Biggles: The Camels Are Coming
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Book Description
Biggles is back! And with new retro-style covers he'll be bigger than ever!
Product Description
The Camel closed up until it was flying beside him; the pilot smiling. Biggles showed his teeth in what he imagined to be an answering smile. 'You swine,' he breathed: 'you dirty, unutterable, murdering swine! I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do on earth.'
Set in the last years of the First World War air combat has now become the order of the day and air duelling is a fine art. Biggles and his fellow pilots now have to contend with the enemy using their own British aircraft, a Sopwith Camel, to lure the British pilots to their deaths...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the first Biggles book to be published, but it is far from the first chronologically. However, as it was the first, there are a number of "firsts" to be found here, including the best physical description of Bigglesworth that is to be found; Biggles' first meeting with a lifelong pal, Algernon Lacey (although he is called Algernon Montgomery here); and Biggles' first meeting with the great (and apparently only) love of his life, Marie Janis, who turns out to be a German spy, of course.
I have some later collections of Biggles short stories that have been fairly absurdly censored for young readers, so that Biggles and his hard-drinking crew wager bottles of "vintage lemonade"--- so I'm happy to report that references to whiskey are intact in the present edition.
As in the previous Red Fox paperback I saw, BIGGLES LEARNS TO FLY, there are a great many footnotes, probably far too many, but they are not as annoying here as previously.
If you're a Biggles fan, or think you could be, this is where the story really begins, with the adventures of Biggles, Algy and other chums continuing well into the 1960s. A good place to start, then.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the first of many, many Biggles books to be published and dates from 1932. Captain W.E. Johns himself flew with the R.F.C in the First World War, so he was certainly writing from his own experience in the earlier books.
This book is a collection of short stories and finds young Captain Bigglesworth stationed with his squadron in France. In the series of adventures, there are dog-fights aplenty, along with close encounters with observation balloons and bombers and even a romance.
While it's easy to make fun of the book's dated language (all that opining and ejaculating!), I think that most readers do that in an affectionate way, for the adventure and fun of Biggles really do stand the test of time. And there are serious overtones, too, here. It's clear that Biggles is suffering from stress and combat fatique towards the end of the book, although, being Biggles, he's saved in the nick of time by the Armistice being declared.
My favourite chapter is "On Leave" where Biggles saves Ramsgate and probably the whole of the UK single-handedly in the course of an afternoon while his hosts are out on a shooting party: this has to be the definition of cool!
For anyone who'd like to read a rather more serious book about the R.F.C, I can thoroughly recommend "Winged Victory" by V.M.Yeates.
This book is a collection of short stories and finds young Captain Bigglesworth stationed with his squadron in France. In the series of adventures, there are dog-fights aplenty, along with close encounters with observation balloons and bombers and even a romance.
While it's easy to make fun of the book's dated language (all that opining and ejaculating!), I think that most readers do that in an affectionate way, for the adventure and fun of Biggles really do stand the test of time. And there are serious overtones, too, here. It's clear that Biggles is suffering from stress and combat fatique towards the end of the book, although, being Biggles, he's saved in the nick of time by the Armistice being declared.
My favourite chapter is "On Leave" where Biggles saves Ramsgate and probably the whole of the UK single-handedly in the course of an afternoon while his hosts are out on a shooting party: this has to be the definition of cool!
For anyone who'd like to read a rather more serious book about the R.F.C, I can thoroughly recommend "Winged Victory" by V.M.Yeates.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Biggles books form the cornerstone of the bridge of transition from 'pure' children's and young adult books to that of a grownup reader. They are light and approachable but without being shallow or condescending.
Therefore, if you are a young adult who is frustrated with the alternatives out there, snap this up. This is the first book in the mammoth series and is divided up into a collection of mini stories, each slightly sequential from the previous. Other Biggles aficionados will focus on the symbolism of what is covered in the book in relation to the later stories, but I'll continue to appraise this simply on the terms of readability; and on those grounds, as an adult reader, the book flows freely and smoothly, being a traditional page-turner which is surprisingly addictive. Sure, descriptions are light, characters are fairly two-dimensional but the action is there, strong and in the plucky `old English' style that was born from the era. Highly recommended, and for all of a few pounds, you really can't go wrong, young or old.
Therefore, if you are a young adult who is frustrated with the alternatives out there, snap this up. This is the first book in the mammoth series and is divided up into a collection of mini stories, each slightly sequential from the previous. Other Biggles aficionados will focus on the symbolism of what is covered in the book in relation to the later stories, but I'll continue to appraise this simply on the terms of readability; and on those grounds, as an adult reader, the book flows freely and smoothly, being a traditional page-turner which is surprisingly addictive. Sure, descriptions are light, characters are fairly two-dimensional but the action is there, strong and in the plucky `old English' style that was born from the era. Highly recommended, and for all of a few pounds, you really can't go wrong, young or old.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
More than just a Boy's Own yarn
This is the first in the Biggles series (although not chronologically so) and I read it out of curiostity. Read more
Published on 18 May 2010 by Adrenalin Streams
Re-capture your childhood (if you're an oldie!)
If you're of a certain age (I am) it's interesting to re-read the books you devoured as a child and see if your taste has changed! Read more
Published on 24 July 2009 by T. Ireland
The Beginning of a Phenomenon
This book is truly amazing. it was the beginning of the Biggles Phenomenon and this shines through. The stories are ingenius in their plots and many are hilariously funny. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2001
Facing the Baron von Richtofen and surviving thats something
Biggles and his freinds take on the German air force in the Great War and struggles to maintain supremecy over them. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2000
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