Hurricane Gold

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Hurricane Gold

First edition UK hardcover
Author Charlie Higson
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series James Bond / Young Bond
Genre(s) Spy novel
Publisher Ian Fleming Publications
Publication date 6 September 2007
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages 372 pp
ISBN ISBN 9780141383910 (first edition hardback)
Preceded by Double or Die
Followed by By Royal Command

Hurricane Gold is the fourth novel in the Young Bond series depicting Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond as a teenager in the 1930s. The novel is set in Mexico and the Caribbean. It was first published in the UK in September 2007.

Contents

[edit] Plot introduction

Two American children are abducted by criminals searching for military plans stolen by their father. James Bond attempts to protect them by masquerading as a young Mexican thief and joining the gang. They journey through a hurricane-damaged Mexico and eventually arrive at the Caribbean island Lagrimas Negras.

[edit] Title

Hurricane gold, according to the character El Huracán, is a legendary Mayan treasure which is cursed and will bring inevitable ruin on its possessor.

[edit] Plot summary

The book starts with a prologue on Lagrimas Negras, an island haven for criminals in the Caribbean. The boss, El Huracán, informs his lunch guests that one of them has broken the rule against contacting the outside world. Robert King is tricked into confessing, then made to run La Avenida de Muerte, a deadly obstacle course. He is killed by a jaguar less than halfway through.

Following the events in Double or Die, James Bond travels around Mexico with his Aunt Charmian, an anthropologist. In the fishing village of Tres Hermanas, Angel Corona, a young Mexican pickpocket who closely resembles James, steals Charmian's bag. James gives chase and corners him. Corona is arrested by the police. While Jack Stone, an American flying ace, flies Charmian to the ruined Mayan city of Palenque, James is left in Tres Hermanas with Stone's children. The daughter, Precious, is a spoilt, self-centered girl, while her younger brother, Jack Junior or JJ, is immature and annoying.

During a devastating hurricane, some gangsters led by Mrs Glass enter the Stone house and steal the safe. James knocks one of the gunmen, Manny, out of the window. The youngsters hide from the gangsters and the storm in an underground ice house. After the storm, James takes the Stone children to town in Jack Stone's Duesenberg, which is wrecked by a sudden flood. JJ is nearly killed, but is rescued by Garcia, James's sailor friend. When JJ and Precious are captured by the remaining four robbers, James passes himself off as Angel Corona to join the gang and Garcia tags along. The names of the other criminals are Strabo, Whatzat and Sakata. The Japanese gangster Sakata befriends James and teaches him ju-jitsu.

Mrs. Glass takes the group to an old oil field in order to get tools and explosives to open the safe. She tells Precious what her plans are: Jack Stone had lost money after the end of the war and had become a smuggler to regain money; one of his clients was an ex-U.S Navy officer who had stolen some important documents about the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet. Sakata had been sent to retrieve the plans, which would be very valuable to the Japanese in the event of a war. However, the documents are not in the safe, so presumably Stone took them in the plane. Meanwhile Whatzat and Garcia die during an escape attempt. When JJ's injured leg becomes severely infected, Sakata, prompted by James, leaves the gang and takes JJ to hospital in Vera Cruz.

Mrs. Glass and Strabo make a new plan to flee to Lagrimas Negras and sell the documents to the ruler of the island, El Huracán. James and Precious escape and camp out for a while. Precious has undergone a change in character; she is no longer rude and self-centered, and even has a crush on James, which she expresses by waiting for him to fall asleep and then kissing him. Then Manny shows up in a car. He is very sick, as he has had brain damage following his fall at the Stone Mansion. He slips in and out of confusion. Finally, James and Precious knock him out of the car as he sleeps and escape. They head for Pelanque, but are unable to stop Mrs Glass escaping with the documents, though Strabo is killed by army ants.

Mrs. Glass goes to Lagrimas Negras alone. James and Precious follow on a ship. Manny follows them and gives chase. He is killed by El Huracán's guards and James and Precious are employed as servants on Lagrimas Negras. James discovers that when the guests of Lagrimas Negras run out of money, they are forced to work as slaves on El Huracán's farm. James also hears that running La Avenida de Muerte is the only way to get off Lagrimas Negras, though no one has ever survived it. Precious steals a map of the obstacle course from a bathroom she is cleaning and she and James start training. They trick El Huracán into letting them run the course which he does reluctantly, as he was hoping James would stay on as his successor.

