Mountain of Adventure

[Anita Bensoussane]

I actually really like River, it's one of my favourites. I won't say too much because of giving things away for Courtenay but it's the location and setting that I love as I'm fascinated with that kind of place, and I love the idea of a holiday on the river.

I feel exactly the same about River, Cathy. A fascinating setting, a sense of history, a river leading goodness knows where... It's really alluring.

[walter raleigh]

Hmm, in order from favourite to least favourite:

Ship, Circus, Sea, River, Island, Castle, Valley, Mountain.

But really they're all great, except Mountain and even that has it's moments. It's very interesting to see Courtenay's reaction to the books as she reads them. I thought that was a fair analaysis of 'Mountain' and I'm looking forward to seeing how 'Ship' is received.

[Poppy]

You've got nothing to worry about with River, Courtenay. It is a brilliant final book with plenty of excitment and a fantastic plotline. It is also set in a fascinating country which is described beautifully. My own order of favourites would be:

Sea, Valley, Castle, Ship, Island, River, Circus, Mountain.

Each book offers different descriptions and locations and my list is based purely on which appeals to me the most.

[Moonraker]

Good points, and as with Cathy and Anita, I found River to be a mysterious and alluring novel. My list changes like the wind, but right now it's in this order:

Valley, Sea, Circus, River, Castle, Ship and Mountain. As I love Mountain, you can see how highly I rate the series!

[walter raleigh]

Not a big fan of 'Island' though as it doesn't make your list at all!

[Moonraker]

Aarghhhhh! I checked the list three times to ensure I hadn't missed one out.

Valley, Sea, Island, Circus, River, Castle, Ship and Mountain

Amended list

[Carlotta King]

I always have to count them - there are 8 Adventure titles so if I've only listed 7 I know I've missed one out!
I did that yesterday in fact - forgot Valley and couldn't think which one I had missed out!

[Courtenay]

Well, I'm glad to see River at least seems to win more fans than Mountain! As I said, Mountain too could have been just about as good as the rest if Enid had played down the bizarre elements of the plot slightly and developed the characters (familiar though they already are) a little more.

I read somewhere that each of the Adventure books only took her about a week to write, but Mountain seems to me to have a quite "rushed" feel to it, as if she was under pressure to write it and didn't take as much care as she normally would. Does anyone know if there might have been some reason for that?

[Farwa]

I never thought I'd say this, but I rather agree with our friend Farwa on this point.

Thanks for taking my side, Moonraker!

Well, maybe I am, especially after a very late night last night finishing a book that didn't turn out to be quite as good as I'd have liked. But I didn't mean any offence to Farwa, and I hope she hasn't taken any.

Of course not, Courtenay! It was just a friendly talk, and I enjoyed it a lot!
I must say Enid can be applauded at how she can totally hook a person to any of her stories!

Well, I'm glad to see River at least seems to win more fans than Mountain!

It is a wonderful book, Courtenay, I assure you!

My order of favourite Adventure books is :
Ship, Circus, Island, Valley, Mountain, Sea, River and Castle.

[John Pickup]

Valley has always been my favourite but the order of the others changes everytime they get read. The last one I read was Circus which promptly moved up from 6th to 3rd.

[Courtenay]

Well, there we go! My current order of favourites (of the ones I've read) is Sea, Valley, Island, Castle, Mountain, but I expect this will be subject to change as well.

John, I love your new avatar - are you Huffin or Puffin?

[tix]

It’s interesting to see the preferences regarding Blyton’s ‘Adventure’ series and, as the record shows, they are subject to quite a bit of change.

“That would be my rough order of preference; Circus, Valley, Island, Castle, Ship, Mountain, River.” ‬

“My order of favourites also changes somewhat but is at the moment in this type of order – Sea, Castle, River, Island, Mountain, Valley, Circus, Ship.”

“I found River to be a mysterious and alluring novel. My list changes like the wind, but right now it's in this order:‬ Valley, Sea, Island, Circus, River, Castle, Ship and Mountain. As I love Mountain, you can see how highly I rate the series.” ‬

“I think my order would be: Valley, Sea, Castle, River, Island, Ship, Circus, Mountain (I actually really like River, it's one of my favourites. I won't say too much because of giving things away for Courtenay but it's the location and setting that I love as I'm fascinated with that kind of place).”

“Mine changes periodically but generally speaking I would have Valley, Sea, Castle, Island, Ship, Mountain, Circus, River.”

“The River of Adventure. Exquisite descriptions and an engaging plot! Very enjoyable indeed.”

“The River of Adventure, I like the exotic country and that the children rescue Bill and Allie.”

“I read somewhere that 'Valley' is the 'best' and this has always stayed with me and clouded my judgment. As a child I would have said Castle, River - and Sea I also enjoyed. I actually found the Circus the weakest as a child, rather boring - interested it is seen as 'adult' maybe that's why. I though Mountain was great! The wings that were supposed to harness gravity, the Vale of the Butterflies and the children getting lost. Plus the description of the food at the Welsh Farmhouse.” (2004)

‪”My favourite I think is the Island of Adventure with the Valley a very close second. My least favourite is The Ship of adventure. I just started reading The Island of adventure now for about 20th time in 40years.” (2005)‬‬‬

“River certainly not the worst, in fact I enjoyed it! Just eclipsed by Castle etc. Mountain also a good read in my opinion although thought to be the weakest I think.” (2005)

“With the recent focus on Valley of Adventure, I thought it appropriate to revisit this poll posted a few months ago. At present, we have 14 votes, with Valley leading with 4 votes, just ahead of Island and Castle, each with 3. Quite astonishingly, 7 of the 8 books in the series have received at least one vote, with River the only one not to get a vote. Perhaps if we had a poll on least-favourite "Adventure" story, we could get River a few votes!” (2005)

“For me The Circus was the most disappointing. Not sure if this was because I was that bit older when I read it first?”

