Why Ian Rankin Never Wrote a James Bond Novel

By Ahaqir Ishaq

Ian Rankin had an idea for a James Bond novel, but the opportunity never became a book. According to his recent account, the reason was the proposed royalty arrangement: the creator of Inspector Rebus was offered only half the royalties.

For readers, the attraction is easy to understand. A Bond adventure written by Rankin would bring an established crime novelist to one of fiction’s most recognizable characters. For the author, however, a famous name on the cover was not enough to make the terms appealing.

Why did Ian Rankin turn down James Bond?

As The Times reported on October 12, Rankin told the Cheltenham Literature Festival that Ian Fleming’s estate approached him a few years earlier about writing an official Bond novel. He linked his refusal to the same royalty objection raised by Jack Reacher creator Lee Child.

The timing matters: this is a newly reported account of an older approach, rather than the cancellation of a recently announced book. The report does not identify the year Rankin received the offer.

Rankin already had a plot idea

In The Independent’s coverage of his remarks, Rankin said he had a “pretty good idea” for the story. Asked to elaborate on rejecting the opportunity, he replied: “Let’s not go there.”

That leaves the proposed adventure a mystery. The coverage gives no title, setting, villain or story outline. Having an idea also does not establish that Rankin completed a manuscript.

It is tempting to imagine Bond investigating Edinburgh’s criminal networks or facing an institution as compromised as the people it pursues. Those are possibilities for readers to ponder, rather than details Rankin has revealed.

What does the 50 percent royalty figure mean?

The reported figure concerns a share of royalties. It should not be read as a claim that Rankin would receive half a book’s retail price.

Think of the distinction this way: a royalty is a payment calculated under a publishing agreement, while a royalty split determines how an agreed amount is divided. A percentage without the underlying contract does not reveal the author’s earnings per copy.

The available reporting does not supply a complete agreement, an advance figure or detailed rights terms. It therefore cannot establish how much money Rankin would have earned, or whether every Bond continuation author has been offered the same arrangement.

For an established novelist, the relevant comparison is also the book that could be written during that time. A commission competes with an original project for attention, energy and a place on the publishing schedule. That is an editorial interpretation of the choice, rather than an additional reason Rankin has publicly supplied.

Lee Child made a similar decision

Child previously described rejecting approaches to write Bond novels in 2008. He contrasted the proposed royalty share with the royalties available from writing his own Reacher books.

Child also criticized the people involved and questioned Bond’s suitability for contemporary stories. Those were Child’s comments. Rankin’s reported remarks do not establish that he shares those wider views.

Keeping the two accounts separate makes the story more accurate: both authors raised the financial comparison, but their explanations should not be treated as interchangeable.

Rankin has already written spy fiction

Rankin’s connection to espionage fiction goes beyond an unrealized Bond proposal. In his own account of writing Watchman, he describes its protagonist, Miles Flint, as an experienced spy who begins as an observer and is gradually pushed into action.

Rankin identifies John le Carré and Graham Greene among his influences, particularly Greene’s The Human Factor. He contrasts Flint’s initial passivity with Rebus’s preference for confrontation.

That background makes the Bond possibility interesting for a specific reason: Rankin had already explored a different kind of spy protagonist. A writer interested in reluctant involvement and compromised institutions could bring a distinctive perspective to 007. How he would actually have done so remains unknown.

Other authors have taken on James Bond

The official James Bond library records a long history of books by writers other than Fleming. Examples include Kingsley Amis’s Colonel Sun, Sebastian Faulks’s Devil May Care, Jeffery Deaver’s Carte Blanche and Anthony Horowitz’s Trigger Mortis.

A Rankin contribution would have joined that tradition. The appeal of such books is partly the meeting of two reputations: readers know the character, but want to discover what a different writer notices about him.

Rankin’s decision shows that an invitation into that tradition can still be declined.

What can Rankin readers read instead?

Readers curious about Rankin’s approach to espionage can try Watchman. Those interested in his latest standalone mystery can turn to The Heights, which Orion published in the UK on October 8, 2026.

According to the publisher’s description, the novel follows Detective Gillian Gish investigating a concierge’s murder in a luxury London high-rise. Our guide to The Heights by Ian Rankin covers its story and connection to the earlier short work The Rise.

The unanswered question is what Rankin’s Bond would have looked like. His account explains why the opportunity did not proceed, while leaving the story itself to readers’ imaginations.

Find Watchman on Amazon.

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