SilverFin

Young Bond #1

by Charlie Higson

BEFORE THE MAN BECAME THE LEGEND.
BEFORE THE BOY BECAME THE MAN.
MEET BOND. JAMES BOND.

James Bond will one day become the world’s most famous spy, but at the moment his challenge is to fit in at his new school - making friends, learning the rules and facing up to bullies. Unknown to James though, there is an even tougher challenge awaiting him- something mysterious and deadly lurking in the water. Something called SilverFin.



The first five books and companion novel in the series are written by Charlie Higson, with the rest being written by Steve Cole.

The series consists of the following titles;
1. SilverFin
2. Blood Fever
3. Double or Die
4. Hurricane Gold
5. By Royal Command
6. Shoot to Kill
7. Heads You Die
8. Strike Lightning
9. Red Nemesis

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Action

352 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2005

About the author

Higson was educated at Sevenoaks School and at the University of East Anglia (where his brother has taught since 1986 and is now a professor of film studies) where he met Paul Whitehouse, David Cummings and Terry Edwards. Higson, Cummings and Edwards formed the band The Higsons of which Higson was the lead singer from 1980 to 1986. They released two singles on the Specials' 2-Tone label. Higson then became a plasterer before he turned to writing for Harry Enfield with Paul Whitehouse and performing comedy. He came to public attention as one of the main writers and performers of the BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show (1994-2000). He worked with Whitehouse on the radio comedy Down the Line and is to work with him again on a television project, designed to be a spoof of celebrity travel programmes.[1:]

He worked as producer, writer, director and occasional guest star on Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) from 2000 to 2001. Subsequent television work has included writing and starring in BBC Three's Fast Show spin-off sitcom Swiss Toni. He is currently starring in Tittybangbang series 3 on BBC Three and has appeared as a panellist on QI.

He published four novels through the early to mid 1990s which take a slightly dystopian look at everyday life and have a considerably more adult tone than his other work, with characters on the margins of society finding themselves spiraling out of control, leading him to be described by Time Out as 'The missing link between Dick Emery and Brett Easton Ellis' [2:]

In 2004, it was announced that Higson would pen a series of James Bond novels, aimed at younger readers and concentrating on the character's school-days at Eton. Higson was himself educated at Sevenoaks School where he was a contemporary of Jonathan Evans, current Director General of MI5. The first novel, SilverFin, was released on 3 March 2005 in the UK and on 27 April 2005 in the U.S. A second novel, Blood Fever, was released on 5 January 2006 in the UK and 1 June in the U.S. The third novel, Double or Die, was published on 4 January 2007 having had its title announced the day before. The next, Hurricane Gold, came out in hardcover in the UK in September 2007.[3:]In this year he also made a debut performance on the panel show QI. His final Young Bond novel, By Royal Command, was released in hardcover in the UK on the 3 September 2008.[4:]

Charlie has signed a deal to pen a new series of children's books for Puffin. According to the author, "They are going to be action adventures, but with a horror angle

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a wealthy madman, a Nazi scientist, a horde of killer-man-eating eels, and a young hero on the cusp of manhood and you've got one of the best kids mystery novels I've ever read. By the way, the boy happens to be named Bond......

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew I would like this because I like teen spy books, Alex Rider, Jason Steed are my favorite British teen spy's. With the name James Bond I thought this might be even better. It wasn't as good it was set in olden times and I found it hard to relate too.
Yes I know James Bond was written years ago so having him as a boy in the 1930's would be correct. But HEY I was born in 2003 that old stuff means nothing to me and I am the target audience.
Apart from that it was slow to get going, ZZZZZzzzzzz.
We learn about his aunt and his parents dying and going to a new school. This is way before we get going, then he meets the Malfoy character from Harry Potter. His dad is the 'Bad Guy' and just happens to have a castle in Scotland…. It was getting close to Harry Potter, but then it came back again to spy world.
Yes it was ok, I liked it but overall disappointed in the actual story.

