A feminist James Bond.
Author Kim Sherwood is to write a new trilogy of James Bond books, becoming the first female author in the series of spy novels created by Ian Fleming.
The opening instalment, set for release in September 2022, features a world where Bond is missing and will instead focus on a new generation of 00 agents.
Sherwood told the BBC she hoped to modernise and expand the Bond canon with a “feminist perspective”.
She promised an “ensemble cast of heroes who we can all identify with”.
Nope. Not interested. Ian Fleming created a character of his time. When he died, that should have been it. Leave it alone in its own little time bubble. Stop wokerising everything. I won’t buy or read this derivative stuff. I certainly don’t identify with this nonsense.
Will these agents all drive a Nissan Leaf instead of an Aston Martin?
My most recommended book about spies and stuff would be The Aquarium by Victor Suvarov.
With very, very few exceptions, I will not read a book written by a woman – about the only women writer I will read is anything by Antonia Frazer (her books about Merlin – The Crystal Cave and The Hollow Hills – and a biography of Mary, Queen of Scots are ones I re-read).
All the rest of the female authors? Nope – not going there and the most recent ones are so woke as to be as appealing as the speeches given at a Communist party conference.
Agatha Christie was a staple for me when I was younger. Otherwise, I tend to find that I am generally attracted to male authors. I tried P D James once, but found it too dry and her characters were so unlikable, I simply didn’t care whodunnit. I also read the Cadfael books by Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) and enjoyed them. You may detect a theme here. Those who write crime novels tend to be readable enough. What I really cannot stand is literary fiction regardless of the author as it is usually pretentious twaddle that is unreadable and tedious.
As a Kid, I devoured the Just William books (Richmal Crompton) and the Enid Blyton adventure stories. Does that count?
Dennis Wheatley for me. Gregory Sallust. The Duke de Richleau. Turkish cigarettes. No wokery at all.
Oh, yes. Very much. They were of a time. Brilliantly written and gripping stuff. The Haunting of Toby Jugg was a favourite.
In these dark days I’ve been reading the complete Henry Rider Haggard, bought for my kindle for 49p. Elephant hunting in darkest Africa, lost civilisations and the origin of the expression ‘she who must be obeyed’. Helps me to remember what it is to be British. Or what it was.
I’m surprised it hasn’t been banned for being racist or colonialist or something.
Ruth Rendell. Dark, but always believable. Her ‘villains’ are only slightly stretched versions of me.