New James Bond novel On His Majesty's Secret Service to mark coronation

The novel will be published on Thursday 4th May ahead of the coronation on Saturday 6th May, with all royalties from the sale of the book going to support the work of the National Literacy Trust.

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The book is set in the present day on the date of release and will see Bond sent at the last minute to thwart an attempt to disrupt the coronation by the wealthy, eccentric and self-styled Athelstan of Wessex, who is on a deadly mission to teach the United Kingdom a lesson. Can Bond dismantle his shady plans and defeat his privately hired team of mercenaries?

Higson said in a statement: "When IFP [Ian Fleming Publications] came to me with the idea of writing an adult Bond story a little more than a month ago, I was thrilled – until I realised it had to be ready for the coronation in May.

"Getting it written and turned around in such a short space of time was going to be as tense and heart-pounding as any Bond mission. Although, of course, nobody would actually be shooting at me."

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He continued: "But I’ve been thinking about writing an adult Bond adventure ever since working on the Young Bond books, and he came bursting out of me with both fists flying. It was all I could do to keep up with him and get his story down on paper.

"Fleming famously wrote fast, and I channelled that energy. And now it’s so exciting for me to finally enter the world of grown-up Bond.

"Everything you want from a Bond story is in there – sex, violence, cars, a colourful villain with a nasty henchman, and of course, Bond himself. So well-known and yet so unknowable."

As well as being published in hardback, online and in bookshops from May 4th, the novel will also be available digitally as an eBook and as an audiobook read by Charlie Higson.

There were five novels in Higson's Young Bond series, all of which were published between 2005 and 2008.

You can purchase Charlie Higson's Young Bond book series here.

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