89 replies to this topic

[zencat]

And he misses his own achievement anyway - Young Bond, like Fleming's Bond, has only actually completed TWO halves at Eton in any case - he arrives late for the "Silverfin" term so did not complete that, misses entirely the "Hurriacn Gold" term and, of course, doesn't finish the "By Royal Command" term; he only completes two halves, those desribed in "Blood Fever" and "Double or Die".

You know, I actually brought this up with Charlie in our interview, because I too thought he only completed two halves total and, hence, fit the obit without having to change it. Charlie wasn't sure and we puzzled through it. Charlie was pretty sure he completed more than two halves, and I decided I really didn't know what I was talking about because I don't know how long a halve is. (It was a fairly confusing exchange, so I cut it.) But I think the key is he arrived late for the SilverFin halve. I forgot about that. If we can discount that halve...you may be right. But it might take a close re-read of the books to decide this conclusively.

[David Schofield]

And he misses his own achievement anyway - Young Bond, like Fleming's Bond, has only actually completed TWO halves at Eton in any case - he arrives late for the "Silverfin" term so did not complete that, misses entirely the "Hurriacn Gold" term and, of course, doesn't finish the "By Royal Command" term; he only completes two halves, those desribed in "Blood Fever" and "Double or Die".

You know, I actually brought this up with Charlie in our interview, because after reading BRC, I too thought he only completed two halves total and, hence, fit the obit without having to change it. Charlie wasn't sure and we puzzled through it. Charlie was pretty sure he completed more than two halves and I decided I really didn't know what I was talking about because I don't know how long a halve is. (It was a fairly confusing exchange, so I cut it.) I think the key is he arrived late for the SilverFin halve. I forgot about that. If we can discount that...you may be right. But it might take a close re-read of the books to decide this conclusively.

Think he did arrive late in Silverfin, John: all the other boys at seemed already set up at Eton when Bond arrived. Doesn't Bond also refer to Charmian senting him late, or something?

Only thing that reminded me was the way Higson/Merriott clumsily shove in the mentioning of need to change when Bond left in BRC; why was there a need to mislead anyone when Bond left at all, what did/would it achieve?

[sharpshooter]

Good lord. It seems the distortion of Bond's Eton time was not needed at all. Seems unnecessary and a tad slack to me.

[Daddy Bond]

There was much about Silverfin I didn't like, including Eton.

[zencat]

Only thing that reminded me was the way Higson/Merriott clumsily shove in the mentioning of need to change when Bond left in BRC; why was there a need to mislead anyone when Bond left at all, what did/would it achieve?

Well, Charlie always said he was going to have to do that to fit Fleming's obit. He brings it up in our first interview before the publication of SilverFin. But what he didn't know at the time was he was going to do Hurricane Gold, a book that has Bond miss an entire halve.

But I don't have a problem with the fact that Merriott has to chance Bond's record. It's less about changing Bond than

Spoiler

whipping out all information re the attempted assassination of the King by an Irish anarchist

. Bond is just part of this clean sweep. Let the record show he was never there.

Good lord. It seems the distortion of Bond's Eton time was not needed at all. Seems unnecessary and a tad slack to me.

Slack? I think if anything he tried to hard to stick to Fleming and satisfy picky fans.

[sharpshooter]

Slack? I think if anything he tried to hard to stick to Fleming and satisfy picky fans.

Yep. The structure of the Young Bond books shows that in the end it wasn't needed. I said it was slack just from the fact you said Charlie seemed oblivious to this. Higson must of had this 'record fudging' thing in mind from the outset, and the events of HG - where Bond missed an entire halve, makes it seem largely unnecessary. Still, the record changing thing can be explained in some manner. But even then, this plot device is not what it was originally intended for.

[marktmurphy]

But I don't have a problem with the fact that Merriott has to chance Bond's record. It's less about changing Bond than

Spoiler

whipping out all information re the attempted assassination of the King by an Irish anarchist

. Bond is just part of this clean sweep. Let the record show he was never there.

Is that the reasoning? Not sure it really holds up to much examination- wouldn't it be fairly easy to prove that he was there longer: loads of people saw him etc.? It seems a bit of a bizarre solution to the problem in the fiction- even Roan's dates have to move to get her there too. Seemed easier just to have him disappear at the time he did with a maid- why would anyone suspect him of being involved the King's plot unless they found out that everyone was lying about him not being there at the time? Still, doesn't matter.

[zencat]

Slack? I think if anything he tried to hard to stick to Fleming and satisfy picky fans.

Yep. The structure of the Young Bond books shows that in the end it wasn't needed. I said it was slack just from the fact you said Charlie seemed oblivious to this. Higson must of had this 'record fudging' thing in mind from the outset, and the events of HG - where Bond missed an entire halve, makes it seem largely unnecessary. Still, the record changing thing can be explained in some manner. But even then, this plot device is not what it was originally intended for.

