Solo: A James Bond Novel

*The Sunday Times Bestseller*

It is 1969 and James Bond is about to go solo, recklessly motivated by revenge.

A seasoned veteran of the service, 007 is sent to single-handedly stop a civil war in the small West African nation of Zanzarim. Aided by a beautiful accomplice and hindered by the local militia, he undergoes a scarring experience which compels him to ignore M’s orders in pursuit of his own brand of justice. Bond’s renegade action leads him to Washington, D.C., where he discovers a web of intrigue and witnesses fresh horrors.

Even if Bond succeeds in exacting his revenge, a man with two faces will come to stalk his every waking moment.

William Boyd is the author of one work of non-fiction, three collections of short stories and thirteen novels, including the bestselling historical spy thriller Restless – winner of the Costa Novel of the Year – and Any Human Heart, in which the character of Ian Fleming features. Among his other awards are the Whitbread First Novel Prize, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix Jean Monnet. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2005, he was awarded the CBE.

Born in Ghana in 1952, William Boyd spent much of his early life in West Africa. He now divides his time between the south-west of France and Chelsea, where he lives a stone’s throw from James Bond’s London address.

What the critics say
This is well-plotted, exciting stuff and Boyd has a great sense of time and place. His boozy, maturer, more fallible Bond is totally believable. Mission accomplished, Mr Boyd.
- Sun

Boyd was a smart choice for a Bond thriller. The action clips along. There are welcome literary flourishes and a dense plot.
- Irish Examiner

Written with aplomb, Boyd’s Bond novel is a terrific twisting thriller.
- Sunday Times

Anyone wishing this autumn to enjoy the Cold War with the assurance of a happy ending should seek out William Boyd’s new James Bond novel, Solo, in which 007 is dispatched to West Africa and the fictitious country of Zanzarim, where he finds himself in the midst of a civil war.
- Scotsman

A fantastic read, which I ripped through in the time it would take to watch Skyfall, as it happens, and I found it significantly more enjoyable.
- The Times

A terrific twisting thriller
- Sunday Times

William Boyd brings back the real Bond, triumphantly
- Daily Mail

A triumph. Bond is back
- Observer

Works brilliantly well
- Mail on Sunday

Superb
- Scotsman

The late Ian Fleming would surely have approved
- Daily Mail

Brilliant
- Spectator

Keeps us on our toes until the closing pages
- Financial Times

Terrific… A tremendous Bond story
- Sunday Times

Exciting stuff… Mission accomplished, Mr Boyd
- Sun

Manages to enrich and refresh a character we thought we knew too well. Solo is a terrific twisting thriller – just when you smugly think you have spotted a huge hole in the plot, Boyd turns it breathtakingly around.
- Sunday Times

Since the death of Ian Fleming, plenty of writers have tried their hand at perpetuating the career of James Bond, with mixed results. Boyd’s Solo is undoubtedly one of the best.
- Mail on Sunday

A triumphant thriller worthy of Bond’s creator Ian Fleming.
- Daily Express

I found myself wondering if Boyd had outdone Fleming.
- Guardian

[Boyd is] an ideal writer of James Bond novels, and this one, his first, is very good
- Evening Standard

Perfectly judged homage
- Mail on Sunday

A brand new James Bond adventure combining all the glamour and excitement of Fleming’s original novels with the masterful storytelling of William Boyd
- Western Morning News

A very good piece of literary ventriloquism, with a great baddie
- Heathrow Express

Perfectly judged homage
- Mail on Sunday