I thought Bill said something like "near the borders of Syria". I could be wrong, will have to dig out the relevant passage when I have time.
The snake Philip rescued had its mouth sewn up. The (different) snake that Oola gave him as a present had its poison ducts cut out.
The Adventure Series!
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Lucky Star
- Posts: 11496
- Joined: 28 May 2006, 12:59
- Favourite book/series: The Valley of Adventure
- Favourite character: Mr Goon
- Location: Surrey, UK
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Ming
- Posts: 6057
- Joined: 14 Nov 2006, 16:58
- Favourite book/series: Adventure/Mystery
- Favourite character: Fatty, Bill Smugs, Kiki
- Location: Ithaca, NY
- Contact:
Wow, this rating is a good idea!
The Island of Adventure Absolutely haunting and very nicely put together. Quite mysterious, and makes you think a lot. Very realistic plots, and a gripping beginning and ending. I liked the way the main villain comes across as a stick-in-the-mud, but what a villain! Bill is also at his darkest point too. Like Stephen, I would give 10/10
The Castle of Adventure Starts of very like the Find Outer's books, the start of the hols. However, it helps to bring the character's together, and I think the story kicks of remarkably well. The plot was very advanced, I always thought, but it was very imaginative. I liked the way the children were treated, it certainly was spooky! And the storm! I've learned to describe storms from that book! 9/10
The Valley of Adventure Well, this certainly is a great one. It is sympathetic, imaginative, haunting, and at times poignant. The old couple in the caves were very touching; waiting for years for the War to be over, not knowing that it was already over years ago, very touching. And about Greta and Lucy-Ann, well, that was a good one. The caves were really enchanting, even though slightly unbelievable, but that doesn't matter. I loved the whole cave-behind-the-waterfall thing. Another one to get 10/10 from me.
The Sea of Adventure Despite what some people think of this book, I quite like it myself. The whole bird watching things is really stunning, at least for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned quite a lot about birds, and gunrunning as well. I love bird watching, and I enjoyed this book very much. 9/10
The Mountain of Adventure This is, for me, the weakest book in the Adventure series. The plot is laughable; which scientist would ever believe those tall tales told by Meirr and Erlick! But Monally falls for it all right, but I later got the impression that he was a very old person, so his memory was not that good. Like Stephen, I also envied Philip! 4/10
The Ship of Adventure Ah, a big change! Here we are, on board the Viking Star, travelling around Europe! Great! I like the way the children find the map, and I loved to know about ships in bottles. I had never seen one (or heard of one, for that matter) but I recently saw a glass ship in a glass bottle. That wasn't very thrilling of course, as there was no map to be found! Anyway, I like the part of the cruise better than the real adventure. 6/10
The Circus of Adventure I quite liked this book. What a lot has happened over the first 100 pages! A foreign prince, going away, badgers, kidnapping, stowing away in the boot, a circus, quite good! Although Jack is the hero of the book, the circus folk are fascinating too, particularly old Ma. 8/10
The River of Adventure This is also another different book, far away from modern civilization. Just perfect for an adventure! I liked the scenic descriptions, and the way Philip felt for Oola, Oola's loyalty, the snakes, and everything else was very nice. And I found Oola's goodbye part very poignant. A great book. 9/10
Oh, and by the way, this took me almost 10 minutes to type.
The Island of Adventure Absolutely haunting and very nicely put together. Quite mysterious, and makes you think a lot. Very realistic plots, and a gripping beginning and ending. I liked the way the main villain comes across as a stick-in-the-mud, but what a villain! Bill is also at his darkest point too. Like Stephen, I would give 10/10
The Castle of Adventure Starts of very like the Find Outer's books, the start of the hols. However, it helps to bring the character's together, and I think the story kicks of remarkably well. The plot was very advanced, I always thought, but it was very imaginative. I liked the way the children were treated, it certainly was spooky! And the storm! I've learned to describe storms from that book! 9/10
The Valley of Adventure Well, this certainly is a great one. It is sympathetic, imaginative, haunting, and at times poignant. The old couple in the caves were very touching; waiting for years for the War to be over, not knowing that it was already over years ago, very touching. And about Greta and Lucy-Ann, well, that was a good one. The caves were really enchanting, even though slightly unbelievable, but that doesn't matter. I loved the whole cave-behind-the-waterfall thing. Another one to get 10/10 from me.