Well, I'm not ready to conclude that it was unnecessary. Bond may arrive late in SilverFin, but I think he's there for the start of the school halve. The book does start with Bond in a hallway of boys all moving into their rooms, so he isn't that late. And there is a time gap between SF and BF in which another halve could have happened. Like I said, we need to re-read carefully before we can say for sure what Charlie needed to do to fit the obit.

But I don't have a problem with the fact that Merriott has to chance Bond's record. It's less about changing Bond than

Spoiler

whipping out all information re the attempted assassination of the King by an Irish anarchist

. Bond is just part of this clean sweep. Let the record show he was never there.

Is that the reasoning? Not sure it really holds up to much examination- wouldn't it be fairly easy to prove that he was there longer: loads of people saw him etc.? It seems a bit of a bizarre solution to the problem in the fiction- even Roan's dates have to move to get her there too. Seemed easier just to have him disappear at the time he did with a maid- why would anyone suspect him of being involved the King's plot unless they found out that everyone was lying about him not being there at the time? Still, doesn't matter.

The English and their secretive ways. Who can understand?

[DamnCoffee]

Well, I am ready to conclude it was not neccessary. Pretty solid cases from the guys here. I am sure we shall re-read, and it will come out that this is the case. I think an argument otherwise is just grasping at straws. Once it has been proven the timeline fits perfectly without the need for altering, the case falls flat on its face.

[sharpshooter]

Well, I am ready to conclude it was not neccessary. Pretty solid cases from the guys here. I am sure we shall re-read, and it will come out that this is the case. I think an argument otherwise is just grasping at straws. Once it has been proven the timeline fits perfectly without the need for altering, the case falls flat on its face.

Indeed. Higgy got himself into a biggy mess.

[zencat]

Someone needs to take a look at SilverFin (I'd do it, but I'm running out the door).* Bond may be arriving late, but I don't think he's late for the start of the half. So if we include the SilverFin half (which he completes midway through the book), then Bond completes at least 3 halves in the series, which means the BRC official fudge is necessary.

Where's Jim? He'd know how many halves in the year at Eton. I believe the YB series spans a year and a half, right?

I'll also try and find what Charlie said about this in our interview.

*Just took a quick look at SilverFin and I can't find any mention of Bond arriving late. But I only made a quick scan of the first few chapters.

[spynovelfan]

Can't really comment on the rest of it, but Eton has three halves a year.

[[dark]]

Finished By Royal Command last night - cracking read, and a must for Fleming fans.

A few brief highlights...

Spoiler

• Bond's brutal beating of Bentinck - horrific stuff, showing a dark side to the character to rival much of Fleming.
• The atmosphere during the book's Austria-set sequences - hearing how Bond learnt to ski was a real joy.
• Roan - utterly bewitching when she first appears (though I wasn't quite convinced that Bond would so easily fall for someone that was, even from the outset, a bad seed).
• The overall darkness of the book - this was an adult's story masquerading as a children's book. The cloak-and-dagger themes of spying and war and of Nazis and communism were made surprisingly relevant, and I even bought the fact the SIS were essentially recruiting for impending war. Even the narrative was rather complex.
• The characterisation of James Bond himself. Obviously mature for a 14-year-old, but utterly convincing and a terrific end to a series that begun with the quiet, unassuming boy in SilverFin.

Excellent stuff.

[Sylvia Trench]

Okay.A Brit perspective here. Anything to do with Eton is a tad confusing, but I will try my best. The word 'half' is used at Eton (and only Eton) to mean a 'term' - or semester. As in all English schools, there are three 'terms' every year. So, Confusingly, 3 halves. Roughly - autumn, spring and summer. The Eton year starts in Autumn (The Michaelmas half). Most boys starting at Eton would start then, probably September. James starts late, as some boys did, in the next half (Easter Half - 1933). Though at the beginning of the half, not halfway through it, if you get my meaning. (I hope you're keeping up with this). He then moves on to the summer half for Blood Fever, and on to the next Michaelmas half for Double Or Die. That is three halves completed. He does indeed miss the next half - Easter 1934 - by recuperating in Mexico, and returns for the Summer half, which he fails to complete. Technically, then, he only actually competes 3 halves, though he was at Eton for nearly 5 halves. Higson has stated in interviews that he would have found it hard to fit 5 books worth of action into 2 halves - about 6 months - so he knew from the start he would have to tinker with the obituary. On paper, the official college records, before MI6 tampering, would show that Bond was at Eton for 5 halves (a year and a half), by alerting it to 2 halves it would imply that Bond, and the maid, were not around in the summer of 1934. Anyone looking for a plot would be hard pressed to find one. I guess Higson had Bond starting Eton late so that he was a little bit older when he arrived (and also, I suppose, so that it was a little warmer for his various swimming escapades). Fleming's obituary would have meant Bond leaving Eton after a dalliance with a maid at about 13 1/2 - pretty good going. Higson's approach means that Bond actually leaves Eton when he was nearly 15. if anyone thinks he behaves in a rather grown up fashion for a boy of that age I would direct them to the photographs of Fleming at Eton in Ben McIntyre's excellent recent book. Fleming at school looked like a man in his thirties. Boys at Eton back then, before the invention of the teenager and the endless childhood of modern kids, were pretty grown up and sophisticated (I have visited Eton and can assure you that they still are). As to whether it was necessary to obscure the truth, I go along with zencat. The establishment was involved in a huge cover up. They wanted to remove any evidence of the plot against the King (and the Prince of Wales's possible involvement in it) It's not foolproof, but what cover up ever is? Bond has taken his first steps into the duplicitous, looking glass world of the secret service.

