William Boyd to take 'superspy' James Bond back to 1960s in new 007 adventure

London, Apr 12 (ANI): William Boyd is geared up to pen the next James Bond novel, which would mark a return to "classic Bond" and will be set in the late 1960s.

The as-yet-untitled book will be out in 2013, the 60th anniversary of the super-spy's first literary outing, in Ian Fleming's Casino Royale.

He is the third author in recent years to be invited by the Ian Fleming estate to write an official Bond novel, the BBC reported.

The Booker-nominated author said that he had "accepted at once" when invited by the Ian Fleming estate to write the new Bond novel.

"For me the prospect appeared incredibly exciting and stimulating - a once-in-a-lifetime challenge," he said.

"In fact my father introduced me to the James Bond novels in the 1960s and I read them all then - From Russia with Love being my favourite."

Boyd's novels include A Good Man in Africa (1981), which won the Whitbread First Novel Award; An Ice-Cream War (1982), shortlisted for Booker Prize; Brazzaville Beach (1990); Any Human Heart and Restless (2006).

Boyd's "fascination" with Ian Fleming was earlier seen in Any Human Heart (2002). He wrote Fleming into the narrative, making him responsible for recruiting the protagonist, Logan Mountstuart, to the Naval Intelligence Division in World War II.

"The idea that these somewhat random connections with Fleming and Bond should culminate in my writing a new James Bond novel is irresistibly appealing," Boyd said.

"The only thing I'm prepared to say at this stage about the novel that I will write is that it will be set in 1969," he added.

His latest novel, Waiting for Sunrise, was published in the UK in February and comes out in the US later this month. (ANI)