Double or Die

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Double or Die

First edition UK paperback
Author Charlie Higson
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series James Bond / Young Bond
Genre(s) Spy novel
Publisher Puffin Books
Publication date 4 January 2007
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 389 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN ISBN 0141322039 (first edition, paperback)
Preceded by Blood Fever
Followed by Hurricane Gold

Double Or Die is the third novel in the Young Bond series depicting Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. The novel, written by Charlie Higson, was released in the UK by Puffin Books on January 4, 2007, and by Hyperion Books for Children in the United States on April 22, 2008. [1] A special hardcover "Limited Collector's Edition" was released as a Waterstones Bookstore exclusive on October 25, 2007.[2]

The title was announced on January 3, 2007 at the official book launch at Waterstone's in Piccadilly, London. The alternative titles which were available for the public to vote for were "N.E.M.E.S.I.S." and "The Deadlock Cipher". [3][4]

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The story's prologue is set in Highgate Cemetery, where Professor Alexis Fairburn, an Eton beak, is kidnapped by Wolfgang and Ludwig Smith. When he was kidnapped, Fairburn was tracing a tombstone, but leaves the piece of paper he was tracing with. The story itself starts with young James Bond and his friend, Perry Mandeville (leader of the Danger Society) reminiscing their encounter with John Charnage and Irina Sedova aboard the Amoras.

In the summer vacation, James Bond was helping out at the Duck Inn. At the back of it was a Bentley convertible. He sees Merriot, who reminds him to keep the events at Sardinia in the previous summer a secret. In his Eton dormitory, he remembers playing cards with some of his roommates, while Pritpal Nandra does a 'cryptic clues' crossword.

Out of the blue, a letter to Pritpal from Alexis Fairburn comes, regarding Fairburn's resignation from Eton. To Merriot (who reads the letter along with Pritpal and the rest of Pritpal's roommates), the 'mistakes' were just made by Fairburn because of his scatterbrained personality and eccentricity, but Pritpal soon figures out that the mistakes were there for a reason...

Red Kelly from the first Young Bond book Silverfin makes a return appearance in Double or Die. According to Higson bringing Kelly back was always the plan, "Kids like characters to comeback [sic] from one book to another, Kelly and the whole East End thing is a good and easy way to talk about the economics and politics of the time without it looking like a history lesson. So I had always planned on bringing Kelly back."[5]
The book also reveals the origins of Bond's gambling skills.[6] The Bond Girl is named Kelly Kelly, Red's younger sister. She develops affections towards Bond very soon after discovering his identity. She is upset when he doesn't allow her to join him in certain incidents. In one case, she tries to change his mind by kissing him, but he refuses.

A villain in the book wields a weapon called an "Apache," a combination knuckle-duster, knife, and pistol favored by Parisian street thugs at the turn-of-the-century.[7]

[edit] Locations

Some of the London locations featured in Double or Die:

On April 7, 2007 Puffin Books released The Young Bond Rough Guide to London (ISBN 0141323396), a 64-page booklet featuring London locations from Double or Die. The booklet came free inside copies of The Guardian newspaper.[8]

[edit] Trivia

  • Charlie Higson's original working titles for Young Bond Book 3 were "Shoot the Moon," "The Big Smoke," and "Six Days in December." [9].
  • 80,000 copies of the first edition were sent to stores wrapped in a special foil wrapper to preserve the secret of the title.[10].
  • Despite the jacket artwork being kept under official wraps until the book launch event on January 3rd 2007, the skull & cross bones device was touted as a candidate cover back in August 2006.[11]
  • The cover company used by the British Secret Service, "Universal Exports", is mentioned in passing when Bond eyes a warehouse in London. [12]
  • During a card game with James, Sir John Charnage boasts his successes at a casino in the town of Royale-les-Eaux. Royale-les-Eaux is the fictional town where Fleming's Casino Royale takes place. The town is featured again in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where he meets Tracy.
  • The German edition of Double or Die is titled GoldenBoy [13]
  • The U.S. edition's cover will include a scene from the novel where James Bond hides in a graveyard. The atmospheric cover will be in the same style as the U.S. edition of Blood Fever, though darker in tone. Kev Walker will once again provide the artwork. [14]
  • An important location in Double or Die, the Paradise Club, is referred to in Devil May Care, the 2008 Bond novel written by Sebastian Faulks. Bond visits a club in Tehran with the same name, which evokes a "faint memory of an exciting juvenile visit to the gaming tables." [15]

[edit] Publication history

  • January 3, 2007, Puffin Books, paperback, first British edition
    • Limited edition, foil wrapped so as to keep the title of the book secret.
  • January 4, 2007, Puffin Books, paperback, first British edition
  • January 14, 2007, Puffin Books, abridged audiobook, first British edition
    • Narrated by Charlie Higson.
  • April 22, 2008, Hyperion Books for Children, hardcover, first American edition.
  • April 22, 2008, Listening Library, unabridged audiobook, first American edition
    • Narrated by Nathaniel Parker.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Young Bond is BACK in the USA!. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on April 22, 2008.
  2. ^ Double or Die Collector's Edition confirmed. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on August 16, 2007.
  3. ^ Double Or Die title official announcement. MI6.co.uk. Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
  4. ^ Video of Double or Die title announcement. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on January 3, 2007.
  5. ^ Young Bond 3: In Conversation With Charlie Higson (1). Past Character to Return. MI6.co.uk. Retrieved on January 2, 2007.
  6. ^ Origins of Bond’s Gambling Explored in Book 3. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on August 30, 2006.
  7. ^ Gadgets of ‘Book 3’: The Apache Revealed. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on August 19, 2006.
  8. ^ The Young Bond Rough Guide to London. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on March 22, 2007.
  9. ^ Higson reveals Book 3 working titles and details. Working titles. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on May 19, 2006.
  10. ^ Number of foil wrapped DoD firsts revealed. Working titles. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on June 22, 2007.
  11. ^ Possible themes for Young Bond book 3 cover art revealed. MI6 .co.uk. Retrieved on July 14, 2006.
  12. ^ Tidbits on Double or Die novel, including homages to the Bond canon. MI6.co.uk. Retrieved on September 9, 2006.
  13. ^ Young Bond 3 is 'Goldenboy' in Germany. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on December 12, 2006.
  14. ^ Details of cover art for US edition of Double Or Die revealed. MI6.co.uk. Retrieved on May 4, 2007.
  15. ^ CommanderBond.net Forums. CommanderBond.net. Retrieved on June 10, 2008.

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