Customer Reviews

Double or Die (Young Bond 3)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Charlie Higson's Double or Die is the pivot on which the Young Bond series turns. Double or Die both pulls from past books and points to the future. Where SilverFin infused Bond with his fearless instinct and Blood Fever developed his brawn, Double or Die works his mind (and ours).

Thematically, Double or Die is an adventure of the mind. Bond and his band of friends must decrypt puzzles and clues contained within a mysterious cipher sent by a kidnapped professor. Higson plays the motif throughout as references to skulls and the brain abound. Where Blood Fever was bright and expansive, Double or Die is dark and contained. While this may make it a lesser Bondian adventure for some, the smaller scale allows Higson to work in greater texture and detail, making Double or Die the most vivid and visual of all the Young Bond novels to date. It's also the Young Bond novel that showcases its 1930s setting the best as Higson peppers the book with delightful period slang and long forgotten brand names.

The body count in Double or Die is lower than Blood Fever, but Higson doesn't skimp on the gore, especially during the terrific climax on the London Docklands and inside an abandon pneumatic railway (wonderful Bondian locations both). The fact that the henchmen comes away from each encounter with Young Bond missing another body part is grisly good fun. Higson adds a surprising postscript to this book that is unlike anything that has yet appeared in a Young Bond novel. I will leave it to the reader to discover it, and decide whether it belongs in the Young Bond universe.

Absence of a Bond Girl (or any female for that matter) is missed during the first two thirds of the book, but the arrival of the perfectly named Kelly Kelly and her "Monstrous Regiment" (a sort of cockney street urchin version of Pussy Galore's Flying Circus) is a highlight of the final third. Higson again toys with romance, but one gets a sense he's nervous about scaring off his youngest male readers. At the risk of getting a schoolyard beating, I admit that I'm looking forward to the "love story" Higson promises will feature in his fifth Young Bond novel, By Royal Command (due for release in the UK in September).

The measure of any James Bond continuation novel, and novelist, is how they compare with Fleming. Charlie Higson matched Fleming with the excellent Blood Fever. Now, with the complex and thrilling Double or Die, Higson appears to be steering the Young Bond series toward even higher literary achievement.

I won't go into plot details as this has excellently been done by John Cox in the first review for this book. Actaully I agree with all of his comments and wish I had gotten mine in first. As a Bond collector and fan, since the late fifties, of all things relating to 007 I can be very picky. I cannot be in the case of Charlie Higson and his third venture into the young Bond. Each one gets better and in each you see the beginnings of various things that the older and more mature James Bond will have as part of his personna. And thank you Mr. Cox for indicating that there will be at least two more in the series. Actually, going year by year until Fleming's first book there could be another fifteen or more.

I'd rather dwell on why I consider the writing of these books so superior. While I loved John Gardner, who actually wrote more Bond books than Fleming, there was still a special flavor missing. Gardner is a brilliant writer and his other fiction, whether spy or mystery, was and remains superior to his Bond work and anything put out by Ian Fleming himself. Others have tried to write Bond novels and have really missed the mark when it came to that flavor thing as I call it.

What made James Bond stand out in the books, in my own mind, was a special touch. Something that only Ian Fleming seemed to be able to do and even the best of the Bond films could never perfectly capture. Yes, I have my favorites among the films, but that is not what this is about. The Fleming books are books I could read over and over and still find something new. Not great fiction, but still unique in its own way.

Magically Charlie Higson has found that flavor and I have no doubt that were Ian Fleming alive he would greatly approve of Higson's handling of the young James Bond. Higson has obviously taken great care in studying Fleming's Bond and has turned the hints about 007's past into a stories that explain all about Bond as a man. As I said above, I eagerly await the next one like I used to await the Fleming books.

Hey Amazon. Mr. Cox mentioned a 5th book! How come you aren't advertising the 4th one? Mr. Cox apparently has his finger on the pulse of what Charlie Higson is doing. PLEASE share with us Mr. Cox or Amazon.

This book was a great addition to the young bond series. It, like the previous books, kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time...in fact I read it in 2 days because it was so captivating. You should really read the first two in the series to get the most out of this book, however it could easily stand alone as most everything from previous books is explained to either jog your memory or inform you of what occurred in the previous novels. The story was very well written but at times seemed a bit predictable. I look forward to reading the next two books in this series!

my son picked this book out. he likes the series and started reading it in school, but they didn't have this one so i bought it here. he hasn't had much time to read it all, but he likes it very much so far.

This, the 3rd book in the Young Bond series by Charlie Higson, is, in my opinion, one of the best. The many similarities between Ian Fleming's Bond in his terrific novels and Young James in D-or-D (which may or may not be cryptic) kept me turning pages. To name a few, without spoiling the book for anyone: Young James plays cards against someone named Gordius, in this case Hearts and not Baccarat, just like the tense, schoolboy, semi-high stakes card game he played against le Chiffre in CASINO ROYALE, Jamese tries to find a calculating machine code named N.E.M.E.S.I.S., though it isn't in any way the same as the KGB's assassination department called S.P.E.C.T.R.E., except for the period between each letter, but is designed to be used for nefarious ends like the "Lektor" in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, and Young Jimmy's favorite dish cooked up by East End tough and friend Red Kelly (scrambled eggs and black coffee) , and there's a character who could be deadly Rosa Klebb's grandmother named Babushka, and how James buys his first and favorite car, a Bentley, and...well, there many other similarities that you'll have to find for yourself when you read this action packed adventure.

