Ranking James Bond Authors

Tenure – 2015-Present, Novels – 2, Short Stories – 0

For many that grew up in the early noughties, Alex Rider was a gateway into the espionage genre. Coming along at the height of the teen fiction boom that was led by Harry Potter, Anthony Horowitz’s stories of a schoolboy recruited into MI6 to carry out missions that adults could not pay countless homages to Bond.

A prolific author and screenwriter, Horowitz’s range have included crime, fantasy, comedy and horror, tailored to either an adult or child audience. His graduation from Alex Rider stories to the position of the official Bond author was an intriguing one, with eyebrows raised about if he could differentiate the two, but he has thus far thrived.

Set in the middle of Fleming’s setting rather than after it, Trigger Mortis saw Horowitz take the unusual step of bringing back a classic Bond girl (Pussy Galore) rather than creating a new one, weaving a fascinating narrative around the space race with riveting action sequences. It was a more than satisfying debut, heightening anticipation for prequel Forever And A Day, which enabled him to explore the development of Bond’s appreciation for the glamourous lifestyle he’d go on to lead.

With a third novel due next year, Horowitz seems to have both his publishers and readers on side, leaving the literary franchise in great hands as it enters its eighth decade in publication.