Have you ever wondered about James Bond’s past? The boy before the legend? The kids beneath the spy? Charlie Higson’s Silverfin lets you explore a part of James Bond nobody has sought before: his childhood.

In Silverfin, a teenage Bond sets off to Eton, a boy’s boarding school in London, for his first year. He creates many friends in his school and he makes a few enemies along the way, including George Hellebore. James beats Hellebore at a cross-country race funded by Randolph Hellebore, George’s father and James’ dead parents’ friend. James goes back to Scotland during the Easter holidays to live with his aunt and uncle but soon finds himself caught up with the Hellebores again. Red Kelly, whose cousin Alfie disappeared on the Hellebore estate, befriends James and the two of them go to Hellebore’s castle at Loch Silverfin. James and Kelly find out that Randolph Hellebore is developing a serum that makes any living organism into a super-organism. This super-organism is grotesque and very powerful, ideal for making Hellebore’s “perfect soldier”. James gets captured by Lord Hellebore and is taken in for testing. Will James escape from Hellebore’s maniacal laboratory? Or will he simply die in one of Hellebore’s dark dungeons?

Silverfin is an extraordinary novel written by Charlie Higson. Each of the characters has their own unique personalities, which spices up the story. Also, the settings and environments are richly detailed and descriptive, giving clues of what’s going to happen next in the novel. One disappointing factor in the story is the beginning is too long and tedious. Overall, I would recommend this book to anybody who loves mystery, adventure and action!