Young Bond Explained

Young Bond
Books:	SilverFin (2005) Blood Fever (2006) Double or Die (2007) Hurricane Gold (2007) By Royal Command (2008) (2009) Shoot to Kill (2014) Heads You Die (2016) Strike Lightning (2016) Red Nemesis (2017)
Author:	Charlie Higson (2005–2014) Steve Cole (2014–2017)
Country:	United Kingdom
Language:	English
Genre:	Spy fiction, thriller, mystery
Publisher:	Puffin Books (UK) Hyperion Books (US)
Pub Date:	3 March 2005 – 4 May 2017
Media Type:	Print (hardback & paperback) Audiobook

Young Bond is a series of young adult spy novels featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond as a young teenage boy attending school at Eton College in the 1930s. The series, written by Charlie Higson, was originally planned to include only five novels; however, after the release of the fifth novel, Higson considered the possibility of a second series.^[1] In October 2013 it was confirmed that a second series of four novels was in development, with the first novel due for release in Q3 2014, but it would be penned by Steve Cole while Higson continued work on his young adult zombie series, The Enemy.^[2]

Since the release of the first novel, SilverFin, in 2005, the series has become very successful^[3] and has led to further works including games, a graphic novel and a supplemental travel guide.

English-language versions of the books are published by Puffin Books in the United Kingdom and Hyperion Books For Children in the United States.

Charlie Higson's books

According to Charlie Higson, Ian Fleming Publications initially planned for him to only write one novel and that every subsequent novel would be written by a rotating author. This plan fell apart and Higson agreed to author future books in the series. However, following Higson's five books, subsequent books have been written by Steve Cole.^[4]

Main series

• SilverFin (2005): In 1933, thirteen-year-old James Bond arrives at Eton College for boys for the first time to continue his schooling. There, he meets an American bully and his arms dealing father, Lord Randolph Hellebore. While on Easter break, Bond's adventure continues in the Highlands of Scotland. Teaming up with Red Kelly, James finally reaches a castle and a loch and discovers a deadly secret.
• Blood Fever (2006): In 1933, James Bond is back at Eton where he is now a member of a secret risk-taking club known as the Danger Society. When summer vacation arrives, Bond goes on a field trip to the Italian island of Sardinia where he stays with his much older cousin Victor. While there, James investigates a Roman secret society known as the Millenaria that has planned throughout history to restore the Roman Empire. It seems the Millenaria are still active and are led by the sinister Count Ugo Carnifex.
• Double or Die (2007): The third Young Bond novel is set entirely in England during Christmas and finds James searching for a missing schoolmaster in the darkest corners of London. The book involves Russian spies attempting to build an early computer. The title of the book was chosen by fans via an online poll and kept secret until the day of publication.^[5]
• Hurricane Gold (2007): The fourth Young Bond novel, Hurricane Gold, is set in Mexico and the Caribbean. The book was released on 6 September 2007 in the UK.^[6] The plot is centred on Bond trying to foil the robbery of a team of professional criminals, only to end up following them around Mexico and eventually to a mysterious Caribbean island called Lagrimas Negras. The book contains many references to Mayan mythology and much of the end is focused on it.
• By Royal Command (2008): The fifth Young Bond novel^[7] was released in the UK on 3 September 2008. In this book, James Bond falls in love with his Irish maid, Roan.^{[8] [9]} Bond leaves Eton College due to the incident with the maid, as mentioned in Ian Fleming's novel You Only Live Twice.^[10] This book is set in multiple European countries including Austria, England, France, Germany and Switzerland. The Royal Family and the British secret service also play a part in the plot (revealing that Bond's tutor is a British spy).^[11]

Supplementary books

• The Young Bond Rough Guide to London, Puffin Books/Rough Guides (2007)

64-page booklet featuring London locations from Double or Die.

• , Puffin Books (2009)

Complete and definitive guide to the world and adventures of Young Bond. It includes the Young Bond short story "A Hard Man to Kill" by Charlie Higson. Release date: 29 October 2009.^{[12] [13]}

Short story

An original Young Bond short story by Charlie Higson titled "A Hard Man to Kill" was published in the companion book on 29 October 2009. The story is set between the books Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command and involves Young Bond travelling back to London aboard the French ocean liner SS Colombie. An extract from the story appeared in some later paperback editions of By Royal Command. It is the longest James Bond short story yet written.^{[14] [15]}

Steve Cole's books

On 9 October 2013 Ian Fleming Publications announced that a new series of four Young Bond books were in development, written by Astrosaurs creator, Steve Cole. Cole's novels will follow on from Higson's last entry, By Royal Command and the aftermath of Bond's expulsion from Eton. The first novel will be published in the UK by Random House in the autumn of 2014. A lifelong fan of the original Bond novels, Cole described the task as "a thrilling privilege and an exciting challenge".^[16]

