Fullers Folio
  • Blog
  • Book List 2015-16
  • Book List 2014-15
  • Book List 2013-14
  • Book List 2013
  • Book List 2012
  • Book List 2011-12

Huntingtower by John Buchan

5/28/2013

0 Comments

 
This is my review of the book Huntingtower by John Buchan. When coming to write the blog I realised that somehow my entry for this book had not been published. Shows me that I should check my blog a bit more often. Probably in a hurry and closed the browser without publishing. Anyway.

I listened to this as an audio book – normally I listen to audio books when driving or making cards for our business Hungry Giraffe www.hungrygiraffe.co.uk. This book appealed as it was set in the south west of Scotland near Carrick in the early 1920's. The hero of the book is a old grocer who has sold up his business, and has now retired.

He goes on a walking holiday and uncovers the imprisonment of a Russian lady aristocrat by Bolshevik agents. He sets about freeing her and uses a amazing group of lads from Glasgow the Gorbal Diehard's to help him. The locals join in and uncover a plot based on espionage and violence, which contrasts greatly with the local domestic tranquil Scottish landscape. The low-tech convoluted method that they use to rescue her is fantastic, and a battered bicycle wheel also is key to saving our hero form certain death. 

As much as the story is interesting and fun, the asides of everyday description are amazing as well. The Diehard's smoking for example. The story has been compared to a modern fairy-tale of rescue of a young princess. 

All good fun. I listened to the Librivox recording and this was book 22 week 17 fiction 20 (4 on audio) non fiction 2




0 Comments

The Island of Sheep by John Buchan

12/3/2012

0 Comments

 
This is my review of the book The Island of Sheep by John Buchan. 

The Island of Sheep is the fifth book in the Richard Hannay series, and continues the theme that Hannay and his friend Sandy are the prototype super hero of all espionage fiction. 

The action takes place across various locations in Britain, and then moves to the fictious location The Island of Sheep, which is situated in the fictional area called Norlands, which is based on the Faeroes.

A large amount of the story is based around chasing from one place to another. I particularly enjoyed the description of his route going North to Scotland, mentioning the local villages around where I live. They do make it to the more easily defendable bolt-hole of Laverlaw, Clanroyden's seat in the Scottish borders. But then have to move from there back to the Island of Sheep to defend it and keep if for Haraldsen.

But I must not spoil the plot, all I will say is that the story revolves around a long-forgotten promise made by Hannay in his days as a mining engineer in South Africa. He had sworn to defend the interests of Marius Haraldsen, a wealthy Danish gold-prospector and expert in Norse lore, against a group of unscrupulous former business associates and assorted desperadoes. Hannay, Pienaar and fellow Englishman Lombard join Haraldsen at his camp on a Rhodesian plateau, and in a scene worthy of Rider Haggard, they beat off an attack on their hill-top redoubt with timely help from local tribesmen. However, that is not the end of the matter. Some thirty years later, with Haraldsen now dead, Albinus, the surviving member of the original gang and Troth, the son of one of the others, decide to take the vendetta to the next generation. 

It was an enjoyable read as book 40 week 28 fiction 38 (11 on audio) non fiction 2

0 Comments

The Three Hostages by John Buchan

10/29/2012

0 Comments

 
The Three Hostages by John Buchan is the fourth instalment in the Richard Hannay Stories, and deals with his adventures after World War 1. 

Set seven years after The Thirty-Nine Steps, it pits Hannay against a charismatic rising star of the political firmament, Dominick Medina. 

The three hostages of the title are the victims of an international conspiracy, with Medina at its centre, to hypnotise members of the families of important public figures and then manipulate them for criminal ends.

In this story he is joined by some familiar faces, notably his feisty wife Mary, and the Scottish laird, adventurer and master of disguise, Sandy Arbuthnot. When Hannay is first asked to help find the hostages, the only clue as to their whereabouts lies in some cryptic lines of verse which the malefactors have left dangling tantalisingly in front of their pursuers. Hannay is forced to wrestle with obscure classical and literary references in order to track them down and the recollection of an equally arcane Latin quotation overheard by Sandy finally leads to Medina. 

To get to this end Hannay has to allow himself to seemingly become taken over by Medina, as he tries to use his mind bending tricks to gain control of his subjects. 