[Janette]

I'm going to admit right off that I'm not a fan of the older James Bond. I mean, really. The guy runs around sleeping with strange women and killing people like it's all fun and games. Doesn't that strike anyone else as, um, slightly sociopathic?

Thankfully, the same isn't true for the young James Bond. I really like his character in this book. In fact, even though Bond is a fictional character, I couldn't help feeling a sort of wistful sadness that such a nice young man was going to grow up into a Roger Moore, swaggering jerk of a guy.

But that is neither here nor there.

This was a good book and an enjoyable read. The action is just right for young readers but the writing is good enough for older readers to enjoy too. I only had one complaint about the book and that was that there was a complete scene about James learning to drive which also veered into a discussion of how car engines work. Not my cup of tea. I could care less, but maybe some of the readers found that part interesting.

Anyway, I'll look for more books by Charlie Higson.

[Kadi P]

When I was young (a good 7 or 8 years ago) I saw this book in my school library and thought "nah, that's not for me" and never read it. But why did I think that? I loved teen spy books back then and I still love them now! And whilst I might not know anything about James Bond, this is a prequel series and not entirely canonical so I assume you don't actually need to know anything about James Bond to enjoy and understand this. I should really read it and see for myself!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

-This book starts out slow. It is not like Alex Rider, where the adventures come straight away. James is also not as cocky as Alex. But this is book 1. James is very wishy washy at first and acts wimpy. That changes as the book goes on.
-James Bond’s parents died in a climbing accident. So, James spends his time at a Eaton, a boarding school in England, and with relatives. When James spends the Easter holiday with his Uncle Max and his Aunt Charmian, he finds out that something evil is going a on a Hellebore Castle. Hellebore Castle is owned by Randolph Hellebore; his son George goes to school with James. George and James do not get along, but that changes.
-A young boy disappeared by the Castle and Hellebore is very secretive. James and his friend Red Kelly start snooping around the castle and they find out that Hellebore is a very evil man.
-Can James stop his evil plans? The second half of the book tells you.
** I wonder if the second book in the series: Blood Fever, is more fast paced?

[সালমান হক · Rating 4 out of 5]

