32 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

For those of you who have read Charlie Higson's Blood Fever: use this thread to review and rate it.

Also, check out the reviews on the CBn main page:

Young Bond Book 2: Blood Fever
Two REVIEWS from two generations of Bond fans

My rating: 5/5

[Qwerty]

I see there are some votes, but no reviews. Add them in!

[DLibrasnow]

I give it 5/5 too

[003.5]

really enjoyed both books, however I feel Bloodfever was the better read, can't wait for the 3rd book of the series.

[neversaynever]

I feel disappointed by Blood Fever. It started out with such promise, but by the end I just thougth Higson had run out of puff - the speedy way he dealt with the denouement was too abrupt and just unrewarding. Was he trying to come in under a maximum page count?

I really didn't get the sense of location and excitement that I think he managed to evoke in SilverFin. Yes, there were some annoyingly twee aspects to that book, and yes it was a bit too Harry Potter-esque, but the final act of that book at least was better than the final act of Blood Fever.

One other thing - what is with the name? Blood Fever wasn't mentioned anywehere and didn't seem to have any relevance. Am I missing something?

[003.5]

Never say never - Blood fever was to do with the torture scene where James Bond was tied outside and attacked by mosquitoes - which gave him malaria.

Have to disagree with your opinion, thought the book was great and better than any potter book

[[dark]]

Superb.

SilverFin made me think twice about bashing the Young Bond franchise, but Higson hit Blood Fever out of the ballpark.

James goes through absolute hell in the book; I'd say more so than in many of the adult 007 novels.

It reads much more like an adult novel with the violence cranked up, the language almost as obscene as Fleming allowed it, the "adult" notions turned up (including countless references to smoking, drugs and even the odd subtle hint at sex) and it's a far better book for it. The huge climax wouldn't be out of place in a Gilbert-directed Bond blockbuster.

The only problem is that Higson has set such a high bar a mere two books into his series that he may fall into the same trap John Gardner did and go downhill before long. Fingers crossed he doesn't.

[zencat]

I agree with you on all points, [dark].

[neversaynever]

Never say never - Blood fever was to do with the torture scene where James Bond was tied outside and attacked by mosquitoes - which gave him malaria.

Have to disagree with your opinion, thought the book was great and better than any potter book

But he didn't get malaria! And he didn't get 'blood fever' either, whatever that is! I just think the title is quite unrelated to anything in the book. It is jarring - for me, at least (clearly others don't have this problem).

By the way, I certainly didn't mean to imply that this book wasn't as good as Harry Potter. I've only read the first Potter book and I didn't like that. Blood Fever was ok, but I just felt let down.

Maybe I am too rough on it. I guess it is important to remember this book does have a target audience of children / teenagers! So just so I don't come across as being totally negative about the whole thing, let me pick three things about the book I did like:
- the opening scene on the boat: I thought this was the most vividly described action scene;
- the increased violence - Silverfin was a bit 'wet' in this respect, it is good to see that in the second book in the series Mr Higson isn't afraid to kill of a few people (and some in a pretty violent and unexpected way);
- the rooftop scene at Eton: again, a well-executed action scene.

[Qwerty]

Bumping this up as Blood Fever is now available to US James Bond fans...

'Blood Fever' Shipping Early In US

_{Charlie Higson's second Young Bond novel shipping from BN.com}

[K1Bond007]

Well, I finally got around to finishing it.
-- this is a review thread, don't read unless you've read it --

I should declare that I liked SilverFin, but Blood Fever is ultimately better in almost every way. SilverFin had too much of a "the beginning" type of feel that usually goes into a first book of a series, but Blood Fever isn't tied down with that at all. It also doesn't feel like it was aimed at children as SilverFin kinda felt - this one actually feels about on the same level as a typical Bond novel (blood, action, adventure) save for the sex, which is still somewhat present.

