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SilverFin is the first novel in the Young Bond series that depicts Ian Fleming‘s superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. It was written by Charlie Higson and released in the UK on March 3, 2005 by Puffin Books in conjunction with a large marketing campaign; a Canadian release of the same edition occurred in late March. The U.S. edition was released on April 27, 2005 by Miramax Books.
Because Ian Fleming never explicitly said when James Bond was born, Ian Fleming Publications and Charlie Higson chose the year 1920 as his birth year. SilverFin takes place in 1933.
“As I say, I’ve never told anyone. Your father knew some of it. And I don’t know why I’m telling you, James, except, perhaps, to say – don’t ever be a spy.“― Max to Bond after telling him the story of his capture.
Max Bond was a retired British intelligence operative formerly employed by the Secret Intelligence Service. The character first appeared in Charlie Higson‘s 2005 Young Bond novel, SilverFin, and was subsequently mentioned in the books Double or Die (2007), By Royal Command (2009), Heads You Die (2016), and Red Nemesis (2017).
Contents
Biography
Early life
As a boy in Scotland, Max won several prizes for shooting at the local fair. He and his older brother Andrew Bond would often fish the rivers near Glencoe. As he grew up, however, he discovered a passion for art and studied in Germany for awhile, but nothing ever came of it.
In the Great War of 1914, Max served as a footsoldier until he took a bullet to the knee in France. There he was recruited as a spy for being a fluent German speaker on account of his earlier travels there. He served many missions which put him into several unusual situations, such as having to be smuggled in the hull of a ship.[2] At one point in his career, Max was found out and kidnapped by German soldiers in the middle of the night. They kept him in an old castle and tortured him for information. He had no information of military importance, but still feared revealing his contacts and friends. The Germans would sometimes send him to a bathroom, where he slowly picked off the plaster from the walls until one night he kicked through the insulation and into a room full of water pumps. He broke some pipes and made for the fifth floor window, and escaped by sliding down a drainpipe which broke and left him to fall twenty feet into the snow. The fall broke his leg, but he had caused enough commotion in the castle for there to be no guards on the grounds. He limped into a boat filled with turnips and hid there until he realized he was likely to be discovered and fled into some surrounding wilderness where he lived little better than an animal until he was found by German deserters who nursed him back to health and smuggled him over the mountains into Switzerland. His injury resulted in Max’s permanent limp. He managed to keep the details of that last mission a secret to everyone except his brother Andrew, who learned certain select details.[3]
As a young man, Max purchased a plot of land with two cottages and a cowshed, and converted them into one house. James’s earliest memory of Max, was of him at the height of his health taking James to the British Empire Exhibition in 1925. At some point in his healthier days, he raced his Bamford and Martin at Brooklands against Tim Birkin. He never came close to winning.
SilverFin
After developing lung cancer, it became harder for the existing housekeepers to look after Max, and so his sister Charmian Bond came up from England to stay with him. She stayed most of the year, and as Max’s condition worsened, she sent for their nephew James to come up for his Easter Break. Max was glad to have the boy’s company, and after showing him to his room, he took James out to his small dock where he taught the boy about his favorite pastime: fishing. They didn’t catch anything, and after reflecting on how his cigarette habit had likely not improved his lung condition, and how he had started smoking during the war, he revealed to James his history as a spy, though he almost forgot that James was there as he unloaded a portion of his secret history. Over dinner James asked about Alfie Kelley, a missing boy that Max had been fond of for their shared love of fishing. Max suspected that he might have gone to try and fish the forbidden Loch Silverfin on the land of Lord Randolph Hellebore, whom Max distrusted for his incredibly tight security.
The next day, Max opted to entertain his nephew in another way: going for a drive. Max showed James to his garage, where he kept his 1.5 liter Bamford and Martin Sidevalve, short chassis tourer. They drove to a local fuel station, while Max explained some of the rudiments of driving, and after pulling onto a dirt road, he offered to teach James to drive. With a bit of difficulty, James eventually got the hang of it and drove around behind Max’s house. They continued to practice driving over the next few weeks, and one night, he asked his nephew what he might like to do with his life. James revealed that he was considering becoming a spy, which resulted in Max telling the story of his capture. James was astounded, and asked Max to spend more time teaching him to fish. Max decided to take James’s advice, and lit one last cigarette before giving James his gunmetal lighter, a folding knife, and some other camping supplies for his trip the next day.
Max died the day after James left at around four in the morning. His final word was “James”. He willed his car to his nephew, and was buried with his beloved fishing pole and the plaster soldier James had won for him at the fair. He was mourned by a sizable crowd of friends.[4]
References
- ↑ See Young Bond timeline.
- ↑ Charlie Higson (2005). SilverFin. Ian Fleming Publications, 108. ISBN 1423122623.