স্পাই থ্রিলারের ভক্ত , অথচ জেমস বন্ড এর নাম শোনেনি, এমন খুব কম পাঠকই আছেন বলে আমার মনে হয় । জেমস বন্ড এর কোন উপন্যাস যদি নাও পড়া থাকে, অন্তত সিনেমাতো দেখেছেনই । আর সেই বিখ্যাত ডায়লোগ তো আছেই, “My name is bond, James Bond” . তো বেশ কয়েকবছর আগে খোঁজ পেয়েছিলাম এই বইটার । ইয়াং জেমস বন্ড সিরিজের । তখনই ইবুক নামিয়ে রেখেছিলাম পড়ার জন্যে , কিন্তু আর পড়া হয়ে ওঠে নি । অবশেষে গত ডিসেম্বরে শুরু করি বইটা পড়া, কিন্তু এবারও ব্যস্ততার জন্যে শেষ করা হয় নি । কিন্তু গত সপ্তাহে আবার শুরু করি বইটা পড়া এবং আজকে শেষ করার পরে আমি বলব যে, খারাপ লাগেনি বইটা পড়ে । পিচ্চি জেমস এর কার্যকলাপ দেখতে ভালোই লেগেছে । আর কিছুক্ষণ পর পর যখন রেফারেন্স পাচ্ছিলাম জেমস বন্ড এর পরের বইগুলা(বড় বয়সের বইগুলো আর কি!) তখন আরো ভালো লাগছিলো ।
ইয়ান ফ্লেমিং কখনও জেমস বন্ড এর জন্মসাল ঠিক করে বলে যান নি । তাই এই বইয়ের ক্ষেত্রে লেখক কিছুটা স্বাধীনতাই পেয়েছেন জেমস এর জন্মসালের ব্যাপারে । কাহিনীর প্লট সেটিং ১৯৩০ এর দিককার । শুরুতেই দেখা যায় যে একটা বাচ্চা ছেলে সিলভারফিন এলাকায় মাছ ধরার সময় কিছু ইল মাছ দ্বারা আক্রান্ত হয় । কিন্তু তখন তাকে বাঁচায় রহস্যময় একজন লোক ।
এরপরেই ফোকাসে আসে আমাদের পিচ্চি জেমস বন্ড সাহেব । দেখা যায় যে বিখ্যাত একটা স্কুল ইটনে ভর্তি হয় সে । সেখানে তার সাথে পরিচয় হয় এক ভারতীয় রাজার ছেলে প্রিতপালের সাথে। খুব তাড়াতাড়িই বন্ধু হয়ে যায় তারা । এছাড়াও তখন জর্জ হেলবোর নামে আরেকজন ছেলের সাথে দেখা হয় বন্ডের । বড়লোক বাপের ছেলে যার কাজ মূলত অন্য ছেলেদের নেতাগিরি করা আর ভীতিপ্রদর্শন । ঘটনাক্রমে স্কুলের এক বড় প্রতিযোগীতার পরিচালনা করতে সেখানে আসে হেলবোরের বাবা র্যা।ন্ডলফ্‌ হেলবোর । শুরু হয় রোমাঞ্চকর প্রতিযোগিতা যেখানে অংশ নেয় বন্ডসহ অনেকেই । এরপরেই ঘটতে থাকে একের পর এক ঘটনা । এরপরে বসন্তের ছুটিতে বন্ড যায় স্কটল্যান্ডে তার মৃত্যুপথযাত্রী চাচার সাথে দেখা করতে, যেখানে সে জানতে পারে তার বাবা-মা সম্পর্কে । আর তার চাচা থাকে প্রথম বিশ্বযুদ্ধের একজন গুপ্তচর । তো সেখানে তার দেখা হয় রেড নামে একজন ছেলের সাথে যে তার এক কাজিনকে খুঁজে বেড়াচ্ছে । আর ওখান থেকেই একটু দূরে সিলভারফিন নামের জায়গাটা যার মালিকানা হেলবোরদের । এরপরেই রহস্য ঘনীভূত হতে থাকে । বন্ড আর রেড মিলে নামে এক অভিযানে ।
পুরোটা পড়ে বলব যে খারাপ লাগেনি, তবে নিঃসন্দেহে আরেকটু ভালো হতে পারত । তবে সেটা জেমসের বাচ্চা বয়সের কাহিনীর জন্যে হয়ত লেখক ইচ্ছে করেই এভাবে লিখেছেন । জেমস বন্ড প্রেমিরা পড়ে ফেলতে পারেন ।

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 Review
My sister and I read and enjoyed the Young Bond series as early teens. We had seen only a few of the movies and didn't particularly care for the adult Bond, but we did enjoy his younger self. (And the lack of womanizing in the stories, though of course there is always a Girl.)

When I first started this re-read, I was convinced I would need to break my usual rule and drop it a few stars. The dark and rather horrifying apparent murder of a child at the beginning and ensuing boarding school drama struck me as unnecessarily dark and then just boring. But as soon as Bond makes it up to Scotland, things picked up. By the halfway point I was actually reading because I was invested and not just inclined to re-read some teen favorites. And by the end, I decided I needed to find the rest of the series and see if they held up too.

The book is darker and more edgy than I remembered, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It keeps things gripping and I rather think my teenage self relished the darkness. There is clear Good and clear Evil at work. The boarding school beginning evokes more classic British children novels. The eventual payout was satisfyingly. 4 stars indeed.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend of mine, who had enjoyed it thoroughly. I couldn't reject to read it, as she lent me a copy herself. It was written by Charlie Higson, covering the 'book written by a male author' category of the wide reading program. I feel that this aspect was likely one that greatly affected the writing of the novel.

The main character of this book is James Bond, while he is still a teenager and progressing through school. It was interesting to read the detailed descriptions of his sporting life at Eton- namely running - and how it was embedded in his character. I think that this aspect was deprived from the author's own experience because of the amount of depth that goes into the description and emotions felt by the character.