My only complaint, which isn't much of one, is that Blood Fever, more than SilverFin felt like a Zorro movie. This is an insane comparison, I'm sure, but Zorro (at least in the more recent films) does not kill. Bad guys, they don't die at his hands - they die by trying to kill him and falling off ledges or being killed by another bad guy's blade in the fight, or even by one of their enemies. There were a couple times when Bond had the opportunity to kill and although he didn't need to (and doesn't until age 16 or so), he was always miraculously saved by some event. One example: Jana. Come on. Yeah, ok, believable, but this could have been saved by having Victor kick her in the back down the stairs into the same predicament. Instead it's the Zorro feel; done in by high heels. Theres no reason for Bond to really kill, but I just hope I'm not sitting here after reading Book 3/4/5 talking about the inane Zorro effect on the books.

Good book though Mr. Higson.

[zencat]

Good review K1. I certainly agree that this book doesn't feel like a kids book at all. That was really the gist of my own review. It's feels on par with any adult Bond book.

One thing about the killing -- Charlie said at the SF signing that he can't have Bond killing anyone directly because these are still books aimed at kids, and also Fleming established that Bond didn't kill anyone until the war. So he has to find creative ways for the villains to die.

But I've always sort of liked the indirect deaths. Heck, even the movies do this. Goldfinger is sucked out a window due to him shooting his gun on the plane. Largo is killed by Domino, etc.

[K1Bond007]

Good review K1. I certainly agree that this book doesn't feel like a kids book at all. That was really the gist of my own review. It's feels on par with any adult Bond book.

One thing about the killing -- Charlie said at the SF signing that he can't have Bond killing anyone directly because these are still books aimed at kids, and also Fleming established that Bond didn't kill anyone until the war. So he has to find creative ways for the villains to die.

But I've always sort of liked the indirect deaths. Heck, even the movies do this. Goldfinger is sucked out a window due to him shooting his gun on the plane. Largo is killed by Domino, etc.

I did say until "16 or so". Still, the only reason I made note of it is because I realize Bond can't kill until a certain age. Goldfinger (or Oddjob from the novel - though I think this was Bond's doing) being sucked out of a plane is different than tripping down a flight of stairs. At least for Goldfinger they built up to that. I have no qualms with inventive deaths, but I do hope they're not so eye-rolling Zorro'ish in the future.

The Largo/Domino example, doesn't bother me either. That sort of thing is fine so long as they're there and intervene with good reason. For Blood Fever, I have no clue why Zoltan decided to show up again with Tree-Trunk to kill Haight for Bond and Amy. That seemed rather silly. It would have been better to have Haight ambush them all when they were previously together or to have Amy kill him.

One thing I'd like to see before Higson's 5 is up is Bond not saving someone and making the choice to let said person die. It's not technically by his own hands, but something like this would be interesting and I would liked to see Bond start dealing with death. He just doesn't seem all that affected by it whereas in Fleming's books he trips out about it routinely; at his worse at the start of Goldfinger. It's just kind of hard to see this is the same Bond without Bond discussing death to some extent in his head. Continuation novels and obviously the films rarely, if ever do this - Gardner will have Bond kill 5 or 6 guys in a shootout and it never affects him whatsoever, but I digress.

[zencat]

One thing I'd like to see before Higson's 5 is up is Bond not saving someone and making the choice to let said person die. It's not technically by his own hands, but something like this would be interesting and I would liked to see Bond start dealing with death. He just doesn't seem all that affected by it whereas in Fleming's books he trips out about it routinely; at his worse at the start of Goldfinger. It's just kind of hard to see this is the same Bond without Bond discussing death to some extent in his head. Continuation novels and obviously the films rarely, if ever do this - Gardner will have Bond kill 5 or 6 guys in a shootout and it never affects him whatsoever, but I digress.

Good point. I'd like to see that as well.

[K1Bond007]

Something else I meant to throw in my review was the question of whether the character named Colombo in a flashback was the father of Enrico Colombo from Risico? I don't know if that was intentional. Colombo is a very big Italian name so it could be merely by coincidence.

I got the Lippe reference though.

