The Golden TypewriterThe best James Bond books after Fleming, ranked
How we rank the books after Fleming
This is The Golden Typewriter’s editorial opinion: a selective ranking of nine later Bond novels, not a reader poll, sales chart or claim of critical consensus. We favour a clear reason for returning to Bond, a distinctive approach to the character and a useful place in a reader’s journey beyond Fleming. A lower position means we would suggest other choices first for that purpose; it does not mean a book has no audience or that every reader should share our preferences.
The list includes adult continuation novels and one Young Bond starting point. SilverFin’s audience and premise differ from an adult mission, and we make that difference explicit rather than presenting the books as interchangeable. We have not ranked every continuation, film novelisation or wider-world story. The full continuation catalogue remains the place to find those other routes, including Benson, the Moneypenny Diaries and the Double O books. This page is a considered shortlist to help you choose your next read.
The criteria are intentionally practical. Does the premise offer something beyond familiar names? Does it help a Fleming reader understand where the new author is taking Bond? Is there a clear reason to choose this book now rather than approach it halfway through another sequence? Those questions lead us towards period continuations near the top, but a reader who wants a modern restart or a younger protagonist may reasonably reverse the order. Our recommendations below explain when to do that.
1. With a Mind to Kill — Anthony Horowitz
With a Mind to Kill is our first choice for a reader interested in the unsettled Bond left by The Man with the Golden Gun. Horowitz makes the aftermath of manipulation and brainwashing central to the premise. That gives the return to an established character a strong purpose: the question is not simply which villain Bond faces next, but how confidently he can act when his own judgement has become part of the danger.We place it first for that character-led connection with Fleming’s ending. It is not our recommendation for someone who has never read Fleming, because the earlier novel provides valuable context and the opening premise can reveal earlier developments. Read the linked guide for the suggested background before deciding. If you want a lighter, more outwardly adventurous entry, Trigger Mortis or Forever and a Day may be a better fit despite sitting below it here.
2. Colonel Sun — Kingsley Amis
Colonel Sun offers the clearest historical starting point: the first continuation novel, published in 1968 under the name Robert Markham. Its rescue premise makes the familiar relationship with M matter in a different way. Instead of sending Bond out with an assignment, the head of the service becomes the person who must be recovered. For us, that is an economical reason to return to Bond without first constructing a new intelligence organisation or an elaborate alternative chronology.The Greek setting and the pressure of the personal mission make it our strongest one-book introduction to the idea of continuation. Choose it when you want to compare another novelist’s handling of the established Bond. The violence and torture require an adult reader’s judgement; this is not a gentle substitute for Fleming. We put Horowitz’s final novel above it for its particular interest in Bond’s psychological aftermath, but Amis is the more straightforward first stop after the original sequence.
3. Forever and a Day — Anthony Horowitz
Forever and a Day imagines Bond’s beginning as 007 after the death of his predecessor. A prequel can be useful when it asks what a familiar identity means, rather than merely supplying explanations for every recognisable habit. The vacancy in the Double O service gives this book a strong starting question, and the French setting makes the route back towards Casino Royale easy for a Fleming reader to understand.Our recommendation is to read Casino Royale first, then return to Horowitz’s imagined earlier mission. Story chronology is not always the best order in which to encounter an author’s creation. We rank this highly because its premise provides a coherent reason for looking backwards. Readers who prefer Bond already established in his career may favour Trigger Mortis; readers who dislike origin stories should not feel obliged to begin here simply because it occurs earlier in the fictional life.
4. Trigger Mortis — Anthony Horowitz
Trigger Mortis places Bond after Goldfinger, returns Pussy Galore to the story and uses Fleming’s unfilmed television material in its motor-racing opening. Those connections give it a particularly tangible relationship with the original author. Our preference is to approach it as Horowitz’s own continuation with a specific inherited element, not as a newly discovered Fleming novel. That distinction lets the book’s new mission stand on its own merits.This is the most natural choice here for a reader who wants a recognisably established Bond in a period adventure. Read Goldfinger first so that the returning relationship has context. We place it just below Forever and a Day because the prequel’s question about the number 007 gives that novel a more distinctive entry point. If racing, an active Cold War plot and a mid-career Bond appeal more than beginnings or psychological aftermath, move Trigger Mortis to the top of your personal list.
5. SilverFin — Charlie Higson
SilverFin begins the Young Bond sequence with James at school and a dangerous discovery in Scotland. It belongs here as an alternative route into the literary world, not because a schoolboy adventure supplies the next chapter after Fleming’s adult missions. Removing the established career changes the reading question: how does a boy respond to danger before he has the authority and habits associated with the professional agent?We recommend it first for someone specifically seeking Young Bond. There is no need to finish the adult novels before trying it, and starting with the first Higson book gives the later school-age adventures their context. The younger audience does not make every scene mild; consult the book’s content notes when choosing for a child. Its position in this mixed list reflects its value as a fresh starting point. For an adult-only continuation ranking, simply treat it as a separate recommendation.
