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Lots of lovely things being said about Silver and Blood now – and lots of plaudits for the cover, done by Matti Gardner, working on a photograph by Alex Marrs – alexjohnmarrs@hotmail.co.uk. Next. they’ll be working up a cover for my follow up to Kicking Off, which is to be called They Came By Night – another big horror thriller featuring Rosanna (The Mouse) Nixon and Andrew Forbes.<\/p>\n
The confusion over another of my ‘nasties’ continues apace. It was originally on Amazon under the title The Skinback Fusiliers, which I had to change for various reasons, and is now there as Killing Time at Catterick. Unfortunately Amazon doesn’t find such concepts easy, so the wonderful reviews it had gathered didn’t get transferred, and the first one under the new title was by an extremely disgruntled ex soldier (he said) who thought it wasn’t nice about ‘our boys.’ I agree with him, but then, it wasn’t meant to be. And they certainly weren’t the targets. The way the government treats our armed forces is a horrendous scandal. Die for your country – and we’ll kick you onto the scrap heap. It was nominated for the Orwell Prize, however, and it’s got at least one better review now. A long job, though…<\/p>\n
Incidentally, a couple of months back I asked here and on Facebook for comments on my proposed title for the thriller that became Kicking Off. I originally planned to call it Panopticon, but the feedback wasn’t all that good, so I went with Kicking Off. Then three weeks ago in the Guardian there was a review of a new novel. I’m not sure of its genre, but it was called – you’ve guessed it – Panopticon! Hope it does well for them…<\/p>\n
Now, here’s the review of Silver and Blood. It’s in the online reviewing mag (or whatever you call online phenomena) the IEBR, run by Cally Phillips, the novelist and playwright.<\/p>\n
Silver and Blood by Jan Needle
\nPosted by Julia Jones on June 26, 2012<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d risked Jim\u2019s life, and saved it, and replaced his dead father in the secret spaces of his heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jan Needle\u2019s Silver and Blood: Return to Treasure Island is more than a return, it is a re-imagining \u2013 a re-imagining that gives the main characters an emotional credibility which is significantly different both from Stevenson\u2019s original and from Andrew Motion\u2019s recent novel Silver: Return to Treasure Island.<\/p>\n
Needle\u2019s earlier writing for children \u2013 Albeson and the Germans, My Mate Shofiq, The Bully (all now available on Kindle) \u2013 is strongest in its depiction of na\u00efve, confused, adolescent boys, often with harassed, inadequate, single mothers. Silver and Blood is a new book, action-packed and twenty-first century, but is instantly distinguished by this same understanding and empathy for the young hero. Jim Parker has lost his father; he and his mother are failing in business. He\u2019s worried and he\u2019s bored. This makes him easy prey for the first sinister visitor to the Crown and Cushion pub. \u201cJim guessed the captain was a murderer from the moment that he saw him in the weird and scar-faced flesh. He guessed he was a murderer, but he never thought he\u2019d try to kill his mother and smash up their lives as well. Otherwise he might have done it differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly Jim is soon way out of his depth and Needle pulls off a masterstroke by introducing his version of Long John Silver into the confused and violent scenes that follow the captain\u2019s death. This is much earlier than the character appears in Treasure Island itself. He has no name at this point, merely \u201ca low voice, warm and friendly.\u201d He wears a suit and tie and has \u201ca broad tanned face, not like a criminal at all\u201d \u2013 which merely goes to show how little poor Jim knows about wickedness at this stage.<\/p>\n
Jim\u2019s not stupid, however, and is sufficiently alert to sense that the Doctor and Clive Tregarron (the Squire Trelawny figure) may not be as straightforward as they seem. Casting doubt on the integrity of the professional-class characters is another of Needle\u2019s welcome re-thinkings of the original. There is little that is straightforward in this fast-paced adventure: dead men return to life and the blind regain their sight. Double-crossers are themselves double-crossed. There is plenty of action (drugs, guns, treasure and speedboats), one especially good new character (the ship\u2019s engineer) and some evocative descriptions of the island. Mum would have loved it, thinks Jim in his initial innocence, and later it reminds him of an iconic scene from Swallows and Amazons. \u201cReal life was different though. Behind him he heard grunts and panting and the odd swearword.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jim has so much to deal with \u2013 fear, lies, pain and diarrhoea. It\u2019s not surprising that his early encounter with Long John Golding\u2019s reassuring, masculine strength has filled an emotional void that not all Golding\u2019s subsequent betrayals can finally erase. This imaginative subtlety makes Silver and Blood an adventure story to be enjoyed by older children and adults alike.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was John Golding. Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here’s the link<\/a>, which will lead you to other reviews. It’s a good and useful site, and I’ve done a couple of reviews on it myself. All reviewers are professional writers.<\/p>\n For anyone who doesn’t know it, Authors Electric<\/a> is a good site, too. A daily blog by about thirty professionals (including me).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lots of lovely things being said about Silver and Blood now – and lots of plaudits for the cover, done by Matti Gardner, working on a photograph by Alex Marrs – alexjohnmarrs@hotmail.co.uk. Next. they’ll be working up a cover for my follow up to Kicking Off, which is to be called They Came By Night… Continue reading Reaction, reaction<\/span>