Rebus author Sir Ian Rankin has revealed that he could have swapped the Scottish detective for Britain’s most famous fictional spy, James Bond, but turned the opportunity down.
The writer, whose “tartan noir” franchise has sold over 35 million copies worldwide, said that he was asked by the estate of Bond author Ian Fleming to write an official 007 novel “a few years ago” but decided against doing so as he would receive only 50 per cent of the royalties.
Speaking at The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, Rankin said that he had a “pretty good idea” of what the plot would be, however he turned down the request for “identical” reasons to Jack Reacher author Lee Child.
When pressed further on the topic, Rankin said: “Let’s not go there.”
Child revealed in May that he was asked by Ian Fleming’s estate to write a series of Bond novels in 2008, but turned them down due to the royalties.
“Why would I do Bond books for 50 per cent of the royalties, when I can get 100 per cent with the Reacher books? They came back and asked me a second time and I said no again,” he told The Times.
“I felt ultimately vindicated because I didn’t love the people. I thought they were a bit uptight and because Bond is so specifically 1950s, it doesn’t work in contemporary times.”
Rankin, 66, has published 25 novels under the Rebus brand, beginning with 1987’s Knots and Crosses.
Speaking about whether the novels will continue after he retires, the author said that he could see himself handing the now-80-year-old inspector “over to Richard Osman” to include him in his series The Thursday Murder Club.
“He’d be good off out of town, doing all the wrong things, getting him in trouble. You know, he’d slot right into the Thursday Murder Club,” he said. “So I’m going to mention that to him the next time I see him.”
He added that he does not have any relatives who are keen to carry on writing the character. “But I mean, after I’m gone, if you’ve got a good character in literature, someone will come along and pick up the baton.”
Earlier this month, it was announced that historian Dan Jones has been commissioned by the Ian Fleming estate to write a new Bond novella for the National Year of Reading.
All In is set to honour Fleming’s fourth book in the franchise, Diamonds Are Forever, 70 years after it was published.
A number of different authors have continued the Bond series after Fleming’s death, with the most recent being Charlie Higson. His latest 007 novel, King Zero, was released in September.
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