Anthony Horowitz will write the next James Bond novel

Anthony Horowitz will write the next James Bond novel.

The author, famous for his 'Alex Rider' series as well as Sherlock Holmes novel sanctioned by the Conan Doyle estate, will give the literary 007 some new life next year.

Ian Fleming Publications have sanctioned Horowitz to take an unpublished short story by 007's creator Ian Fleming as the basis for a new original adventure set in the 1950s.

'Murder on Wheels', which sees Bond on a mission against the Russian at the Nürburgring racing circuit in Germany, was written by Fleming in the '50s as part of his attempt to bring James Bond to the small screen. It will be the starting point for Horowitz's novel.

"It’s such a good idea. Ian loved cars and driving – he was friends with Stirling Moss," explained Lucy Fleming. "Bond’s mission is to make sure a Russian plot to scupper Moss’s race by forcing him to crash is intercepted … there’s a fantastic race Bond gets involved in."

"It’s no secret that Ian Fleming’s extraordinary character has had a profound influence on my life, so when the estate approached me to write a new James Bond novel how could I possibly refuse?", said Horowitz. "It’s a huge challenge – more difficult even than Sherlock Holmes in some ways – but having original, unpublished material by Fleming has been an inspiration. This is a book I had to write."

Fans of the literary 007 may recall that Horowitz was once courted to pen the Young Bond series before Charlie Higson took up the challenge and created a best-selling franchise about to be picked up by Steve Cole.

The new book by Horowitz , currently under the working title 'Project One', will be published in September 2015 by Orion in the UK and HarperCollins in the USA.

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