Kim Sherwood is the author of the new novel Hurricane Room, the third in her Double O trilogy, based on Ian Fleming's iconic James Bond character. She is also a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Edinburgh.
Q: Hurricane Room is the third in your Double O series--what inspired the plot of this novel?
A: In Hurricane Room, the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance—US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—develop an artificial intelligence programme known as Panopticon that harnesses the power of Q, MI6’s quantum computer, to spy on the world.
However, Colonel Mora, leader of terrorist organisation Rattenfänger, has plans to hijack Q and blind the West. Johanna Harwood (003) has freed James Bond from brutal captivity at Mora’s hands, and the Double O section need his help to bring down a traitor, but Bond no longer trusts his team – or himself.
The original seed for the plot was a conversation I had with someone peripheral to the intelligence world, who shall remain confidential, or else they’ll have to kill me…
After that, a significant turning point was discovering the work of Trevor Paglen, who makes art using spy satellites and underwater internet cables.
Visiting Bletchley Park was another key source of inspiration, and the legendary World War Two code-breaking site features as the location for a big set piece in the novel.
But ultimate credit goes to Ian Fleming himself. It was a throwaway line from Bond to M in Moonraker that triggered the start of the novel.
Fleming writes a scene where Bond sprinkles pepper on his vodka and says: “It’s a trick the Russians taught me that time you attached me to the Embassy in Moscow.” We hear no more of this period in Bond’s life, and Hurricane Room is my attempt to fill the gap.
Q: What initially inspired you to write the series, and how would you describe the relationship between your books and Ian Fleming’s original James Bond character?
A: I am a lifelong Bond fan and getting the commission from the Fleming estate to expand the world of 007 was quite literally a dream come true. I first read Fleming when I was 12 and he had a seismic influence on me as a writer.
My Bond is Fleming’s Bond, with his experiences, passions and problems, but transposed from the 1950s to the 2020s, which means finding viable contemporary explanations for his mid-century psyche.
That meant looking to his past—as an orphan, a widower, a man who loses the two great loves of his life, driven by willpower and devoted to a cause—to explain why he can’t commit to staying alive, let alone a relationship.
Q: Did you need to do any research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: A ton! I’m a very research-inspired writer, that’s my joy. I was surprised to learn that cloud data centres are often built inside hollowed-out mountains to keep the servers in cool darkness. If anything cried out to be a Bond villain’s lair…
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: The emotional heart of the novel is Bond’s relationship with Harwood. The pair have been lovers, lost everything, and now must learn to trust again. I hope the conclusion of Harwood’s arc stays with readers.
I’ve also tried to write Bond as he’s never been seen before—in his mid-20, pre-Double O status, and his mid-40s, broken and scarred. I hope readers come away with a new angle on this beloved character.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’ve stepped into the world of screenwriting and I’m working on a few shows in the action-thriller genre. I’m also writing my next novel, which bridges my love of literary historical fiction and spy fiction.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’m pregnant, due end of June – so Hurricane Room is set to come into the world a month before our baby does! It feels like an exciting and momentous way to end the trilogy.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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