A new James Bond novel has been launched dramatically onboard a warship with the Royal Marines standing by.
Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, which hits the shelves on Wednesday May 28th, has been specially commissioned by the household of creator Ian Fleming in commemoration of the centenary of Fleming’s birth.
Tuuli Shipster, the model featured on the front cover of the book, delivered the exclusive first 007 copies from the printers in a specially commissioned Samsonite case, with a full military escort from the Royal Navy.
The Royal Navy ‘Pacific 24′ sea-boat import the model and the novels under the escort of Royal Navy Black Cat Lynx helicopters met with HMS Exeter with Shipster and the books then received on board by the captain.
Faulks, better known as the author of wartime classics such as Charlotte Gray and Birdsong, signed copies under the watchful eye of Fleming’s nieces, Lucy Fleming and Kate Grimond, before explaining how he attempted to mimic the writing style of the Bond creator.
"In his house in Jamaica, Ian Fleming used to write a thousand words in the dawn, therefore go snorkelling, have a cocktail, lunch on the terrace, more diving, another thousand words in late afternoon, then more Martinis and glamorous women," he was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.
"In my house in London, I followed this routine exactly, apart from the cocktails, the lunch and the snorkelling."
Though the plot has been kept tightly under wraps, it is known that the novel is run in 1967 during the Cold War.
"I found writing this light-hearted book more thrilling than I had expected," Faulks added.
"I hope people will enjoy reading it and that Ian Fleming would consider it to be in the cavalier spirit of his own novels and therefore some acceptable addition to the line."