Brian Smith reviews Keeping 007 Alive (2024) written by Mark Edlitz

By: Brian Smith

Published:
2024-11-16

Keeping 007 Alive, Mark Edlitz, book, review

Mark Edlitz’s latest offering is a companion to his previous book, James Bond After Fleming, an overview of the fifty-plus 007 continuation novels. In Keeping 007 Alive, Edlitz presents the interviews he conducted for that project. Edlitz spoke to all the living continuation authors from Raymond Benson through to Kim Sherwood. It is to Mr Edlitz’s credit that there are no gaps in the list of interviewees. There are also conversations with Ian Fleming Publications’ managing director Corinne Turner and John Gardner’s son Simon.

I began reading James Bond novels in 1982 at the age of twelve. The first one I read was On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963). The second was John Gardner’s Licence Renewed (1981). From then on, I always eagerly awaited new continuation Bond novels and consumed then with the same voracious appetite as the Ian Fleming back catalogue.

Keeping 007 Alive provides a fascinating insight into the respective authors’ working methods and how they placed their own stamp on the literary James Bond. Any book that comes along dedicated to the literary James Bond is of immediate interest to me because there are so few of them compared to those on the films. Keeping 007 Alive is a worthy addition to that collection.

Review by Brian Smith. Copyright © 2024 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.

Editor's Note:
Order Keeping 007 Alive: Conversations with James Bond Continuation Authors from Amazon UK or Amazon.com.

(For more information about Mark's books, check out his official website at markedlitz.com.)

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Brian Smith reviews Keeping 007 Alive (2024) written by Mark Edlitz

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