Operation: Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll

OPERATION: RED JERICHO by Joshua Mowll

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy!
The made-up background of the story in A NOTE TO THE READER sets the scene for the story as if being based on true fact.
The main characters, Rebecca and Doug Mackenzie, find themselves on their uncle’s, Fitzroy Mackenzie, ship the Expedient. Their parents left them with a message and leave to go on an expedition to the Sinkiang desert in China. Doug and Rebecca are puzzled by these happenings but soon they have a lot on their minds as they find out all about The Guild of Honourable Specialists and the evil pirate warlord, Sheng-Fat. It also provides a very good insight to Becca and Doug’s feelings by including pull-out sections and extracts from diaries and sketchbooks.
This book is a very adventurous and cleverly written book that makes you want to carry on reading until all the mysteries, many that there are, have been solved and you are thoroughly happy with what you have read.

I would greatly recommend this book to anyone as it is not focused generally on boys and it is not focused entirely on girls either. A really fantastic read, 10/10!!

By Charles S.

Operation Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll
Operation Red Jericho is the first book in what is, I understand, to be a trilogy of adventure stories following the exploits of brother and sister, Douglas and Rebecca Mackenzie. Cleverly conceived, the book purports to be their story as bequeathed to the author in an archive of letters, maps, sketches, photographs and a personal diary by his Aunt - Rebecca Mackenzie!

The story is set in 1922 in the area of the South China Sea and as the book starts we find Douglas and Rebecca in the city of Shanghai on their way to meet their uncle, Captain Fitzroy Mackenzie, the captain of the Oceanographic Research Ship Expedient. As the story progresses we quickly find out that Douglas and Rebecca’s parents are missing having embarked on an expedition to the Sinkiang region of China and the children are being put under the care of their uncle. Once on board the Expedient the adventures start as the children discover its secrets, meet its colourful crew and learn about the skills necessary to live on board.

The book proceeds at a pace as the story continues to unfold, and Douglas and Rebecca start to find that everything is not what it seems. They find out about the mysterious and secretive Honourable Guide of Specialists, the ancient fighting order of the Sujing Quantou and the thoroughly unpleasant pirate leader Sheng Fat who becomes their principal enemy through the book.

The book is beautifully produced with copious illustrations. The text is filled with sketches ‘taken’ from Douglas’s sketch book, photographs of places visited and some superb fold out colour illustrations. In short not only is the story a ripping good yarn but the book itself is a delight to hold.

A great book for all fans of action and adventure. Thoroughly recommended – 9/10.

By Iain S.

The Afghan by Fredrick Forsyth

THE AFGHAN by Fredrick Forsyth

From an early look at The Afghan it was supposedly my type of book, fast-moving with lots of action and adventure, but once I got past the first fifty pages I found it quite hard to keep up with the story.
It begins quickly and gets straight in to the main idea of the story but after that it goes on a lot about the general background of the Impersonator, Mike Martin, and the Afghan, Izmat Khan. It is quite a recently set story about the Al Qaeda and the recent attacks such as 9/11 and the Taliban rebellion.
Although I was looking forward to the best bits of the story it never really appealed to me as much as I thought it would

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a gradually intensifying action and modern-warfare story but are willing to put up with a long and slow build up to reach the heart of the story and the more adventurous part. If I was to enjoy this book more I think it would have to be faster moving and it would have to get into the story more quickly to keep me satisfied. OK in places, 4/10.

By Charles S.

The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth


I chose this book because, when I was Charles’ age, I had been introduced to Frederick Forsyth through his first novel, ‘The Day of the Jackal’. I therefore reasoned that Charles (a fan of Anthony Horowitz’s ‘Alex Rider’ series of spy adventures) would find Forsyth’s fast paced and meticulously detailed thrillers appealing.

‘The Afghan’ is classic Forsyth. British and US security agencies become aware of an Al Qaeda plot to commit a huge attack against the West but are unable to discover the target. The only way to find this crucial information seems to be to get a human intelligence source into the heart of Al Qaeda – a task that seems impossible, until a chance conversation highlights Mike Martin, a retired British Army Officer of mixed parentage who had been born and brought up in the Middle East. He speaks the language like a local, understands the culture and by happy coincidence was a member of the SAS! Reluctantly Martin is persuaded out of retirement to track down the terrorists. The scene is now set for a rollercoaster ride in true Forsyth style as the hero sets out on his mission to discover the details of the plot and its perpetrators, and ultimately avert disaster.

