Kim Sherwood Breaks Down What Truly Makes James Bond ‘Bond'

Famous for his cinematic adventures and last portrayed on screen by Daniel Craig, James Bond is one of the most iconic and well-defined fictional characters of all time. While we sometimes think of Bond as a cipher for the audience member, the truth is, there are over 40 novels that have explored the character from a variety of angles. The latest James Bond book, Kim Sherwood's Hurricane Room-out May 19, 2026-begins with a new origin story for Bond, one which isn't quite Pierce Brosnan and isn't fully Daniel Craig either.

While the present tense of the book focuses on Bond coming back into the fold after having been captured (he's been missing for two previous novels), the opening of the chapters reveals a rebooted version of the character at the start of his journey. Anthony Horowitz may have given Bond his first Double O assignment in 1950 in Forever and a Day (2018), and Charlie Higson's SilverFin(2005) began the adventures of teenage Bond in the 1930s. But, Sherwood's Hurricane Room kicks off with a twenty-something Bond in 2004; a bit of nostalgia for elder millennials and a modern-day Bond origin we've never seen before.

"Usually we have a middle Bond," Sherwood tells Men's Journal. "Fleming's pattern is to pick up with Bond somewhere in his mid-30s. He never really ages in Fleming's world. He's already a professional, he's already successful, he's already the star of the department, and he seemingly is never going to quit or die. Fleming flirts with that, but largely he's kept within this safe zone, and the films did the same until Daniel Craig. So my intention with Hurricane Room was to show the beginning and the end rather than the middle of James Bond."

That said, Sherwood wasn't just inventing this backstory from nothing. She was taking inspiration from Bond creator Ian Fleming himself.

"He's in his mid-twenties, before his Double O status, undercover as a diplomat in mid-aughts Moscow. This detail is pulled from Moonraker, when Fleming says M posted Bond to the British Embassy in Moscow," Sherwood explains. "Fleming doesn't explore the idea beyond a throwaway line of dialogue, so I'm filling in the gaps. That was a key seed for the novel."

Since 2022's Double or Nothing, Sherwood has been exploring the Bond mythos largely from the perspective of other Double O agents, prominently 003, Johanna Harwood, and 004, Jospehy Dryden. Taking place in the present day, Sherwood has been given free rein to tell a 21st-century version of Bond's MI6 in which Moneypenny is in charge, Bond is missing, and Q is basically an AI computer. If this all sounds like it should be the next big streaming show, then almost certainly send Jeff Bezos a tweet and demand that, in addition to the next Steven Knight-penned major Bond film (which Sherwood is excited for).

But, just because the Double O books (and pretty much all the 007 books) are in a different continuity than the films, that doesn't mean there aren't essential ingredients that make the character who he is. While writing Hurricane Room, a book in which Bond is more central than ever before, Sherwood had a specific list of things she knew she had to include. But what are those ingredients?

Kim Sherwood's List of What Makes James Bond 007

How does one write James Bond? Even a younger Bond, or a Bond in his 30s or 40s? What are the plot devices that define this character? "I boiled his ideology or drivers down to three things in the novel: move, want, give," Sherwood says of Bond. "In some ways, Hurricane Room is about what happens when you take away what makes him him, because in captivity, he couldn't move, want, or give."

Sherwood also says she kept a list for herself of all the best Bond tropes and made sure each was included in the book to give the story its correct flavor:

• Trains
• Martini
• Gambling/games
• Drives a fast and beautiful car
• Action
• "Bond, James Bond..."
• Wears a tuxedo
• Escapes
• Gadgets
• Quips
• Breakfast
• Cold/hot showers
• Swimming
• Boat
• Beautiful locations
• Sex
• Checking for traps in a hotel

If you're only a fan of the movies, you may wonder why "Breakfast" is on this list. Well, Fleming's Bond loves ordering breakfast, and infamously, had Bond ordering scrambled eggs a lot in early books. And despite being from the U.K., Bond always prefers coffee over tea.

Why James Bond Still Matters

As a woman writing Bond novels, Sherwood is well aware that 007 has a bit of a reputation. But, as she's often maintained, the character isn't limited to some of the clichés or tropes we've associated with him over the years.

"What does a character look like who, for some people, represents a reactive, toxic notion of masculinity? Bond doesn't represent that for me, but for some people he does, and they'll have a sort of immediate aversion to any of the moments of misogyny in the Bond world, which are often clipped up and go around YouTube or TikTok," Sherwood says. "There are misogynistic moments, to be clear. And if you reduce Bond to that, then it's fair to say: Do we really want to keep worshiping this character?"

But, Sherwood says that the character's mixed perceptions are an opportunity, not a curse, mostly because the universal, global love of Bond is already there. Why not put that love to good use in newer versions?

"For me, we need Bond now more than ever because he can stand up against those forces in a way that unites people," Sherwood says. "How globally beloved Bond is is extraordinary when you think about it, that this character, which could be quite narrow, is actually loved by so many people around the world with different backgrounds. Everybody finds something to love in Bond. He is, and can be, a rounded, real, vulnerable, courageous, funny, difficult, sharp, ruthless, cold, and loving character, which is what Fleming gave us."

Hurricane Room is available for purchase on May 19, 2026.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 3:44 PM.