One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools, this is a story in which two boys overhear a plot for murder and try to stop it, but nobody will believe them. The result is a chase on a train from Liverpool Street and across the Fens.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Fish on Legs
Format:Hardcover
I've had this book since it was re-printed in 1976 (having originally been written in 1965), and actually re-read it last night.
I loved this book when I was in my early teens - I saw the TV series made from it - and was pleased to see when I looked it up out of curiosity that not only is it still in print but the cover illustration is the same! I won't precis the story (although some of the reviews listed seem to be for a book with the same title but a different plot to mine!), but it's a well-written book, the central characters are honest without being unrealistic or saintly and come from an era when the Iron Curtain and the Cold War were very real things; there were twelve pennies to a shilling, twenty shillings to a pound; small boys still wore school caps and shorts in winter - and collected car registration numbers (I remember my brother doing this)!
Reading it brought the 1960s back to me as they were rather than as a packaged TV "I love the 60s" mish which gives the impression that everyone wore loon pants and false eyelashes and rolled about on shagpile carpets.
And the message in it about good and bad being shades of grey is still as true forty years on.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Without a doubt this was my favourite book when I was a lad, and I still treasure my tattered old copy. David Line was the psuedonym of Lionel Davidson, still a well respected novellist. It's the story of Soldier and Woolcott, two lads who witness a murder, and have to go on the run. I particularly liked the bit where they wander through the Norfolk countryside in the snow. It used to keep me on the edge of my seat. The story is so well written and fast moving, I'm sure it will be as popular today as it was in the 70's, when it was filmed for the BBC as Soldier and Me. There was a sequel, "Mike and Me" which was not as good but worth hunting out in the 2nd hand stores. If you can find a copy, "Under Plum Lake" by the same author is a good read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
i remeber this book vividly, when i was about 13 the beloved Mrs Francis read this out to the class, it was so good that i still remeber the excitement and fear i felt at the very mention of "smiler".
for years i had forgoten the name of the book, then once, while seeking careers advice from Mrs Francis i spotted the book on the table!
this is a perfect example of a book that transcends ages. When i read this it was at time when already everything was computer orientated. It just goes to show that 40 years after the story was written it is still entertaining and valuable to children.
for years i had forgoten the name of the book, then once, while seeking careers advice from Mrs Francis i spotted the book on the table!
this is a perfect example of a book that transcends ages. When i read this it was at time when already everything was computer orientated. It just goes to show that 40 years after the story was written it is still entertaining and valuable to children.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew Price
Format:Hardcover
This is an excellent book. I read this so many times as a kid that I have lost count. The images it evokes and the genre are such that it is worthy of a read. I owned two copies of this book and have managed to lose them both over the years, so I have to buy yet another copy. I fully recommend this book to adults because they will be able to associate what is happening with the times of the early 80's in the UK.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
My Dad gave me this book to read about ten years ago. I have recently read it again asit is so good. The main characters are two lads in their teens, who get caught up with the wrong crowd and end up having to go on the run. Written in 1975, David Line has written a few more like this.
A definate recommendation.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Classic children's tale - timeless themes. Book arrived as described and in good condition. Currently out of print, so a good opportunity to buy.
By Secret Spi
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
I don't know how many times I read and re-read this book in my last year at primary school. I recently bought a second hand copy and realised that all these years later, I still nearly knew it off by heart.
What can I say? It's still a great story - gripping, atmospheric and powerful. It's rather like a "39 Steps" for kids, with two boys on the run around rural Norfolk, pursued by some very shady characters indeed. And, although it obviously pre-dates mobile phones, internet and all the other technology that we rely on today, the writing doesn't feel dated. I'm going to give it to my son to read and I'll be interested to see if a 21st century 11-year-old is as taken with the story as I was.
What can I say? It's still a great story - gripping, atmospheric and powerful. It's rather like a "39 Steps" for kids, with two boys on the run around rural Norfolk, pursued by some very shady characters indeed. And, although it obviously pre-dates mobile phones, internet and all the other technology that we rely on today, the writing doesn't feel dated. I'm going to give it to my son to read and I'll be interested to see if a 21st century 11-year-old is as taken with the story as I was.
By D. White
Format:Hardcover
Like other reviewers, I read this book when I was about 11 years old and loved it.
Years later I found it in a second-hand bookshop and having graduated as a teacher in a primary school thought I would try it out on my class.
They loved it - as has every class I have read it to in the last 25 years!
A fantastic tale of excitement and friedship - enjoyed equally by girls and boys.
No great message or social comment, just great story telling and high adventure. An absolute classic. (I am reading it to my 10 year old son at the moment - I never tire of it!)
Years later I found it in a second-hand bookshop and having graduated as a teacher in a primary school thought I would try it out on my class.
They loved it - as has every class I have read it to in the last 25 years!
A fantastic tale of excitement and friedship - enjoyed equally by girls and boys.
No great message or social comment, just great story telling and high adventure. An absolute classic. (I am reading it to my 10 year old son at the moment - I never tire of it!)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a very good book
I ordered this because I couldn't find any other copies. It was only 1p and I had my doughts. It was dispatched the same day and arrived very quickly and I didn't have to pay much. Read more
Published 5 months ago by sofia
1.0 out of 5 stars
Run for your life
it is very obviously by the condition an old book.the description led me to believe it was in a newer condition than it actually is.It is an old version copy. Read more
Published on 31 May 2009 by prestonian
5.0 out of 5 stars
its a great book
My history & english teacher, Mr Hemmingway read this to me in my first year of high school. For years I have been trying to remember the name of the book. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2001
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