By Royal Command (Young Bond, #5)

by Charlie Higson

The final Higson book in the series and the last one I've read to date of the series. In many ways this was a lot more mature than the previous books and it was a lot darker. Although James has faced a lot over the course of the series this one sees him drawn a lot deeper in the world of spies. While he does return triumphant (he's Bond..duh) this adventure leads to a darker Bond - less trusting and more emotionally fragile. He survives but the cost is whatever innocence and trust he had left.

I hated Roan. For lots of reasons but something about her irritated me and I hated that James loved her. There were just so many better female characters in previous books. And I wasn't too impressed with Merriot by the end either. I felt sorry for James. The hits just kept coming. It reminded me too much of Alex Rider. I was sad to see James leaving Eton, I know he didn't like it there but it felt too much like he was just abandoned by everyone and everything. I would've liked to see Pritpal and Tommy and James make up or resolve the tension about Bentinck.

Overall Higson concluded his part of the series nicely, wrapping up James' formative years in a nice bow. I'll be interested to see where Steve Cole takes it. For all it made me sad it was well written with an action packed plot. 4 stars.