James Bond Novels in 140 Character or Less Tweets
Don’t have enough time to read (or re-read) all 12 of Ian Fleming‘s James Bond novels before Skyfall is released in theatres?
Well, no worries. Author/comedian Charlie Higson has condensed all of the novels into 140-character tweets.
As an example, here are his tweets about both the short story and film based on Quantum of Solace:
Film: “There’s a car chase, I think, a villain, I think, something about an opera & water supply. Posh hotel in desert blows up. Bring on Skyfall”
Short Story: “Host at dinner party in Nassau tells Bond that the boring couple were actually involved in a scandal. No car chase, no guns, no explosions”
Best known for his sketch comedy show The Fast Show, Higson is a die-hard 007 fan who has written a successful series called Young Bond, which focuses on the super-spy’s earlier days.
“I was asked to capture the essence of the books and tie them up and make them entertaining for someone who hadn’t read them… Also to put in stuff that the real Bond nuts can relate to,” Charlie says about the project.
“140 characters is not much space to try to encapsulate the books… Luckily, Ian Fleming’s plots are not very long,” adding, “They tend to be Bond meets M who tells him ‘this is the villain go and sort him out’ and Bond goes and sorts him out. So it’s about getting the key elements and trying to make them fit the length.”
And in doing the project, Higson has even learned a thing or two…
“I learnt quite early on was 007 is one less character than Bond.”
Follow Charlie at @monstroso.