Young Bond Has A Title - BY ROYAL COMMAND
scottbuster2000
Posts: 28MI6 Agent
Today Puffin and Ian Fleming Publications announce that the next book in Charlie Higson’s bestselling Young Bond series will be entitled:'BY ROYAL COMMAND'
I think it is the most Flemingesque of the of Charlie's 5 books. It reminds me of OHMSS. What do you think?
M - "There's only a Quantum of Solace in any act of Revenge. You may find in the end Bond, that the consolation you receive does not live up to the pain."
BOND - "Yes but the pain is mine...and so shall be the solace."
I think it is the most Flemingesque of the of Charlie's 5 books. It reminds me of OHMSS. What do you think?
M - "There's only a Quantum of Solace in any act of Revenge. You may find in the end Bond, that the consolation you receive does not live up to the pain."
BOND - "Yes but the pain is mine...and so shall be the solace."
Comments
Is there a plot to it yet?
There's a little bit of a plot tease here:
http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/3/6_Young_Bond_5_is_BY_ROYAL_COMMAND.html
And no shortage of plot elements revealed in the links on this page:
http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Book_5.html
Here Is My Article On It For Bondaholic.com
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
I feel that the news needs to be re-thought, if the news was updated more then I would have no need to go to mi6 or CBn.
Ill send it in by email.
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/articles/by-royal-command/
And here's another treat for us Young Bondites. A new Q&A with Charlie Higson about By Royal Command. Some great stuff here:
http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/3/11_Charlie_talks_By_Royal_Command.html
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I like.
http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/4/12_James_Bond._For_King_and_country..html
By Royal Command release date now 3rd Sept
http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/7/31_By_Royal_Command_release_date_now_Sept_3.html
By Royal Command cover will be kept Top Secret
http://www.youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/7/31_By_Royal_Command_cover_will_be_kept_Top_Secret.html
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- Click here to read my review
It's a terrific book. As good as any adult Bond novel. Better, in fact.
My own review (choice of spoiler or non-spoiler):
http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/9/5_Review_Young_Bond_loses_his_innocence.html
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, but still manages to keep interest with its solid plotting.
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
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.
http://youngbonddossier.com/Young_Bond/Danger_Society_News/Entries/2008/11/1_By_Royal_Command_paperback_cover_art.html
That is a nice cover..such a shame not all the books are treated with the same love an care !
Per my post last Sept., I successfully fulfilled my vacation reading itinerary by beginning BRC on the plane, reading the bulk of it during a weekend at the beach, then finishing off the book on the plane ride back home. Spoiler warning, though I'll try to be vague.
I loved the novel very much, though it had some weak patches. Similar to John Pearson's treatment in the Official Biography of 007, in which Bond realized how much clarity he experienced in the midst of high adrenalin activities (in that example, while skiing straight down on a dangerously steep run in Kitzbuhel for the first time), I relished how Bond in his immediate perspective seemed to step out of his body with cold, calculating and clinical objectivity during times of great pain or when committing violence.
For the weak points, the large portion immediately after the Eton segment seemed slow, then the climax that included the big reveal was a bit of a letdown of fantastic elements in contrast with the gripping, more "realistic" episodes right up to the Eton segment. What I found unrealistic were the science fiction element of Silverfin that repeats itself here, literally, replete with sinister castle and mad scientist's laboratory. Then there's the unresolved fate of a recurring enemy, who may return again due a habitual precaution explained earlier, but this is supposed to be the end of the series...unless this particular plotline is extended in the new Young Bond story to be included in "Danger Society."
Lastly, I realize that BRC is supposed to be the defining period in which the adult Bond we all know begins to surface. I think it's a credit to Higson's writing throughout the novels that when reading about Bond's thought process in this or that circumstance, you can see the formative traces of the Bond character so that you can say, "yes, I can see the seasoned Bond thinking this way had he been 15-years old." However, the change in character from Young Bond to Adult Bond seemed abrupt in the latter 1/3rd of the book.
Apart from those flaws, as I said I really loved the book, but it would not place in my top 3 (out of 5) in the series.