Author: James Bond to show sensitive side

LONDON, July 11 (UPI) -- Suave British super-spy James Bond will show his sensitive side in the new 007 novel to be published next year to mark creator Ian Fleming's 100th birthday.

"Devil May Care" is set in 1967, when a "damaged" Agent 007 takes on one last mission, said British author Sebastian Faulks.

Faulks' interpretation of the spy combines the rakish behavior of previous Bonds with a touch of New Wave sensitivity, The Guardian reported.

"He has been widowed and been through a lot of bad things," Faulks said. "He is slightly more vulnerable than any previous Bond but at the same time he is both gallant and highly sexed, if you can be both."

Faulks is the fifth author to have been commissioned by Fleming's estate to resurrect Bond.

More than 100 million copies of Fleming's 14 original Bond novels have been sold since "Casino Royale" was published in 1954. Fleming died in 1964.

Faulks used World Wars I and II as a backdrop for the trilogy for which he is arguably best known -- "Birdsong," "Charlotte Gray" and "The Girl at the Lion D'Or."