[zencat]

Sylvia Trench to the rescue.

Excellent post. I'm ready to accept yours as the final verdict on all these matters.

[stromberg]

My review(s) are up.

Full review with spoilers

Abridged review without spoilers

Finally got to read it (both the book and the review, that is). Have to agree with everything you said, John. Fantastic book, by far the best of the series. Recommended reading

[marktmurphy]

Boys at Eton back then, before the invention of the teenager and the endless childhood of modern kids, were pretty grown up and sophisticated

That's not really the same thing as being world-weary and jaded.

[Sylvia Trench]

Oh, I think of you look at the photographs the phrases world-weary and jaded won't be far from your lips!

[marktmurphy]

Oh, I think of you look at the photographs the phrases world-weary and jaded won't be far from your lips!

I've seen them. They usually look a bit arrogant and stuck up, as you'd expect. Fleming's got the hairline of a man in his thirties, but you'd be extrapolating that a bit far to say that he looked 'jaded'.



Where did this cover image come from? I rather like it:
http://materialwitne...lie-higson.html

[zencat]

Where did this cover image come from? I rather like it:
http://materialwitne...lie-higson.html

That's fan art made by our own K1Bond007. It's in my Fan Art gallery.

[marktmurphy]

Very good it is too.

[sharpshooter]

I finally managed to pick up BRC. I've just finished part one. It is pretty good so far. I think I will end up ranking them with BloodFever and Double or Die, By Royal Command followed by Hurricane Gold and SilverFin. This is not saying BRC is bad in any means, just that I really like BloodFever and Double or Die.

I was interested when I read a passage in BRC that Young Bond admired his 'handlebar moustache and thick sideburns.' Bond with a moustache? Interesting. I want to see the Kev Walker illustrations of the guy even more so now.

Update:

I've finished it. It is a first-rate book. Blood Fever is still my favourite in the series, though. By Royal Command is a really solid outing and a good way to finish off this period in Bond's life, it is just that I really like Blood Fever and Double or Die. They contain my favourite Young Bond moments. I'm almost nostalgic about them now.

I did love the sequence in By Royal Command where Bond is tied up underneath the Eton crypt next to a burning bomb fuse. Brilliant stuff. The skiing sequences, cloak and dagger goings on, Bond at the party, meeting the Royals - just great. The third act of the book, with Bond on the run, was dramatic and handled well. I could just picture how well all this would work in a feature film. This book is slower paced than the others, a little less gore, but still manages to keep interest with its solid plotting. Though, I think after 5 Young Bond books, it all can't help but feel a tad repetitive.

This book is better than the continuation novels in my opinion. I'd say that for each and every one of these books. I say well done Mr Higson, who has done a wonderful job. I enjoyed reading this series and enjoyed waiting for them. I hope to see you re-enter the world of Bond at some later stage.

This is how I rank them.

1. BLOOD FEVER
2. DOUBLE OR DIE
3. BY ROYAL COMMAND
4. HURRICANE GOLD
5. SILVERFIN

[DamnCoffee]

Your list seems fair Sharpshooter. Though I still class Hurricaine Gold as my favorite of the bunch. I have yet to read BRC.

[sharpshooter]

I wouldn't go as far as deeming HG and SF childish, but they do have a different feel to the rest in my opinion.