James and Precious successfully traverse many obstacles, helped by their advance knowledge. Finally they reach a massive water tank containing a vicious crocodile that will almost certainly kill them, as there is no way out. However, James has left some explosives in the maintenance tunnel and blows out the wall. He is knocked unconscious by the landing. He wakes up on a rock with Precious, who French kisses him while they wait to be collected. El Huracán keeps his promise to release them and the book ends with James and Precious leaving Lagrimas Negras with Jack Stone. They share a private moment watching the sunset.

[edit] Foreshadowing

  • Perry Mandeville in a letter mentions he is being sent to Fettes in Scotland after being kicked out of Eton. This hints at Mandeville appearing in the fifth book, as Bond will be sent to Fettes when he is expelled from Eton.
  • Furthermore, in Pritpal Nandra's letter, he mentions that they have an attractive new maid from Ireland called Roan. This may be foreshadowing the incident with the maid that results in Bond being expelled.

[edit] Writing the book

Prior to the release of SilverFin Charlie Higson said that Book 4 would be set in the Alps [1], however, the location was changed to Mexico and the Caribbean [2]. Higson considered setting the book in North Africa, but decided against it because Ian Fleming never liked the idea of Bond going to North Africa.[3] Unlike the other Young Bond novels, there are no scenes set at Eton College.[4]

When asked whether he would continue the pattern of following Fleming's templates by echoing some elements of the fourth 007 novel Diamonds Are Forever, Higson said "there are some similarities, it is set in the Americas, there are gangsters in it but there is no cowboy train!" [5]

Higson completed work on the book in December 2006, a month before Double or Die was released. [6]

Charlie Higson's working title was Lágrimas Negras, but because the publishers had the idea of publishing it as an all-gold book, they asked Higson to try and come up with a title that included the word "gold".[7]

Also changed was the name of the character Precious Stone. She was originally named Amaryllis Stone after a cousin of Ian Fleming (who is also referenced in the short story The Living Daylights). But because the character starts out the novel as so unpleasant, it was feared it might offend the Fleming family and the name was changed. [8]

[edit] Publication history

The novel was published as a hardcover, a first for the series, in the UK on September 6, 2007 by Puffin Books. [9] Puffin released an audiobook read by author Charlie Higson on September 27. A paperback edition was released on May 28, 2008, the Centenary of Ian Fleming's birth. [10] A hardcover published by Hyperion Books for Children will be released in the U.S. in April 2009.[11]

Hurricane Gold had previously been announced as a 2008 release before the publishing date was pushed up to 2007. With Double or Die also being published in 2007, this creates a unique situation – the first time more than one James Bond novel was published in the same calendar year, (not counting film novelisations, spinoff novels such as The Moneypenny Diaries or short stories).

On August 10, 2007, Charlie Higson signed and numbered 1500 copies of Hurricane Gold to be distributed to independent bookstores only. [12] Number "007" was discovered in a small bookshop in Lytham St Annes in Lancashire and sold on eBay for £156.50 ($319.82). [13]

A launch party for the novel was held at Waterstone's Piccadilly in London on September 6th 2007 with an all-gold theme.[14]

Hurricane Gold entered the charts at #2, selling 6056 copies in just half a week’s sales. [15]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ First Details of Young Bond Books 2, 3, and 4 Revealed. CommanderBond.net. Retrieved on December 29, 2005.
  2. ^ Young Bond heads to Mexico in Book 4. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on April 14, 2006.
  3. ^ The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II. CBn/The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on September 1, 2007.
  4. ^ The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II. CBn/The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on September 1, 2007.
  5. ^ Charlie Higson Interview. MI6.co.uk. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  6. ^ Charlie Higson Interview. MI6.co.uk. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
  7. ^ The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II. CBn/The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on September 1, 2007.
  8. ^ The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II. CBn/The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on September 1, 2007.
  9. ^ Hurricane Gold official announcement. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on April 24, 2007.
  10. ^ Hurricane Gold paperback. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on August 27, 2007.
  11. ^ Hurricane Gold U.S. release. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on March 14, 2008.
  12. ^ Charlie signs 1500 copies of Hurricane Gold. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on August 15, 2007.
  13. ^ Hurricane Gold #007 sells on eBay. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on October 9, 2007.
  14. ^ Report on today’s Hurricane Gold launch party. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on September 6, 2007.
  15. ^ Hurricane Gold debuts at #2!. The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved on September 11, 2007.

[edit] External links