High Time to Kill
Encyclopedia
High Time to Kill, published in 1999, is the fourth novel by Raymond Benson
featuring Ian Fleming
’s secret agent
, James Bond
(including Benson’s novelization of Tomorrow Never Dies
). This is the first James Bond novel copyrighted by Ian Fleming Publications
(formerly Glidrose Publications). It was published in the United Kingdom
by Hodder & Stoughton
and in the United States
by Putnam
. The novel's working title was A Better Way to Die.
At the start, Bond and his girlfriend Helena are attending a dinner party thrown by the Governor of The Bahamas. The Governor, who has a gambling debt with a member of The Union, has refused to pay up since he feels that he had been cheated, so there is much security detail at the event. However, the assassin disguises himself as one of the guards and kills the Governor, just as Bond realizes the danger. Bond almost catches the assassin but he commits suicide before he can be interrogated.
A top secret British formula hidden in microfilm, codenamed “Skin 17,” is stolen by traitors; scientist Steven Harding and RAF officer Roland Marquis. The microdot is surgically implanted in the pacemaker of an unhealthy old man, who is a former Chinese intelligence agent. James Bond is sent in to recover it before the Union can sell the microfilm to a foreign power.
Bond tracks Harding and the Chinese ex-agent to Belgium, but the latter two slip away while Bond narrowly kills Harding's bodyguard Basil. MI6 tracks the Chinese man to Nepal. It turns out, however, that Harding planned to double-cross the Union, by having the plane of the pacemaker’s host hijacked. Le Gerrant, the blind leader of The Union, immediately deduces Harding's double-cross and has him executed; Harding's body later washes up on the beaches of Gibraltar.
The plane containing the pacemaker's host crashed into the Himalayas, so a deadly race commences to recover Skin 17. Bond, sexy mountaineer Hope Kendal, and Roland Marquis, also Bond's schoolboy-days rival, lead one of the expeditions. Early on, they successfully destroy the Chinese base camp, forcing that team to withdraw. Not long after, however, everyone on the British expedition has been killed, save for Bond, Hope, and Marquis. The race climaxes with Bond battling Marquis atop the peak of Kangchenjunga
. It turns out that Marquis had collaborated with Harding to steal Skin 17, though they were not planning to sell it to The Union. After a physical high elevation fight, Bond trades oxygen to receive Skin 17 from a mortally wounded Marquis. As Bond and Hope return to base camp, they realize that it has been infiltrated by The Union as Paul Baack, having earlier faked his death while killing the rest of the team, demands Skin 17. Bond and Hope manage to kill Baack and Skin 17 is returned to the British.
Bond's now-estranged girlfriend Helena reveals herself to be in the employ of The Union due to blackmail and threats of violence to her family. However, she is killed just before Bond can reach her.
Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson is an American author best known for being the official author of the adult James Bond novels from 1997 to 2003. Benson was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973...
featuring Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
’s secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(including Benson’s novelization of Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...
). This is the first James Bond novel copyrighted by Ian Fleming Publications
Ian Fleming Publications
Ian Fleming Publications is the production company formerly known as both Glidrose Productions Limited and Glidrose Publications Limited, named after its founders John Gliddon and Norman Rose...
(formerly Glidrose Publications). It was published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Putnam
G. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
. The novel's working title was A Better Way to Die.
Plot summary
The world of James Bond is introduced to the ruthless terrorist organization called “The Union,” whose brutal trademark is slashing the throat of those who cross them(and a logo of a trapazoid composed of 3 triangles).At the start, Bond and his girlfriend Helena are attending a dinner party thrown by the Governor of The Bahamas. The Governor, who has a gambling debt with a member of The Union, has refused to pay up since he feels that he had been cheated, so there is much security detail at the event. However, the assassin disguises himself as one of the guards and kills the Governor, just as Bond realizes the danger. Bond almost catches the assassin but he commits suicide before he can be interrogated.
A top secret British formula hidden in microfilm, codenamed “Skin 17,” is stolen by traitors; scientist Steven Harding and RAF officer Roland Marquis. The microdot is surgically implanted in the pacemaker of an unhealthy old man, who is a former Chinese intelligence agent. James Bond is sent in to recover it before the Union can sell the microfilm to a foreign power.
Bond tracks Harding and the Chinese ex-agent to Belgium, but the latter two slip away while Bond narrowly kills Harding's bodyguard Basil. MI6 tracks the Chinese man to Nepal. It turns out, however, that Harding planned to double-cross the Union, by having the plane of the pacemaker’s host hijacked. Le Gerrant, the blind leader of The Union, immediately deduces Harding's double-cross and has him executed; Harding's body later washes up on the beaches of Gibraltar.
The plane containing the pacemaker's host crashed into the Himalayas, so a deadly race commences to recover Skin 17. Bond, sexy mountaineer Hope Kendal, and Roland Marquis, also Bond's schoolboy-days rival, lead one of the expeditions. Early on, they successfully destroy the Chinese base camp, forcing that team to withdraw. Not long after, however, everyone on the British expedition has been killed, save for Bond, Hope, and Marquis. The race climaxes with Bond battling Marquis atop the peak of Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain of the world with an elevation of and located along the India-Nepal border in the Himalayas.Kangchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over...
. It turns out that Marquis had collaborated with Harding to steal Skin 17, though they were not planning to sell it to The Union. After a physical high elevation fight, Bond trades oxygen to receive Skin 17 from a mortally wounded Marquis. As Bond and Hope return to base camp, they realize that it has been infiltrated by The Union as Paul Baack, having earlier faked his death while killing the rest of the team, demands Skin 17. Bond and Hope manage to kill Baack and Skin 17 is returned to the British.
Bond's now-estranged girlfriend Helena reveals herself to be in the employ of The Union due to blackmail and threats of violence to her family. However, she is killed just before Bond can reach her.
Locations
Locations where the book takes place include:- The Bahamas
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
—EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... - BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
- DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
- NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
- Mt. Kangchenjunga
- BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Publication history
- UK first hardback edition: May 1999 Hodder & StoughtonHodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
- U.S. first hardback edition: June 1999 PutnamG. P. Putnam's SonsG. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
- UK first paperback edition: July 1999 Coronet Books
- U.S. first paperback edition: June 2000 Jove Books