Book

Author:	Kingsley Amis as Robert Markham
Title:	Colonel Sun
Publisher:	Jonathan Cape
Country:	UK
Date:	28 Mar 1968
Format:	Hardcover
Class Number:	823.91
Genre:	Fiction, Thriller
Total Editions:	6
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Wants
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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Notes

1st edition ("ear" cover). Cover subtitle "A James Bond Adventure" not part of official title. First of what was intended to be a series of post-Fleming James Bond novels, with different authors credited as Robert Markham. Ultimately, this was the only Markham release and (not counting novelizations and a faux biography of Bond), the next original Bond novel wouldn't be published until the early 1980s. 255 pages.

Comments and Reviews


23skidoo 12th Aug 2024		No one has uploaded the cover art for this edition yet. However I guess it must have been a popular painting as it was used again a couple years later as the cover of this sci-fi novel!



23skidoo 14th Feb 2024		@annaloog - Yup, that's the cover! I agree Colonel Sun is a great book and I wish Amis had been able to do more. There was supposed to be another Markham book by someone else but it was allegedly rejected as being too similar to Diamonds Are Forever. Still, it would be cool to have some publisher put out the "lost Robert Markham novel" someday (maybe once the literary Bond falls into public domain in the UK like he already has in Canada; a Canadian publisher could in theory put out an edition of Per Fine Ounce as there have already been a couple of Bond novels and a short story collection published here under public domain rules). EDIT March 2024: Since posting this I have learned the the manuscript for Per Fine Ounce is apparently mostly lost, though what remains formed the basis of https://www.45worlds.com/book/title/per-fine-ounce-second-edition which has had direct Bond references removed from the text.



annaloog 14th Feb 2024		JMO, Amis/Markham's 007 novel is more satisfying (truer to Fleming's characterization) than any that John Gardner churned out. I have a couple copies of the Bantam edition, but I think they are later than the one I saw for sale way back in 1968(? my recollection may be dodgy, but the cover resembled the UK Pan edition). 23skidoo ... this?



23skidoo 14th Feb 2024		I look forward to someone uploading cover scans for this first edition. The cover is hilarious (seriously, what were they smoking?) When I read that Colonel Sun didn't sell very well, I point to the fact the cover looks like something Salvador Dali might paint while high rather than, say, a cover that actually is relevant to James Bond. No wonder "Robert Markham" only got one book and the Bond novels went on hiatus for the next 13 years!



23skidoo 31st Aug 2021		According to an article on the 007magazine.co.uk website, the cover model for this edition is Vincent Wong, an actor who actually appeared in seven Bond films. His most notable role was General Li in Die Another Day - an associate of villain Colonel Sun-Tan Moon, who was named in honour of this novel for the film that, due to coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Bond films and 50th of the Bond novels, was loaded with such Easter eggs. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



23skidoo 16th Nov 2020		To follow on from the discussion earlier this year, this edition is one of a few in which Amis is credited under his own name on the cover, however adding the the pen name to this edition is justified as Markham is referenced on the title page. Have to wonder if more copies of Colonel Sun would have been sold (justifying more continuation novels in the late 60s) if the well-known Amis had been credited instead of Markham. Aside from being the first "continuation" novel, this book could also be looked upon as the first "big-name guest author" Bond, predating the current series of Bond novels (usually one-offs) by noted writers like Sebastian Faulks and Jeffrey Deaver. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



JPGR&B SUBS 19th Feb 2020		23skidoo - Many thanks. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



23skidoo 22nd May 2019		Added Robert Markham to the pen name field. I have the Pan paperback from 1969 that I hope to upload before too long. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



zabadak 15th Nov 2017		This book (or rather "James Bond") was an answer on an edition of Eggheads broadcast this week :happy: (this comment is from another edition of this book)

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Other Editions

Book

Kingsley Amis - Colonel Sun - Vintage Classics - Paperback - UK - 9781784871451 (2015)

Book

Kingsley Amis - Colonel Sun - Pan - Paperback - UK (1970)

Book

Kingsley Amis - James Bond - Contra Kolonel Soen - Zwarte Beertjes - Paperback - Netherlands (1968)

Book

Kingsley Amis - Colonel Sun - Bantam - Paperback - USA (1969)

Book

Kingsley Amis - Colonel Sun - Bantam - Paperback - USA (1970)