Colonel Sun

Is it worth reading?

Our view: Colonel Sun is the most straightforward historical starting point after Fleming. M’s kidnapping gives the familiar partnership an immediate reversal, and the Greek setting supports a focused rescue premise. We rank it second in our continuation shortlist. Choose it if you want to compare another established novelist’s handling of Bond without first learning a new service or following a long author sequence. Its violent and coercive material means it should be approached as an adult thriller, not as an easier or gentler version of Fleming.

Why begin the continuations here?

Colonel Sun was the first authorised continuation novel and appeared in 1968 under the name Robert Markham. Kingsley Amis is the real author. That publication history gives it a distinct place even for readers who ultimately prefer another continuation. It is the earliest novel-length answer to the question of how a writer other than Fleming could take the established literary character into a new mission. You do not need an intervening continuation before it.

Historical position is not the same thing as an automatic recommendation. The more practical attraction is the premise: M is abducted and Bond must help recover him. A familiar institutional relationship is made personal. The agent who normally receives instructions has to act when the source of those instructions is in danger. That provides a clear reason to read the book beyond its place in a bibliography.

The change from briefing to rescue

A conventional service assignment can give Bond an objective while leaving the organisation safely behind him. Here the kidnapping brings the organisation itself into the immediate stakes. When reading, notice how that affects the balance between professional duty and personal loyalty. It is possible to recognise the familiar Bond world while feeling that one of its supporting structures has been removed. That is the particular reading experience we recommend this novel for.

The Greek island setting also gives the rescue a physical context distinct from simply returning to an earlier Fleming location. A place can shape the limits of action, the available allies and the sense of isolation. Our guide does not treat the fictional operation as a factual account of international intelligence activity. Follow the characters’ knowledge and decisions within the novel rather than expecting its conspiracy to function as a documentary explanation of the period.

Amis and the Robert Markham credit

The pseudonym can confuse a reader comparing an older copy with a modern edition that emphasises Kingsley Amis. Those are not two authors who independently wrote different Colonel Sun novels. Check the complete title and edition information before assuming a change in the author credit means a different work. Amis’s wider Bond writing includes The James Bond Dossier, a work of commentary rather than another continuation adventure.

Knowing that background can encourage a useful comparison between writing about a character and writing fiction with that character. A critic can identify patterns in the originals, but a novelist must make choices within a new story. Readers need not admire every choice simply because the author knew Bond well. Our ranking is an editorial preference for this particular rescue premise and its accessible place after Fleming.

Characters and allegiances

Bond and M provide the central established relationship. Colonel Sun Liang-tan, Ariadne Alexandrou and Von Richter belong to the conspiracy and the alliances surrounding the mission. The publisher identifies those figures, but listing them is not enough to explain where the reader’s trust should fall at every point. Let the story disclose its loyalties rather than using a character list as a key to the ending. The initial guide is intended to orient, not to resolve the plot.

A useful post-reading question is how far the abduction changes your understanding of M. Does the danger make the familiar superior feel more vulnerable, or does the character remain primarily the object of a rescue? Different readers may answer differently. That discussion is more precise than deciding only whether the book “feels like Bond”. It connects the central premise to the effect it has on a relationship already known from Fleming.

Reading and collecting are different choices

The modern paperback linked here is a reading edition, not the 1968 first impression. Its ISBN identifies that reissue. If you are looking for the original Cape publication, ask a specialist seller about the printing, binding and jacket rather than using the modern listing as evidence. Our first-editions guide explains the general distinction between edition and impression, although its main table concerns Fleming’s own fourteen books.

For a first read, choose a copy you can use comfortably. The historical significance of Colonel Sun does not require a collectible purchase. The listed audio reading by Simon Vance offers another route into the same novel. Whichever format you choose, the important background is familiarity with Bond and M, not ownership of a matching shelf of early editions.

Spoilers: discussing the story

Publication facts and the linked edition

Author

Kingsley Amis

First publication

1968

Listed print edition

Ian Fleming Publications, 2023, paperback

ISBN of the linked paperback

9781915797186

Colonel Sun first appeared in 1968; the linked paperback dates from 2023. Match ISBN 9781915797186 when choosing this edition.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote Colonel Sun: Robert Markham or Kingsley Amis?

Kingsley Amis wrote it under the pseudonym Robert Markham.

Was Colonel Sun the first continuation novel?

Yes. It was published in 1968 after Fleming’s original Bond sequence.

Must I read another continuation first?

No. Familiarity with Fleming’s Bond and M is useful, but no earlier continuation novel is required.

Is the paperback linked here the original edition?

No. ISBN 9781915797186 identifies the 2023 Ian Fleming Publications paperback, not the original 1968 printing.