"Hurricane Room" Advanced Proof Copy Arrives

Like his big screen counterpart the lterary James Bond has also evolved to remain relevant more than 70 years after Ian Fleming first struck a key on his golden typewriter for 'Casino Royale".  Kim Sherwood's interpretation of James Bond is no exception.  When the first installment of her "Double O" trilogy debuted in 2022, her Bond and his world of fellow agents became contemporary, inclusive and refreshingly current.

In her first act, "Double Or Nothing" (2022), Ms. Sherwood moulded (some may say redefined) the modern Bond universe by introducing a new generation of "00"s along with a revamped M16, and the mystery of a missing 007.

Act two, "A Spy Like Me" (2024), was a fast paced action adventure with a six day countdown to stop a terrorist group while simultaneously searching for Bond.

The final act, "Hurricane Room" (2026), was released in late May and promises an epic conclusion to the whole trilogy saga (the cover reads "James Bond is alive"... phew... after "No Time To Die" at the cinema !!!).

I was fortunate to acquire an advanced proof copy of Ms. Sherwood's "Hurricane Room" in the mail last week.  The cover looks great and matches the hardback edition from Harper Collins in the UK.

I've already added cover scans of  "Hurricane Room" to my Proof Copies page.  (Remember to click on the cover image if you go to this link to see the entire book image).  And here's some photos of the complete UK "Double O" trilogy proofs together from Harper Collins imprint Hemlock Press which I'm fortunate to own.

I know a lot of James Bond literary fans concern themselves with the modern version of James Bond.  Personally I think it's great.  Bond remaining current and in today's world will result in new readers and more new adventures.  

There are many literary characters that were once hugely popular, now only alive in old hardbacks on dusty book shelves.  That fate should never befall 007.  May the modern literary James Bond thrill readers for many years to come.  And who knows, maybe the "Double O" trilogy from Kim Sherwood will become "A trilogy in four parts" as Douglas Adams' "Hitchhikers" once was.  We can only hope.

European Holiday 2025 - Hong Kong

Sadly (for my wife and I) our European holiday is nearing its conclusion.  After departing Heathrow Airport in the UK yesterday we've now arrived in Hong Kong for a three night layover before returning to our home in Australia.

Our hotel is on the mainland with a view of Victoria Harbour and the amazing island City skyline.

On the double-decker bus from the airport to our hotel we drove past Chung Hwa Bookstore in Yaumatei.  I couldn't grab my phone in time so here's some photos from the internet.  This was the only book store we saw in Hong Kong and I really wish I could have visited.  However with just a two day layover, part of which was spent catching up on sleep to adjust to the time difference, we really didn't have time to book hunt. 

So no new books found in Hong Kong.  That means for our entire holiday, which ends today, the final book tally is one Italian paperback of Ian Fleming's "You Only Live Twice" from Sorrento, and two copies of Kim Sherwood's "A Spy Like Me", one paperback and the other hardback, from London... and one even signed by the author.  I've since scanned the paperback cover of "A Spy Like Me" and added it to the website.

For the last time on this holiday, here's some photos:

Travelling on the Peak Tram funicular 

View from the peak

Inside Kowloon Walled City Park

Buildings near the aforementioned park

Street at night

Terracotta warrior and chariot at the Museum Of History

European Holiday 2025, London, England - Part 2

While still sitting in the departure area of Heathrow Airport I've decided to break this blog post on London into two parts because it's turning out to be so large.  This second part concentrates on my wife and I book hunting in London, and book stores we encountered that did NOT have Ian Fleming - Jonathan Cape hardbacks for sale.  All the Capes we did encounter feature in my previous post.

While at Piccadilly Circus, and the Hatchards book store nearby mentioned previously, we visited the massive Waterstones store.  They had heaps of new James Bond paperbacks including the recent hardbacks from Ian Fleming Publications.  These hardbacks were only released in the last few years and this was my first opportunity to physically hold them.  They were very nice however I decided not to pull out my credit card.  It was a tough decision though.

We also visited another Waterstones store near our hotel in Covent Garden.  Not as big as their Piccadilly store but they still had lots of great new books.

We also made it to the book store Any Amount Of Books.  I remember visiting this store on a previous trip to London around 2007.  A great two storey secondhand store with lots of quality books to peruse.

Foyles on Charing Cross also featured in our book hunt.  What a huge, and magnificent, book store it is.  My wife purchased some humerous greeting cards while we were there.

Also we visited an Oxfam store near SoHo where they were selling hardback copies of Kim Sherwood's "A Spy Like Me" for £5 each.  These books were published by William Morrow in the US, and as I'd only previously acquired a UK published edition of this hardback at a more expensive price, I was compelled to purchase one.  

We travelled to Notting Hill too.  Not only did we see the blue door from the film of the same name and plenty of pastel coloured houses, we also visited two book stores.

This was The Notting Hill Bookshop.  We wondered if this book store doubled as the travel book store from the film.  It was a nice little store choc-a-block with potential customers.

Another bookstore in Notting Hill, Daunt Books, where the owners were very friendly and welcoming.  They had lots of great new books including the Ian Fleming - James Bond novels below.

Some final photos of London:

View from the Sky Garden

Big Ben

The London Eye by the Thames

Double decker bus