"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.

Visit To Dymocks Melbourne

The team at my work had an early Christmas lunch today in the City.  Afterwards I had some time to visit the Dymocks Melbourne store.  

I had a search in the Fiction and Crime/Thriller categories but couldn't find any of the new Raymond Benson, Vaseem Khan or Kim Sherwood novels featuring James Bond characters.  I've heard Kim's second novel from her Double O Series is having a second paperback printing, but it appears the other two novels haven't made it from the UK yet.  

There were still plenty of Ian Fleming novels though, including the latest hardbacks from Ian Fleming Publications which I haven't seen on Australian shelves before.

There were also a couple of film related books about Bond as well as the latest edition of John Pearson's "James Bond - The Authorised Biography".

It's great to see so much Bond on Aussie shelves at the moment with more to come.

And finally, a couple of photos of the soon to be opened Metro tunnel:

A Parcel Awaits...

Upon returning from Europe I was pleased to find a parcel awaiting me.  

Inside was an "advance reader's edition" of Kim Sherwood's "Double Or Nothing".  The book was published by William Morrow in the U.S. in April 2023.

Seven weeks before our flight, I discovered this book for sale online.   Through much communication, and a great friend in America, I was able to get the book redirected from the seller to my friend and then to me in Australia.  Since when did purchasing books from the U.S. become so complicated ?!

This is the fourth proof edition I now own from Kim Sherwood's "Double O" series of books set in the James Bond universe.  All of the covers can be found on the Proof Copies page of PizGloria.com.

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

A New Purchase

I purchased Kim Sherwood's "A Spy Like Me" last week.  This is the same paperback I wrote about in my last post.  The cover is great and it sits well with the paperback edition of "Double Or Nothing".   I'll be adding the cover image to PizGloria.com shortly.

I purchased this copy from "Thesaurus Books".  It was great to finally visit this Brighton store again.  Good to see it was full of lots of customers too.

I also visited "Top Titles" located on the opposite side of Church Street.  This lovely store always has a large range of recent titles on a wide variety of categories.

The final store I visited was "Avenue Books" in Elsternwick.  This is another great independent book store to get lost in.

"A Spy Like Me" Paperback Released

Hot on the heels of the release in Australia of the latest edition of Ian Fleming's "From Russia With Love" comes the trade size paperback of Kim Sherwood's "A Spy Like Me".  Apart from advanced reading copies this is the first time "A Spy Like Me" has appeared in paperback.

I found this copy at QBD Books at Southland Shopping Centre.  The spine looks great next to the trade paperback of "Double Or Nothing" which was the first in this "Double O" series.   I didn't purchase this copy as I'm sure other books stores will have this title in stock now too.

Signed "Double Or "Nothing" Hardback

Here's yet another post about a Kim Sherwood James Bond (universe) novel.  I'm not sure how it happened but I acquired a signed hardback edition of "Double Or Nothing" published in the U.K. by Harper Collins in 2022 but forgot to add a post about it.  Well here's my post, although it's mainly images.

Front cover with dust jacket

Rear cover with jacket

Front cover sans jacket

Sprayed page edges

And front and rear jacket flaps featuring the author's photo

I think this hardback is a lovely addition to my James Bond collection.  It was the first novel in Kim Sherwood's "Double O" series.  The second novel, released this year (2024), was "A Spy Like Me", also published by Harper Collins.  The third and last in the series is set to be published next year.

A Second "A Spy Like Me" Advanced Reading Copy

For those not aware "A Spy Like Me" was published in April of this year.   It's the second novel in Kim Sherwood's "Double-O" trilogy, with the third and final novel being published next year (title currently unknown).   The "Double-O" trilogy is the first time an author has concentrated on spies in the James Bond universe without featuring 007 himself.  The series is a great addition to the Bond literary world.

Prior to April when Ms. Sherwood's second 'Double-O" novel was published, two cover images started appearing online.  One was the hardback cover and one was what I suspected to be an advanced reading copy (or A.R.C.).  

I then spent many hours searching online only discover there were actually two different A.R.C.s.  One A.R.C. shared it's cover with the hardback edition, which I managed to acquire earlier this year.  The second appeared to be scarcer and featured the text "Six days.  Three agents.  One chance to find James Bond" on the cover.  

Recently I acquired this second A.R.C..  The thing I like about it the most is it's sans the novel's title which only appears on the spine.   Here it is...

For comparison reasons, below is the first A.R.C. I managed to acquire.

Since April two more paperback editions of this novel have been published, a large print edition and a standard trade paperback version.  I'm now on the hunt for the standard trade paperback version.  But the two A.R.C.s feature in this post are definitely the most exciting recent additions to my Bond paperback collection

A Kim Sherwood Week

Two parcels arrived in the post this week.  Tonight, while watching a game of footy (Australian Football League) on TV, I managed to open them both.

The pair were packed extremely well.  Not only were they in really tough cardboard packaging but within they were also covered in bubble wrap.  I know the bubble wrap seems an obvious addition however as most book collectors would be aware this is not the norm.  Many booksellers deem cardboard packaging enough protection leaving the book to slide around inside resulting in random damage during transit.  Perhaps they should take a leaf from these two booksellers; no damage occurred here.

The first book is a US paperback of Kim Sherwood's "Double Or Nothing" which was the opening novel in her Double-O trilogy.  I purchased this book through Reading's Books here in Australia.  Not the cheapest source of this edition but I knew I could trust them.  Published by William Morrow with an ISBN 9780063236523.

The second book is also by Kim Sherwood, a UK hardback of "A Spy Like Me" published by Hemlock Press.  This is the second and latest in her aforementioned trilogy.   I purchased this edition online from Topping & Company Books in the UK.  This edition is also signed by the author which makes it even more exciting.  It has an ISBN 9780008495435.  I think the cover looks fantastic too.

And finally, here's the two together:

I'm really pleased with these books.  And here's some links to a couple more UK editions of Kim's "Double Or Nothing" I own in hardback (also signed) and paperback in my collection.