Two brilliant writers and humans - Charlie Higson and Vaseem Khan - join Joe for a Book Off (and a Bond Off!)
Both are writing contemporary novels - in the world of James Bond - for the Ian Fleming estate.
Charlie has previously written Young Bond novels - but has recently published 'King Zero' - his first adult novel featuring James Bond.
Vaseem is writing the character of Q - who appears in the Fleming Novels and, of course, on screen too (played namely by Desmond Llewlyn and Ben Wishaw)
Vas was told to write something that was 'halfway between Richard Osman and Mick Herron' - so no pressure then!
The two authors chat about their love of Bond, bringing Fleming into the 21st Century, finding new audiences...and whether they might ever work together!?
They also recommend us some brilliant books too!
THE BOOK OFF
'Jurassic Park' by Michael Crichton
VS
The 'Gormenghast' Trilogy by Mervyn Peake
And here's a little more info on our guests' new books:
'King Zero' by Charlie Higson
Le Chiffre. Dr No. Goldfinger. James Bond has faced them all. But now the world is changing, and even 007 has no idea what’s coming for him…
It starts with a murdered agent in the Saudi desert. Only a traitor could have known enough to bring him down. But even James Bond can’t guess at the secret that was worth killing him to keep.
As Bond follows the trail across the globe, he doesn’t realise the countdown has already begun. And hiding in the shadows is a man with more power than he could ever have imagined.
Prepare for a villain unlike any before.
Prepare for KING ZERO.
'The Man With The Golden Compass' by Vaseem Khan
Dismissed from MI6's Q Branch, where he developed weapons and field technology, Major Boothroyd (aka 'Q') has found a new lease of life as an amateur detective in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water.
Fresh from successfully solving the murder of his childhood friend, Q is now hired by the police to re-examine the unsolved killing of Lawrence Noble, a tech millionaire turned online antique dealer.
Why was Noble tortured before his death? What is the significance of the circular golden object inscribed with mysterious runes found by his body?
As Q investigates, danger stalks those around him, and he soon finds himself dragged into a chilling conspiracy where past and present meet in a way he could not possibly have imagined . . .
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