Ranking James Bond Authors
2. Sebastian Faulks
Tenure – 2008, Novels –
1, Short Stories – 0
2008 would’ve marked Ian Fleming’s 100th birthday and in celebration of this his estate decided to commission a new one-off novel set in the same continuity as the original series. Anticipation was high given that there hadn’t been any adult literary releases since Raymond Benson’s departure from the series.
Enter Sebastian Faulks, who stepped in when Jack Reacher author Lee Child declined the job. Tasked with writing as ‘Ian Fleming’, the predominantly period novelist incorporated a megalomaniacal villain, settings that would’ve felt otherworldly at the time (including Imperial Iran), treachery and twists. It succeeded in evoking the feel of a classic Fleming story and would’ve certainly made for a compelling film back in the Connery era.
Both Bond girl Scarlett Papava and villain Julius Gorner are somewhat gimmicky, the latter particularly due to a bizarre monkey paw hand that seems to exist solely as a reason to give him a complex (and makes a tennis match between him and Bond more laughable than tense, given that it was meant to channel Goldfinger’s classic golf game). But Faulks succeeded where so many before him had floundered, delivering a continuation that sold tremendously well and remained a page-turner from start to finish.