SilverFin

July 24, 2006
The name is Bond. James Bond. Everybody knows dashing agent 007, star of Ian Fleming's novels and the hit films. But what was James Bond like at age 14? Higson and Parker fill in some of the blanks with this vibrant recording. Listeners meet James as he's learning the ropes at the posh Eton boarding school in 1930s England. A school holiday sends him to Scotland where he spends time with his aunt and his dying uncle Max, who happens to be a former spy and who offers to teach James how to drive his classic Aston Martin. But R&R is quickly forgotten and mystery and intrigue are on the menu when James finds himself investigating the disappearance of a local boy, and a mad scientist's attempts to gain global domination via genetic experiments that include killer eels. And there's a blonde Bond beauty, too—Wilder Lawless, who rides a horse called Martini. British actor Parker's crisp delivery and quick pacing will hold readers rapt, guiding them over a few overly long and somewhat predictable passages. Ages 10-up.

December 7, 2009
Higson's first novel depicting the life of the young James Bond gets a graphic adaptation. The story opens with Bond's arrival as a teenager at Eton in the early 1930s, where, far from his suave later self, he is an outsider who soon makes enemies with a rich brute from America. The first half of the tale examines the forces that shape Bond, including the loss of his parents and his discovery of his beloved uncle's mysterious role in WWI. The second half plunges into an adventure tale as Bond attempts to determine what dire deeds are taking place behind the walls of a Scottish castle near his aunt and uncle's home, placing himself in grave danger in the process. The shift is slightly jarring, although the final few pages foreshadowing Bond's adult profession help tie the two parts together. Walker's brooding illustrations capture Britain's damp climate and the country's lugubrious culture between the wars; a reader might almost feel a chill as the young Bond hides in the Scottish moors. Ages 10–up.