Biggles Breaks the Silence

Biggles #36

by W.E. Johns

Obchodník v námořní dopravě se synem zaujme Bigglese historkou o zlaté koruně, která byla spatřena u vraku v Antarktidě. Uspořádají výpravu z Falklandských ostrovů s cílem jí najít.

Genres: Adventure, Fiction, Childrens, Historical Fiction

172 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1949

About the author

Invariably known as Captain W.E. Johns, William Earl Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. He had a younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, who was born on 24 October 1895.

He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.

In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.

On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.

With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.

He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.

He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the middle of Biggles' ongoing quest to rid the World of evil ex-Nazis, this more light-hearted adventure is a surprising gem. A brilliant setting, a fun treasure hunt, and an absolutely terrifying sequence on board the ghost ship - this would legit have given me nightmares as a child. Johns continues his post-WWII winning streak here with another five star novel.

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A treasure hunt! Biggles and friends are bored when an old friend arrives at the office telling a story about a ship loaded with gold stuck in the Antarctic ice.

It's a typical Biggles adventure. Maybe a bit better than average. A lot is made of the navigating in snow and ice and how compasses don't work close to the south pole. I would have loved to learn more about how they worked around those problems but no technical details provided.

Ginger remains the only human in the group, which even furthermore reduces Algy to be a bystander. W.E. Johns don't seem to have liked Algy.

[Konstantinos Gustad Padazopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic post WWII pulp fiction novel from one of Britain's most prolific writers. It's a straightforward adventure set in Antarctica, revolving around a shipwreck, rumors of treasure, and a ragtag crew led by Biggles.

The novel maintains a brisk pace, and the writer makes excellent use of the arctic setting. This is a short, easy read, and the Canelo hardcover reprints are a joy to read and add to your collection / bookshelf.

Highly recommended for aviation fans and readers looking for an adventure with vintage flair.

[Stephen Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as I can recall, this was the first Biggles book I read, at the age of 9 or 10, and it was the book that got me hooked on reading. Reading it again as an adult, it wasn't so exciting, but I can see where I learned quite a lot of things, especially about aviation and geography -- this one is set in Antarctica, and involves the search for a wrecked ship with a cargo of golf bullion. which some crooks are also after.

[Tom Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime from start to finish! I read the 70’s edition which was renamed as Biggles in the Antarctic. Very good story and highly addictive.

[Micah Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good entertaining read. Love one part from the first scene: Ginger says he would go anywhere bar the north pole, and where do they end up going? The south pole!

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re back in peacetime and that edge which makes Biggles such a boys’ own hero is missing. It’s odd how I’d not noticed it before.

[Rosie]

if i went to a haunted ghost ship in the antarctic and a ghost showed up i'd probably shit myself so good on ginger for just having a panic attack

[Atlantean BCT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cripes! Another rollicking adventure. The prose is dated, and the characters are one dimensional (the villains are, naturally, all foreigners) but an enjoyable light read.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reviewing the series as a whole, rather than the books individually
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.

I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.

Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?

“Never say die.”

[arjuna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deliciously silly romp in the by-now familiar format: improbable catalyst causes Our Hero and friends to race off to foreign climes to retrieve treasure and duff up Johnny Foreigner. By the numbers but fun, but only gets three stars because NOT ENOUGH ALGY YO.

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aka The Perils of Ginger. He needs a minder.