High Time to Kill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

High Time to Kill

First edition cover
Author Raymond Benson
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series James Bond
Genre(s) Spy fiction
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date 6 May 1999
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 304 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN ISBN 0-340-73876-6 (first edition, hardback)
Preceded by Midsummer Night’s Doom
Followed by The World Is Not Enough

High Time to Kill, published in 1999, is the fourth novel by Raymond Benson featuring Ian Fleming’s secret agent, James Bond (including Benson’s novelization of Tomorrow Never Dies). This is the first James Bond novel copyrighted by Ian Fleming Publications (formerly Glidrose Publications). It was published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The world of James Bond is introduced to the ruthless terrorist organization called “The Union,” whose brutal trademark is slashing the throat of those who cross them. When a top secret British formula hidden in microfilm, codenamed “Skin 17,” is stolen and surgically implanted in the pacemaker of an unhealthy old man, James Bond is sent in to recover it before the Union and a boyish rival named Roland Marquis can sell the microfilm to a foreign power. When the plane of the pacemaker’s host is hijacked and crashed into the Himalayas, a deadly race commences to recover Skin 17. The race climaxes with Bond battling Marquis atop the peak of Kangchenjunga. After a physical high elevation fight, Bond escapes with Skin 17 and leaves Marquis to freeze to death atop the great peak.

[edit] Locations

Locations where the book takes place include:

[edit] Publication history

  • UK first hardback edition: May 1999 Hodder & Stoughton
  • U.S. first hardback edition: June 1999 Putnam
  • UK first paperback edition: July 1999 Coronet Books
  • U.S. first paperback edition: June 2000 Jove Books

[edit] External links