6. Licence Renewed — John Gardner
Licence Renewed is our gateway to Gardner’s Bond. Published in 1981, it brings an established character into a later world while retaining a recognisable mission structure. The nuclear threat supplies the immediate danger, but the larger reason to choose this book is the start of a sustained author sequence. It gives you a baseline for deciding whether Gardner’s version of Bond is one you want to follow further.We rank it above the remaining standalone choices because it opens a useful reading route rather than asking the reader to enter in the middle. That does not require treating Gardner’s chronology as a perfectly literal extension of every date in Fleming. Accept the continuation’s approach and consider how the altered surroundings affect the familiar agent. Readers who want a period piece close to the original novels may prefer the choices above; those wanting a longer run by one later author should start here.
7. Solo — William Boyd
Solo gives us a later-career, period Bond in 1969, with an assignment in the fictional West African country of Zanzarim and a personal aftermath. We recommend it for readers who are interested in the tension between a service mission and a decision to act beyond it. That is a different reason to return to Bond from filling a gap immediately beside one specific Fleming adventure.The invented country should not be read as a factual account of a single real conflict. Approach it as the setting of Boyd’s fiction and pay attention to the distinction between official purpose and personal motive. We place it below Licence Renewed because Gardner supplies the more useful beginning to an extended reading sequence, not because every reader will prefer his style. If an older Bond, a historical setting and the consequences of an assignment are your main interests, Solo deserves to move higher.
8. Devil May Care — Sebastian Faulks
Devil May Care returns Bond to the Cold War and was commissioned for Fleming’s birth centenary. Its appeal is a period continuation rather than a contemporary reinvention. For a reader coming from The Man with the Golden Gun, the stated connection to that stage of Bond’s life makes it a simple next choice without requiring familiarity with Gardner, Benson or another long sequence of later adventures.We put it here because our higher choices offer more sharply differentiated starting questions: a missing M, a predecessor’s death, or Bond’s uncertainty about his own mind. A reader who mainly wants another traditional mission in the familiar historical world may value Faulks’s approach more highly. Treat the centenary commission as publication context, not an instruction to admire the book. The useful decision is whether its period and premise match what you want after finishing Fleming.
9. Carte Blanche — Jeffery Deaver
Carte Blanche offers the clearest change of direction in this shortlist: a contemporary reimagining with a deadline-driven threat. It is not the next incident after Fleming’s final mission and does not need to be squeezed into the original character’s calendar. That makes it a practical starting point for a reader attracted to a modern thriller, even though it comes last in our ranking for people specifically seeking a close continuation of Fleming’s world.The position reflects our chosen criteria. If your preference is investigation, uncertainty about the planned attack and a newly established framework, this may be the book to choose first. Deaver supplies his own version of the character’s circumstances. Compare that choice with a period continuation afterwards and you will have a useful sense of the different ways an authorised author can approach Bond.
Choose by the experience you want
For the closest route out of Fleming’s final novel, choose With a Mind to Kill. For the beginning of the continuation tradition, choose Colonel Sun. For a longer run by a later author, begin Gardner with Licence Renewed. For a prequel, choose Forever and a Day after reading Casino Royale. For a separate younger-reader sequence, choose SilverFin. Those recommendations are more useful than treating a numbered list as a competition with one compulsory winner.
You can also disagree with our order productively. Decide whether you want continuity, a different viewpoint, a familiar historical setting or a new framework, then use the individual guides to check the premise and reading prerequisites. The Fleming ranking concerns the original fourteen books and is a separate editorial judgement. Neither list replaces the pleasure of discovering which version of Bond holds your attention.
Frequently asked questions
Is this ranking based on sales or a reader vote?
No. It is The Golden Typewriter’s editorial opinion, using the criteria explained above. It is a selective shortlist rather than a ranking of every continuation book.
Which continuation should I read first after Fleming?
Colonel Sun is the historical starting point. With a Mind to Kill is our first-ranked choice for readers particularly interested in the aftermath of The Man with the Golden Gun.
Do I need to read every continuation in publication order?
No. Follow the sequence within an author or connected series when it matters, but different authors may use different continuities. The individual guides explain the useful background.
Why is SilverFin included with adult novels?
It offers a distinct Young Bond starting point. It is identified as a younger-reader branch, not presented as the next adult Bond mission.