Customer Reviews

Silverfin: A James Bond Adventure

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Silverfin is a very good book. It is very exciting because James Bond goes through many adventures. Some people post that it is not a good book because it was a bit gory for preteens. I am nine years old and I found it wasn't that scary but there is a lot of blood and excitement.
The scenes with the killer eels are very disgusting and exciting at the same time. James Bond changes over the mission. In the beginning he is a bit weak but by the end he has courage and strength from going through so many dangerous experiences. At the beginning of the book he is intimidated by two bullies, at the end of the book he has the courage to call them overgrown monkeys and stare them down.
I will recommend this book to my friends even though at times the scenes with the eels made me want to hurl.

It's good, but NOT as good as Alex Rider or Jason Steed. I thought it would be better, this book was still worth 4 stars as the story was good and original, but the author made the character stuffy and unreal.
I have read the whole series, Hurricane Gold is another good Young James Bond book, but te last one "By Royal Command" was sleepy.
If you want to read a good series, try Alex Rider,Jason Steed, Jimmy Coates, Cherub and then come to this, its about 4th place, shame as the author already had the character given to him.

This book is good for teens though I am not even ten years old. Some people say that this book may be too disturbing for preteens but I found it very exciting. The parts of the book with the eels were gross, gory and exciting.

In the beginning Bond is intimidated by bullies. In the end, Bond has learned to be brave by facing man-eating eels, a big nosed guy with a shotgun and scientists who want to cut him open. At the end he faces up to the bullies and because of all he had been through Bond has become brave enough to call them overgrown monkeys.

I will recommend this book to my friends at school because it is an exciting book to read and it has revolvers in it.

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.

A cross between Ian Flemming and Enid Blyton, this is a great introduction to young Bond, despite a couple of fairly disturbing scenes that might not be suitable for preteens. There are some nice touches too, like a horse called Martini and a hidden gadget that gets Bond out of a tight situation. Highly recommended.

THis is a best seller in the UK already , Its the prequil to the James Bond series. Young James Bond. THis is authorized by Ian Flemmings estate. 1st of 5 planned books. Good read