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever. Jeremy Duns' article makes for fascinating reading and is highly recommended to Spy Vibers and fans of Fleming and film history. Jeremy Duns blog here. Ian Fleming Publications here. 

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger nominated for Grammy,Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive. 

DOUBLE 007 DESIGN II

Can you imagine seeing a familiar book jacket, like one of the Harry Potter designs, appearing on the cover of another novel? In the fast-paced world of freelance illustration, it was apparently not uncommon for artists to squeeze as much out of their work as possible, or for illustrators to turn in assignments based on another artist's work. Spy Vibe recently uncovered a number of James Bond doppelgängers where this kind of double-dipping occurred (see our post here). I just came across another double 007 jacket. Artist Tom Adams contributed his surreal painting to the first James Bond continuation novel, Colonel Sun by Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis), published by Jonathan Cape in 1968. Two years later, the same painting appeared on the cover of Timepivot by Brian Ball, published by Ballantine in 1970. I've sent a note out to Adams to see if anyone recalls how this image was licensed. I'll post an update if I receive more information. It's interesting how we associate stories with cover art, yet the same image must evoke different memories for different readers. This particular painting by Tom Adams is like a shifting portal that can transport readers back to alternate worlds (see book synopses below via James Bond Wiki and Fictiondb). 

Colonel Sun: "After his superior officer in the British Secret Service, M, is violently kidnapped from his house, Quarterdeck, James Bond follows the clues to Vrakonisi, an Aegean island of Greece, where he teams with Ariadne Alexandrou, a Greek Communist agent working for the Soviet Union. Together, they plan to rescue M while thwarting the complex military-political plans of People's Liberation Army Colonel Sun, the Chinese agent sent to sabotage a Middle East détente conference, of which the Soviets are hosts, and implicate Great Britain."

Timepivot: "Time drifted onto the ruin of the Galactic Federation. The centuries rolled over the wars of the first part of the new millennium, laying their patina of forgetfulness over the adventures of the survivors of the expedition to the Forever Planet. Only in the memory banks of lost and ruined computers was there a record of the writhing piece of time, hung in its weird universe, poised in a matrix of forever, which had waited eons to release its makers from their imprisonment on a planet which was their plaything, workshop, laboratory and engine. No one returned to the planet of the Timepivot. Not of his own volition."

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about our fiendish villains archive, interview with Fu Manchu author William Maynard,  Man From UNCLE manga. new James Bond omnibus, Orson Welles the Shadow, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, James Bond audio book re-issues, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, Ralph Byrd Dick Tracy, The Saint, Op Art, Thomas Allen pulp art, The Shadow, Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here.

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here. 

Can you help to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you! 

JAMES BOND AUDIO BOOK RE-ISSUES

Listings on Amazon reveal that Blackstone Audio will re-issue a number of James Bond continuation novels read by Simon Vance (Robert Whitfield) in August 2013. Vance was the voice behind the very successful series of Ian Fleming audio books produced by Blackstone that lead up to the Fleming centenary in 2008. The company produced all of the original novels and many of the James Bond books by Kingsley Amis, Raymond Benson, and Charlie Higson. Spy Vibers can now find most of the 007 audio books on iTunes! The reissues announced on Amazon are Amis' Colonel Sun and Benson's Man With the Red Tattoo and High Time to Kill. I am waiting for confirmation from Blackstone and hoping to get a look at the cover designs. The Ian Fleming novels were recently produced as a series of celebrity audio books in the UK- they are amazing! I'm curious to see if they will become available in the States, and how that might impact the availability of Blackstone's recordings. 

Simon Vance originally hails from Brighton. He had a career in BBC Radio for many years before moving to California to pursue acting and a tremendously successful career as a reader of audio books. Spy Vibers may be interested to learn that Blackstone will release Vance's reading of the Complete Sherlock Holmes in September 2013 (great cover design below)! I asked Simon Vance a few questions about his experiences. The book cover designs below are from his Blackstone audio releases.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with Spy Vibe. My readers will be interested to learn more about you and your projects.