[zencat]

I find the books impossible to "rank" because they are just so close for me. My own ranking would look something like this:

BY ROYAL COMMAND/BLOOD FEVER (tie)
DOUBLE OR DIE/HURRICANE GOLD (tie)
SILVERFIN

SilverFin being last rank is all I can be sure about (until I re-read it). That's not because it's a bad book. It's beautifully written and conceived, the eels are fabulous, and I think it's now my favorite title. But it's seems to be the book that is most kid friendly and I feel a bit of an adult looking in on that one. I appreciate it, absolutely. But I'm not quite swept up into it as kids are.

By Royal Command and Blood Fever are both freaking brilliant James Bond books that completely swept me away on all levels. By Royal Command has an edge because it is so tied into Fleming and it constantly tickles my fanboy intellect...but Blood Fever has pirates! BF has that dash of "B" element done in "A" style that's the essence of Fleming and it's perfectly executed here. Too close to call a favorite.

Double or Die and Hurricane Gold are a cut below BRC and BF, but they are both perfect Young Bond adventures. I love how both books completely commit to what they are, how each locks into a theme and a single location and exploits it to the fullest. They are very similar books, IMO, and too close to call a favorite because they both have elements that I just love. In fact, these books contain my favorite individual elements of the entire series.

[[dark]]

As a five book set, the Young Bond series is unique. All other James Bond novels (Benson's Union trilogy and Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service/You Only Live Twice/The Man With The Golden Gun run are the only possible exceptions I can think of) were written - and thus, read - entirely independent of one another.

But Higson's books, while more or less self-contained, have a strong theme - and most importantly, strong development of the character of Bond himself - running throughout. It's tempting to assess the five book series as a complete story; indeed, it might be entirely justified to do so.

It's curious to wonder what might have happened if the Young Bond novels hadn't been a hit and the series commercially withered and died some time after the release of Blood Fever or Double or Die. Would they become little more than a footnote in literary 007 history, akin to John Pearson's James Bond: The Authorised Biography Of 007, or would they be viewed as a misunderstood couple of books that would sadly never reach its natural conclusion?

Fortunately, Higson's books were far from that, and the resultant books became, as one would hope, more complex and adult with each instalment. What I love is that the books became far more complex and adult than I ever would have expected; if the main protagonist wasn't a teenage boy, the books could easily pass for adult novels (By Royal Command in particular contains an incredibly complex story peppered with historical details).

Still, in the spirit of zencat's post, here's my Young Bond ranking:

• Blood Fever
• By Royal Command
• Double or Die
• Hurricane Gold
• SilverFin

I've only read each novel once upon its release, so I'm curious to see if my ranking would change if I went back and read them in context with the rest of the series. I remember being disappointed with Double or Die after the superb Blood Fever (one of the very best James Bond novels period), but now appreciate it was a low-key Bond adventure that maintained a terrific claustrophobic atmosphere throughout.

Like zencat, SilverFin ranks last for me for precisely the same reasons. It suffers from the same pitfalls that all origin stories do. We know Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes Spider-man; we know the death of Bruce Wayne's parents triggers a need to fight crime in Gotham City; and we know James Bond becomes a cold, hardened individual who is ultimately recruited by MI6.

SilverFin gives fans an ordinary boy who begins a transformation that ultimately spans five books; but it was a necessary tale to tell - we needed to see James Bond as an ordinary boy, so that we could frame his development. He couldn't start out as some kind of superkid. I suspect that, in light of books two to five, I'd consider SilverFin a better book now than I did at the time. That said, the only book I could ever see it surpassing would be Hurricane Gold, which I'm a touch on the fence about - it's a great action story, but it lacks the deeper moments that made Blood Fever, Double or Die and By Royal Command such amazing novels.

Most telling, though, is that Charlie's lesser books don't even come close to the worst (or even the best) of those by other continuation novelists (or even Fleming himself, if I may be so sacrilegious to say so - Diamonds Are Forever, anyone?). That is an achievement that cannot be overstated.

[zencat]

Excellent observations, [dark].

[sharpshooter]

I remember being disappointed with Double or Die after the superb Blood Fever (one of the very best James Bond novels period), but now appreciate it was a low-key Bond adventure that maintained a terrific claustrophobic atmosphere throughout.

Same with me. It's a great book and I love the dark vibe that it has. It features some of my top Young Bond moments - the hearts game, the graveyard sequence, the car chase, the Paradice club, the gin poisoning, etc.

[Ultraussie (Jordan.adams)]

Nice Indeed.

[zencat]

I remember being disappointed with Double or Die after the superb Blood Fever (one of the very best James Bond novels period), but now appreciate it was a low-key Bond adventure that maintained a terrific claustrophobic atmosphere throughout.

Same with me. It's a great book and I love the dark vibe that it has. It features some of my top Young Bond moments - the hearts game, the graveyard sequence, the car chase, the Paradice club, the gin poisoning, etc.

DOD is the book that has really stuck with me. I still "see" many of the scenes in that book.