A very enjoyable book and certainly as good as the first three, though probably not as well known. This was book 33 week 23 fiction 31 (9 on audio) non fiction 2
0 Comments

Mr Standfast by John Buchan

9/25/2012

0 Comments

 
This is the third book in the Richard Hannay series, I had read the other two before I started to record them here. It continues the story of his exploits as a British secret agent during the final years of World War 1

John Buchan's plots seem to enjoy a sense of travel and this book is no exception. Our hero finds himself travelling, firstly to Glasgow, and then on north up to the Isle of Skye, and then back to London being pursued by the police. His trip evolves a wide variety of transport, including hitching a ride on a plane.

The plot then moves to France, Italy and Switzerland and he helps save the British forces from defeat during this time in the war, by stopping the arch enemy spy, and exposing the underground railway.

The story also has love and sadness. Richard finds his true love, but his great friend is killed in an aircraft battle. An enjoyable book and I now want to read the next part of the saga – The Three Hostages.

This was book 27 week 18 fiction 26 (8 on audio) non fiction 1




0 Comments

Prester John by John Buchan

8/31/2012

0 Comments

 
I listened to this as an audio book from librivox http://librivox.org/prester-john-by-john-buchan/

John Buchan is an author that I have so far enjoyed and as readers will see I am in the middle of reading/listening to the thirty nine steps series. This book was not one of those but one that concerned the life of a young lad called David Crawfurd, firstly as he was growing up on the coast of Scotland, where they accidentally witness a visiting African preacher not behaving as he should doing some very un-Christain rites around a camp fire.

Time moves on and our hero finds himself in South Africa working as an assistant shop keeper. Here he comes across the preacher again, but now as a charismatic leader of an uprising. Preaching Africa for the Africans. To justify his right as leader he has the diamond mantle called Prester John, which once belonged to a legendary 15th Century Christain king of Ethiopia.

David somehow has to try and stop the massacre of the local white settlers, along with trying to make off with the diamonds for good measure.

This was an enjoyable story that made traffic queues fly by. Book 22 week 14 fiction 21 (8 on audio) non fiction 1

0 Comments

Mr Standfast by John Buchan

3/24/2012

0 Comments

 
I currently have a backlog of three reviews for books – I am actually getting through them faster than writing about them, which is fairly amazing. This is the third story in the Richard Hannay Series. I listened to the two previous books The Thirty Nine Steps and Greenmantle as audio books before I had started recording my reviews. The librevox recording of these books are very listen-able especially if sitting in the car for long journeys.

Anyway moving back to this story. This picks up the story of Richard Hannay who has unwittingly become a secret agent for the British, in the final part of the first world war 1917 to 1918. Without giving the plot away too much Richard follows the trail of an arch spy for Germany, across England, Scotland and then Europe. There is a fantastic description of him hiding in the heather and peat bogs of Skye being eaten alive by the midges. This section and the final part where he is fighting in the trenches are so real, The death and destruction described bring home the horror of warfare, with a real sad final twist as one of the key characters dies on the last page.

I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series to see how Richard progresses as a hero of espionage. This was book 39 week 31 – read novels 26, poetry 1, study 2 audio 10

0 Comments

The Free Fishers - John Buchan 52 Books in 52 Weeks

11/3/2011

0 Comments

 
A lovely book describing life during the Napoleonic period in Southern Scotland and the Cheviots of Northumberland. Evidently carriage riding was the formula one of the day, considering the number of words used to describe all the different types of horse drawn transport used for racing around. It could be described as a classic tale of espionage , adventure and attempted murder. A really good read as the saying goes.  - Though this is being posted today It was actually finished last week, but had no access to my blog then. I have nearly finished my next book

0 Comments
    Picture

    Tim Fuller

    Dyslexic doodles on photography, food (growing, cooking & of course eating), faith and other fascinating things. This is a personal blog expressing my views.


    www.fullersfolio.co.uk
    www.trostriecottage.co.uk
    www.thespinneycottage.co.uk
    www.cardswithamessage.co.uk
    www.gallowaygetaways.co.uk
     www.tpfuller.com


