SilverFin
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Puffin Books 2005 British paperback edition. | |
Author | Charlie Higson |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Series | James Bond / Young Bond |
Genre(s) | Spy novel |
Publisher | Puffin Books |
Released | 3 March 2005 |
Media Type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
Pages | 384 pp (first edition, paperback) |
ISBN | ISBN 0-14-131859-7 (first edition, paperback) |
Preceded by | Die Another Day |
Followed by | Blood Fever |
SilverFin is the first novel in the Young Bond series that depicts Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. It was written by Charlie Higson and released in the UK on March 3, 2005 by Puffin Books in conjunction with a large marketing campaign; a Canadian release of the same edition occurred in late March. The U.S. edition was released on April 27, 2005 by Miramax Books, however this edition was edited.
SilverFin's success spawned a mobile game published by PlayerOne on January 5, 2006 in conjunction with the release of the second novel in the Young Bond series, Blood Fever. The game features 3 locations, 15 levels, and a variety of enemies that the player must avoid. A graphic novel adaptation of SilverFin is still in the works and set for a release in 2008.
Because Ian Fleming never explicitly said when James Bond was born, Ian Fleming Publications and Charlie Higson chose the year 1920 as his birth year. SilverFin takes place in 1933.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
SilverFin is broken up into three parts in addition to a prologue. During the prologue an un-named boy attempts to catch a legendary fish at Loch Silverfin, a loch in Scotland. This part is left on a cliff-hanger - the boy is about to perhaps be rescued - but by what or whom?
The first part of the book chronicles Bond's starting attendance at Eton College. There he meets Pritpal, a boy from India and the son of a maharajah. The two become good friends and live together in the dorms. Bond also comes into contact with George Hellebore, an American bully two years older than James. George's father, Lord Randolph Hellebore is an armament dealer who sold weapons to various countries after World War I. It's later revealed that Lord Hellebore knew Bond's father, Andrew Bond, who also sold arms for a company named Vickers post-World War I. Lord Hellebore arrives at Eton to direct and host a tournament cup ("Hellebore Cup") for the boys. The cup is broken up into three competitions; shooting, swimming, and running. Bond places seventh in shooting, third in his heat in swimming (which wasn't good enough to qualify for the final race), and first in cross country running. During the running sequence Lord Hellebore attempted to help his son cheat so that he could win the tournament, however, Bond after watching George take a shortcut a first time decided to follow George the next time, which allowed Bond to take first place being the superior runner. Because Bond won first in running George Hellebore won second place in the cup overall, which was unacceptable by his father's standards.
The second part of the novel details Bond's Easter break. James travels to Scotland to meet with his Aunt Charmian who is visiting Bond's ailing uncle, Max. Both Charmian and Max are siblings of Bond's father, Andrew. It's also in this part of the novel that Bond reveals the details of his parents death that were first mentioned in Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice. While travelling to Scotland, Bond befriends an older boy named "Red" Kelly who is travelling to the same place in search for his missing cousin, Alfie - who disappeared whilst out fishing (thus tying in with the prologue). James also meets a girl that just absolutly loved her horse, her name was Wilder.While staying at his Uncle's place Bond learns how to drive his Uncle's car and finds out that his Uncle was a spy during World War I. Bond also learns that Lord Randolph Hellebore owns a large stretch of land nearby that includes Loch Silverfin. He later meets back up with Red and ventures to Hellebore's estate where the two encounter Mike Moran ("the meatpacker"), a Pinkerton's detective from New York City sent to investigate Lord Randolph Hellebore at the behest of Hellebore's ex-wife who suspects Lord Randolph of having killed his brother, her lover, Algar. Days later the meatpacker goes missing and Bond along with Red infiltrate the Hellebore estate and finally attempt to gain access to the castle.
Prior to infiltrating the castle, Red fell out of a tree and broke his leg and was unable to continue on. James, however, climbed the tree and entered the castle. After snooping around Bond bumps his head and is captured. When Bond regains consciousness he is tied to a table and Lord Hellebore begins to interrogate him. Hellebore explains to James that he and his brother set out to create better and stronger soldiers by manipulating the endocrine system. Because its difficult to find humans to test on, Algar tested the first "SilverFin serum" on himself. Initially it worked, however, it later failed and Algar was physically transformed into a half-man half-eel. Lord Hellebore later perfected the serum and was able to turn it into a pill. The pill essentially acts a steroid making anyone who uses it more agile, stronger, etc. for a temporary set of time. Hellebore even tests this pill on his own son (James had actually witnessed this during the cross-country race). Lord Hellebore reveals that he tested the SilverFin serum on Alfie Kelly, the boy whom Bond is searching for, however, Kelly couldn't handle it and died. Later Bond is drugged as well with the SilverFin serum and locked in a cell. Bond, however, escapes the cell and the estate only to return shortly later with George Hellbore as an ally to destroy Lord Randolph's lab. George has increasingly become upset with his dreadful father, his work, and secretly wishes to be with his mother more than anything. The two destroy the lab and are later confronted by Lord Hellebore who intends to kill them both. He, however, is drowned by his brother, Algar, who Lord Hellebore had imprisoned in the castle. Algar is also killed in the fight.
Bond collapses due to a lung infection and exhaustion shortly after and for ten days goes unconscious. When Bond regains consciousness he learns that George moved back to America to be with his mother and that his Uncle Max had died.
