This starts off a bit slow but is soon hurtling along at a breakneck pace. The plot was interesting and the characters were great. I liked Amy. She was so brave and extremely resilient throughout the danger she encounters. Vendetta was wicked. I had mixed feelings about Zoltan - much like James, I found it was hard to remember at times that he was the villain. James is such a fascinating character. He's not the smooth operator that he becomes but there are lots of hints throughout. It's interesting to see him develop and evolve. The ending was somewhat abrupt - I would've liked to see a bit more detail about how Mark reacted to Amy's homecoming or Victor's thoughts on the events with Jana and just some general closure - did the other Eton boys make it out okay?, etc, etc. Still the rest was great and overall it was an enjoyable read. Personal rating 4 stars. Target audience 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. ( )

Better than the first book in the series which is something that doesn't often happen. In this book, young James Bond is back at Eton and is now a member of the Danger Society - a group of boys from all different year levels who sneak out of their dormitories at night and meet in an abandoned part of the college. James is the youngest but is admitted because he has a car that his uncle left him that all the other boys want to drive. One night they are nearly caught and in his haste to escape, James gets lost clambering over rooftops and discovers a strange temple like building with what appears to be blood offerings. He also overhears two men talking in Latin.
Once again, this is all tied in to the kidnapping of a young rich girl in her yacht in the Mediterranean when James ends up going on a school camp to the area at half term. There is a pompous clean freak who claims to be rich and has built himself a villa fit for a Roman emperor, stolen art works, kidnapping, archaeology, evil teachers and a secret society - all for James to uncover with the help of his friends and relatives. Lots of fun dashing around the Mediterranean area in the 1930s! ( )

Not as good as the first one (Silverfin), Blood Fever is decent enough. Like Silverfin, I read the whole thing aloud with my son. It's clean, it moves quickly, and it ends with a big 007 catastrophe. The plot is a bit disjointed, startinmg well and hinting at a grand conspiracy, but it doesn't pan out. Or maybe it does--we took our time with this one and it may have been better had we finished it in two weeks or so. ( )

With one of the most ardent critics of the Young Bond idea recently stating on a fan-run Web site that author Charlie Higson's second foray into the world of a teenage James Bond was so good that he read it twice. Higson certainly seems to have come a long way since the initial announcement of his assignment was received with an equal mixture of curiosity and horror by the fan community.

Certainly the author seems more settled and sure-footed in his sophomore effort, perhaps due to the plaudits his first Young Bond novel SILVERFIN received from critics and Bond fans alike and the impressive sales that it managed in the United Kingdom. Or the fact that it was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel of 2005.

The second novel BLOOD FEVER also benefits from what I feel is a more compelling plot. To be honest the first novel with its tale of an American millionaire injecting eel serum into humans seemed a little too much like Fu Manchu for a Bond thriller and was saved in large part by Higson's wonderful prose. Here, he combines that writing style with a plot surrounding an effort by a Sardininan count to resurrect the Holy Roman Empire in a vibrant concoction that includes pirates, art theft, secret societies, seaplanes, intrigue and a mermaid. Well, okay so the lead female character is referred to as a mermaid, but more on her later.

It can be argued that Higson mimics certain trademark components of the movie series. Each novel has what is essentially a pretitles sequence and here we have a very exciting account of pirates overrunning a private yacht off the coast of Greece and the kidnapping of the two female passengers. We then join James at Eton who has become part of a society addicted to danger. Soon the young Bond comes into contact with some shadowy figures and stumbles upon a plot by a group to bring back the former glory of Italy.

One of Higson's many strengths is painting unusual and interesting villains. During his book tour in 2005 to promote his first book he spoke of the difficulty of coming up with such characters and remaining politically correct at the same time. Gone are the days when a physical handicap can be used to describe a villain. Whereas the main villain in SILVERFIN was drawn as a near perfect human specimen, here the main villain has an abject fear of dirt and is constantly witnessed screaming at people (including young Bond) as he attempts to keep himself and the area around him pristine.

There is also an eclectic group of supporting characters, from the stammering friend of James', Perry to the Sardinian teenage rogues of Mauro and Stefano and from James' cousin Victor to the pirate Zoltan. It's certainly a colorful cast of characters and they help elevate this work into one of the more enjoyable teen thrillers of the past decade.

Another particular strength for Higson appears to be his ability to create strong modern female characters despite the stories being set in the 1930s. Here we not only have Amy Goodenough but also Vendetta. Although Amy is clearly meant to be the lead female character, the far more interesting character for me was the young bandit girl Vendetta who is out for revenge for the murder of her brother as well as more than a casual romantic interest for the stand-offish Bond. I would hope that she appears in one of Higson's later novels though I suspect that the English girl Amy has a better chance of appearing later with her brother being a school friend of Bond's.

And Higson seems particularly adept at action scenes - which is a skill that few Bond continuation authors have been able to master. Here we have everything from a rooftop chase to a boxing match between James and the Eton bully. It is here that we see Higson's chief villain employ another trademark trait - ie the need to cheat at sports. Certainly in the movies from Goldfinger at cards and golf to Kamal Khan at blackgammon, some of the best moments in the film series have come from Bond using the villains own tactics against him and this match-up is no exception here. With weights in his gloves each blow from the bully feels like (as James puts it) being hit by a motor car, but it also makes the bully tire faster and eventually unable to protect himself.

On a sidenote, Higson's first outing was censored slightly (and inexplicably) for its U.S. release. And even though it has been reported that there are no cuts included in this novel it's hard to imagine that as the case since this is perhaps even more adult a Young Bond novel than its predecessor.

This novel really is a great read and a real bona fide page-turner. It's been a long time since I could honestly say that a book was one I simply "couldn't put down," but this is definitely the case here. My only real complaint is that although it was 371 pages long I wished it was longer because I was having such a good time reading it.Higson's second Young Bond book is a simply thrilling adventure.

After a somewhat awkward first adventure with "Silverfin" Higson really hits his stride here and delivers what is among the best of the James Bond continuation adventures. My personal favorite continuation novel is Christopher Wood's 1977 entry "James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me" but Higson's "Blood Fever" is right up their among the top tier. ( )

Blood Fever starts with a happy girl (Amy Goodenough) at sea with her father, but then pirates attack their ship and kills everyone asides from Amy and her governess Grace. While back at Eton, James joins "Danger Society" against the school rules. All he's aware of is that one of the member's (Mark Goodenough) family has disappeared at sea. But then he uncovers a dark society speaking the dead language Latin operating in the shadows of the school, and vauable paintings are slowly stolen not far away. Is there a connection? James isn't sure. Then he goes on a school trip in the holidays, two school professors are in charge, and James suspects one of them is behind all this. But when James finally uncovers the truth and turns to his other professor for help, he is shocked to find that he has suspected the wrong person. James has no one else to turn to, and he is about to give up hope, when he remembers that he isn't only fighting for his freedom, he's also fighting for Amy's. What is James going to do? Read to find out!

Higson has created yet another exciting and thrilling spy adventure full of dark secrets and secret societies. I must admit that I didn't enjoy the 2nd book as much as the first, but my disappointment was only a few chapters. During the 2nd adventure, James is caught up into a bit of romance. Two charming girls gives the book a new taste, this is the only part the Sliverfin had lacked. BLOOD Fever was a bit too BLOODY for taste, but I do not regret reading it.

I must say, I find myself suck into the world of James bond, and cannot wait to get my hands on the 3rd Young Bond book: Double or Die. ( )