Synopsis: This is the first of the series of Young Bond books commissioned by Puffin.  In SilverFin, we meet the young James Bond as he arrives for his first term at Eton. James falls foul of an older American pupil and his overbearing father almost as soon as he arrives at his new school. By a strange coincidence, when James goes to visit his uncle in a remote Scottish village in the Easter holidays, he finds that his arch enemies are his near neighbours. Their castle is a heavily guarded fortress on an island in the legendary Loch Silverfin. What is more, there seems to be a connection between the loch and the mysterious disappearance of local boy, Alfie Kelly. And why does the lake abound with unusually aggressive eels? James Bond soon becomes involved in his first dangerous adventure.

The audiobook is read by the author, Charlie Higson. He reads the story quietly, but well, drawing the listener into the compelling adventure. The audio is an abridged version of the book, lasting just 3½ hours. Although there are a couple of awkward jumps in the story due to the abridgement, these are not a serious problem. In fact on the whole, the story gains in pace and excitement by being shortened, without losing anything important from the plot. (We lose some of the Eton detail and the adventure within castle Silverfin has been pruned.) A really exciting adventure story. Recommended from age 8+, particularly for boys.

2007-10-13