A favourite quote from this novel would be:

"Every insane decision he'd made so far had paid off: going down the branch of the pine tree, swinging on the wall, climbing down the well shaft, dropping into the pool... He had to trust in his own crazy guardian angel."

The protagonist, James, takes risks often. I like this quote because it seems to describe his character quite accurately.

What I had learnt from this novel was that everyone was, once young. It helps put life in perspective, to envision adults I know as children or my friends and I growing up. Also, I learnt much in the way of vehicle function from this novel; there is a chapter when James learns to drive, when a car engine and the processes that are undergone within one is explained thoroughly.

Max Bond is James' uncle in this novel. He is described as old and feeble but proves that he still has much energy and can relate to James in many ways. Max once discusses his days as a spy with James. I think that he would be one of the reasons James eventually took up that career path, despite that Max discouraged James from taking up spying, I expect that at the time James found the stories exciting rather than frightening. James' uncle seems to crave James' company, perhaps because James reminds him of his own youth. He teaches James to drive, making the cheeky promise that if James took care in not crashing his car on his first drive, he would give it over to the boy when he died. I was again given the impression that the character Max was based on a real person because of the vivacity and warmth of his personality, perhaps a father figure of the author's.

I liked how this novel was fast-paced with plenty of action, and quite a bit of intruige. It is the kind of thriller that I generally try to avoid and I am surprised that I did, indeed, find reading this novel a pleasure.

[Clara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so sorry. I genuinely wanted to like this book! My teacher had recommended it to me because she knows I love the series Alex Rider. At the start, I was doubting but willing to give it a chance. In the middle, I was beginning to get bored because it was too slow. Near the end, I just got really frustrated. The main character, James Bond, is written with no emotion. The only character that kept me reading this book was Kelly. Once again, I so so very sorry.

[Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly well done, to the point of being better than any of the post-Fleming continuation novels that I've read so far (which, in fairness, doesn't yet include some of the more highly regarded ones like Kingsley Amis' Colonel Sun).

I'd been worried that this could fall into lazy pastiche, but the Bond tropes are used sparingly and mostly cleverly, with a believable teenage protagonist who shows some of the qualities that will define the adult character without being an improbably pre-packaged instantly-the-best-at-everything mini-007 (my worst fears had it turning out something like the school flashback sequences from Austin Powers: Goldmember). The villain, their scheme and their gruesome demise all feel like something lifted from classic Bond - perhaps from one of the more bombastic films rather than the books, although the last couple of Fleming novels did get pretty trippy too - albeit scaled down just enough to make their being foiled by a schoolboy seem borderline plausible (or at least as plausible as Bond ever gets).

Only real downside is in evaluating it as a children's book, as I suspect it holds more appeal for an adult fan of the films and original novels than for its nominal target audience; for a reader not primed to enjoy the Fleming-esque touches, or less excited to try a (non-canon?) origin story for a beloved character, I don't know that the actual face value of the plot would be enough to carry it.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interest in this Young James Bond Young Adult series perked my interest when I read it was authorized by the Ian Fleming Estate. It promised to probe into the pre-007 years when he was about 12-13 years old and his family and other things that may or will influence the character as an adult. It, surprisingly, is quite violent and builds tension leading up to the plans of a psychotic Lord Hellebore who has plans of developing a master race in a lab in Northern Scotland near where Bond's Aunt and terminally ill Uncle (both sister and brother to his late father) are living. It goes full tilt sci-fi with mutant killer fish and animals and pre-Nazi scientists (this takes place before WWII). Before the last third of the book, the reader is shown Bond's first year, before Easter break, at Eton. Bond's association with a very old model of Aston Martin car and meeting girls with captivating names that are descriptive in their allure (Wilder Lawless and her horse Martini) are, also, introduced by the author ... but though the villains are quite memorable, the main character of young Bond is a bland and unexciting. Then again, even Bond in the Fleming books and films isn't a very deep individual in character or portrayal. He is there to propel the plot and action which, also, happens in this teen read. AS an adult, it did bore me at times, but I can see how this would excite a younger reader. Lots of violence, adventure and hair raising escapes.