No problem. Bear in mind the James Bond novels were all recorded quite some time ago. On a quick trawl through my invoices, I found most of the Fleming Bonds were recorded in 2000-2001. Die Another Day was done in 2002 and Never Dream of Dying was in 2003.

I’m aware of celebrity recordings of the Ian Fleming books having been done recently in the UK and I had understood the rights to Bond that enabled me to do them through Blackstone may have expired. This may mean my recordings are withdrawn and the ‘celebrity’ reads become available in the US. I’m not sure how that’s going to work out and it may be worth researching. 

I've sent a note to Blackstone to follow up. Amazon has listed a few titles for re-issue in August: The Man With the Red Tattoo, High Time to Kill, Colonel Sun- though I must say that this was news to Raymond Benson. Have you been involved with plans to record new Bond titles?

I know a new Bond was published a year or so ago and I was not asked.

Carte Blanche was read by Toby Stephens for Blackstone in 2012. So many Fleming fans hear your voice when they read James Bond because of your successful series. How did you first become the James Bond reader?

It’s really rather simple- I was asked. I don’t know how many British narrators Blackstone Audio had on their books, but I’m glad to say I was the one that came to mind when they came to cast them!

What did you notice about Ian Fleming's writing by working on the Blackstone Audio set?

I suppose I was surprised to find them more fun than I had expected. I was familiar with the movies, but I knew they had been adapted for the screen and generally bore few similarities to the novels. I also became aware of how misogynistic Fleming’s writing was (couldn’t display that fully in the movies in the time of Women’s Lib). Also how much racism was taken for granted then…

At the same time, I find Fleming's Bond more emotionally involved with his companions and more emotional about his experiences. Were you a Fleming fan growing up? Did you collect the novels? Did you have favorite 007 book covers?

I did not, but I remember them being in my parents’ bookshelves. My father died many years ago so I never got to ask him what his impression of them was – but since they were mostly all there he must have enjoyed them.  Funnily enough I was more impressed by the book covers on the Agatha Christie novels my parents had. 

I've been looking a lot of those these days. Those vintage mystery novels had great designs. You can see some at my Pinterest image archive here. Are you a book collector now?

I rarely buy books for myself, as I don’t have time to read for pleasure. Just recently I’ve made more contact with authors of books I’m reading as part of my job, so I’m collecting lots of signed copies courtesy of grateful authors.

Was it difficult not to let the Bond films influence your readings?

That implies that I wouldn’t want them to influence me. But I welcome all kinds of influences into my narration. And if the public has a perception of how a character should appear or sound, and it fits with the character in the book, then I’m not averse to placing that picture in my head when I voice the words.  To do otherwise might be to do a disservice to the author and his/her fans. I was narrating at the time of Pierce Brosnan, but I think with whoever has played Bond, there’s been a certain ‘style’ (right up to Daniel Craig) that’s hard to avoid… I think I imagined myself as Bond and went from there.

What are your impressions carrying on the Bond legacy into the continuation novels?

I started recording them while still doing the originals. They are not Fleming, that’s for sure… but it’s like a different actor taking on the role – the fundamentals are the same.

When you were growing up in England, did you follow shows like The Avengers, Danger Man, and The Prisoner?

Absolutely… and I was young enough at the time not to realize that Emma Peel’s name meant M(an) A (p)peal. Of course I saw Goldfinger at age 8 and ‘Pussy Galore’ was just a name…

Funny! I think I had the same viewpoint as a kid. Of course, Diana Rigg was my first crush! Can you tell us something about working on the Complete Sherlock Holmes due out in September 2013? I love the box design.

There are a heck of a lot of stories! It took two months, broken up by a couple of urgent projects, to complete. Conan Doyle’s early stories were actually rather difficult to read because of his manner of having people quote other people verbatim who are quoting other people verbatim and so on – (a little bit like Inception… how many layers deep can you go?). Thankfully he got out of that habit later and his writing became much better. The early stories I found a bit clunky in writing style, though the plots were always fun!

Are you a fan of the BBC program, Sherlock?