In an interview with the Bucks Herald, Cole confirmed that Bond would be 14–15 years old in his novels and that the books would show how the adult Bond was formed. As part of the process for securing the position, Cole was tasked with creating a pitch for a story arc that would stretch across all four books.^[17] In May 2014, it was announced that Cole's book, titled Shoot to Kill would be released on 6 November 2014.^[18]

In October 2015 at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in England, Cole revealed the cover art for his second novel in the series, titled Heads You Die, which will be published by an imprint of Random House called Red Fox and the book will be released on 5 May 2016.^[19]

In May 2016, Cole's third book in the series is revealed to be titled Strike Lightning, scheduled to come out sometime during Fall later in the year.^[20]

In September 2016, the title of Cole's fourth and final Young Bond novel was revealed to be Red Nemesis.^[21]

Main series

• Shoot to Kill (2014): The sixth Young Bond novel explores the aftermath of Bond's expulsion from Eton, taking him to Hollywood, Los Angeles where he investigates the mystery behind some disturbing film footage discovered by a friend and a fellow adventurer. It's the first book in the series not to be published by Puffin Books but Random House instead in the UK, and was released on 6 November 2014.
• Heads You Die (2016): The seventh Young Bond novel sees Bond travelling to Cuba on holiday which turns into a nightmare mission to save an old friend from a villain who has perfected 1,000 ways to kill. With corrupt cops and hired assassins hot on his heels, Bond must travel through Havana and brave Caribbean waters to stop a countdown to mass murder.^[22]
• Strike Lightning (2016): Set at the end of 1934, while Bond is at Fettes College in Scotland, his father's school. When James stumbles upon a horrific sight, he knows things are not what they seem. His school is determined to make him believe what happened was an accident, but James believes what he saw was murder. The significance of the events at school only come to light in the course of an adventure that takes James across Europe and puts him within range of a warmongering villain. Has James got what it takes to triumph over this man, the worst kind of enemy, who boasts a new kind of weapon?
• Red Nemesis (2017): James is on home soil when he receives a package with a message from beyond the grave. The package's mysterious contents put James at the heart of a long-running plot that, if it runs its course, will paint London's streets red with blood. Not only will James have to fight to stay alive and save the country he loves, but to clear the Bond family name, which he holds so dear. The stakes couldn't be higher, and James doesn't know who he can trust . . .

History

Pre-release criticism

Prior to the release of SilverFin, the idea of a Young Bond series had not gone over too well with the fans of the more traditional Bond literature and had come under heavy fire, with some fans comparing it to an unsuccessful 1960s attempt by Bond's publishers to launch a youth-oriented line of fiction that resulted in only one book: The Adventures of James Bond Junior 003½ written by the pseudonymous R. D. Mascott. There was also a moderately successful James Bond Jr. television series in the early 1990s aimed at children that dealt with Bond's supposed nephew.

John Gardner, who had written fourteen original novels and two novelisations featuring the adult Bond, was also critical of the series prior to the release of the first book. He stated:

It's just the last desperate attempt to draw in a new audience. The films have little to do with the Bond we used to know, and now the books are going the same way.^[23]

Higson, for his part, has been on record as stating that he intends to stay true to the backstory Ian Fleming created for Bond, though this in many ways contradicts the popular by John Pearson.

Post-release reaction

When SilverFin was published in March 2005, reviews of the novel were good. This, in addition to a large marketing campaign in the United Kingdom, elevated SilverFin to the number eight spot on the Booksellers list of best-selling children's books in the UK.^[24] By November 2005, SilverFin had already sold 500,000 copies worldwide.^[25]

A second book in the Young Bond series, Blood Fever, was released on 5 January 2006 in the UK having been delayed from an initial release in October 2005. The book reached the number one spot on the Booksellers list of best-selling children's books in the UK in its second week of release and held the spot for eleven weeks.^[26]

Double or Die, the third book in the series, was released in the UK on 4 January 2007, having had its title announced the day before. The title was voted on in a national poll on the official Young Bond website; the other two titles to choose from were N.E.M.E.S.I.S. and The Deadlock Cipher. After the first three days of Double or Dies release it took the number two spot on the Booksellers list of best-selling children's books in the UK and number fourteen in the overall UK Top 50 list. A week later it had climbed to number one on the children's list and the number twelve spot overall.^{[27] [28]}

As of March 2009 the Young Bond novels have sold over 5 million copies and have been translated into 25 languages.

