James Bond books in order

Reading order

The James Bond continuation novels pick up where Ian Fleming left off, extending the life of the world’s most famous spy through the work of several authorized authors. Kingsley Amis wrote the first, Colonel Sun, in 1968 under the pseudonym Robert Markham. After a long gap, John Gardner revived the series in 1981 with Licence Renewed and went on to write fourteen Bond novels and two film novelizations over the next fifteen years. Gardner’s run modernized Bond for the Cold War’s final decades, updating the gadgets and geopolitics while keeping the character’s essential traits intact.

Raymond Benson took over from Gardner in 1997, writing six original novels (from Zero Minus Ten through The Man With the Red Tattoo) and three film novelizations (Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day). His Bond was more physical and action-oriented than Gardner’s, reflecting the influence of the Pierce Brosnan-era films. After Benson’s tenure ended in 2002, the series passed through several hands. Sebastian Faulks wrote Devil May Care (2008), Jeffery Deaver contributed Carte Blanche (2011), William Boyd wrote Solo (2013), and Anthony Horowitz produced three novels starting with Trigger Mortis (2015). Each author interpreted Bond differently, but the continuation series as a whole kept the character active in print for more than fifty years after Fleming’s death.