[dinovelvet]

Hmm looks like I gave Blood fever the lowest score out of anyone here (2 out of 5). I didn't really care for it at all. First off, let me say I absolutely loved Silverfin, I couldn't put it down, I read it in about 3 days and would give it 5 out of 5. Blood Fever just didn't come close IMHO, it just didn't generate any of the same excitement for me. The plot seemed to revolve around an almost absurd amount of coincidences (James finding the secret cult at Eton, going on a trip to Sardinia where he just happens to have a cousin who just happens to be acquainted with the villain/leader of the cult, who just happens to be in cahoots with another villain who has kidnapped the sister of one of his Eton friends). There was a lot of convenient coincidence in Silverfin too, but somehow it just seemed to work better there, whereas it took me out of the story in Blood Fever. BF also seemed a lot slower paced than Silverfin by comparison. By the end I'd really had enough of Ugo and his palazzo and wanted the whole thing to be over. Well, somebody had to dislike it!
Anyway, I still look forward to Young Bond 3. Every author has their ups and downs; Benson's second book The Facts of Death was also my least favorite of his run.

[Sylvia Trench]

Actually, there aren't as many coincidences as might first appear in BF (and if you think about, it all stories basically start with a coincidence - it's the moment where the central character happens to connect with events). There are only two coincidences really, I guess, in BF. 1 that James stumbles on the cult at Eton, and 2 that he has a cousin in Sardinia. All the other elements stem from that first accidental discovery of the cult. Once Haight knows that James is on to something he invites him to Sardinia, so that he can get hm out of the way. James only really agrees to go because he has a cousin on the island. So these first two elements kind of interlink. Why does Ugo show up at Victor's, then? Simply because James has inadvertently told Haight about all the artworks there, so Ugo turns up to check it out, and then invites Victor and co. to his carnival in order to get them out of the way for the robbery. Haight has been pulling strings in the backgournd all through the story. if James had never stumbled on the cult nothing else would have happened, but, as I say, without an initial coincidence you have no story - ever.

[zencat]

Speaking of reviews, here's one from the New York Times Sunday Book Review. It doesn't get bigger, or better, than THIS.

[Obiwan]

I liked it a lot more than SilverFin It just kept me going and I couldnt put the book down.. Also I liked when Bond was tied down and attacked by mesiqitos. So I gave it a 5/5

[Zing!]

I gave 'Blood Fever' 4 out of 5. I must say that I simply adored 'Silverfin' and would gladly give it a 5 out of 5 rating. Alas, while BF was a great read, it seemed to suffer from the sophmore jinx. A brilliant first chapter really set things up, and I thought the Danger Society, while not fleshed out as much as I would have liked, was a terrific idea. I thought all the characters were excellent and believeable - with Zoltan being one of the more memorable villians in quite some time. I must say though that I found the characters of Ugo and his sister to be rather 'Dr. No/Dr. Evil-ish' and somewhat of a let-down. I understand Higson trying to introduce a quirky evil madman into the series since that was Bond's bread and butter later in life, but it just didn't work as effectively for me as it did in Silverfin.

The locations were all described quite well. I really liked the Eton parts a lot and the scenes on the water early in the book were right on the money. The violence and language were cranked up quite a bit in this novel and it worked. James is put through the ringer in this book and you can feel his exhaustion by the end. In that and almost every other regard, BF (and Silverfin before it) are easily better than any Bond book done since Fleming's death in my humble opinion.

One last point. Someone mentioned above that the ending felt a little rushed, and I would agree with that. The fate of Ugo seemed rather abrupt, and I would have rather he survived the dam somehow and face James again rather than his sister. Also the last page seemed like Higson ran out of gas and didn't quite know how to wrap it up. I found myself wanting more of a satisfying goodbye between Amy and James. Although, I guess there probably wasn't all that much to say since they hardly knew each other.

All in all, I found this to be a splendid read and wonderfully entertaining - just not quite up to par with Silverfin. I'm definitely looking forward to see what Mr. Higson has up his sleeve for #3!

[zencat]

Excellent review there, Zing.

[DLibrasnow]

I found myself wanting more of a satisfying goodbye between Amy and James. Although, I guess there probably wasn't all that much to say since they hardly knew each other.

Personally, I found Vendetta to be the far more interesting heroine and I would have liked to have see a goodbye between her and James.

Besides, the way it was written (that Amy and James never discussed Zoltan's demise again) makes me suspect that Amy will be making a reappearance in a future Young Bond novel.

[Zing!]

Excellent review there, Zing.

