Today, May 28, is the birthday of Ian Fleming (1908-1964). Fleming created the character of secret agent James Bond. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

James Bond was the ultimate Cold War spy. He was the seventh agent in the Double Oh series, so he was known as 007. That meant he had a license to kill. He used it like some people used their driver’s license.

Let’s be honest. He was a male fantasy. He traveled to exotic locations, drove a great sports car, had cool and deadly gadgets, drank like a fish without any negative results. And had sex with beautiful women. Lots of sex.

So of course, he’s been called all sorts of “ists” and is politically incorrect these days. Attempts have been made to rehabilitate him, make him more sensitive, and emascualte him.

And yet the original still has fans and readers. He probably always will.

A number of actors have portrayed him on film. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Davide Niven (in the original film version of Casino Royale, which as I understand was not considered film canon since it was  done as a spoof), Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. Everyone has their favorite.

Other authors have tried to continue the series. There have been eight so far: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffrey Deaver, William boyd, and Anthony Horowitz. How successful they were is a matter of each reader’s opinion.

But this post is about Fleming. So, I want to end it with a story that relates to another writer. Fleming worked in British Naval Intelligence during World War II. That is easily verified. What isn’t so easily verified is what Jack Chalker wrote in the introduction to the 1986 edition of Russell’s novel Wasp, that Russell worked in British intelligence and worked with Ian Fleming. That isn’t what Russell’s official record states.

If you’ve read Wasp, it is basically a handbook on how to be a nonviolent terrorist. There is definitely a James Bond-Ian Fleming vibe to the book. If you haven’t read it, you should. It isn’t long and is very entertaining.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to Ian Fleming.