Silverfin: A James Bond Adventure (The Literacy Bridge - Large Print) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Charlie Higson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Book 1 in the Young Bond(tm) series

What does it take to become the greatest secret agent the world has ever known? In this thrilling prequel to the adventures of James Bond, 007, readers meet a young boy whose inquisitive mind and determination set him on a path that will someday take him across the globe, in pursuit of the most dangerous criminals of all time.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9–The first of a projected series sanctioned by the Ian Fleming estate finds young James at Eton. It's the 1930's and memories of World War I intrude often as James finds a place among friends but attracts the unwanted attention of an older American boy and his very rich father, a Scots lord. Lord Hellebore and his son are bullies with over-the-top ambition for success at all costs. When the term ends, James heads north to his Uncle Max's cottage in Scotland where his Aunt, who has raised him since his parents' death in a climbing accident, has gone to care for her dying brother. The discovery that the frightening Lord Hellbore is the local laird comes just as James meets a cockney boy named Red Kelly who has stowed away on the train, off to help locate his young cousin, Alfie, who has gone missing near the laird's estate at Loch Silver Fin. James and Red team up to solve the mystery of Alfie's disappearance. James's leadership skills are apparent as he recruits a local girl and even young George Hellebore in his quest to undo the vile experiments occurring at the laird's castle. Charlie Higson's novel (Miramax Books, 2005) is skillfully and dramatically read by Nathaniel Parker, who gives every character a distinct voice. Fans of James Bond movies as well as Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider books will be eager to listen to this fine spy thriller.–Jane P. Fenn, Corning-Painted Post West High
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. The name's the same--Bond, James Bond. But the face is different. And no wonder: the late Ian Fleming's fabled superspy is only 14 years old in this newly launched, lavishly promoted, high-concept series. Higson struggles heroically to incorporate all Fleming's trademark ingredients. There's a ravishing heroine (who rides a horse named Martini); a larger-than-life villain (a wealthy American with large, flashing white teeth who is "mad, I tell you, mad"); and lots of melodramatic nonsense about eels and eugenics. The problem is that young Bond is a bit of a cipher, and the story takes forever to get going. Then once things heat up, they go on too long and, worse, too predictably. Part of the problem is endemic to all new series: the need to establish characters, background, etc. But one hopes that Higson will give more attention, in future volumes, to fresher plotting and fleshing out the character of his hero. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 514 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (November 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786279109
• ISBN-13: 978-0786279104
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,104,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlie Higson is an acclaimed comedy writer, producer, actor, and genuine James Bond aficionado. He is the author of the adult thrillers, Full Whack and King of the Ants; the internationally best-selling Young Bond series: SilverFin, Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold, and By Royal Command; and the YA apocalyptic thriller: The Enemy, which he wrote to frighten his ten-year-old son. He lives in London. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/monstroso

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SilverFin Will Hook You! (Contains Spoilers), April 25, 2005

By 

Christopher Wright (Cleveland, Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Young Bond: Silverfin - Book #1: A James Bond Adventure (Hardcover)

SilverFin by Charlie Higson puts the pleasure in pleasure reading. It is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. I stayed up very late on many school nights reading it because I couldn't put it down. It is a very addictive book. I've read six James Bond novels by Ian Fleming in my time and I enjoyed reading SilverFin more than some of them. Mr. Higson is a fantastic author because he writes with great detail, his writing style makes the story very easy to comprehend, and it is evident that he did much research. SilverFin started off the Young Bond™ series very nicely with a perfect introduction to James Bond's formative years.

I liked how Higson made James weak in the beginning and made him grow tougher as the story progressed. James was vulnerable and scared of bullies in the beginning but that all changed at the end of the story. I am eager to see more evolution in young James as the series continues. I am a little disappointed that James wiped off the kiss he received from Wilder Lawless because at thirteen years old a boy should not believe in "cooties" anymore. When I was thirteen years old I was kissing girls but maybe it was different in the 1930s but I doubt that. I would have expected James Bond to enjoy that kiss even at thirteen. Isn't this the same James Bond that lost his virginity at sixteen, only three years later, to a prostitute in Paris? I was also a little disappointed by James' group of friends at Eton. To me they came off as the school "rejects" but I guess that Higson wanted to show us that James is an outsider, which makes sense. James' friend, Red Kelly, is a good character. He is important to the plot and also a source of comic relief, which got annoying at some parts.

I enjoyed learning about James Bond's family. The part about his parents is very touching. Higson keeps the reader hooked by hinting about his parents throughout the beginning. Later on the story of their death is revealed in an appropriate way. Aunt Charmian and Uncle Max are great characters and they obviously had influences on James that carried on into adulthood, which is evident in the Fleming novels. For example, James learned about spying and fast cars from his Uncle Max. I like how May was Uncle Max's housekeeper. If you've read the Fleming novels you would know that she becomes James' housekeeper. I am disappointed that Uncle Max passed away because he was such a lovable character but it was obvious that he would die at some point since his health was pretty bad.

The villain in SilverFin is a very good villain. He is a very sick and cruel man, which is surprising since this book is aimed at pre-teens. His plan of creating a genetically altered race of men and beasts is very interesting especially because this story takes place in the era of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. His son, George Hellebore, was a good enemy until his predictable change of heart. He turned on his father therefore becoming a good ally for Bond later on when together they destroyed Lord Hellebore's castle in Scotland where he conducted his evil experiments.

SilverFin is as perfect as can be but I am concerned about how it will be accepted by the parents of its target audience. The book has a lot of violence, death, and a little gore and I certainly understand why it was toned down in the United States. That stuff doesn't really bother me but it may bother some strict parents. The only violent part I didn't really like was the abuse and murder of some piglets by Cleek MacSawney, Lord Hellebore's right hand man.

