you want to hand out spinal rather than moral chills." The Library Journal said, "This imported British spin-off from the adult series doesn't exude literary quality but is a notch above what might be expected. After a sluggish beginning in which Bond family relationships and the basis for the story's intrigue are explained, the adventures of the youthful 003 1/2 (James Bond's nephew) gain momentum as he ferrets out the mystery of a heavily"guarded estate and runs up against gold robbers and guard dogs. The crooks are finally apprehended in a satisfying, albeit predictable manner. Flashes of irony and some humor enliven this otherwise ordinary adventure story." Ursula Robertshaw writing for The Illustrated London News complained that the book is "Very definitely for boys. It's all very exciting, but racy and rather bloody, and so not to be given to the sons of very prim parents." Children's fiction critic Margery Fisher was more critical: "003 1/2 seems to be satire on three levels. First, with its bullion robbers and the indomitable amateur boy who cracks the code, as it were, the book sends up the junior thriller; young Bond with his blacked and infra-red camera and judo principles ("Don't go against the enemy, go with him") is a remote cousin of Miss Blyton's water-pistol-carrying kids. Then (and I am less certain of the author's intention here) the fast-moving events and casual cruelty of the story may be a satire on the exploits of Jimmy's notorious uncle; if so, it is a satire many readers won't see or won't want to. Mascott has given us glimpses of the sordid and a nearer approach to danger (and one brilliant female character drawn in the round). But one swallow doesn't make a summer and all Sheelagh's gibes and kisses and dirty clothes don't make this a genuinely realistic book." Punch critic Marjorie D. Lawrie praised Christopher Chamberlain's "satisfying illustrations", but otherwise had no opinion of the book. See also James Bond Jr. Young Bond Outline of James Bond Footnotes 1967 British novels British children's novels James Bond books Jonathan Cape books Junior spy novels Works published under a pseudonym Novels about orphans 1967 children's books British children's books