By Royal Command
OCLC 230989341 | | |
| Preceded by | Hurricane Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Followed by | Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier | |
| Website | http://www.youngbond.com/ | |
By Royal Command [1] is the fifth 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, takes place in 1934 and see James at the age of fourteen. Locations include The Alps (Kitzbühel), England, France, Lisbon, and Vienna.[2]
By Royal Command was published in hardcover by Puffin Books in the UK on September 3, 2008. Cover art (featuring a black and red Union Jack) was not revealed until the day of publication. The paperback was released on May 28, 2009, and includes an extract from a new Young Bond short story by Charlie Higson, "A Hard Man to Kill".[3][4][5]
By Royal Command was released by Disney-Hyperion in the U.S. on May 18, 2010. Cover artwork is by Owen Richardson.[6]
Synopsis
In
During this time, Bond is on his way for a school skiing trip in Austria when he runs afoul of a group of Hitler Youth members who call him a cheater for having won a game of poker. He beats them, gives them back their money, and tells them to play with good grace. Some time later, he arrives in Austria where he realizes that he is being followed. When he arrives at his hotel, he is still being followed. There, he meets with his friend Andrew Carlton and his teacher Mr. Merriot. During a skiing outing, Bond goes after one of his classmates who is drunk and they get caught in an avalanche. After saving himself and his classmate, Bond is hospitalised and hears a man crying out about his cousin named Jürgen who is going to be killed. He later finds out this man was the Graf Von Schlick.
A few days later, the boys return to
On the 4 June
Back at Eton, Roan tells Bond that they are working for a Communist agent who they know as 'Amethyst', who works for the Communist cell based in Portugal. This operation is being run by a man known as 'Obsidian'. Bond informs her that Dandy was captured and, after she begs him not to give her away, they share a kiss. However, unable to betray Roan, Bond tells her the truth and they make plans to run away to Austria together. Before they leave, Bond is accosted by Theo Bentinck, who has been out drinking, and provokes him, before tidily beating him up, and sending him on his way. With the help of James's friend, Perry Mandeville, he and Roan are able to get enough money to leave the country. During their crossing the continent into Austria, they are pursued not only by MI6 but also by Sedova.
When they arrive in Austria, Roan betrays Bond to Obsidian who is none other than Dr. Perseus Friend, whom Bond thought he had killed in SilverFin. It is revealed that Friend had assumed the identity of the Graf since the surgery and had met Bond at the party, and the original Graf had been killed. Also, it is revealed that Friend and Amethyst, a Russian named Vladimir Wrangel, are not working for the Russians but for the Nazis. The plan was to trick Dandy and Roan into believing that the King's death would inspire the workers of Britain to revolt against the government, and then into killing King George V. The King's death would, thus, have placed Edward VIII on the throne. As he was more sympathetic towards Hitler, and the fact that Dandy and Roan would have claimed to be working for the Communists, the United Kingdom would have formed an alliance with Germany, isolating the French and giving Germany an ally in the ensuing war against Communist Russia. Dr. Friend mocks Roan's idealism by saying that the British were too conservative to rise up against their monarchy.
Bond and Roan are locked up and Friend plans to have Bond flayed alive as a revenge for having nearly killed him. However, they manage to escape and are pursued around the castle by Wrangel. As he is about to kill them, OGPU agents under the command of Colonel Sedova, who had followed the entire conspiracy since Lisbon, attacked the Germans. Roan kills Wrangel, saving Bond, and Sedova kills Friend. Sedova corners Bond and Roan just as Bond had cornered her in London. Deciding to show him the same mercy, she tells him that she is taking him back to Russia as leverage against the British, when MI6 arrive and rescue the two. Sedova tries to shoot Bond, who is saved by Roan. Bond shoots Sedova, although she disappears shortly afterwards. Before dying, Roan reveals that she had been married to Dandy, but that she loved Bond.
Subsequently, Merriot informs Bond that, although the King was very grateful that he had saved his life, he would be unable to remain at Eton, so Bond is sent instead to Fettes College.
Background
In an interview, Higson stated that By Royal Command will deal with Bond being forced to leave Eton College due to an incident with a maid. The incident was previously mentioned from the point of view of M in Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice.
It must be admitted that his career at Eton was brief and undistinguished and, after only two halves, as a result, it pains me to record, of some alleged trouble with one of the boys' maids, his aunt was requested to remove him. She managed to obtain his transfer to Fettes, his father's old school.
— Ian Fleming You Only Live Twice, Chapter 21: Obit:[7]
According to Higson, M's comment about the incident was a deliberate attempt to cover up the truth. "Basically, it is decided that things need to be hushed"
The
At the launch party for Hurricane Gold, Charlie hinted that Amy Goodenough (from Blood Fever) and the villain Babushka (from Double or Die) return in this Young Bond adventure.[9] He also revealed that James Bond falls in love.[10]
Tie-in game
On 11 August 2008 Puffin Books announced the first Young Bond alternate reality game (ARG), The Shadow War, designed to tie-in with the release of By Royal Command.[11] The online game started on 23 August, when Charlie Higson set the first mission during his appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In the game, players around the world use a range of media, including the Young Bond books themselves and the internet, to complete the missions and influence the outcome of the game. Higson took part in a live online event that concluded the game on 8 October 2008.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Young Bond 5 is BY ROYAL COMMAND". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ a b "The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II". CBn/The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2007.
- ^ "By Royal Command cover will be kept Top Secret". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ "By Royal Command paperback coming in May 2009". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
- ^ "New Young Bond short story preview in By Royal Command paperback". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ "By Royal Command US cover art and artist revealed". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ^ Fleming, Ian (1964). "21". In William Plomer (ed.). You Only Live Twice. Jonathan Cape.
- ^ "Charlie talks By Royal Command". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
- ^ "Report on today's Hurricane Gold launch party". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
- ^ "Charlie drops a Book 5 bombshell". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
- ^ "The Shadow War press release". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
- ^ "The Shadow War is won!". The Young Bond Dossier. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2008.