I don't want it to sound like I'm being too harsh on Mr. Higson's work, for the majority of Gardner's work I would only give a 2 or 3 out of 5, and nearly all of Benson's rate pretty low in my book (like a 1 or 2 out of 5). So a 4 rating from me means I really liked it quite a bit. Now that I think about it, that would mean I liked BF more than Fleming's own DAF, which I would rate at a 3.

I also forgot to mention that I was grinning from ear to ear with Higson's names. Zoltan, Ugo Carnifex, Tree-Trunk, Vendetta, Polipoli, etc. Wonderful! As we all know, a good name can go a long way in a Bond novel (just as a bad name has us groaning). Mr. Higson has shown himself to be quite adept at immersing himself in the Bond universe and making it believeable. I just hope the one book a year thing isn't leaving him rushed to complete his manuscripts on time, as that's the impression I got with the last couple of chapters with BF.

[K1Bond007]

I found myself wanting more of a satisfying goodbye between Amy and James. Although, I guess there probably wasn't all that much to say since they hardly knew each other.

Personally, I found Vendetta to be the far more interesting heroine and I would have liked to have see a goodbye between her and James.

Besides, the way it was written (that Amy and James never discussed Zoltan's demise again) makes me suspect that Amy will be making a reappearance in a future Young Bond novel.

I think it's a good possibility that it'll be Amy that returns. I'd bet on her at this moment.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I gave Blood Fever a 4 out of 5. It was better than SilverFin in no small part because James is more Bond-like in this one. He's grown up quite a bit since SilverFin and he's much easier to take than the lack of confidence boy he was in Book 1. Many good characters here--no one more so than Zoltan. He may be a bad guy, but he's a likeable rogue. I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the death of Ugo Carnifex. It would have been much better to have him die a "messy" death at the hands of Zoltan or as a result of something Bond did such as James throwing dirt/sewage or whatever at Carnifex and him shrinking in fear and impaling himself on something or falling over the edge of something. Regardless, this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to Book 3 (not to mention an adult Bond novel).

Something else I meant to throw in my review was the question of whether the character named Colombo in a flashback was the father of Enrico Colombo from Risico? I don't know if that was intentional. Colombo is a very big Italian name so it could be merely by coincidence.

I got the Lippe reference though.

My initial reaction was the Riscio connection as well but when he died, I wasn't so sure.

Apparently, I missed the Lippe reference. Could someone enlighten me?

[Byron]

Apparently, I missed the Lippe reference. Could someone enlighten me?
[/quote]

One of the international crime bosses in Ugo's hideout was Lippe. Presumably Lippe's father. Although if i recall Lippe in TB was Portuguese-Chinese from Macao.

[Double-Oh Agent]

[quote name='Byron' date='18 July 2006 - 05:02' post='575176']
Apparently, I missed the Lippe reference. Could someone enlighten me?
[/quote]

One of the international crime bosses in Ugo's hideout was Lippe. Presumably Lippe's father. Although if i recall Lippe in TB was Portuguese-Chinese from Macao.
[/quote]

I'm afraid I can't find the name Lippe at all. The closest I can see is Count Armando from Lisbon on page 212 in the American edition. Can you give me a page number of the reference? Thanks.

[Byron]

[quote name='Double-Oh Agent' date='21 July 2006 - 08:49' post='576142']
[quote name='Byron' date='18 July 2006 - 05:02' post='575176']
Apparently, I missed the Lippe reference. Could someone enlighten me?
[/quote]

One of the international crime bosses in Ugo's hideout was Lippe. Presumably Lippe's father. Although if i recall Lippe in TB was Portuguese-Chinese from Macao.
[/quote]

I'm afraid I can't find the name Lippe at all. The closest I can see is Count Armando from Lisbon on page 212 in the American edition. Can you give me a page number of the reference? Thanks.
[/quote]

Hello,
From page 232 Ugo says "Armando Lippe from Lisbon" together with the names of all these other crime bosses. Page 232 is the second last page of chapter 17 Blood Brothers.

Have you read up to this point?

