This second James Bond book by Anthony Horowitz acts is a prequel to Casino Royale, showing Bond receiving his Double O number. It also has solid characters, villains, and travel situations. In short, it checks all the boxes.

This somewhat younger Bond makes some deadly mistakes, and the consequences of those are a big part of the narrative. His inexperience is commented on by the Bond girl, Sixtine, whose back story would also make for a great secret agent novel. There are two main villains here, and one of them (a brash elder American) spurs the unbelievable plot. My favorite parts of the book were the well-described settings and the recent history of a World War - this is Bond set in the same time frame as Fleming first imagined him.

Horowitz discussed the material provided by the estate which made up a portion of his first 007 novel. None of that was directly related to this book, though I can see Fleming noting the specific details of Bond's origin. The author's website notes that he is writing a third novel, set right after the death of Scaramanga in the timeline, to be published in 2022. Looking forward to it!