[Naomi Speakman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a uni assignment.

I really enjoyed this. It’s not something I’d usually pick up but it kept me on my toes throughout.

[Taveri]

a young James Bond meets a chum on a train enroute to Scotland. Together they investigate the evil doings at a castle where humans are converted into sea creatures > the Hardy Boys meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon > 2.5 Stars.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What was James Bond like as a teen, before he became 007? This is an enjoyable book following James as he entered Eton and got involved with a search and investigation of a missing boy in a Scottish small town. I listened to the audiobook and I liked the narration and the story.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of series sets hero, brave, curious, sponge for learning. Give him skills, languages from travelling with parents, driving and Aston Martin from spy uncle. Classic orphan needs friends and mad scientist in stone cellar. Realistic rigid boarding school, watery meals, contrast with loving aunt. Observant, he notes footprint in dried mud others miss. Fun kid to hang around with.

Alfie Kelly sneaks under arms merchant Lord Randolph Hellebore's fence, to fish guarded Loch Silverfin, but eels, strangely aggressive, pull him down screaming and he passes out when a hissing humanoid grabs him. At Eton, first-year orphan James Bond struggles against bully George Hellebore, two years his senior. "Endless rules and traditions. James hated rules" p 33. George cheats at long-distance race after father initiated tri-event Cup for shooting, swimming, and running.

Don't need name, or breath "smelt sour and sulphurous" p 37, "madness behind the eyes" p 76 to peg villain. Dedication "For Frank and my own Uncle Max" means gifts and words from Great War spy Uncle Max, dying from lung cancer, are his last. Despite warning "belly-rotting fear", inspires "Nobody can hold a Bond forever" p 215. He teaches James to drive his Aston Martin and wills car to the boy, though two years under legal driving age. Supernatural 4 am wake-up call is a bit much.

Pretty girl at circus, eyes "vivid emerald color" p 148, is Wilder Lawless (some name that) who rides to rescue on "great black beast" p 162 stallion Martini. She "older .. bigger .. stronger" p 207, pins him down and "stuffed his mouth full of dead leaves" p 208. "That'll teach you not to laugh at lasses" .. "quite a girl" p 208.

Without "little white pills", George misses mother Maude, regains sanity. Maude hired Pinkerton 'Meatpacker' Mike Moran, although "Huh?" is suspicious response to agency motto "We never sleep" p 173. Village bribed by donations, local Sgt White is "as much use as a pork pie on legs" p 205.

Cockney 'Red' Kelly investigates missing relative. Two years older (16?), Kelly convinces 'Jimmy' to distract station-master and hide him from train ticket-taker, tags along as sidekick, teaches him to fight dirty. "Always try and scare them off before they can get the measure of you" p 153. Ignoring James' herb lore "handful of bog myrtle and crushed its greyish-green leaves .. resin .. midges .. keep them away" p 159, makes him rude, arrogant, stupid. Potential as future font of underworld and burglar tips mean he is likely to reappear in sequels.

Mostly exciting, buildup to lair of biological mutants. Lecture on "internal combustion engine" innards p 136 slows James' first driving lesson, on hormone glands drags down crucial confrontation. Scary feelings of drowning, suffocating.

Randolph's brother Alger, eyes "of sadness and pain" p 273, once "better-looking" twin p 274, became monster after injecting own chemical formulas, caught trying to save Alfie, then James. When injected, Alfie's heart gave out, but James swims free, given strength and stamina. He drives lorry (truck) through castle gates, climbs behind Wilder on Martini. Enemy closing in, he avoids expected destination, returns to destroy lab, helped by George. Alger pulls Randolph down into lake where eels gobble both, like gruesomely described body of Moran.

