By Royal Command

The story, without spoilers

After a rescue in the Alps, James is preparing to return to Eton, but he is being watched. A clue puts him near a plot threatening both the school and Britain. Forced to flee to Austria, he has to leave the security of his familiar surroundings behind.

This is the end of Higson's five-novel Young Bond run. Its school and Alpine strands bring James to a point of change, so it is best approached as the conclusion of that earlier sequence rather than as a fresh introduction.

Can I start here?

Read the four earlier Higson novels first. Continue afterwards with Steve Cole's Shoot to Kill. That handover preserves the schoolboy storyline while changing the author.

What stands out

The surveillance and forced departure give this final Higson book its significance. It closes one phase of Young Bond and creates the reason to move to Cole's next adventure.

Who wrote it

Higson, a novelist and co-creator of The Fast Show, was commissioned for the Young Bond books before writing By Royal Command. His official Bond work covers both childhood adventures and adult missions.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

By Royal Command is book 5 in Charlie Higson’s Young Bond run. These adventures take place during Bond’s youth, before his adult career and Casino Royale.

Content notes

Older children and teenagers. Rescue peril, surveillance, threatened bloodshed, betrayal and young characters in danger.

Setting

• Eton
• The Alps
• Austria

Main characters

James Bond, The girl who accompanies him, Those watching Eton.