Yes, very much so. Such a great idea. After initially being a bit dismissive of the US attempt to ‘reboot’ Sherlock – typical of the Americans to steal from the British. I have actually started to watch the Jonny Lee Miller version set in New York. Though that’s so far from the authentic Sherlock as to be barely recognizable. Interestingly, I saw Danny Boyle’s stage production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre a couple of years back when Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternated the role of the Monster and Dr.F – Funny that they’re now BOTH playing Sherlock!

It's great to see these characters continue! Any other comments or ideas that come up for you regarding James Bond?

Makes me really fancy a martini right now!

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about our fiendish villains archive, rare Piero Umiliani Kriminal soundtrack, new Beatles Yellow Submarine game, Mid-Century Modern in Peanuts, Ralph Byrd Dick Tracy, The Saint, Op Art, Thomas Allen pulp art, The Shadow, Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, and more. Spy Vibe is now on Pinterest! Check out our image archives and follow us here.

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

CONTEST WINNERS

Thank you to all of the Spy Vibers who entered the birthday give-away contest! Most of the entries were from the United States this time, which is interesting.  I like to give away prizes every so often here, so if you didn't win this time around, please enter in the future for another chance to win fun spy prizes. I will ship items to the winners on the 15th. Again, I appreciate the support of readers. If you wish to support Spy Vibe in other ways, I could use help covering fees for the domain, web forwarding, and other costs to keep that are essential to maintain the site. I have a secure link at the top left of the main page with a paypal button if you are able to leave a tip. No amount is too small. Thanks again! Prize details on the contest page here. The following people were chosen in a random drawing:

007 A Report: Catherine from CA
Diamond Smugglers: JKraus from CA
Colonel Sun: Todd from NV
Honey West: Warren from NC
Tinker Tailor: Blake from TX
The Saint: Zsuzsa from VT
UFO: Monty from CA
Doctor Who Inferno: Jack from NYC

CONTEST ENDS TONIGHT

ENDS TONIGHT: Enter to win cool prizes in Spy Vibe's birthday give-away contest. As a thank you to all Spy Vibers, you have a chance to win a rare Academy-screening brochure for Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy, as well as some vintage books for your collection: Ian Fleming, James Bond, Honey West, The Saint, and Doctor Who. Your entry must be received by the end of the day, TODAY. Details on the contest page here.

SPY VIBE CONTEST

Only TWO days left to enter to win cool prizes in Spy Vibe's birthday give-away contest. As a thank you to all Spy Vibers, you have a chance to win a rare Academy-screening brochure for Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy, as well as some vintage books for your collection: Ian Fleming, James Bond, Honey West, The Saint, and Doctor Who. Your entry must be received by the end of the day, February 3rd. Details on the contest page here.

BIRTHDAY PRIZES

Spy Vibe recently turned four years old, and as a thank you to readers, I'm giving away presents! Anyone can enter to win. I only have one copy of each prize, and you can only win once. All you have to is send an email to me at spyvibe[at]gmail.com with 1) your prize choice "subject" in the subject heading and 2) your name and mailing address in the body of the email. You can enter to win more than one prize, but each entry must be a separate e-mail with the prize "subject" listed. I will pick winners in a random drawing on Monday February 3rd. That gives you two weeks to enter. Good luck! 

Scroll down to see my Top Ten Countdown of favorite topics from last year. You'll find old friends like James Bond, Diabolik, The Beatles, Spy Vibe collectors, Ian Fleming scholars, a Playboy Bunny, industrial designers, and the master of the macabre mystery-adventure comic!

By the way, if you would like to support Spy Vibe in other ways, please consider making a small donation through our Paypal tip link. The costs of maintaining the domain name, URL forwarding, and mailing costs have put the squeeze on me! Any help you can manage will be greatly appreciated. Now, here are the prizes (book descriptions from Amazon unless stated otherwise).

New Prizes just added!

Prize subject #7: "SAINT". The Saint Sees it Though by Leslie Charteris. Early 1960s pb edition with Roger Moore cover. good reading copy. The final full-length Saint novel to be solely written by Charteris, the Saint investigates Opium smuggling by a syndicate in New York. 