I recommend SilverFin to readers of all ages and it is a must read for fans of James Bond. This book makes reading fun and I should know because reading has never been my favorite thing to do. If you decide to read SilverFin, don't read it too fast because Book 2 is coming out in January 2006. Waiting for it will be as painful as being mauled by Lord Hellebore's killer, genetically altered eels from Loch Silverfin. Well, maybe not that painful but still pretty painful!

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A View From A Bond Fan, April 16, 2005

By 

John Cox (Studio City, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Young Bond: Silverfin - Book #1: A James Bond Adventure (Hardcover)

Critics complained that John Gardner and Raymond Benson could never step free of the shadow of Ian Fleming in their 007 "continuation novels." The good news is Charlie Higson has finally stepped clear of that shadow...the bad news is he's landed squarely in the shadow of J.K. Rowling. Parts of SilverFin read a bit too much like a Harry Potter clone, and while this may please the pre-teen target audience, it may make Young Bond Book #1 a tough read for the more seasoned James Bond fan. (But make sure you read this review to the end -- it get's better.)

After a thrilling opening prologue that would not be out of place in a legitimate...err, I mean, adult James Bond novel, we meet young Bond as he arrives at Eton in the 1930s (kudos to Higson and the copyright holders for making these books period). Like Potter, James is an orphan sent to a school filled with eccentric headmasters, odd slang, and old rituals. Like Potter, he is polite and self-effacing. For much of the novel he is really an observer of more talkative and flamboyant characters. In what is certainly a low point of young Bond's masculine development, Wilder Lawless, the spunky "girl" of the story, wrestles him to the ground and shoves leaves into his mouth. This is clearly NOT Fleming's Bond. It's not even Roger Moore's Bond. But know this is also by design...

It's no spoiler to say Young Bond #1 is a story of transformation and that, by the end of the novel, the timid boy has found his 007 steel and menace via his harrowing experience on Loch Silverfin. If nothing else, this book HAD to be that. And when Bond finally shakes off his yammering Potteresque companions, the action of the final third of the book is downright thrilling! Age becomes less of a factor when Bond is facing off with a madman or battling for his life in the waters beneath a Scottish Castle. It's here Higson begins to channel Fleming at his best and shows us the true potential of a Young Bond series. For this old Bond fan, the final third was a last minute save; a rousing return to Bondian basics with a dash of sci-fi horror thrown in. I would still rather be reading the adventures of an adult 007, but like young Bond himself, I found myself transformed in the end by SilverFin.

So for those die-hard Bond fans predisposed to not liking the Young Bond series, know that SilverFin will probably not change your mind, and I recommend seeking out a secondhand copy of John Pearson's superb James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007, which offers up a far more interesting -- or at least more adult -- version of young Bond's upbringing. But for those more pliable fans, like myself, who have enjoyed the various "continuation novels" and are willing to gamble on this Young Bond series, SilverFin will satisfy (and maybe even surprise). It's a good start. I just hope Higson will shake off the Harry Potter contrivances and edge back toward that shadow of Ian Fleming in Book #2.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining insight into a young James Bond, April 11, 2005

By 

Darren Harrison "DVD collector and reviewer" (Washington D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Young Bond: Silverfin - Book #1: A James Bond Adventure (Hardcover)

When the idea of a teenage James Bond was first raised (in an effort to capitalize on the Harry Potter success), the notion was met with a mixture of abject horror from some Bond fans and insatiable curiosity from others.
I fell squarely in the latter and so it was a no-brainer that I was going to order a copy of the UK paperback version that was released a whole two months earlier than the novels arrival in the US. I'm glad I did.
Taking his inspiration from the brief slivers into James Bonds formative years that Fleming alluded to in his original novels, and injecting some very sly references that offer a foreshadowing of his furure exploits, British author Charlie Higson gives us an entertaining and fast moving "boys own" adventure. The book, one of the longest of all the Bond books at well over 350 pages, bears more than a passing similarity to the kids adventure novels that Enid Blyton was writing over a half century ago.
The young Bond novels start with James arriving at Eton in the 1930s and, after a particularly horrifying prelude, for the first 100 pages we are treated to a selection of shooting, swimming and cross-country competitions. All that give early promise of Higsons ability to build up tension and keep us turning those pages one after the other. The first part of the novel also gives us an early glimpse at the main villain of the piece - a rich American arms dealer, some Scottish Laird - Lord Randolph Hellbore and his spoilt brute of a son George.
Following a fortuitous meeting with a young Irish street kid named Ned Kelly on the train up to London the second part of the novel deals with James arrival in Scotland, the introduction of the first "Bond girl" and James' aunt Charmian and Uncle Max. Then the third part of the novel details goings on at the villains castle lair on Loch Silverfin.
For the first time in a Bond novel our hero is referred to in the first-person and this book is a must-have for all self-respecting James Bond fans. One of the chapters of particular interest to Bond fans is the fleshing out of Bond's learning the news of parents death in a climbing accident. This is a well known piece of biographical data first revealed by Fleming (almost in passing) but here we get a whole chapter devoted to the flashback).
One thing that I really appreciate is that there is NO young Q or young M in this initial outing, Many feared after the inane James Bond Jr. that Higson would fall into this trap but he thankfully avoids it.
Higson proves to be an inspired choice to write the Young Bond series and its interesting that both he, and previous continuation novelist John Gardner, both chose a Scottish Laird for their main villain. Higson's book is a definite success and a true page-turner that has won plaudits from everyone from seasoned critics to skeptical Bond fans.