Forever and a Day

Is it worth reading?

Our view: Forever and a Day is a strong choice for readers curious about Bond before Casino Royale, provided they have let Fleming introduce the character first. The death of a previous 007 gives the number a history and the new agent a specific professional challenge. We place it third in our continuation ranking. Choose it for an imagined beginning, rather than expecting another mid-career assignment. A reader who dislikes origin stories may prefer Trigger Mortis, where Bond is already established.

A prequel written after the original

Forever and a Day was published in 2018, long after Casino Royale, but its fictional events precede Fleming’s first novel. Keeping those two kinds of order separate prevents confusion. The prequel is Horowitz’s later interpretation of an earlier stage in Bond’s career. It does not replace the historical fact that readers first met Fleming’s Bond in Casino Royale, and it should not be presented as a manuscript Fleming left behind.

Our default is to read Casino Royale first, then return to the prequel. That lets the original author establish the character without another novelist’s explanations taking priority. On a reread, placing Horowitz before Fleming can be an interesting experiment. The important thing is to know which question your order answers: publication history, the fictional life, or the most useful first encounter for a new reader.

What the previous 007 adds to the premise

The discovery of the previous 007’s body in Marseille creates more than an empty job title. It turns a familiar number into something that can outlast an individual agent. Bond enters a role already marked by danger, and the investigation gives him a task through which to establish himself. That is why we find the starting point more useful than a prequel built solely around explaining possessions or catchphrases.

When reading, watch the distinction between what the audience recognises and what the new agent knows. A prequel can create tension even when a reader knows that the central character survives into later books. The uncertainty lies in the mission, relationships and choices, not only in the possibility of his death. That changes the kind of suspense you may experience compared with encountering Casino Royale without any background.

The Riviera and the supporting characters

The French Riviera provides the setting for a criminal investigation involving Sixtine and Jean-Paul Scipio. The established associations of casinos, wealth and travel can make the world feel familiar, but Horowitz is using them for an early-career story. Try to follow the actual relationships rather than treating every setting as a reference to be ticked off. Recognition can enrich a prequel; it should not become the only reason a scene matters.

Sixtine is particularly relevant to the book’s interest in how this version of Bond develops. The guide does not disclose her full role or every turn in the relationship. A useful post-reading question is whether the new people feel like participants in their own story or chiefly like explanations for the Bond you already know. Your answer may shape how much you enjoy prequels generally, as well as this one.

The Fleming material within Horowitz’s novel

The official announcement confirms that Horowitz used original Fleming material. Accounts of the novel identify a casino anecdote within that material. Be precise about the claim: inherited material contributes to a newly written work, but it does not make the entire prequel an unpublished Fleming novel. Horowitz supplies the larger story and the decisions about how the younger agent is presented.

This is a different relationship from simply following a published Fleming event. In With a Mind to Kill, the crucial starting point is the aftermath of The Man with the Golden Gun. In Trigger Mortis, the documented unused treatment is Murder on Wheels. Comparing those approaches can be rewarding, but there is no need to search for a single formula that explains all three. Each book has its own relationship with the original author’s work.

Where to go afterwards

If you have read Casino Royale and this prequel, continue through Fleming in publication order or return to Horowitz’s publication sequence with Trigger Mortis. The latter requires useful context from Goldfinger, so do not let the author sequence override your wish to avoid spoilers. With a Mind to Kill belongs much later in the fictional life and is best saved until the late Fleming novels are familiar.

For listeners, Matthew Goode reads the listed recording. For print readers, the linked Vintage paperback is a later edition of the 2018 work. Check the ISBN below when comparing it with other formats. A retailer may display the paperback’s date rather than the original hardback year; that is an edition difference, not evidence of another Horowitz prequel with the same title. The individual format listing should resolve what you are actually buying.

Spoilers: discussing the story

Publication facts and the linked edition

Author

Anthony Horowitz

First publication

2018

Listed print edition

Vintage, 2019, paperback

ISBN of the linked paperback

9781784706388

Forever and a Day first appeared in 2018; the linked paperback dates from 2019. Match ISBN 9781784706388 when choosing this edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is Forever and a Day set before Casino Royale?

Yes. It is Horowitz’s prequel to Fleming’s first Bond novel.

Should I read the prequel before Fleming?

Our recommendation is Casino Royale first, then Forever and a Day. Fictional chronology is a separate option for a reread.

Who wrote Forever and a Day?

Anthony Horowitz wrote the novel, incorporating original Fleming material. It is not a lost complete Fleming book.

Who narrates the listed audiobook?

Matthew Goode reads the listed recording.