Ian Fleming’s death in 1964 came just as his creation James Bond was about to reach the height of his fame. Highly personal creation that Bond was, it seemed pointless for anyone else to try and pick up where Fleming left off. The first – and much the best – “continuation-Bond”, Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis (writing under the pseudonym Robert Markham), appeared in 1968. Numerous others have followed, as well as John Pearson’s excellent mock-biography of Bond and two engaging spin-off series, Charlie Higson’s “Young Bond” and Kate Westbrook’s “Moneypenny Diaries”.William Boyd is the latest aspirant to take up the challenge. Boyd sets his tale in 1969, the year when Fleming would have been 61, the age Boyd is now. M, al