Ian Fleming Publications has commissioned Young Bond series author Charlie Higson to write a new James Bond adventure to celebrate the coronation of King Charles. Higson wrote five novels in the Young Bond series, which are young adult spy novels featuring Bond as a teenage boy attending school at Eton College in the 1930s. Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, comments: “The Coronation of King Charles III is a momentous occasion for the country. We asked ourselves how we at Ian Fleming Publications could celebrate it, and the answer seemed obvious. Ian Fleming’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was first published on 1st April 1963. What better way, sixty years on, to mark this new chapter in history than with a brand new story: On His Majesty’s Secret Service? We shared our thoughts with Charlie, and he was delighted to take on the challenge of writing a Bond adventure in time for publication in May. Together we hope this book will give valuable support to the National Literacy Trust.” 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).

Getting it written and turned around in such a short space of time was going to be as tense and heart-pounding as any Bond mission. Although, of course, nobody would actually be shooting at me. In 1953 a writer called Ian Fleming introduced A character called James Bond, so this year marks his 70th birthday. The 6th of May was the coronation of King Charles III, so what better to celebrate both with a single novel that is also a nice pun referring to one of Ian Fleming best 007 novels with a his instead of her in the title. 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.There’s a lot to be said for not overthinking things and getting on with it. In an interview with The Times just days before the book’s publication, Higson himself expressed a preference for a less introspective Bond. Ironically then, Higson provides us with some of the best inward-looking passages in any Bond book. Upon meeting a hired killer to who he takes an instant dislike, Bond reflects: “Was there an element of self-loathing in his distaste…? Were they actually the same?” Ian Fleming Publications had commissioned Young Bond series author Charlie Higson to write the new Bond adventure, which has hit shelves today.

Contemporary Bond - you can write contemporary Bond without shoehorning in words like Nutella and Toblerone, it’s set during the kings coronation, I know it’s modern, I don’t ever want to read the word Nutella in a Bond novel, no matter what year it’s set. Higson’s Young Bond - first written 18 years ago - was a period piece. Set to be in the same timeline as Fleming’s 60s Bond. So here Higson does two things he’s never done before. Write adult Bond and write him in a contemporary setting. He does both really well. Lest anyone use Bond’s introspection as an excuse to start waving the word ‘woke’ around (a term rendered meaningless by merely asking the person wielding it: ‘what do you mean by that?’), we would do best to remember that Bond has always been concerned for the erosion of his soul: it’s there in the second sentence of Casino Royale.

Complete this captcha to connect to Foyles

The villain in question is the self-styled “Æthelstan of Wessex”, who claims direct descent from Alfred the Great and thinks he has more of a right to the English throne than “King Charles the Woke” – that shill for all the foreign elites who have kept the true English downtrodden since the Norman Conquest. On His Majesty’s Secret Service was published on Thursday 4 May ahead of the Coronation on Saturday 6 May – and 60 years after the publication of Ian Fleming’s tenth novel, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, in 1963. All royalties from the sale of the book went to support the work of the UK charity, the National Literacy Trust. One fatal mistake IMO is Higson basing his entire story around the idea of a ‘Bond formula’ rather than coming up with something original and putting his own stamp on it. I genuinely believe his own voice and ideas would have made for a far more interesting story. Higson was educated at Sevenoaks School and at the University of East Anglia (where his brother has taught since 1986 and is now a professor of film studies) where he met Paul Whitehouse, David Cummings and Terry Edwards. Higson, Cummings and Edwards formed the band The Higsons of which Higson was the lead singer from 1980 to 1986. They released two singles on the Specials' 2-Tone label. Higson then became a plasterer before he turned to writing for Harry Enfield with Paul Whitehouse and performing comedy. He came to public attention as one of the main writers and performers of the BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show (1994-2000). He worked with Whitehouse on the radio comedy Down the Line and is to work with him again on a television project, designed to be a spoof of celebrity travel programmes.[1:]

He adds: “The fun, which is also the difficulty, is ringing the changes. How do you make a new villain interesting?” Charles is apparently a big fan of the Bond books and there was that great moment at the 2012 Olympics where the Queen and 007 came together – our two greatest cultural icons united – so that was the obvious place to start.” The new 007 story brings Bond into the present day, with a narrative that takes place on 4 May 2023.The action of this entirely new 007 adventure brings Bond into the present day. 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?

Things I liked less - the resolution was anticlimactic, and the author's need to pass comment on Wokeism, big business, immigration and right wing media, etc over and over again was a bit overkill. When we got the references to bus lanes and congestion charges, I groaned. It kinda felt the author was trying a bit "too hard".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. I didn’t want to write him as a slightly stuffy man out of time with fifties’ attitudes - the Jacob Rees-Mogg 007. I wanted him to be a contemporary young man. The best-selling author has also slammed the last Bond film, No Time To Die. Speaking with The Sunday Times, Higson shared his feelings about the modern James Bond movies: But how did he create something fresh and interesting and still make 007 recognisable as Fleming’s Bond?