“My favourite would be 1. Sea 2. Valley 3. River 4. Castle 5. Island 6. Circus 7. Ship 8. Mountain.(Places 4 to 7 are not always like that, those I find difficult to say where they are).”

“River would be seventh out of eight in my favourites list. It's still a good book, just that ones like Valley and Sea are so exciting.”

“Mountain isn't up in my favourites for the series but I like it better than River which I find the weakest in the series (an unpopular opinion I know.)”

“Circus" is a great and sometimes quite funny story thanks to Gus, but I never cared for "Mountain" (too much Sci Fi) or "River". "Ship" is not bad.”

“CIRCUS is my all-time favourite, close run thing with MOUNTAIN, with RIVER and SHIP tying to come in last!”

“I must admit I found River to be a bit of a let down after the others, but still a cleverly worked plot. If I had met this book first as a child I think it would have had a greater impact though.” (Daisy) ‬

*********************************

I ‘did’ read ‘River’ as a child and had always held it to be the weakest but that might relate to the fact it was the last in a series (as was ‘Banshee’ in 1961); however, although ‘River’ might exist on the border of EB’s ‘vintage’ years, it had “Five Have Plenty of Fun’ to accompany it, and just as Forumites have expressed their opinion of FHPOF, they have also graded ‘River of Adventure.’ From what I can remember, a lot of time was devoted to the children journeying down a long passage (of which there are many in the normal course of things) and it was located in a cavern beside a river but, as I’ve forgotten what happened after that, there might be some thrilling moments to experience. Forum talk can stimulate and make a Fan want to re-read various titles, so that’s what I’ll do.

As Daisy has hinted, preferences might well relate as to whether a book was read as a child or adult. There’s also the ‘understanding’ factor that can be severely limited in a small kid’s comprehension of the storyline. Factors such as in ‘Castle’ - What are Nazis? ‘Island’ – What are ‘counterfeiters?’ ‘Mountain’ – What are Paratroopers? How do all those spinning things, sparking crystal boxes, and the great lamp watching like an eye create the ‘Force?’ Admittedly Lucy-Ann took a guess that it had something to do with atom bombs.

Another factor involved layouts. I sometimes found it difficult to visualize locations in order to follow the characters in their surroundings. It’s easy now, but in earlier times the relation of the kids’ leafy cave (Valley) to the mountain’s passages had to be carefully figured out and I can remember getting muddled as to exactly where they were at times … underground passages tend to look all alike.

The beauty about having a poor memory is that one can pick up a book of old (or even quite new) and enjoy the story as if it had never been encountered previously and I know of at least one other Forum member who has found this to be the case. It’s an excellent position to be in because I think many of us might envy a ‘starter’ who can select a novel such as ‘Disappearing Cat’ or ‘Castle’ and begin an exciting tale for the very first time.

Points Remembered: There’s a snake belonging to Philip which is called ‘Bargua’ and that’s not the breed. I believe it means ‘snake’ in the local language (they’re all on holiday somewhere in the East). There’s a long tunnel with a river running through it and the children tramp through the darkness by means of a narrow ledge that runs beside the water. Can’t remember what they find at the end of it, or the names of any baddies they might encounter so that’s yet to be ‘discovered.’ According to the Swiss Maid – ‘Dinah,’ there’s also Oola. I definitely remember an Oola whom I’m sure is a little black boy and whether he falls under Philip’s spell is yet to be determined … Philip attracts admirers. In the Cave there are very good reviews of all the Adventure books and I’ve read through them more than once but the Old Forgettery has fortunately stepped in, so it’s back to Square One.

Quite shameful I know because Fans are expected to keep up with the play and ‘River’ must have been read at least half a dozen times … but not recently by any means.

[Lucky Star]

Interesting that Carlotta King and Waltrr Raleigh have put Valley near the bottom of their lists! Most of us place it in the top three. Just goes to show the variety of opinion that exists on this series.

Although River is far from my favourite it is still a great book especially the second part where it really begins (literally) to speed up. The underground portion towards the end is one of the finest underground passages that Enid, a master of this stuff, ever wrote.

[Courtenay]

Castle is near the bottom of my list (so far) because I just didn't find it quite as exciting as Island, Valley and Sea, but it's still a brilliant book! I don't know when I last enjoyed an Enid Blyton series as much as I'm enjoying this one, and I'm speaking as an adult here. (Although not necessarily a mature one. ) I really do think these are some of the most appealing characters and most exciting and intriguing plots that Enid ever created - way beyond the Famous Five and the Five Find-Outers.

Had to put Ship aside for a few days due to other commitments, but I'm hoping to get a little time for it tonight or tomorrow!

[Carlotta King]

Yeah, my order does change sometimes but me putting Valley lower down doesn't mean that I don't like it as much I just love the location and the waterfall and fern cave, and the treasure caves are just wonderful especially the Cave of Stars, and then the gold coins etc.

Trouble is, I'm a sea/island/coast/wreckers/smugglers/old buildings/foreign lands type of girl so Sea, Island, River, Castle etc will always feature higher simply because of where they're set.

I find the Adventure series almost impossible to place in order because I really do love them all and that's why the order keeps changing because I never have a definite and constant least-favourite book.
Even though Ship is last on my list I still love it because I'm fascinated with the Greek islands, and all that treasure is just amazing. Argh now I want to change the list again because Ship is so great!