Room-mates are here place-holders politically correct blanks, turbanned Pritpal Nandra from India and Tommy Chong from Hong Kong, may grow in future. Aunt Charmian, anti-tea p 121 anthropologist, beautiful, cooks exotic dishes, is "James' favorite relative". To her claim "I can hold my own with any man", Max responds "you could thrash any man I know" p 133. p 107. She, Wilder, Kelly, and James are a gang to reckon with. Possibly more mystery about his parents' accidental deaths?

[Michael Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

One advantage of being the father of a couple of rowdy boys is increased appreciation for this kind of book. I was not a rowdy boy myself. Oh, I had plenty of fun, got myself dirty and all that, but I just never aspired to fight, shoot, race cars, or topple evil megalomaniacs over spring break. However, there must be some rowdy genes on Libby's side, because I'm sure at least one of my boys will grow up with all those inclinations, and will love this book.

I haven't read any other "Bond, James Bond" books (yes, he says it!) and don't recall if I've seen any of the movies. No matter -- this is a great action/adventure story for boys in its own right, but I am sure 007 fans will appreciate seeing how James transforms from average Joe to burgeoning superspy in 250 pages. We discover where he learns to drive, to hide cool things in the heel of his shoe and, yes, to even land a kiss from [sic:] Wilder Lawless, the lovely redheaded lassie.

I credit the author for creating something reasonably fresh in a genre already saturated with (mostly feebler) attempts at getting boys to read. But with so much in this book to like, I must ask, in anguish, why, oh why did the author start the book with a young, unknown boy, parents mysteriously dead, entering a boarding school in Britain, meeting ragtag friends, sinister bullies, and quirky teachers? Excuse me, Mr. Higson? It's been done before!

Thankfully, it all gets left behind shortly into the book. Perhaps there is simply no other way for us to get to know James as a youth. But I think it's possible that by "leaving the boarding school behind," the author is deliberately sending a message about what this young hero (and the next four books) will turn out to be.

[Hannah Evans-Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-read to get me out of a reading slump. Takes me back to late nights reading aloud by lamplight to my sister (remember that Bex?). Just as fun as I remember, despite being 15ish years older than the demographic the series is aimed at.

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book because it was exiting and really action packed and i couldnt stop reading

[16ChoudryS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book wasn’t necessary to add to the story of James Bond. With prequel stories there is always a risk of the story changing what was originally thought of the character, and this was a reinvention of the character and was not for the better. The story didn’t feel like a James Bond story and the plot felt kind of weak. Despite having some good description, the story feels far too different from what has been shown of Bond and it doesn’t feel like James actually changes, instead he’s just kind of given information about the spy world and is given his iconic car. The story seems to use iconic parts of the James Bond story to keep people entertained without giving anything truly original nor creative. It just seems that this book was made to expand the story of James Bond without any real creative purpose of message. However, it did definitely immerse the reader on this journey with Bond, even if the plot seemed slightly rushed and unrealistic. There is no doubt that the reader felt the impact of the story and all the decisions made within it.

[Omar · Rating 2 out of 5]

When we first meet young James, he's just started boarding school at Eton in the 1930’s, and from there, the action moves to the Highlands of Scotland, where Alfie Kelly, a local boy, has gone missing. James teams up with the boy’s cousin, Red, to investigate the mystery, and they soon discover that Alfie’s disappearance is linked to a madman and his sinister plot for global power.

This book mostly did not catch my attention only parts of the book I understood. I do like James Bond movies but not that much of reading the book . I might think this book might be the least book I have read so far.

I recommend this book to James Bond fans. This might be the best one for them. I was about to abandon this book but I decided to read the rest to see what happens. Sometimes some books catch people and some books dont.

[15foleyj]

I have just started this book, the first bit is good when he goes though a lake full of iels, i rate this book but it is unusual for me to give mad ratings because i don't really like reading to be honest. I have only read 1 paragraph.

[Rosenblue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll review Sliver fin after I'm done re-reading it.

[Bryce b · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mysterious and fast at the same time from start to finish.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, action-packed series.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook kept me as an interested companion from Detroit to Grayling and back. Story about the earl life of James Bond and his first year at Eaton. Focuses on adventures at Loch Silverfin.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: meet James Bond before the boy became the man. His challenge today is to fit in at a new school. Something deadly is lurking.