- ↑ Charlie Higson (2005). SilverFin. Ian Fleming Publications, 184-192. ISBN 1423122623.
- ↑ Charlie Higson (2005). SilverFin. Ian Fleming Publications, 329. ISBN 1423122623.
SilverFin (novel)
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Novel — Graphic Novel — Games — Characters — Equipment — Locations
Puffin Books 2005 British paperback edition.
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SilverFin (novel)
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SilverFin is the first novel in the Young Bond series that depicts Ian Fleming‘s superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. It was written by Charlie Higson and released in the UK on March 3, 2005 by Puffin Books in conjunction with a large marketing campaign; a Canadian release of the same edition occurred in late March. The U.S. edition was released on April 27, 2005 by Miramax Books.
Because Ian Fleming never explicitly said when James Bond was born, Ian Fleming Publications and Charlie Higson chose the year 1920 as his birth year. SilverFin takes place in 1933.
Contents
Plot
Alfie Kelly approaches the fence surrounding the local Laird’s land and shimmies under the fence through a trench he had been digging for the last few weeks. Five years ago, the new Laird had put up the fence and began guarding the property with armed guards. Alfie, however, was determined to fish in Loch SilverFin, which was on the property. It had been a favorite fishing spot of his father’s before he had been injured in World War One and died of lead poisoning after having been disabled for many years due to shrapnel. Alfie finds a great fishing spot where he casts and recasts to no avail. After trying live bait, Alfie gets a bite that after a great struggle to reel it in turns out to be an eel. Highly disappointed, Alfie prepares to remove his hook and return home, however the eel’s flailing drives the hook into Alfie’s thumb. After cleaning the wound and beginning to cry for his wasted effort, Alfie tries to return to shore to go home, but finds that the eels seem to be attacking him. As their mass drags him under, he calls for help, and sees a man on the far bank running toward him before being dragged down again. When he resurfaces, he finds that the man has disappeared, or so he thinks before seeing his flat and deformed face beneath the water before he is dragged under.
Far to the South, James Bond arrives at Eton College for the first time. After having been taught by his aunt Charmian Bond for most of his life, he begins his schooling a term later into the year than the other boys. On his first day, he meets Pritpal Nandra, who helps him learn the very peculiar ropes of Eton. On his first schoolday, James is quickly found by his dorm master Codrose, who apologizes for not having met with him the day before before going on his way. James finds Pritpal in the chaos of the rush to get to class, and the two run to their first classes. As they run to their next class, they collide with some older boys, which gets them into trouble with George Hellebore, an incredibly muscular American two years their senior. The group bullies Pritpal into reluctantly running away and James tries to keep his cool before the fear of tardiness sends them all to class. That night, while having tea with Pritpal and their messmate Tommy Chong, James was sent to deliver a message to an older boy. While running to the boy’s dormitory, he saw Hellebore and his father speaking with Headmaster Alington. When James is spotted, Lord Randolph Hellebore reveals that he had known James’ father, and that they had been rival arms dealers. Hellebore challenges him to an impromptu boxing match. James lands a hit on his jaw, much to the strange man’s ire. However, the hostilities are quickly pushed aside as sport, and James is sent on his way.
While speaking to his running coach, Mr. Merriot, James is informed of the upcoming Hellebore triple cup race, and agrees to enter. However, while training for the swimming portion of the race in the icy Thames, George Hellebore comes to torment him. He forced Bond into an underwater race with a boy from the school brass band, ensuring James’ loss. When next he speaks with Merriot, James voices concerns about the rumor that the competition is rigged, which Merriot laughs at and claims that it is, as it is paid for by Hellebore’s father, in Hellebore’s name, and the competitions were in each of Hellebore’s strongest sports. Merriot, however, reveals that he believes James could win.
At the start of the competition, Lord Randolph delivers a long winded speech about the glory of sport and its turning boys into men, much to the contrast to the carnival atmosphere that all of the boys and school administrators have experienced. They begin with the shooting portion, which George performs exceptionally in. However, when it ends in a tie with a boy called Andrew Carlton, Hellebore’s previously jovial father turns fierce on his son, and forces the reluctant boy to take some pills, with James as the only witness. He didn’t think anything of it, and he prepared for the swimming, which James, being the youngest competitor, performed neither poorly, nor excellently in. However, shortly before the running portion is to begin, Andrew Carlton informs James of a change in the race monitors out on the course: Many had been replaced by George’s cronies. While suspicious, James focuses on the race, and starts off in pace. He eventually overcomes most of the racers, but notices that Hellebore has disappeared. He paces up to Carlton, who reveals that he doesn’t remember Hellebore passing him. James puts on a burst of speed to scout ahead for him. He finds him well ahead of the rest, although James is certain he would have spotted him beforehand. When he catches up, Hellebore pretends to have a stitch in his side and stops running, only to cut a corner and reappear ahead of James. Not wanting to tell an adult, James runs back to inform Carlton, who is not surprised by the news. James is apprehensive to follow George’s trail, but Carlton assures James that he would have won anyway, and encourages him to take his rightful place. Thouroughly wearied, James caught up to Hellebore, who attempted to trip him, but ended up falling into a bog off the track. With no competition, James collapses at the finish line followed shortly by Carlton and Hellebore, whose father would not even look at him. Hellebore comes to accuse James, but thinks better of it.
