"William Boyd is one of the great living British novelists — and now he's tackling one of the great British heroes."

"'I am now a James Bond pedant,' Boyd tells NPR's Scott Simon. 'I can bore for England on the subject of James Bond. But I knew I couldn't do it frivolously, I had to take it very seriously, however much fun I was having. And I had to make myself, you know, absolutely steeped in Bond and in Fleming and that world.'"

"Steeped in Bond, not shaken, of course."

"Boyd, whose previous books have won (or been shortlisted for) most of Britain's major literary awards, once wrote a novel in which Ian Fleming briefly appears. So when the Fleming family tapped him to write the next Bond novel, Boyd jumped at the chance, penning a story that includes exotic locations, a peculiar villain and compelling women. And then he sends 007 for his first trip to Africa."