Best young bond yet - Rated 
A truly fantasic book, it has good humor realistic caracters and a very good plot. This book is defiently well worth a read and my only minor critisisum would be that it is a tad predictibal and you can kind of guess what is going to happe hence the 4 stars not 5. Over a good book thats well worth a read well done charlie another great bond!
Very well written - Rated 
I thought this was excellent. I haven't read any of the Fleming novels and am by no means a James Bond fan but have been looking for something to read to my impatient nine year old which won't bore me to death and these books have fitted the bill perfectly. I've enjoyed all of them although I would say that this and Blood Fever are the best. The Eton stuff in the other books was getting a little wearing and it was entirely absent here.
What has most impressed me is how well written they are. They are clearly aimed at young readers but I think Higson writes very fluently. Certainly, purely as a writer he is superior to Anthony Horowitz although that may be something to do with the speed Horwitz must churn them out.
Heartily recommended.
Amazing on the outside, weird story on the inside - Rated 
This is the oddest Young Bond book of all of them. There is a lot of confusion in the plot, and a lot of things that just don't make sense.
I'm sorry, James Bond is great and everything, but if you like gripping actino books you should read the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore, The Jimmy Coates series by Joe Craig and of course the original - the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Young Bond is just an impersonation of those other series.
This Book is Golden - Rated 
Hurricane Gold is a book that makes you want to read it over and over again. This is the best of the series so far in my opinion. It is nail - biting in the final few Chapters. Read this book and you will be satisfied.
Hurricane Gold - Not Quite Young Bond, Not Quite 007 - Rated 
**WARNING: This review does have a few minor plot spoilers**
Charlie Higson's newest Young Bond novel, Hurricane Gold, is a bit of an oddity. One aspect that always shined through as the winning formula of the previous three novels in the series, especially evident in both Blood Fever and Double or Die, was the delicate and interesting mixture between the young James Bond character and the adult 007 he will eventually become. The main character is most undoubtedly a boy and one could argue that is the prime audience these novels should be attempting to please, but Higson always managed to perfectly fit together the puzzle pieces such as new and intriguing locations, the outlandish villains and their sinister plans so that they worked on both the Young Bond and 007 levels. With Hurricane Gold, it seems like the focus was much more in creating a young boy's adventure story and it results in somewhat throwing off that compelling combination.
In the most recent novel in the series, Double or Die, the story's events were always on a tight timescale as James and his friends frantically rushed around London trying to solve several cryptic clues in search of the missing professor. Hurricane Gold's plot is slightly less defined, but the pace still moves at breakneck speed. One of the first things the reader will immediately notice upon starting Hurricane Gold is the absence of any scenes at Eton. With this location out of the way, the action can promptly begin in Mexico. This is an interesting departure for the series in terms of the basic setup for the storyline, but Higson makes it work by interspersing three letters from Bond's friends at Eton (Pritpal Nandra, Perry Mandeville and Mr. Merriot), thus keeping the reader in tune with the general events going on at the school.
The boy's adventure story aspect is most clearly evident in the setup and execution of the many action sequences throughout the majority of the novel. With Blood Fever and Double or Die, the action seemed to alternate with breaks evenly throughout (particularly in Double or Die because of the mystery elements), but in Hurricane Gold, the key word is action from the very beginning. Sequences such as the hurricane and resulting flood are effective, but combined altogether it just doesn't completely feel like the Young James Bond stories we've had in the past.
One of the highlights of Hurricane Gold is the Bond girl of the story, Precious Stone. In a particularly inspired introduction, Bond first meets the initially pretentious and conceited girl as she sits in front of a large make-up mirror, painting her nails: "`You must be James,' she said without looking round." The sequence is faintly reminiscent of Bond's first encounter with the cool and carefree Tiffany Case in Ian Fleming's Diamonds are Forever. Her exhaustive complaining during much of the first half of the novel balances well with the common sense approach Bond uses throughout and it makes for a believable relationship between the two.
Slightly less successful (for the first time in the series) are the villains of Hurricane Gold. El Huracán is certainly one of the more outlandish characters featured so far and he makes a strong impression as he introduces the avenida de la muerte--the avenue of death--at the very beginning of the novel. The main problem is that his appearances throughout the story are limited and even with the addition of details on his past life, he just doesn't make the same kind of impression that earlier villains such as Count Ugo Carnifex and Sir John Charnage did. More effective is the mysterious Theda Glass who leads the gang of thieves and interacts with Bond throughout the first half of the novel. Unfortunately, due to the storyline, the character's importance ultimately pales in comparison to El Huracán.
As with the previous novels in the series, Hurricane Gold has its own unique torture sequence, this time with an assortment of unfriendly creatures. La Avenida de la Muerte has a little bit of everything, whether it be snakes, scorpions, or crocodiles. The surprise of not knowing what is in store in each new room as Bond and Precious proceed through the avenue of death makes for an effective climax.
Do I recommend Hurricane Gold for interested Bond fans? Yes; definitely. It features several intriguing locations that are new to the literary 007 canon and has a pace that never tires. In turn, the aspect that makes the novel disappointing compared to the previous novels in the series is that isn't as enjoyable as a James Bond novel. Hurricane Gold works extremely well as a young boy's adventure novel, but it just feels like the mixture of Young Bond and 007 isn't quite complete.
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