William Boyd poses with his new James Bond novel Solo during a photo call a day ahead of its release in central London on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Flanked by vintage sports cars and glamorous flight attendants, author William Boyd on Wednesday unveiled the new James Bond novel Solo in which he opts for a 1960s setting for 007's exploits.

Setting off from The Dorchester hotel in London, copies of the book were driven in a convoy of Jensen cars to London's Heathrow Airport from where they were flown to Amsterdam, Cape Town, Delhi, Edinburgh, Los Angeles and Sydney.

Boyd said the novel, adorned with a dust cover pierced through with six "bullet holes," was the culmination of a lifelong passion for the original books about the dashing British secret agent, penned by Ian Fleming.

"I was always interested in Fleming, the man, to such an extent that I had to put him in one of my novels, in 2002, Any Human Heart," he said.

To prepare for writing the latest Bond novel, Boyd reread all the Fleming books, "in chronological order, pen in hand, taking notes."

"I came to admire what he's done as a writer," said Boyd, who decided against donning a Bond-like dinner suit for the occasion and came in a blue suit and white shirt instead.

Solo steps away from the cinema incarnation of Bond - currently played by the muscular Daniel Craig - and portrays 007 as a veteran agent sent to single-handedly stop a civil war in the fictional West African nation of Zanzarim in 1969.

The plot also takes Bond to Washington, where he discovers a complicated web of geopolitical intrigue, and to a host of cities around the world.

Before packing his bags, Bond has - naturally - enjoyed a night at The Dorchester and the start of a potential love affair with a beautiful woman.

Boyd said the superspy's worldly ways with the opposite sex had been an eye-opener for him as a schoolboy.

"My first encounter with Bond was with the novel, not the movie," he said. "I was probably too young at the time to read these books. I remember reading From Russia With Love while I was at prep school - we used to read it to each other after lights out, it was a kind of illicit thrill."

Yet he insisted that Bond was a complex character not merely seeking quick flings.

"Bond wants relationships with women, not just casual sex," he said.

Boyd is the latest big-name author to take on a Bond novel. The last two were penned by Sebastian Faulks (Devil May Care, in 2008) and Jeffery Deaver (Carte Blanche, in 2011).

AFP