I have a big pending list of fiction books to read so of course the most natural thing is to greatly increase it! I have bought a job lot of 22 Pan paperbacks from the 1960s. They include some authors i am familiar with such as John Creasey though a lot that are new to me. Exploring them will be fun, when i finally get around to them. That may be some time!
At the weekend i headed up to the Severn Valley Railway for their branch line weekend. I usually go the SVR at least once a year (though last year i didn't go due to reasons). The branch line weekend was a great event involving smaller trains running more frequently. I visited Northwood Halt for the first time, this is one of the line's request stops and i need it for one of my future books. A great day, hopefully i will visit again later in the year.
You can see my photos from the SVR here.
At the heart of this story is that staple of books of Blake & Mortimer's ilk : lost civilisations. Though in the case of the Gondwana Shrine, the civilisation is truly very ancient (as in millions of years old) and that does stretch credibility a bit.
Professor Mortimer takes the lead in this story though of course Blake is never far away and a certain persistent villain also makes a reappearance. To be honest it would be nice for Blake & Mortimer to have some other enemies to face...
As with all Blake & Mortimer books, it has a dense storyline and full of intrigue and adventure, and of course very well drawn. However, as the central concept of the story is a little too far-fetched it did detract from the story a little but it is still well worth your time.
Therefore, the story stands out from a lot of it's peers. This is more of a psychological study of murder and motive than the standard detective yarn of the period, and explores how the culprit tries to avoid being discovered. It may lack in suspense but makes it up with good characterisation.
The interesting premise may though be the best part about the story, the initial part especially is a bit of a slog though it does pick up later on.
I go to the north west quite a lot, but always to Merseyside. Why don't i go to Greater Manchester more often, after all its where my northern relatives actually live and i'm sure as i am only half-Scouser i won't dissolve. So, at the weekend i headed up to Wigan. I also took a short train ride to the nearby town of Hindley. At Easter i plan to so some more exploring up Manchester way.
A nice trip up north, also nice to see the Manchester Bee network buses, hopefully we will have something similar in Birmingham soon. You can see my photos here.
One plot involves the kidnapping and ransoming of VIPs by a highly professional couple. The Secret Service are completely flummoxed as to who the kidnappers are but suspect they are planning their big job. Indeed, they kidnap the Archbishop of Canterbury and want a fortune in diamonds for his release.
The other plot involves a medium and her lover / assistant who are employed by a rich older woman to find her long-lost nephew. Trying to find this nephew is very difficult but they finally do succeed... but you can guess who it turns out to be!
A good book, a slow start is ultimately very rewarding. The characters are well written and the demise of one of them hits hard. The book ends on a pretty dark note as well. Interestingly, the story was adapted into a film called Family Plot, which was Alfred Hitchcock's last film.