1. Devil May Care
Written by Sebastian Faulks, and released in May 2008, Devil May Care focuses on Bond's investigation into Dr Julius Gorner, a megalomaniac chemist who hates England with every fibre of his being. So far so patriotic. The story returns Bond to the 1960s, as Faulks chose to wrote the novel in the style of Ian Fleming, and characterises Bond in the same way as Fleming's novels - but that would be no detriment to adapting the story for film in future. The story begins with the disappearance of an British airliner over Iraqi airspace which leads to the threat of war throughout the Middle East, and Bond's investigation of Gorner, who is revealed to be plotting to flood Europe with cheap drugs as well as staging a terrorist attack on Soviet Union that would implicate British involvement and lead to a huge, devastating response. The story is full of impressive set-pieces that would translate well to screens, as well as a compelling female lead, and the added intrigue of M's threat that Bond is being observed and considered for replacement by a new 00 agent. Devil May Care includes enough elements - an old-fashioned Bond, a genuine threat to world peace, a charismatic and affecting villain and other Bond stalwarts like Felix Leiter - to justify its popularity, as well as its appropriateness for adaptation.