[edit] Trivia
- SilverFin begins with a similar opening to Ian Fleming's Casino Royale.
- Fleming: "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning"
- Higson: "The smell and noise and confusion of a hallway full of schoolboys can be quite awful at twenty past seven in the morning."
- Bond's Aunt Charmian drives an identical Bentley to one Bond drives in Casino Royale and in subsequent books. Bond also inherits his Uncle's 1.5 liter Bamford & Martin Sidevalve Short Chassis Tourer. Bamford & Martin later became Aston Martin.
- During a scene at a circus the announcer presents "The Mighty Donovan". "The Mighty O'Donovan" is Donovan "Red" Grant's father, referenced in From Russia with Love .
- When released in Germany in August 2005, SilverFin was retitled "Silent Waters Are Deadly".
- A special signed limited edition hardcover was released exclusively at Waterstone's Bookstores in the UK on October 6, 2005.
- The U.S. edition of the book was edited to remove descriptions that were considered too racy for young readers. One such example includes a description of Wilder Lawless' legs during a tussle between herself and Bond.
- Higson's original working title was "Out of Breath," but it was felt this sounded too much like an Elmore Leonard novel. Several permutations on "Silver" were tried including: "SilverBack", "SilverSkin", "SilverHead", and "SilverFist", before settling on "SilverFin".
- Hellebores are poisonous plants in buttercup form, similar to Lord Hellebore's Aryan (blonde) looks resembling something beautiful yet deadly.
[edit] Publication history
- March 3, 2005, Puffin Books, paperback, first British edition
- March 3, 2005, Puffin Books, audiobook, first British edition
- Narrated by Charlie Higson.
- April 27, 2005, Miramax Books, hardcover, first American edition
- October 6, 2005, Puffin Books, hardcover, first British edition
- Limited edition. 1000 copies numbered and signed by Charlie Higson.
- April 1, 2006, Miramax Books, paperback, first American edition
- April 11, 2006, Listening Library, audiobook, first American edition
- Narrated by Nathaniel Parker.
[edit] References
- CommanderBond.net coverage of SilverFin. 2005 - SilverFin. Retrieved on April 27, 2005.
- Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang review. Review: 'SilverFin' Debuts Young Bond. Retrieved on April 27, 2005.
- MI6.co.uk coverage and review. Young Bond: SilverFin (2005). Retrieved on April 27, 2005.
- ↑ Cameos in SilverFin. Young Bond Cameos... Did you notice?. Retrieved on May 13, 2006.
- ↑ Unused title information for SilverFin. The Charlie Higson CBn Interview. Retrieved on May 14, 2006.
- SilverFin Graphic Novel. SilverFin Graphic Novel in Summer 2008. Retrieved on June 8, 2006.
[edit] See also
- Young Bond
- Alex Rider, a series of books by Anthony Horowitz about a fourteen year old boy working for MI6. Often referred as a 'youthful James Bond.'
[edit] External links
Ian Fleming
Casino Royale (1953) • Live and Let Die (1954) • Moonraker (1955) • Diamonds Are Forever (1956) • From Russia with Love (1957) • Dr. No (1958) • Goldfinger (1959) • For Your Eyes Only (1960) • Thunderball (1961) • The Spy Who Loved Me (1962) • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963) • You Only Live Twice (1964) • The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) • Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966)
Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham)
Colonel Sun (1968)
John Pearson
James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973)
Christopher Wood (novelisations)
James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) • James Bond and Moonraker (1979)
John Gardner
Licence Renewed (1981) • For Special Services (1982) • Icebreaker (1983) • Role of Honour (1984) • Nobody Lives For Ever (1986) • No Deals, Mr. Bond (1987) • Scorpius (1988) • Win, Lose or Die (1989) • Licence to Kill (1989) • Brokenclaw (1990) • The Man from Barbarossa (1991) • Death is Forever (1992) • Never Send Flowers (1993) • SeaFire (1994) • GoldenEye (1995) • COLD (a.k.a. Cold Fall) (1996)
Raymond Benson
"Blast From the Past" (1997) • Zero Minus Ten (1997) • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) • The Facts of Death (1998) • "Midsummer Night's Doom" (1999) • High Time to Kill (1999) • The World is Not Enough (1999) • "Live at Five" (1999) • Doubleshot (2000) • Never Dream of Dying (2001) • The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002) • Die Another Day (2002)
Charlie Higson (Young Bond series)
SilverFin (2005) • Blood Fever (2006) • Young Bond Book 3 (2007) • Young Bond Book 4 (2008) • Young Bond Book 5 (2009)
Samantha Weinberg (writing as Kate Westbrook) (The Moneypenny Diaries series)
The Moneypenny Diaries: Guardian Angel (2005) • "For Your Eyes Only, James" (2006) • Secret Servant: The Moneypenny Diaries (2006) • "Moneypenny's First Date With Bond" (2006) • The Moneypenny Diaries Book 3 (TBA) (2007)
R.D. Mascott
003½: The Adventures of James Bond Junior (1967)
Unofficial/Unpublished
Per Fine Ounce (1966) • The Killing Zone (1985) • "The Heart of Erzulie" (2001-02)
Related works
The James Bond Dossier (1965) The Book of Bond (1965) The James Bond Bedside Companion (1984)