Diamond Light Source science facility to launch Carte Blanche

One of James Bond’s most memorable adventures is Diamonds Are Forever. Now the Diamond Light Source at Harwell science campus is to provide the perfect hi-tech backdrop for the launch of the new Bond novel by crime writer Jeffery Deaver, reports Herald Series.

The author has been given permission by the estate of Bond author Ian Fleming to write the latest instalment of the adventures of the legendary spy. And next Friday, the bestselling thriller writer will give a talk about Carte Blanche, which is being published at the end of the month.

Mark Thornton, the manager of Mostly Books in Stert Street, Abingdon, engineered Mr Deaver’s appearance at the Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, after learning of the author’s love of science and technology, which often feature in his novels.

Mr Thornton said: “Having had the opportunity to meet Jeffery in January, it occurred to me that Diamond would be the ideal ‘Bond-esque’ venue for a launch.

“With its distinctive silver building and the cutting edge science conducted there, I felt it might appeal to the author.

“Thanks to the support and enthusiasm of the Diamond staff, it caught the imagination of the book’s publisher Hodder and Stoughton.

“Apart from the launch in London, and the Hay Festival, this is the only other UK event taking place as part of a global tour.”

Mr Deaver is not the first big-name author to have written a James Bond novel in recent years.

When Sebastian Faulks’ best-selling Bond novel Devil May Care was launched in 2008, it sold fast.

The story took Bond back to his roots and became Penguin’s fastest-selling hardback fiction book ever.

In Carte Blanche, Jeffery Deaver has brought Bond back up to date, with a high-octane thriller travelling to some of the world’s most glamorous locations.

It was as a result of winning the Crime Writers’ Association’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, for his book Garden of Beasts in 2004, that he was commissioned to write the new book. Jeffery Deaver fans are expected to travel to Harwell from as far away as Edinburgh – and in one case, Las Vegas.

The event starts at 7pm. Tickets cost £10 and cocktails, including Bond’s favourite, a vodka martini, will be served.

For tickets, call 01235 525880 or email [email protected] Tickets are non-transferable and cannot be bought on the night.

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