In December 2010 all five Young Bond books were released as eBooks by Ian Fleming Publications.^[29]

On 5 May 2011 Puffin Books released two special editions of SilverFin^[30]

The five book Young Bond series will be re-released in the UK on 5 April 2012 with all new cover art by Hyperion Books.^[31]

US publication

In June 2004 it was announced that the Young Bond series would be published by Miramax Books, then still a part of Disney. The acquisition was announced by Miramax co-chair Harvey Weinstein and Miramax Books president & editor in chief Jonathan Burnham. The deal's price tag was not disclosed, but was understood to be in the six-figure range.^[32] Miramax, in conjunction with Disney's Hyperion Books for Children label, published SilverFin in 2005 and Blood Fever in 2006. Following Miramax's split from Disney, Ian Fleming Publications struck a new deal for the remaining books with Hyperion Books for Children. This created a gap between publication of the books in the UK and US, with the third book, Double or Die not appearing in the US until April 2008. Book Four, Hurricane Gold, was published by Disney-Hyperion in April 2009. Also in 2009, Disney-Hyperion re-released SilverFin and Blood Fever with new cover art by artist Kev Walker.^[33] By Royal Command and SilverFin: The Graphic Novel were released in the US on 18 May 2010.

Other media

Games

With the release of the Hurricane Gold book TAMBA and Fleming media released the Avenue of Death game which is based on one of the chapters in the book.

On 11 August 2008 Puffin Books announced the first Young Bond alternate reality game (ARG), The Shadow War.^[34] The online game started on 23 August, when Charlie Higson set the first mission during his appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In the game, players around the world use a range of media, including the Young Bond books themselves and the World Wide Web, to complete the missions and influence the outcome of the game. Charlie Higson took part in a live online event that concluded the game on 8 October 2008.^[35]

Illustrations

On 23 April 2005, Ian Fleming Publications released the first illustration of the thirteen-year-old James Bond drawn by Kev Walker. Walker illustrations have also been used on the covers of the U.S. hardback editions of Blood Fever and Double or Die. Walker also illustrated the SilverFin graphic novel released in the UK on 2 October 2008.^[36]

Graphic novels

In 2008, SilverFin: The Graphic Novel, was released as a graphic novel on 2 October 2008 by Puffin Books. The book was written by Charlie Higson and illustrated by renowned comic book artist Kev Walker.^[37] It was released by Disney Publishing in the US as both a hardcover and paperback in 2010 and was awarded the 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award the following year.^[38]

Movie

Due to the success of SilverFin and Blood Fever, Hollywood has been interested in adapting these novels to film; however, Ian Fleming Publications and Charlie Higson have said they hope to release a few more books before possibly considering it. Today, it is believed the film rights to James Bond on film reside exclusively with Danjaq, LLC, the parent company of Eon Productions, however, according to Charlie Higson this is not exactly the case.^[39]

See also

• James Bond Jr.
• Alex Rider
• Jimmy Coates
• CHERUB
• Henderson's Boys
• Cody Banks
• Spy School
• Outline of James Bond

External links

• Young Bond official website
• The Young Bond Dossier – Official Young Bond news source
• Young Bond coverage on MI6
• Young Bond coverage at CommanderBond.net