Prize subject #8: "UFO". UFO 2 Sporting Blood. excellent 1971 pb edition. The second novel based on Gerry Anderson's live-action Sci-Spy classic. 

Prize subject #1: "SMUGGLERS". The Diamond Smugglers by Ian Fleming. 1964 1st US pb edition. clean reading copy. crease and lean on spine. Ian Fleming’s world travels, interests, as well as his journalism and wartime experiences, lent authority to everything he wrote. Originally published in 1957, this edition restores the original observations, photos, maps, and language used at that time. In 1957, as the Cold War raged, Ian Fleming took a respite from writing James Bond to craft a work of nonfiction every bit as tense as a Bond adventure. Aided by an ex-MI5 agent and International Diamond Security Organization operative going by the alias “John Blaize,” Fleming chronicled the IDSO’s infiltration of the “million-carat network”—the world’s most notorious diamond smuggling ring. Every year, a shadowy band of racketeers pirated a fortune in diamonds out of Africa, and the majority of the stolen gems wound up in the hands of Communist nations. In response, the IDSO commissioned a private army, led by legendary British spymaster Sir Percy Sillitoe, to penetrate and topple the ring. And when the operation was complete, the Sunday Times gave the story to Fleming, who had impressed Sillitoe with his 1956 Bond adventure Diamonds Are Forever. A remarkable feat of investigative journalism, The Diamond Smugglers is the thrilling true story behind one of the greatest spy operations in history.

Prize subject #2: "SUN". Colonel Sun 1969 pb edition. nice reading copy. creases to spine and cover. British novelist Kingsley Amis picks up where legendary author Ian Fleming left off with this Bond novel of political conspiracy, elegant espionage, international intrigue, and, of course, beautiful alliances. 007 must rescue the kidnapped M and save the Free World from evil Colonel Sun Liang-tan of the People's Liberation Army of China. After Ian Fleming's death in 1964, Glidrose Publishing decided to continue the Bond franchise with a series of well-known authors each writing a book under the pen-name Robert Markham, but only Kingsley Amis took up the offer and in 1968 Colonel Sun was published.

Prize subject #3: "INFERNO". Doctor Who Inferno. 1984 1st edition Target Books. excellent. In this exciting Doctor Who novelization, published by Target in England, the Doctor is trapped in a parallel world, unable to act as the Earth is threatened by a poisonous liquid leaking from top-secret drilling project Inferno. Story stars Pertwee's Doctor and the members of UNIT.

Prize subject #4: "HONEY". This Girl For Hire 2005 pb edition. very fine. Honey West is the nerviest, curviest P.I. in Los Angeles-or anywhere else for that matter. She's a cross between James Bond and The Avengers' Emma Peel-a girl detective with the sleuthmanship of Mike Hammer and the measurements of Marilyn Monroe. This Girl for Hire is the first in a series of darkly funny and innuendo-laden crime novels originally published in the 1950s and 1960s. In this one, Honey finds herself playing strip poker with four murder suspects...and a deck that's as stacked as she is!

Prize subject #5: "007". 007 James Bond A Report. 1965 1st US pb edition. very fine. Description from James Bond First Editions: "A more serious critique on the life and times of suave secret agent James Bond, which, unlike Kingsley Amis' 'The James Bond Dossier', was not a particularly commercial book when released and is now a rather elusive piece of Bondiana." 

Prize subject #6: "TINKER". I saw an Academy Members' sneak preview of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The director and Gary Oldman were there for a Q&A afterwards, and it was interesting to hear their perspective on making this new film based on John Le Carre's classic novel. One amusing anecdote was that Oldman deliberated at length over which glasses to use for the role. He narrowed down his search once he found a vintage eyeglass specialist in Pasadena. So much of the film deals with his character's ability to make observations and to analyze the minutia- without projecting his own interior thoughts and emotions. In a film where visibility becomes theme, there are some beautifully shot moments that use the transparent and reflective nature of eyeglasses to echo what is happening in the narrative. The prize is this very cool large fold-out brochure about the story, the characters, and vocab from the world of espionage! Images below show the cover and two (of three) pages.