I highly recommend DOUBLE OR DIE and wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

I don't think I liked this book as well as my husband, who read it in one day - but we both agree that Mr. Higson comes the closest to the spirit of Ian Fleming. I especially liked the puzzles and the villians in this book - I am looking forward to reading the next installation.

I bought this book for my daughter. I read it before I bought it for her. It was a great book and I enjoyed it as an adult.

Introductions came with SilverFin. Development and maturity followed in Blood Fever. In Double Or Die, Charlie Higson's third novel in the increasingly popular Young Bond series, the key word here is expansion. The first two novels proved that this is indeed no ordinary boy. Bond is obviously quite capable in dealing with an assortment of villains and his past battles have been quite noteworthy. With that in mind, a challenge is created for the author. The truly difficult task in creating the third novel in a series is simply not writing the second one over again. Blood Fever was an incredibly easy Bond novel for the reader to enjoy. With locations in both the UK and Sardinia and unquestionably bizarre villains with even more outrageous plans, the second novel Young Bond is larger than life. How does Higson succeed in making Double Or Die just as enjoyable; and even more importantly, different? Going in the exact opposite direction.

Charlie Higson expands the Young Bond series by restraining Double Or Die from the exotic and glamorous style that characterized Blood Fever. With the entire storyline taking place over the course of only a few days, this third novel gives off the impression of being a much more reserved (and dark) mystery. Thankfully, the pace moves at breakneck speed, making each and every page tense and unputdownable. The solving of the cryptic clues early on in the story is a perfect example. Whether working out the clues in the company of Pritpal and Tommy or trying to figure them out on his own, they are a constant weight on Bond's mind due to the extremely limited amount of time remaining.

Confining the novel to locations only within the UK is another brilliant move by Higson. The absence of the globetrotting aspect in Double Or Die allows him to really focus in on the locations that are featured. The Royal College of Surgeons, King's College in Cambridge, Highgate cemetery and the London Docklands are all described in striking, eerie detail.

Higson creates an interesting parallel between both Bond and the human brain on the very first page of the novel--they both never shut down. Each new hardship pushes him beyond his normal limits and continues him on the path to becoming 007. Upon waking up Saturday morning, he finds the comfort and security of a hospital bed tempting, but realizes he must keep moving forward. This attitude is perfectly summarized in Bond's line to Perry at the Royal College of Surgeons: `I don't think want to be remembered when I die, actually. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and all that. It's living that's important. Doing things. Not getting bored and wasting your life.' This line is then followed by a reference to a very fitting statement Ian Fleming once made.

Double Or Die also has its share of new characters to the series. As the main villain, Sir John Charnage is slightly more ordinary in comparison to those who have come before him (but then this does stay in line with the less outlandish style of the novel). With that said, he is certainly no less formidable as demonstrated during the torture sequence. There is also the possibility that the wrathful Colonel Irina `Babushka' Sedova, who we see during the finale of the novel, may return in the next Young Bond adventure. Kelly Kelly, the Bond girl of the story, is given a strong introduction in the final third of the novel as her Monstrous Regiment stumble across a battered and aching Bond and proceeds to cause him further pain.

With no creepy creatures available this time to terrorize Bond, Higson's use of alcohol as Charnage's poison of choice leads to possibly the most agonizing form of torture subjected on him yet. The sequence is written magnificently with each successive forced swallow of the dangerous substance clearly causing more pain than the last. It certainly rivals Blood Fever's own unique torture sequence involving the relentless attack of mosquitoes.

Especially noticeable in Double Or Die are Higson's sly references to the original James Bond novels. One of Bond's friends at Eton suggests they all learn how to play baccarat early on in the story. A quick mention of a casino in Royale-les-Eaux in France is made during the card game with Gordius. Later on, Bond decides to use the name `John Bryce' as his alias while trying to track down Professor Peterson. Also included is Bond's famous introduction and seven turning out to be a particularly lucky number as he gambles at the Paradice Club.

Charlie Higson clearly proves that he is an accomplished writer by making Double Or Die a riveting thriller that has all the elements of a successful Bond novel--and still making it different from Blood Fever. Favourable comparisons to Ian Fleming's original Bond adventures are never a bad thing and if there is one particular novel that stands out in this case, it is 1955's Moonraker. Both Double Or Die and Moonraker are both strictly limited to locations within the UK and take place over the course of only a few days (with a rapid pace that is beneficial to both novels). As Higson continues Bond on the path to becoming 007, readers can be assured that his upcoming adventures will be truly memorable.

commanderbond.net

I've just started so will update when finished.
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How can he say on 3rd page, page vii, that a bullet fired from a revolver travels 25 feet per second?
It'd fall down to the ground, no? It should be maybe 2500 feet per second or 25 feet per Millisecond?!
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Should not have mistakes like this!

I liked Silverfin, loved Blood Fever, but this book is too good! It is very hard to put down. I have to rub my eyes because this book is too awesome for my bare eyes. It is the best DETECTIVE mystery I have ever read yet, and I can't wait for Hurricane Gold! Luckily, when I finish it, I have the last and most awesome one to read, which I ordered from thee UK. The book is called By Royal Command.
Double or Die has confusing things like the Binary Code, casino games, and details, so complicated vocabulary was not needed in this, and so does Mr. Higson. I love challenges, just so you know.
GET IT, AND DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!