Two weeks later, it is time for Easter Break, and Bond is sent to Scotland to join his aunt at the estate of his ailing Uncle Max. On the train, James meets stowaway Red Kelley, who is going to Scotland to search for his missing cousin Alfie. Aunt Char picks him up at the station, and they drive to Max’s estate, where he attempts to teach James to fish. The next day, Max shows James the rudiments of driving in his 1.5 liter Bamford and Martin Sidevalve, and that evening at the circus, George Hellebore hastily hired some thugs to beat Bond and Kelley, but the men were unsuccessful. The next day, Bond and Kelley set out to investigate Castle Hellebore, and received a tip from equestrian Wilder Lawless that pointed them in the right direction. However, when they arrived, they were quickly discovered by Meatpacker Moran, a bumbling detective from Pinkerton’s, who is also investigating Hellebore, and the three briefly work together to monitor the castle before the boys have to go home. After days with no contact from Moran, they deduce that something must have happened to him, and decide to continue by themselves, while George Hellebore, thoroughly disillusioned with his father, decides to write to his mother for the first time in his life.
After determining that something must have happened to Meatpacker, James and Red go to investigate, and discover his campsite deserted and combed over with dirt. However, they do see Meatpacker’s stripped skeleton dredged from the loch, and the two decide to break in and investigate from the inside. They wait to spy a lorry to sneak in aboard, and crawl through a ditch to get inside one waiting at the gate. They then sneak through the compound and into an abandoned shed, whose cellar they use to sleep in until the workers are asleep. They then try to climb a tree to an open window over the castle’s moat, but Red falls and breaks his leg, forcing James to continue alone. He enters the castle by climbing a tree to an open window, but fins himself being pursued. He is eventually captured and awakes strapped to a table in a basement laboratory. There he meets Dr. Perseus Friend, and comes face to face with the oddly jovial Lord Hellebore. After a brief interrogation, Hellebore shows James his eels, and explains he and Dr. Friend’s ambitions to manipulate growth hormones to create perfect people, and by consequence perfect soldiers. They reveal that they had experimented on Alfie Kelly, but his heart had given out on the first dose. This greatly upset Algar Hellebore, Randolp’s twin who had been mutated by his experiments and had tried to save Bond when he found him in the castle. Bond then attempts to escape, but finds all the doors locked. He is then strapped down and injected with the experimental SilverFin serum before being locked in a barren room, with the initials “A. K.” scratched on the door. Luckily, James is able to use his hidden knife in order to chip away the mortar around an old grate and drop into the chamber below and swim, with great difficulty, and a near death experience, to freedom. He returns to the cottage for Red, who proposes they escape by stealing a lorry.
They destroy the other vehicles and break through the gates to find that they are being followed by Hellebore and his men. They abandon the lorry on a farm and Red hides while James runs away toward town before turning toward the one place Hellebore wouldn’t look: the castle. However, the Laird catches up and slashes James’ face with a horse crop. James spits in his eye before Wilder rides in on Martini to rescue him. They ride into the forest surrounding the estate, where George finds them and despite James’ misgivings, proceeds to help them destroy his father’s laboratory.
James decides to trust George when he begins destroying vials of SilverFin serum while James burns the documents. They then free Algar from the blaze, and he runs out into the water. The groundskeeper Cleek MacSawney then enters with a gun, but George releases the mad pigs, who kill him. The boys then throw flammable chemicals into the room and leave the resulting inferno. Dr. Friend runs into the fire in an attempt to save his work. George and James exit unopposed until Lord Hellebore arrives with a shotgun. He proclaims that their burning his lab is only a minor setback, and prepares to kill the boys, George in particular, to allow the future SilverFin soldiers to be his true sons. However, Algar rises from the water and is shot instead. He then tackles his brother into the water, allowing the SilverFin-crazed eels to devour them. James hugs George’s face to his chest to prevent him from seeing it, and he collapses.
James awakens ten days later in his bed at Max’s house. He slowly recovers, but realizes that Max had yet to visit him, and Char reveals that Max had died the night after he left. After a memorial service for his uncle, Red approaches James to say goodbye, and Wilder gives them each a kiss. James returns late to Eton, and the Hellebore Cup is never challenged again. It remains on Andrew Carlton’s mantelpiece to hold his golf balls.
Rosamond Press 
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