The Sea of Adventure Despite what some people think of this book, I quite like it myself. The whole bird watching things is really stunning, at least for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned quite a lot about birds, and gunrunning as well. I love bird watching, and I enjoyed this book very much. 9/10
The Mountain of Adventure This is, for me, the weakest book in the Adventure series. The plot is laughable; which scientist would ever believe those tall tales told by Meirr and Erlick! But Monally falls for it all right, but I later got the impression that he was a very old person, so his memory was not that good. Like Stephen, I also envied Philip! 4/10
The Ship of Adventure Ah, a big change! Here we are, on board the Viking Star, travelling around Europe! Great! I like the way the children find the map, and I loved to know about ships in bottles. I had never seen one (or heard of one, for that matter) but I recently saw a glass ship in a glass bottle. That wasn't very thrilling of course, as there was no map to be found! Anyway, I like the part of the cruise better than the real adventure. 6/10
The Circus of Adventure I quite liked this book. What a lot has happened over the first 100 pages! A foreign prince, going away, badgers, kidnapping, stowing away in the boot, a circus, quite good! Although Jack is the hero of the book, the circus folk are fascinating too, particularly old Ma. 8/10
The River of Adventure This is also another different book, far away from modern civilization. Just perfect for an adventure! I liked the scenic descriptions, and the way Philip felt for Oola, Oola's loyalty, the snakes, and everything else was very nice. And I found Oola's goodbye part very poignant. A great book. 9/10
Oh, and by the way, this took me almost 10 minutes to type.
Society Member
Island - haven't read it for years, just about to. But from memory, 8/10.
Castle - it's not Valley, which is my all-time number 1 EB book, but it's among the small pack chasing second place. 10/10.
Valley - 10/10.
Sea - first of the series that I ever read. Very adventurous - 9/10.
Ship - I loved the parts on board Viking Star, because I'd never been on a cruise as a child and never thought I would; it's another one I haven't read for years. 9/10
Mountain - reminded me too much of "The Secret Mountain" (should it, or am I imagining?). 7/10
Circus - tremendously adventurous, which is after all the point. This had more re-reads than any other. 10/10
River - Very good once sinny-town was out of the way and the children were (more or less) on their own. 9/10.
On the subject of all the cave adventures - there are children crawling through unknown caves with no known exit in Island, Valley, Ship, Mountain, and River - is there a sequel "The Loony Bin of Adventure"? It'd drive me dotty to be semi-permanently trapped underground, that's for sure. (Anyone ever read "The Weirdstone of Binsagamen" by Alan Garner? It's got several chapters crawling underground, and I had to stop half-way through for a break.)
But seriously, some people were evidently capable of crawling through caves without (much) fear - for example, White Scar Caves, Ingleton, Yorkshire was discovered when a university student found a hole in the side of the hill and crawled in. He kept crawling for two hours, in a hole not even big enough to lift his head in, and covered half a mile before he reached a cave with a waterfall where he could turn round to crawl back.
Castle - it's not Valley, which is my all-time number 1 EB book, but it's among the small pack chasing second place. 10/10.
Valley - 10/10.
Sea - first of the series that I ever read. Very adventurous - 9/10.
Ship - I loved the parts on board Viking Star, because I'd never been on a cruise as a child and never thought I would; it's another one I haven't read for years. 9/10
Mountain - reminded me too much of "The Secret Mountain" (should it, or am I imagining?). 7/10
Circus - tremendously adventurous, which is after all the point. This had more re-reads than any other. 10/10
River - Very good once sinny-town was out of the way and the children were (more or less) on their own. 9/10.
On the subject of all the cave adventures - there are children crawling through unknown caves with no known exit in Island, Valley, Ship, Mountain, and River - is there a sequel "The Loony Bin of Adventure"? It'd drive me dotty to be semi-permanently trapped underground, that's for sure. (Anyone ever read "The Weirdstone of Binsagamen" by Alan Garner? It's got several chapters crawling underground, and I had to stop half-way through for a break.)
