James Bond’s recent penchant for the forbidden will be the theme of William Boyd’s latest Bond novel, as the British spy takes matters into his own hands and goes Solo – the title announced at the opening day of the London Book Fair.

"In my novel, events conspire to make Bond go off on a self-appointed mission of his own, unannounced and without any authorisation – and he's fully prepared to take the consequences of his audacity," said Boyd, who went on to talk about the choice of title. "Sometimes less is more. For me as a novelist the simple beauty of Solo as the title of the next James Bond novel is that this short four-letter word is particularly and strikingly apt for the novel I have written.” According to Boyd, Solo fits “the theme of the novel perfectly,” it’s also a “punchy word,” and, as an “extra bonus”, the audience will “be subliminally aware of the '00' of '007' lurking just behind those juxtaposed O's of SOLO …" That’s all according to the guy who wrote it, though.

Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench
Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench are M and Bond in wax

As for what the book’s about, in classic Bondian style, we don’t know much. What we do know? “1969. A veteran secret agent. A single mission. A licence to kill. James Bond returns." And if that annoying press line hasn’t annoyed you to tears, then you’ll probably buy the book, won’t you? Solo will be published on the 26th September in the UK.