Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Winter Adventure in Deepest Shropshire, 11 Jun 2001
This story begins with not just one journey but several. Jon and Penny are hurtling north on the train to the unknown hills of Shropshire. Even before they know it their adventure has started. David Morton, the mischievous Morton twins and Tom and Jenny, who all think they know the local countryside, have never been to the town of Clun. A bike ride down into the hidden valley takes them to a very special meeting in its sleepy old streets. Eventually all the Lone Piners are to gather there in the shadow of the old castle but not before Peter (Petronella) has made her own remarkable horseback pilgrimage over the mysterious hills. She too glimpses the shadow of the adventure that is to come. Already the mood is one of eerie expectation because has had a dream - a dream of such intensity that she knows it must come true. It may be a mystery to be solved but it is also that most special thing in children's literature - the story of the forging of relationships and the renewing of friendships. Within the Lone Pine club each individual brings his or her own special quality and special loyalty. Any parent choosing this book for their son or daughter can be sure that he or she will respond to the puzzle to be pieced together, to the descriptions of the haunting countryside but most of all to Malcolm Saville's remarkable gift of being able to portray realistic and developing friendships between boys and girls. The real village of Clun is still there and so is the castle. To go there today is a journey still worth taking but the one into the world of this book is even better.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Full House, 8 Jun 2002
Exceptionally, almost uniquely, in Malcolm Saville's long running "Lone Pine" series, this early adventure features a full complement of club members. It's fun to see how this large collection of young people interact with each other.
Plot was never the strong point of this series, Christmas tree rustling and dog-napping being two of the less inspired crimes the gang have investigated. Sometimes, he recycled a plot: "Not Scarlet But Gold"and "Lone Pine Five" for example.(Still, if it's good enough for Shakespeare's comedies...)
The plotline of this book is pedestrian to say the least.
But it also shows the real strengths of Saville's writing : evoking the spirit and sense of a place; in this case, the forgotten, sleepy, Wintery village of Clun, dozing fitfully on the English/Welsh borders.
As always, Tom and Jenny do all the work.David and Jon (officer class?..this book was written in the 1940s remember) are dumbfounded by Tom (enlisted man)'s enterprise and drive.The reader can be equally shocked that gun-play is featured, but actually this occurs "off-stage" and is only the very undynamic "Mister" Cantor shooting a lock off a door.
Great stuff.Really, a lost age of innocence is shown here, but Clun and its quiet environs are still there to be seen.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent riveting read, 21 Nov 1998
By A Customer
Once again the Lone Piners zoom into action to combat sheep thieves in the Shropshire hills. Unusually, nearly all the Lone Piners appear in this novel, with Penny and Jon on their first visit from Rye, Sussex. The story is set in the hills around Clun and as usual, Malcolm Saville brings the history and the Shropshire scenery alive. At the beginning of the story Peter has a dream, which later turns to reality at the climax of this fast-moving tale. Malcolm Saville is a vastly underrated author and is way up there with other contemporary authors such as Enid Blyton. Unfortunately nowadays a lot of childrens' novels seem violent and sadistic. Saville's writing brings together such long-forgotten human qualities as friendship, tenacity, loyalty and courage. There is absolutely nothing for any parent to worry about in Malcolm's books. A good, old-fashioned gripping tale is guaranteed.
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by Malcolm Saville
by Malcolm Saville
by Malcolm Saville
by Malcolm Saville