But seriously, some people were evidently capable of crawling through caves without (much) fear - for example, White Scar Caves, Ingleton, Yorkshire was discovered when a university student found a hole in the side of the hill and crawled in. He kept crawling for two hours, in a hole not even big enough to lift his head in, and covered half a mile before he reached a cave with a waterfall where he could turn round to crawl back.
DSR
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jen
- Posts: 488
- Joined: 13 Apr 2007, 11:25
- Favourite book/series: Secret Island
- Favourite character: Jack or Phillip from Adventure
- Location: North Yorkshire
Circus first - I love the descriptions of the Tauri-Hessian people.
Valley next - for me its could do wth a bit more fact/history.....is the treasure Jewish? Is Otto Engler (Very Jewish name) Jewish? Was it hidden there to stop the Nazi's getting it?
Island - I like this one but not Horace Tipperlong.....that name is just laughable.
Mountian - its a bit wishy washy to start with but I like the ending
Sea - not may favourite, not my least favourite - I'm still scared to walk between carriages and you can hardly tell where one stops and another starts now!
River - yeah but the ending is a bit fantastical
Ship - I hate this book, hate Lucien, hate the whole thing!!
Valley next - for me its could do wth a bit more fact/history.....is the treasure Jewish? Is Otto Engler (Very Jewish name) Jewish? Was it hidden there to stop the Nazi's getting it?
Island - I like this one but not Horace Tipperlong.....that name is just laughable.
Mountian - its a bit wishy washy to start with but I like the ending
Sea - not may favourite, not my least favourite - I'm still scared to walk between carriages and you can hardly tell where one stops and another starts now!
River - yeah but the ending is a bit fantastical
Ship - I hate this book, hate Lucien, hate the whole thing!!
A woman is like a tea bag - you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water
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Ming
- Posts: 6057
- Joined: 14 Nov 2006, 16:58
- Favourite book/series: Adventure/Mystery
- Favourite character: Fatty, Bill Smugs, Kiki
- Location: Ithaca, NY
- Contact:
I should have known that! I (idiot that I am!) read your location as New York, US, when it is actually North Yorks, UK, and was wondering what the time was. I can assure you that I said out loud "Eh? How come it is nine in US and two in the morning in Bangladesh? I thought we had a difference of at least ten hours!" 
Society Member
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Anita Bensoussane
- Forum Administrator
- Posts: 26892
- Joined: 30 Jan 2005, 23:25
- Favourite book/series: Adventure series, Six Cousins books, Six Bad Boys
- Favourite character: Jack Trent, Fatty and Elizabeth Allen
- Location: UK
Much of the treasure came from churches and included, among other items, statues of the Virgin Mary - so no, it wasn't Jewish![Jen:] Valley next - for me its could do wth a bit more fact/history.....is the treasure Jewish?...Was it hidden there to stop the Nazi's getting it?
Blyton explains that the Nazis stole the treasure and hid it in the caves. Julius Muller discovered it and left Elsa and her husband to guard the treasure for the people of Austria. Julius was planning to return for it when the war ended but by that time the pass into the valley was blocked.
Mine too. Well, either Valley or Six Cousins Again, anyway![dsr:] Valley...is my all-time number 1 EB book
Anita
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Society Member
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Viking Star
- Posts: 1417
- Joined: 03 Apr 2006, 20:13
- Favourite book/series: Mystery, Adventure and Secret series.
- Favourite character: Fatty, Mrs Hilton and Philip
- Location: Vauxhall, London
Thanks in particular to Stephen and Ming for taking the time to write a mini-review of each book! It would take me much longer than the 10 minutes it took Ming!
On a fun note, Castle and Mountain stand out for me in containing instances when the children stop to eat at what seems to be the most inappropriate times!
In Castle they have a meal while the storm is overhead, when I'd have thought they might focus more on trying to escape. In Mountain there is a quite thrilling episode where the children are being chased by the pack of dogs, and decide to hide under a rocky ledge in a stream. I just couldn't believe it when someone pulled out a bar of chocolate and they all started munching away!
