It’s never too early to talk about what we have to look forward to next year, so today we can confirm that Charlie Higson’s fifth Young Bond bestseller, By Royal Command (currently out in hardcover) will be released in paperback on May 28, 2009.

If that date sounds familiar, it should. May 28th is the birthday of Ian Fleming, which this year saw the release of the Centennial Bond novel Devil May Care and the paperback edition of Hurricane Gold.

By Royal Command finds James Bond in action from England to the chilling heights of the Austrian Alps. Says Charlie, “It’s a great way to finish off the series, and at the end of it we really feel that James is poised for the next phase of his life.”

No details on cover art or extras, but we will keep you posted...of course!