n Charlie Higson's new story, On His Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond is on a mission to thwart a plot by one Æthelstan of Wessex to disrupt the coronation of King Charles III. All the elements that make a cracking Bond adventure are there: M's briefing, the locations, brutal violence, the mad villain, the mysterious women, Bond's reflectons on life and death, and of course the food.