I'd love to see a Director of a modern adventure/thriller film throw in a scene like that, and watch the audience' faces looking on in disbelief!
On a fun note, Castle and Mountain stand out for me in containing instances when the children stop to eat at what seems to be the most inappropriate times!
In Castle they have a meal while the storm is overhead, when I'd have thought they might focus more on trying to escape. In Mountain there is a quite thrilling episode where the children are being chased by the pack of dogs, and decide to hide under a rocky ledge in a stream. I just couldn't believe it when someone pulled out a bar of chocolate and they all started munching away!
I'd love to see a Director of a modern adventure/thriller film throw in a scene like that, and watch the audience' faces looking on in disbelief!
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SchoolStory
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 21 Apr 2007, 08:22
- Location: Australia
I love these books! The children are well drawn and distinct, and their relationships and interplay are fantastic. Phillip and Dinah fighting makes great entertainment 
Wow, I didn't realise that Valley was so popular! I don't have a particularly strong order of preference for the Adventure books, but I do have favourites. Castle was the first I ever read, though it's not one of my top picks.
1. River - Exotic and exciting seem to sum this one up!
2. Island - I like it because it introduces all the characters so well, and the plot is interesting, and we're never quite sure who the baddies are.
3. Circus - Colourful characters and settings, and amusing overall (if improbable). Though I prefer EB's other circus stories more.
4. Sea - Good rollicking adventure, and Huffin and Puffin are great.
5. Ship - I love the cruise ship and the route, so it's a bit of wish-fulfillment for me, lol!
6. Mountain - A bit scifi-ish, but I like the setting.
7. Valley - Very strong thematically and historically, but the plot is a bit too stagnant for my liking.
8. Castle - Seems a bit improbable, and Tassie was never my favourite character.
Wow, I didn't realise that Valley was so popular! I don't have a particularly strong order of preference for the Adventure books, but I do have favourites. Castle was the first I ever read, though it's not one of my top picks.
1. River - Exotic and exciting seem to sum this one up!
2. Island - I like it because it introduces all the characters so well, and the plot is interesting, and we're never quite sure who the baddies are.
3. Circus - Colourful characters and settings, and amusing overall (if improbable). Though I prefer EB's other circus stories more.
4. Sea - Good rollicking adventure, and Huffin and Puffin are great.
5. Ship - I love the cruise ship and the route, so it's a bit of wish-fulfillment for me, lol!
6. Mountain - A bit scifi-ish, but I like the setting.
7. Valley - Very strong thematically and historically, but the plot is a bit too stagnant for my liking.
8. Castle - Seems a bit improbable, and Tassie was never my favourite character.
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RainbowJude
- Posts: 318
- Joined: 15 Oct 2008, 18:35
- Favourite book/series: Malory Towers, Adventure Series, Barney Mysteries
- Favourite character: Darryl, Dick, Barney, Jack, George, Noddy, Pip
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Contact:
The Adventure series --> Bill as a hero in ISLAND
Stephen wrote:I think Bill was never more scarier than in (The Island of Adventure). You WANTED to believe he wasn't in with the baddies, but on first reading there was always that little bit of doubt.
Ming wrote:I liked the way the main villain comes across as a stick-in-the-mud, but what a villain! Bill is also at his darkest point too.
I must say how surprised I am at how many people seem to believe that Bill is one of the villains in The Island of Adventure. If we didn't have any information about Joe, and if Joe was not so strongly and villainously depicted, I might have an easier time believing it. But with all the information at our disposal, I find it hard to believe that there could any real uncertainty that Joe will ultimately be the villain and Bill a hero - even moreso if the reader is at all familiar with other Blyton books where this "appearance vs reality" in terms of these kinds of characters in accomplished with greater success, for example in the case of Mr King in The Rockingdown Mystery. Perhaps I've just become too old and cynical. Then again, I was fooled by Mr King only a couple of weeks ago - why not here?SchoolStory wrote:I like it because... we're never quite sure who the baddies are.
Later days
David
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