As with most of his books, Forsyth has researched his subject extensively and filled ‘The Afghan’ with detail and realism that brings both the story and the characters to life. The narrative moves along at a slick pace and ends in a cliff-hanging climax that keeps the reader guessing to the last few pages of the book.

This is Frederick Forsyth at this best. I thoroughly enjoyed the book - it was entertaining and very readable. 9/10 – I would recommend it to anyone.

Iain S.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN by David Baldacci

The Christmas Train is a funny, adventurous book that shows a lot of different feelings and emotions very well depending on the situation and the characters.
The main character, Tom Langdon, who is a reporter, departs on a train journey from the Washington to Los Angeles to meet his girlfriend Leila for Christmas. He was forced to take the train though after a certain misunderstanding with airport staff.
This book shows a lot of cleverly thought-about characters and all have small stories themselves which make it more interesting to read and find out more about all of the different characters.
On the train, the Capitol Limited, Tom meets his ex-girlfriend, Eleanor, who he’d shared many adventures with when he was younger. Some other characters include Max Powers, a famous film director, and young couple Steve and Julie, amongst many others. Another thing I enjoyed about this book was the unexpected twist at the end where all the mysterious happenings and coincidences are revealed!

I would recommend this book to people who are good at reading and want to read a book with a bit of romance, a bit of adventure and yet also a bit of mystery. It is a very gripping book to read and is written so that when you get to the end of one chapter you want to go on and read more! Thoroughly enjoyable, 8/10!

By Charles S. 7B

I have been a fan of the crime/thriller novels of author David Baldacci for some years, and was therefore intrigued to see how he would handle a subject that was not of his usual genre. It was therefore with interest that I picked up and read ‘The Christmas Train’ and I was not disappointed.

The book is a combination of a love story, a detective tale and an adventure. The main character in the story is a journalist called Tom Langdon who sets out to join his girlfriend Lelia for Christmas. Having been banned from travelling by air due to a previous ‘misunderstanding’ with airport security he joins a group of other travellers on a three thousand mile train journey across America from Washington DC to Los Angeles. He quickly meets up with his fellow travellers who range from a famous film director, a young eloping couple, a priest, the train’s colourful staff and a cast of other characters including, rather awkwardly, his ex-girlfriend Eleanor.

The story follows their rather eventful journey across America, first on the Capitol Limited to Chicago and then the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. The trip is interrupted by various incidents each of which cast light on the main characters and gradually weaves their individual fates together.

The story is well written with some good characterisation and a plot line which keeps the reader engaged right to the very end where (and without wishing to give too much away) an unseen twist is revealed!

In short an entertaining and heart-warming little story that will appeal to all ages. 8/10.

Iain S.

Silverfin by Charlie Higson

Silverfin - Young Bond - Author Charlie Higson 2005

I really enjoyed this story. It is a romp through the fields of Eton and the hills of Scotland with James Bond in his formative years showing us where the man we all know as a 007 came from and how he was shaped as a young man. The story does hold your interest. Charlie Higson has an easy reading style and he keeps the story moving so you never get bored. I learnt a lot about the customs of the public school Eton which was very interesting especially the dress code and the way the day was structured for the pupils. The villain in this story is a classic bond caricature and you can almost imagine him stroking a white cat (not that he does in the story as that would have been too corny).
I give this book an 8 out of 10 and I will certainly move on to the other stories in the series to see how the young bond continues to develop.

JB


I thought this book was amazing. The details that the Author put in it were really, really good and I managed to find out what they were talking about instantly. I found out that in the book there was somebody called Uncle Max who dies in the end. (He is James' Uncle.) Uncle Max was actually Charlie Higson's Uncle who died and he has made the book because of him. The Villian in this book was a crazy millionare and he was trying to make a super human but all he achieved was killing three people. Overall I shall give this book 8/10 (Eight out of ten) because this book is interesting, easy to read, and very well detailed.

MB