[Siobhan Mackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still reeling from his parents’ death, James Bond travels to Eton College for his education. There is a lot to learn: years and years worth of rules and traditions that James must get to grips with. He befriends the boys in his ‘mess’, Tommy and Pritpal, and together they prepare him for life in Eton. James discovers that he is a good runner, as much to his tutor’s delight as much as Pritpal’s disappointment. Having made himself an enemy of one of the older boys, George Hellebore, on the first day, James quickly learns to step carefully, and what better way to get his own back on his bully by beating him in the cross country section of the cup event that Lord Hellebore, George’s father, has put on? Even during the holidays, when James attempts to put Eton behind him, George Hellebore keeps popping up in his life. They both travel to Scotland on the same train, and are only stopped from injuring each other by an Urchin called Red that James befriended. Red is on a mission to find out what happened to his missing cousin, and while at first him and James go separate ways, they collide again, and James decides to help Red find out about his cousin. Their investigations take them into dangerous territories, but what concerns James the most is the regularity with which the Hellebore name keeps popping up. The family are definitely hiding something, and James is determined to find out what it is, even if it kills him. Which is seeming more likely by the minute...

I read the entirety of this book in one sitting, without putting it down. It was such an action packed book: there was always something going on! Due to the fact it is based on James Bond as a child, the writing is easy to read, with no majorly complex vocabulary. The author has an amazing imagination, especially with the descriptions of characters, and in return you need to have a lot of imagination in order to properly visualise some of the events and people. I really enjoyed the story, although I did think time passed very quickly at Eton at the beginning of the novel, without much happening, whereas the last third (maybe) of the book happened in the space of a few days. This did make it somewhat difficult to determine how long certain events went on for, but due to the plot of the book, it made sense to be that way. It wasn’t hard to see how the boy would become the man, as it were, and you could recognise several of the qualities that would often appear in James Bond’s adult life. Some of these were done on purpose, such as the ‘name?’ ‘Bond. James Bond.’ but there was still a little thrill at reading it and being able to predict the response. Although the ending had a positive outcome, it wasn’t happy, and that made a nice change for me. I’m so used to reading books where everyone lived happily ever after, so this was very refreshing to read. All in all, this was a nice easy read that kept me entertained the entire way through!

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newly enrolled at Eton, James Bond runs afoul of George Hellebore, an older bully who resolves to make his life a misery. Returning to his aunt in Scotland for Easter, Bond discovers that Hellebore's father runs the local estate - an estate where a child has recently gone missing and men seem to patrol both day and night.

An interesting novel, where Higson lays the foundations for the great secret agent: his love of cars and his future housekeeper both make an appearance and his family's links to Scotland and to the Secret Service are well developed.

This is a very dark tale, where misery and death stalk Bond throughout its pages and is perhaps not the best introduction to the character.

[Gavin Kerst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally managed to get to the Young Bond series and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

Starting with the flaws, I’d say that the first half of the book was kind of slow. I think setting up the relevant context, and the Eton sequence in general just seemed too long. But I think it would’ve ultimately been better if the relationship between James and George was fleshed out a bit more.

As a side note, I’ll be sad if we don’t see Red or Wilder again because they were wonderful characters, but I enjoyed their scenes nonetheless.

As for everything else and the story in general, I loved it. It featured exiting scenes, an interesting plot, characters that were well developed, and was a great introduction to the series featuring the beginning of the classic Bond gravitas that we all know and love.

Solid effort!

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good and shocked me at how many techniques it included that made you keep reading-

Basically, I didn't have high expectations coming into this book because all of my friends talked about how horrid this book was but it really wasn't that bad!

It included physiological thriller vibes too! That's a point in it's own.

Each part had significance and it was built up at the right pace, not too slow, not too fast. The writing was so beautiful (not the best still) but the plot also worked so both points were accurate to my taste.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book because it seriously will surprise you with how fantastically brilliant it is!