    Archives

    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    1 Peter
    1 Samuel
    2 Kings 6
    2 Samuel
    52 Books In 52 Weeks
    Acts 14
    Adrian Plass
    Agatha Christie
    Alanna Knight
    Alexander Mccall Smith
    Alexandre Dumas
    Alistair Moffat
    Amy Orr-Ewing
    Andre Norton
    Andrew Harrington
    Andrew Paterson
    Anna K Green
    Ann Cleeves
    Anthony Horowitz
    Arthur B Reeve
    Autumn Colours
    Banana
    Baroness Orczy
    Beetroot
    Biomass
    Blackberries
    Blog Sites
    Booklist 20112012
    Book List 2012
    Book List 2013
    Book List 2013 2014
    Book List 2013-2014
    Book List 2014
    Booklist 2015
    Bread
    Bt Broadband
    Business (Ad)venture
    Butterflies
    Charles Dickens
    Charles Elliott
    Charles Petzold
    Chicken
    Chocolate Brownie
    Christmas
    Christmas Traditions
    Chutney
    C J Sansom
    Clare Francis
    Colin Dexter
    Conn Iggulden
    C S Lewis
    Dan Brown
    Daniel Defoe
    David
    David Baldacci
    David Donachie
    Derek Wilson
    Desmond Bagley
    Diet
    Dorothy L Sayers
    Edmund Clowney
    Elijah
    Elisha
    Elizabeth George
    Eric Van Lustbader
    Faith
    Fish
    Folio
    Food
    Frederic Forsyth
    Frederick Bartlett
    Free Wallpapers
    Freeware
    Gardening
    Gayle Lynds
    George Hendry
    George R R Martin
    G K Chesterton
    Good Choice Foods
    H G Wells
    Holiday Cottage
    Home Group
    How To Loose 50lbs Or More
    H Rider Haggard
    Hungry Giraffe
    Ian Rankin
    Irfanview
    Jack Higgins
    Jam
    Jean-Yves Ferri
    Jed Rubenfeld
    Jeffery Archer
    Jeffery Deaver
    J Jackson Bentley
    John Buchan
    John Cheeseman
    John C Lennox
    John Grisham
    John Le Carre
    John Mortimer
    Johns Gospel
    John Thomas McIntyre
    John Wyndham
    Jo Nesbo
    Jules Verne
    Kate Atkinson
    Ken Follett
    Kielder Power Problems
    Kielder Water
    Kirkcudbright
    Laurence Clarke
    Laurie R King
    Lee Child
    Len Deighton
    Lentils
    Librivox
    Librivoxorgb9a2cc43c9
    Louis De Bernieres
    Low Fat
    Luke
    Margery Allingham
    Martin Bell
    Martin Cruz Smith
    M C Scott
    Michael Chabon
    Michael Crichton
    Michael Dobbs
    Mick Brooks
    Mincemeat
    Monty Don
    Netprotectplus Problems
    Ngaio Marsh
    Nicky Gumbel
    Northumberland
    Oats
    Open Source
    Pasta
    Patricia Highsmith
    Patrick O Brian
    P D James
    Peter
    Peter F Hamilton
    Peter May
    Peter Robinson
    P G Wodehouse
    Phillip Margolin
    Photos
    Pierson
    Plums
    Prayer
    Productivity
    Prophecy
    Python
    Raspberry Pi
    Recipe
    Richard Preston
    Risotto
    Robert Dale
    Robert Goddard
    Robert Harris
    Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Ludlum
    Roger Stelljes
    Rory Clements
    Sardines
    Scottish Borders
    Sebastian Faulks
    Simon Conway
    Simon Monk
    Simon Scarrow
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Sir Walter Scott
    Snow
    Software
    Soup
    Spiders
    Spring
    Stella Rimingtom
    Stephen
    Steve Berry
    Steve Timmis
    Story Behind Image
    Stuart Clark
    Summer
    Superfoods
    Suzanne Collins
    Talk
    The Cloud
    Three Wise Men
    Tim Chester
    Trostrie Cottage
    Valerio Massimo Manfredi
    Vegetation
    Victor Appleton
    Vince Flynn
    Watermakering
    Wayne A Grudema172e2ef81
    Weather
    Web Site Design
    Wigtown
    Wilkie Collins
    William Boyd
    William Le Queux
    Willow Wood
    Winter
    Yann Martel
    Zane Grey

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.