Blood Fever by: Charlie Higson

Blood Fever by Charlie Higson is the second book in the Young Bond series. The series describes the adventures of James Bond as a teenager at age thirteen. Even though it is not ever clearly told throughout the novel, the reader must realize that the whole novel takes place during the early twentieth century. In this book of the series, James discovers the remains of an ancient Roman society called the Millenaria that was thought to have ended hundreds of years ago. The society is known for stealing famous works of art in order to sell them to make a profit or keeping them for their own collection. James finds that a base for the Millenaria is located where he attends school, in Eton, Britain. While staying at his cousin Victor’s house on a trip to Sardinia, the house is robbed of all its treasures. James soon discovers that the robbers are connected to the Millenaria and a local millionaire on the island, Count Ugo Carnifex, is the leader of the secret society. While trying to infiltrate the mansion of Count Ugo, James realizes that one of his school professors is a member of the society. The professor has been at the school learning when are the best times to rob the families of the rich students at Eton. James now has a personal conflict with the Millenaria after the robberies of his cousin and school mates. With the help of local bandits, James must now face a battle with Count Ugo’s private army in an attempt to stop the Millenaria and exterminate the cruel leader of the secret society.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Blood Fever; it is an adventurous and exciting story. I had read the first book in the series, Silverfin, a few years ago and enjoyed it, but Blood Fever is much better in comparison. The adventures that James must go on are much more thrilling, and the plot is a real attention getter. It was hard to put down the book, always wanting to know what was going to happen events were going to happen on the next page or what was James fate going to be. I was fascinated by how cunning James can be, and how he can manage to find a way out of any situation. The amount of courage that James demonstrates is also quite extraordinary. James never backs down from a challenge or a fight, and he will do anything to save those who are his friends. Another element of the book that I enjoyed is the imagery that Charlie Higson uses. The book is able to paint a very detailed image in your mind of the events taking place. It almost is like your really are watching another classic James Bond movie. The book is extremely detailed and you feel the same emotions and adrenaline rush that the characters in the novel feel. Anyone that enjoys a good adventure story would definitely enjoy this novel.

The only question I have about the novel is what happened to James after he has returned from Count Ugo’s mansion and is back at Victor’s house. The novel does not tell what happens to James after the adventures in the novel or where he goes. Blood Fever leaves you with a need for the next book in the series so you can see what happened to James after the events in Sardinia and what will his fate be next.