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Anyone who reads these things is probably aware that I've been grousing for a while about my inability to find Young Bond 5: By Royal Command on the shelves in my favourite bookshop, and that this is directly related to the absurd amount of Doctor Who I've been reading lately (because those books are kept directly above Young Bond on the shelves). Well, I still have a backlog of Who - I always have a backlog of Who - but guess what WH Smith's finally restocked a couple of weeks ago?
( For King and country! )
If you only read one Young Bond, definitely make it this one. Although it reuses villains, it doesn't require too much foreknowledge of past events, and in terms of historical context, sheer complexity of plot and lack of Higson's more irritating traits as a writer, it's by far the best. Honestly, though, I would recommend the entire series. Except Blood Fever.
And, oh, did I mention that I have a backlog of Doctor Who? :p
Judgement of the Judoon (Tenth Doctor Adventures, Colin Brake)
( 'That wall-bursting thing could become a nasty habit.' - 'That could make me a crashing bore.' )
Not a fantastic book by any means, but it's saved from being utterly boring by a brilliant idea for a companion, executed decently.
I also got hold of one of the first Eleven books, Night of the Humans. I haven't read it yet - I'm working through the entirety of Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Power trilogy at the moment - but I was struck by how thin it is, even with the new larger page size. I did a wordcount, and it looks like the new books are 5,000 words shorter than the old ones: a Tenth Doctor book routinely counts to around 60k, whereas this one's only 55k. Easier to do for NaNo, I suppose, but I can't say I'm terribly in favour of the change. Wasn't 60k short enough?
( For King and country! )
If you only read one Young Bond, definitely make it this one. Although it reuses villains, it doesn't require too much foreknowledge of past events, and in terms of historical context, sheer complexity of plot and lack of Higson's more irritating traits as a writer, it's by far the best. Honestly, though, I would recommend the entire series. Except Blood Fever.
And, oh, did I mention that I have a backlog of Doctor Who? :p
Judgement of the Judoon (Tenth Doctor Adventures, Colin Brake)
( 'That wall-bursting thing could become a nasty habit.' - 'That could make me a crashing bore.' )
Not a fantastic book by any means, but it's saved from being utterly boring by a brilliant idea for a companion, executed decently.
I also got hold of one of the first Eleven books, Night of the Humans. I haven't read it yet - I'm working through the entirety of Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Power trilogy at the moment - but I was struck by how thin it is, even with the new larger page size. I did a wordcount, and it looks like the new books are 5,000 words shorter than the old ones: a Tenth Doctor book routinely counts to around 60k, whereas this one's only 55k. Easier to do for NaNo, I suppose, but I can't say I'm terribly in favour of the change. Wasn't 60k short enough?
