Young Bond is here!

You know the name, and today you can find out the story behind it, as Young Bond: SilverFin is released. This full-cast audio drama is produced by Big Finish Productions and Ian Fleming Publications Limited, and is based on the novel by Charlie Higson.

Comprising sixteen action-packed episodes over two box sets, SilverFin sees the 13-year-old James Bond make friends and enemies as he begins his studies at Eton College, set off to Scotland on his first life-or-death adventure, and uncover the sinister schemes of the powerful Lord Randolph Hellebore.

Isaac Rouse stars as James Bond, alongside a star-studded cast that includes Charlotte McBurney, Charlie Higson, Miriam Margolyes, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Raison, Paterson Joseph, William Hope, Timothy Bentinck, and more.

So listeners can get a taste of this exciting adventure, the first episode of Young Bond: SilverFin is now available to download for free exclusively here.

On his first day at his new school, James Bond is about to make his very first enemy, and is soon plunged into a deadly adventure that will take him from the playing fields of Eton to the murky waters of Loch Silverfin...

A monstrous secret lurks beneath its icy surface... a secret that threatens to plunge the world into a new era of warfare.

Lead actor Isaac Rouse said: “In one of the first scenes, I got to say ‘The name’s Bond, James Bond’ – that was a pretty awesome way to start things off. It’s been breakneck pace and it’s been amazing working with people in the room. There’s so many talented people involved with this project and it’s been intense, but cathartic.

“With James at this point in his life, it’s a challenge to map how much of the icon we’re so familiar with is innate and how much of it is discovered across these stories of Young Bond  that Charlie Higson so masterfully put together. In spite of his intellect and his brilliance, he’s always a bit of an underdog, and even though he’s part of an establishment, he does things his own way and he’s sticking it to the man. He’s courageous and powerful without being perfect all the time. And that’s something to aspire to.”

Jason Haigh-Ellery, chairman of Big Finish, added: “How I would have loved to have had a Young Bond series to read – and now listen to – when I was a boy. Fifty years later, I am delighted and honoured that Ian Fleming Publications has entrusted these stories to Big Finish to tell.”

And, Charlie Higson, author of the Young Bond novels, said: “I’m very excited that my Young Bond books could be given fresh life as fully dramatised audio adventures. As we eagerly anticipate the new film, James Bond returns on audio, hopefully introducing him to a new generation.”

SilverFin is comprised of 16 half-hour episodes, making up approximately eight hours of full-cast audio drama. It is comprised of two box sets, available from www.bigfinish.com and www.ianflemingshop.com. Each box set can now be purchased for just £24.99 (download to own) or £35.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD).

Additionally, listeners can buy the two volumes together as a bundle, available in a number of premium tiers with strictly limited, exclusive collectable packages:

• Platinum (limited to just 300 copies worldwide): SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, plus an exclusive ‘Young Bond Intelligence Report’ magazine and commemorative collectables (notebook, mug, fridge magnet, and behind-the-scenes postcards), for £119.
• Gold (limited to just 300 copies worldwide): SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, plus commemorative collectables (notebook, mug, fridge magnet, and behind-the-scenes postcards), for £95.
• Silver: SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, for £68.
• Bronze: SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as digital downloads to own, for £48.

Copies of the SilverFin novel by Charlie Higson can also be purchased from the Big Finish website, for £6.99. And, the novel is available in a bundle with both volumes of the SilverFin audio drama, for £54 (with the audio drama as digital downloads to own) or £68 (with the audio drama on CD).