Higson's A HARD MAN TO KILL released as eBook

Charlie Higson's Young Bond short story A Hard Man To Kill is now available as an eBook at Amazon.com (U.S.) and Amazon.co.uk (UK).

A luxurious cruise
A deadly prisoner
A desperate scheme
Can James Bond overcome the chaos before it’s too late?

A Hard Man To Kill was first published in 2009 as part of the book Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier. The story is set between the books Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command and takes place aboard an ocean liner. It's an excellent story that also sees the return of Wilder Lawless from SilverFin.

In a recent tweet, author Charlie Higson said: "I liked writing this story and fully intended to do more with the characters, but alas it wasn’t to be."

You can read more about A Hard Man To Kill at www.ianfleming.com. For a full history of Charlie Higson's Young Bond series, check out: The Secret History of Young James Bond.

A HARD MAN TO KILL on new Ian Fleming website

Ian Fleming Publications has launched a completely redesigned website today. Browsing the new site offerings, I spotted what appears to be an upcoming eBook edition of Charlie Higson's Young Bond short story, A Hard Man To Kill.

A Hard Man To Kill was first published in 2009 as part of the book Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier. The story is set between the books Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command and takes place aboard an ocean liner. It's an excellent story that also sees the return of Wilder Lawless from SilverFin. This marks its first availability in a solo edition.

While A Hard Man To Kill is listed in the new Ian Fleming website shop, the "Buy Now" link doesn't yet work, so consider this one a preview.

Check out the new Ian Fleming website at www.ianfleming.com. You can also follow on Twitter and Facebook.

Danger Society US release remains unlikely

It’s starting to look less and less likely that the Young Bond companion book, Danger Society The Young Bond Dossier, which was recently released in paperback in the UK, will be released in any form in the USA.

I confirmed at Comic Con that there are still no plans by Disney to publish this latest Young Bond release. However, they did spark to my suggestion that they consider including the original Charlie Higson short story, “A Hard Man To Kill”, in their paperback edition of By Royal Command, due out in May 2011. (Of course, they might have just been humoring this mad fanboy.)

The good news is the UK paperback edition of Danger Society The Young Bond Dossier is currently 38% off at Amazon.co.uk, so U.S. fans who want this excellent book can purchase it for about the same total price as a U.S. hardcover.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier released in paperback

The paperback edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier is released today in the UK by Puffin Books.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier is the complete and definitive guide to the world and adventures of Young Bond. Packed with information, illustrations, and a brand-new adventure by Charlie Higson, A Hard Man To Kill, this book is both a must-have for Young Bond fans and a perfect introduction to the megaselling series.

Also released today is the paperback edition of Charlie Higson's non-Bond horror novel, The Enemy.

Purchase Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier on Amazon.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier UK paperback

Cover art for the UK paperback edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier has been revealed.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier is the complete and definitive guide to the world and adventures of Young Bond. Packed with information, illustrations, and a brand-new adventure by Charlie Higson, A Hard Man To Kill, this book is both a must-have for Young Bond fans and a perfect introduction to the megaselling series.

Release date is June 3, 2010. Pre-order on Amazon.

Young Bond companion book released in UK

An all-new Young Bond companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier, is released today in the UK by Puffin Books.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier is the complete and definitive guide to the world and adventures of Young Bond. Packed with information – from in-depth character profiles to the cars, the weapons and the exotic locations, plus facts, statistics, photographs, maps, and illustrations by Kev Walker – this book is both a must-have for Young Bond fans and a perfect introduction to the megaselling series.

As a bonus, the book also includes a brand-new Young Bond short story by Charlie Higson, A Hard Man To Kill. Set between Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command, the story finds James and his aunt Charmian boarding the French Ocean Liner Colombie for their journey back to England. But a villain named Emil Lefebvre and a mysterious hooded convict named Caiboche suggest this journey may be far from uneventful...

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier can be purchased from bookstores across the UK or online from Amazon.co.uk.

Extract from 'The Young Bond Dossier'

An extract from the new Young Bond companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier, has been posted on the official Young Bond website, www.youngbond.com. Just click Books, navigate to the cover, then find the Extract button.

The website has also revealed revised cover art which drops the original "Danger Society" co-title. (UPDATE: This art was a mistake and is being replaced.)

Featuring a brand-new story by Charlie Higson, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier is the complete and definitive guide to the world and adventures of Young Bond.

Extract from 'The Young Bond Dossier'

An extract from the new Young Bond companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier, has been posted on the official Young Bond website, www.youngbond.com. Just click Books, navigate to the cover, then find the Extract button.

The website has also revealed revised cover art which drops the original "Danger Society" co-title. (UPDATE: This art was a mistake and is being replaced.)

Featuring a brand-new story by Charlie Higson, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier is the complete and definitive guide to the world and adventures of Young Bond.

Young Bond is back in A HARD MAN TO KILL

The just released UK paperback edition of By Royal Command contains an exclusive extract of an all-new Young Bond short story by Charlie Higson. For those fans outside the UK who cannot lay their hands on the book, here’s what the extract reveals.

The story is called A Hard Man to Kill and is set between the books Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command. The story finds James and his aunt Charmian traveling the Caribbean aboard the pleasure yacht Amaryllis (fans may recall this was Charlie’s original name for Precious Stone). In Pointe-à-Pitre Guadeloupe, James and Charmian meet up with the French Ocean Liner Colombie for their journey back to Europe. James looks forward to a relaxing, lazy voyage. But a villain named Emil Lefebvre and a mysterious hooded convict named Caiboche suggest this journey may be far from uneventful...

A Hard Man To Kill -- the longest James Bond short story yet written -- will be published in the new companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier, due for release on October 29, 2009.

Purchase By Royal Command at Amazon.co.uk.

YB companion book gets new release date and not-so-short story

We have a few updates on the new Young Bond companion book, Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier.

First up, the release date has been pulled forward to October 29, 2009. The book had been announced as a November release.

Next, it appears the original short story by Charlie Higson contained in the book will be quite lengthy. The Young Bond Dossier reports that the story will actually be the longest James Bond short story yet written, beating out Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only. The story will be previewed in the upcoming paperback edition of By Royal Command.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier will be published by Puffin Books in the UK.

Young Bond SHORT STORY a possibility

During his appearance at the Hurricane Gold launch party last month, Charlie Higson revealed an exciting piece of Young Bond news that has gone unreported...until now.

During the Q&A session, Charlie let slip that he is “toying” with the idea of writing a Young Bond short story set between Hurricane Gold and Young Bond 5.

The story would take place aboard an ocean liner bringing Bond and Aunt Charmain back to England from Mexico. Aboard ship, James would encounter Wilder Lawless (the heroine of SilverFin) who is transporting horses.

Charlie didn’t elaborate beyond that and he did caution that it was “something that might happen or might not”...but it sure sounds like a good idea to me!