Notes and References

1. News: Higson plots new Young Bond books . BBC News . 24 April 2008 . 24 April 2008.
2. Web site: More Young Bond adventures coming with new author Steve Cole . MI6-HQ . 9 October 2013.
3. News: Author resists Young Bond movie . BBC News . 30 May 2006 . 30 May 2006.
4. Web site: Charlie Higson interview with CommanderBond.net . The Charlie Higson CBn Interview . 23 February 2005 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070203194642/http://commanderbond.net/article/2677 . 3 February 2007.
5. Web site: Video of Double or Die title announcement . The Young Bond Dossier . 3 January 2007.
6. Web site: Hurricane Gold official announcement . The Young Bond Dossier . 24 April 2007.
7. Web site: Young Bond 5 is BY ROYAL COMMAND . The Young Bond Dossier . 6 March 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080706131308/http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/3/6_Young_Bond_5_is_BY_ROYAL_COMMAND.html . 6 July 2008.
8. Web site: Young Bond 5 working title revealed . The Young Bond Dossier . 10 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012202809/http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2007/10/10_Working_title_for_Young_Bond_5_is....html . 12 October 2007 . dead .
9. Web site: Charlie drops a Book 5 bombshell . The Young Bond Dossier . 6 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080723234235/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2007/10/6_Charlie_drops_a_Book_5_bombshell.html . 23 July 2008 . dead .
10. Web site: MI6-HQ.com interview with Charlie Higson . In Conversation With Charlie Higson . 8 March 2006.
11. http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/2/24_Major_Young_Bond_5_update_from_Charlie_Higson.html Major Young Bond 5 update from Charlie Higson
12. Web site: Young Bond companion book in November . The Young Bond Dossier . 16 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090423105759/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2009/4/16_YOUNG_BOND_COMPANION_BOOK_IN_NOVEMBER.html . 23 April 2009 . dead .
13. Web site: Danger Society release date pulled forward . The Young Bond Dossier . https://web.archive.org/web/20170105051111/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2009/4/29_Danger_Society_release_date_pulled_forward.html . dead . 5 January 2017 . 29 April 2009.
14. Web site: Exclusive: Title and details revealed of new Young Bond short story . MI6-HQ.com . 16 May 2009.
15. Web site: Young Bond is back in 'A Hard Man to Kill' . The Young Bond Dossier . 28 May 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090601075153/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2009/5/28_Young_Bond_is_back_in_A_Hard_Man_to_Kill.html . 1 June 2009 . dead .
16. Web site: New Young Bond series in 2014 . Ian Fleming Publications . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014031316/http://www.ianfleming.com/new-young-bond-series-in-2014/ . 14 October 2013.
17. Web site: Licence to thrill: Author selected to write young James Bond novels . Bucks Herald . 23 November 2013.
18. Web site: New Young Bond Title Revealed. Ian Fleming Publications. 29 May 2014.
19. Web site: Next Young Bond Novel Announced . 10 October 2015.
20. Web site: The Next Young Bond Is 'Strike Lightning' . 13 May 2016.
21. Web site: NEXT YOUNG BOND BOOK TITLE REVEALED. www.thebookbond.com. 2016-10-08.
22. Web site: Young Bond goes to Cuba in HEADS YOU DIE . 22 March 2016.
23. Web site: John Gardner on Young Bond series . Boys' own James Bond . 28 February 2005.
24. Web site: 'Blood Fever' sales . Blood Fever is No. 1 Bestseller . 18 January 2006.
25. Web site: SilverFin sales . https://web.archive.org/web/20070309071304/http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED18%20Nov%202005%2023%3A20%3A16%3A913 . dead . 9 March 2007 . The name's Bond – Bond junior . 5 September 2006.
26. Web site: Young Bond sales and acclaim . Young Bond at IFP's official site . 18 January 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060710021158/http://www.ianflemingcentre.com/index.cfm?nid=FBC1F7E0-D03B-4268-8015-071DB62C4B94 . 10 July 2006 .
27. Web site: Double or Die sales . Bestsellers . 20 January 2007.
28. Web site: Double or Die sales and acclaim . https://archive.today/20080530012018/http://web.mac.com/zencato/iWeb/Young_Bond/News/AA7C958C-29C2-4F8C-A4D2-223EDEFA6101.html . dead . 30 May 2008 . Double or Die is No. 1 Bestseller . 20 January 2007.
29. Web site: Young Bond novels released as eBooks in the UK . The Book Bond . 16 December 2010.
30. Web site: EXCLUSIVE: NEW YOUNG BOND SILVERFIN SPECIAL EDITIONS . The Book Bond . 22 February 2011.
31. Web site: YOUNG BOND 2012 REFRESH COVERS REVEALED! . The Book Bond . 11 October 2011.
32. Web site: Miramax Buys Rights to First Two Young James Bond Novels . CommanderBond.net . 23 June 2004 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090603012349/http://commanderbond.net/article/2433 . 3 June 2009.
33. Web site: US Young Bond titles getting cover refresh in 2009 . The Young Bond Dossier . 16 September 2008.
34. Web site: The Shadow War press release . The Young Bond Dossier . 11 August 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718143448/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/8/11_The_Shadow_War.html . 18 July 2011 . dead .
35. Web site: The Shadow War is won! . The Young Bond Dossier . 8 October 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111005003955/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/10/8_The_Shadow_War_concludes.html . 5 October 2011 . dead .
36. Web site: New release date for SilverFin graphic novel . The Young Bond Dossier . 8 June 2006.
37. Web site: SilverFin The Graphic Novel released in UK . The Young Bond Dossier . 2 October 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090212010831/http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/10/2_SILVERFIN_THE_GRAPHIC_NOVEL_OUT_TODAY.html . 12 February 2009 . dead .
38. Web site: SilverFin The Graphic Novel nominated for Eisner Award . The Young Bond Dossier . 7 August 2011.
39. Web site: Young Bond film rights . Charlie Higson in Los Angeles . 4 May 2005 . 20 October 2005.