On His Majesty's Secret Service (James Bond 007)

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His mission is to protect Charles but it’s also to stop there being massive chaos and civil unrest.”

Some say that Fleming’s last novel was unpolished before he died, I find it a far better job than this Higson effort but recognize the time pressure he faced with this novel. And I applaud the content which was created in such a short time. I even enjoy the use of the word bitch used in 1953 and in this novel 70 years onwards, it is nice remembrance towards 007’s first and latest lady in a novel. It is the 4th of May, two days before the Coronation of King Charles III and the world’s favourite spy has his work cut out for him. Bond is sent at the last minute to thwart an attempt to disrupt the Coronation by the wealthy, eccentric and self-styled Athelstan of Wessex, who is on a deadly mission of his own to teach the United Kingdom a lesson. Can Bond dismantle his shady plans and defeat his privately hired team of mercenaries?

Despite these somewhat faddish interests – though the author insists the super-fit spy would naturally do anything to keep his edge, including taking an interest in the “gut instinct that gives you the non-thinking, split-second advantage” – his 007 remains ruthlessly unstoppable. In Higson’s words, he is “a fist, clenched and ready to strike”. I don't think anyone has quite managed to put Fleming's Bond into the present day. Certainly not Deaver or Raymond Benson. Perhaps this is as good as it gets - John Gardner's stories were very good, but certainly his Bond was far removed from Fleming's.

Perhaps we should not have been surprised to discover that the pace of production did not hinder the book’s quality: let’s not forget that Fleming wrote his first drafts in a matter of weeks, not months. And some of the best Bond films have been produced to punishingly tight schedules. After watching an interview with the author on the ‘Bond Experience’ YouTube channel and having a Bondian way to celebrate the coronation, I was very excited to add this book to my collection, unfortunately it didn’t live up to expectations. Bond has a moment of introspection about disliking a hired killer, and the author states that this could be due to some self-loathing because they both kill people. This book has received its place between the 007 novels in my collection, it is not the best one (which were the Fleming ones) and certainly not the worst (looking at you SOLO).

The new 007 story brings Bond into the present day, with a narrative that takes place on 4 May 2023.

He said: “When Ian Fleming Publications came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago I was thrilled - until I realised it had to be ready for the coronation in May. I'm a big Bond fan and I've enjoyed all the continuation novels and this was an enjoyable way to pass the time but it wasn't great, special, engrossing or particularly well written (the author has done much better and so has basically every Bond author at some point).Like when he eats an avocado – they were called avocado pears at the time, so Fleming made the mistake of having him eat one for dessert in Casino Royale.”

It’s a short read but I had to force myself to keep reading bit by bit, it was a chore, mostly down to the villain and his entourage. The female interest was IMO well written and the most engaging character next to Bond, there was also some surprising character choices towards the end with Bond that I liked, there was also a copy / homage of From Russia With Love towards the end which I didn’t like and made me roll my eyes. The story is set two days before the coronation of King Charles III. Bond is sent to thwart an attempt to disrupt the coronation by the wealthy and self-styled Athelstan of Wessex, who is on a deadly mission of his own to teach the UK a lesson. 007 must dismantle his devious plans and defeat his privately hired team of mercenaries.But how did he create something fresh and interesting and still make 007 recognisable as Fleming’s Bond? Everything you want from a Bond story is in there – sex, violence, cars, a colourful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself, so well-known and yet so unknowable,” Higson added.