B

[Double-Oh Agent]

[quote name='Byron' date='21 July 2006 - 21:34' post='576374']
[quote name='Double-Oh Agent' date='21 July 2006 - 08:49' post='576142']
[quote name='Byron' date='18 July 2006 - 05:02' post='575176']
Apparently, I missed the Lippe reference. Could someone enlighten me?
[/quote]

One of the international crime bosses in Ugo's hideout was Lippe. Presumably Lippe's father. Although if i recall Lippe in TB was Portuguese-Chinese from Macao.
[/quote]

I'm afraid I can't find the name Lippe at all. The closest I can see is Count Armando from Lisbon on page 212 in the American edition. Can you give me a page number of the reference? Thanks.
[/quote]

Hello,
From page 232 Ugo says "Armando Lippe from Lisbon" together with the names of all these other crime bosses. Page 232 is the second last page of chapter 17 Blood Brothers.

Have you read up to this point?

B
[/quote]

Yes, I've read the entire book. I'm beginning to think that the American version, for whatever reason, does not have that name.

By the way, page 232 in the American version has Bond talking to Haight as they walk through Carnifex's place.

Meanwhile, the page I thought it might have been found (the next to last page of Chapter 17, as you said Byron) was indeed number 212 in the U.S. In the American version, in the fifth paragraph of page 212 it says:

"I will admit," said Ugo, returning the gun to his guard, "that you have been helpful to me over the years, Zoltan. But you are not the only one. All these men have been helpful to me. The Pasulo Brothers from Sicily, Count Armando from Lisbon, Herr Groman and Doctor Morell from Germany, Henri Boucher from France...I look around the table here and I see familiar faces from Spain, from Turkey, from Armenia, from Greece. What language should I speak, Zoltan?"

That paragraph never mentions the name Lippe, which is odd. Why would the U.S. version not include a man's last name, particularly when it is an inside joke for Bond fans? It must be an error of omission. Not to mention a bit of a disappointment for U.S. Bond fans. Had you guys not mentioned it, I never would have known that Count Armando is supposed to be Count Lippe's father.

[Byron]

[quote name='Double-Oh Agent' date='22 July 2006 - 05:55' post='576399']
[quote name='Byron' date='21 July 2006 - 21:34' post='576374']
[quote name='Double-Oh Agent' date='21 July 2006 - 08:49' post='576142']
[quote name='Byron' date='18 July 2006 - 05:02' post='575176']
Apparently, I missed the Lippe reference. Could someone enlighten me?
[/quote]

One of the international crime bosses in Ugo's hideout was Lippe. Presumably Lippe's father. Although if i recall Lippe in TB was Portuguese-Chinese from Macao.
[/quote]

I'm afraid I can't find the name Lippe at all. The closest I can see is Count Armando from Lisbon on page 212 in the American edition. Can you give me a page number of the reference? Thanks.
[/quote]

Hello,
From page 232 Ugo says "Armando Lippe from Lisbon" together with the names of all these other crime bosses. Page 232 is the second last page of chapter 17 Blood Brothers.

Have you read up to this point?

B
[/quote]

Yes, I've read the entire book. I'm beginning to think that the American version, for whatever reason, does not have that name.

By the way, page 232 in the American version has Bond talking to Haight as they walk through Carnifex's place.

Meanwhile, the page I thought it might have been found (the next to last page of Chapter 17, as you said Byron) was indeed number 212 in the U.S. In the American version, in the fifth paragraph of page 212 it says:

"I will admit," said Ugo, returning the gun to his guard, "that you have been helpful to me over the years, Zoltan. But you are not the only one. All these men have been helpful to me. The Pasulo Brothers from Sicily, Count Armando from Lisbon, Herr Groman and Doctor Morell from Germany, Henri Boucher from France...I look around the table here and I see familiar faces from Spain, from Turkey, from Armenia, from Greece. What language should I speak, Zoltan?"

That paragraph never mentions the name Lippe, which is odd. Why would the U.S. version not include a man's last name, particularly when it is an inside joke for Bond fans? It must be an error of omission. Not to mention a bit of a disappointment for U.S. Bond fans. Had you guys not mentioned it, I never would have known that Count Armando is supposed to be Count Lippe's father.
[/quote]


That is indeed very strange. Out of all the names only this one is missing.
Maybe Zencat knows why.