Author William Boyd has used the first day of the London Book Fair to announce the title of his forthcoming James Bond novel.
Set in 1969, Solo departs from the reboot approach of Jeffery Deaver’s Carte Blanche for a return to the classic Fleming depiction of the character.
Boyd says the book will see Bond “go off on a self-appointed mission of his own, unannounced and without any authorisation” on a mission which spans three continents but with “the main focus honing in on Africa.”
The author added: “It’s what happens to Bond in Africa that generates his urge to “go solo” and take matters into his own hands in the USA.
“Thus far and no further, at this stage…”
Discussing the book’s title, Boyd said: “Titles are very important to me and as soon as I wrote down Solo on a sheet of paper I saw its potential.
“Not only did it fit the theme of the novel perfectly, it’s also a great punchy word, instantly and internationally comprehensible, graphically alluring and, as an extra bonus, it’s strangely Bondian in the sense that we might be subliminally aware of the “00” of “007” lurking just behind those juxtaposed O’s of Solo…”
The book will be published by Jonathan Cape on 26th September 2013 in all formats and has been authorised by Ian Fleming Publications.