Anthony Horowitz's Trigger Mortis (2015) Discussion Thread
Silhouette Man
The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
Great news announced yesterday (1 October 2014) by Ian Fleming Publications below:
http://www.ianfleming.com/anthony-horowitz-to-write-new-james-bond-novel/
http://www.ianfleming.com/anthony-horowitz-to-write-new-james-bond-novel/
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
The most exciting part is the Fleming material, of course. I'm wondering exactly why the Fleming estate has chosen to wait 50 years before allowing a continuation author such access. I certainly don't see all of them refusing!
I have my doubts that "Murder On Wheels" will be the final title- it sounds like a vehicle (pun intended) for Angela Lansbury. It'll be very interesting to see how this pans out.
Given that this novel will be based on Fleming, and Eon therefore have the film rights, this may be the first continuation novel that stands a chance of becoming a film.
Horrowitz - most fans continuation author of choice - FINALLY agrees to write a Bond.
After common sense dawns, the book is set in the 1950s (how many heavy "sequels" to YOLT can you flog????)
And, the IFP girls have had a load of unpublished Fleming stuff no one, no biographer or researcher, had ever heard of, all along? And Ian Fleming, the master of titles so brilliant that it has given novelists and filmmakers nightmares for 50 years, calls it MURDER ON WHEELS!!!!???? (Wasn't that filmed as an episode of the PERSUADERS starring the Saint?)
I have little faith in the girls of IFP or the stuff they have and will peddle in the name of Uncle Ian. But we will see.
At least PROJECT ONE isn't being written by Jeffrey Deaver.
For those too young to remember, Moss was a very famous racing driver at the time concerned, and his name passed into everyday speech as a marker for fast driving: a wife might say to her husband "Slow down, Stirling" if she thought he was going too fast, or a policeman might call a speeding driver "Stirling".
Regular basis. Maybe from different writers but after DMC, CB and
Solo. They do seem to want to keep him alive in print. -{
Maybe he will be a continuous Author like Gardner and Benson?
It's not quite accurate to say that there's a load of unpublished Fleming (there's a small amount only), and the TV story outlines have been known about since at least the Pearson biography. As to how many of them exist(ed), Pearson mentions at least 6. Some became short stories, others didn't. I'd be happy to go into that in more detail, or perhaps Silhouette Man could- he's the OP and has touched on this subject in his blog.
Fleming's final titles are exactly as you say: so memorable and resonant that people such as Gardner and Wilson have had high standards to match. Some of his working titles were less impressive, which is fair enough IMHO, and "Murder On Wheels" may be simply one of those.
Alistair MacLean wrote a batch of story outlines for films, which were novelised by others soon after he died (and even before)- no 50 year gap there
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/02/james-bond-new-novel-anthony-horowitz-murder-on-wheels
Only 3 of them. QoS and "Rarity" weren't from outlines, and neither were the later "Property" and "007 in NY". I'm going from memory here, but IIRC OP wasn't and TLD might have been.
Does Pearson mention 6? Other than those used in short stories? Been a while since I read it; easily the best Fleming bio, though.
Are these Commander Jamaica or James Gunn plots that have suddenly appeared?
My suspicion are that what IFP is alluding to are just plot notes in IF's note book jotted down for inspiration and future preservation, and perhaps the odd potential title that had just occurred to him...
Would have felt happier had Horrowitz just been allowed to run with his own 50s Bond, rather than the needless marketing hook. Didn't help Faulks "writing as IF" nor Babs Broccoli's claim that DEVIL MAY CARE could easily have been a newly discovered work by IF
Ah -{
Ah, got where you were coming from now; thought you meant that he'd mentioned 6 unused plots and titles.
Only totally unused idea from Pearson I remember is the Zagraphos (sp?) one
Let's hope for a cracking read!!
I agree - I've read House of Silk and thought he did a great job....fingers crossed he repeats that here -{
No, it's fine. I think the lady journalist must have got my email address off of The Bondologist Blog or else she got it off AJB when searching and found this thread. Still a great honour to be asked!
Yes, of course I'd have relished the chance to contribute something though I'd have needed to have refreshed my memory on a few things. Anyway, I told the kind lady that I was available if there was anything else in the future. -{
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29442143
Antony Horowitz says 007 book was too good an offer to turn down.
Though many come to see it as a poisoned chalice of course...