Trigger Mortis author attacks fellow Bond writers, Daniel Craig

Author of the latest book in the James Bond series, Anthony Horowitz, has criticised recent attempts by other writers at James Bond novels with just a few days to the release of his own book on 007.

He said his rivals failed to immerse themselves in Ian Fleming's world like he has done, Mail Online reports.

"They brought Bond into their worlds whereas I have immersed myself into Bond's," he told told The Sunday Times

Recent literary attempts at Bond have failed to produce the kind of sales one would associate with the blockbuster franchise.

2011's Carte Blanche, written by Jeffery Deaver, received mixed reviews and sold 90,000 copies in the UK.

The book, which featured a 32-year-old Bond as an Afghanistan War veteran in the present day, come under criticism from Horowitz.

The Jewish author said about the book:

"Carte Blanche was a very good title but the idea of half a dozen twists at the end was wrong. Fleming would never have done that as he always had one ending.

Nor would Fleming have created such a character as the Bond in Carte Blanche, nor did he have gadgets as Deaver did. The contemporary setting was also wrong."

He also dismissed the 2013 Bond book 'Solo' - written by award-winning writer William Boyd.

The book was set in Africa, where Boyd spent his early life, and sold 100,000 copies, again receiving mixed reviews.

Horowitz believes Africa was wrong as a setting and did not sit well with Bond fans.

The most successful Bond sequel to date, Devil May Care, was written by Birdsong author Sebastian Faulks and sold just under 300,000 copies.

Faulks was credited for adopting Fleming's voice in the novel - which was set in 1967 - shortly after The Man With The Golden Gun.

Horowitz's own book is of a similar vain, set during the Cold War in the late 1950s - two weeks after the events of Fleming's Goldfinger.

Trigger Mortis has already had positive reviews and sees classic a Bond villain, in the form of Korean-born Jason Sin, hellbent on destroying the Empire State Building while siding with the Russians.

Horowitz says his toughest critic was his wife, TV producer Jill Green - with her stern words prompting him to rewrite a third of the book.

She wasn't enamored by Bond's attitude towards women and Horowitz claims she was unimpressed by his description of female character's thighs and breasts.

Trigger Mortis features three main female characters. There is Jeopardy Lane, a CIA operative, racing driver Logan Fairfax and Pussy Galore, brought back from Goldfinger.

Horowitz also suggested he is not a huge fan of actor Daniel Craig's portrayal of the character, saying he shows too much of his 'human side' and vulnerabilities.

Last week there was uproar in reaction to his comments about Idris Elba, who is the favourite to be the next Bond.

The writer is prepared for fresh criticism in light of his new play Dinner With Saddam, which he admits some people may find racist.

The play, a black comedy with a political message, is set hours before the initial American bombing assault on Baghdad in 2003 and is about Saddam Hussein's arrival at the home of a normal family.

The production opens next week at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.