James Bond has sex with a Greek communist in room 706 in Great Britain and chases a sadistic Chinese colonel in the Aegean. Robert Markham "Colonel Sun" (nicknamed the famous Kingsley Emis), is an almost forgotten story of 007, released half a century ago. The Cold War is at its zenith. Even in the land of the Parthenon, the atmosphere smells of gunpowder. In the city centre, in the bar of the legendary hotel "Great Britain", James Bond sits in a comfortable armchair and looks around. He has chosen to stay in this hotel because he loves "the majestic foyer with its marble columns, and especially the wallpaper of the bar, a good replica of the Louvre original, with Alexander the Great entering Babylon on horseback. You look so English, sir. "No one can pass you by for anything else, not even an American." Compliment comes from sweet and promising lips. They belong to a beautiful Greek communist named Ariadne Alexandrou.
She will be the first and last communist to fall in love with 007, but above all she will help this "imperialist agent" to prevent a huge catastrophe for Greece, and the rest of the planet. Bond's mission has two goals: to find his boss, M., who has been abducted in London and is imprisoned somewhere in the Aegean. And to confront Colonel Sun, a crazy Chinese colonel who is plotting to provoke an incident between Western powers, with plenty of dead.
"Kathiste!" James will say to Ariadne. Bond's Greek is limited to 2-3 rather comical expressions. When after a while, in the presence of the girl, he is disturbed by a dark guy, 007 says sharply: "Fige apo tho". These images spring from the yellow pages of Colonel Sun, perhaps the least read of Bond. It is Bond's first book published in 1968, after the death of Ian Fleming, and was written by Robert Markham. Behind the nickname "Markham" of course, there is no other than Kingsley Ames, one of the most important English writers of the last century, whose "The James Bond Dossier", a critical analysis of Bond novels, was much discussed in England. a few years ago. The author, better known today as the father of best-selling author Martin Ames, accepted the Fleming heirs' proposal, on the condition that on the one hand he would write under a pseudonym, on the other hand he would create his own story, just outside his mold. of its predecessor. Amis set one last condition: Bond's next story would take place entirely under the Greek sun. Like many English writers of his generation, Kingsley had a passion for Greece - the idealized land of Apollo, where the greatest of the Romans, Lord Byron, breathed his last.
The book was released half a century ago but did not last long in the bestseller lists, nor was it claimed by what we know from a Hollywood producer to make a movie. And yet, according to experts, it was one of 007.'s most well-written stories. to stand in all circumstances ". "I like torturing people," Sun whispers through his sore lips and sharp teeth as he captures Bond in the middle of the book. "As de Sade explains in the Boudoir Philosophy, only through cruelty can one ascend to the heights of a superhuman consciousness," the colonel continues. "And the victim - like you, James - will be spiritually enlightened through martyrdom."
Needless to say, in the end James will scapularize her, thanks to Ariadne and Nikos Litsas, a former rebel who proves to be just as important as the girl in this Greek mission. "Come to London with me, Ariadne," begs our girl Bond at the end of the book, as they walk in Syntagma Square, among the pigeons. And what is the response of a proud Greek Bond girl to such a proposal? But of course, a proud "no". Colonel Sun was Markham - Emis's first and only book, about 007. Since then, other authors have taken over from Fleming's heirs to write books. And several screenwriters have worked with filmmaker Albert Broccoli's heirs to keep making films. Let's not forget that this year is - by postponement - Bond year: We are waiting for the release in October of No Time to Die, the last film with Daniel Craig in the role of 007. Coroner Allower, we will see it with a lot of fun. And soon after, we will be immersed in a burger at Alexander’s Bar in Great Britain. To breathe the same atmosphere that Markham describes in the Athenian adventure of our hero, accompanied by Otto’s Athenian Spritz: Frozen, sparkling… but beware: Stirred, not shaken!