Biggles - Cruise of the Condor
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biggles_slash_archive(Lightly abridged from the entry with full plot summary at my journal here)
Since I've been rediscovering the joy of the way Algy actually has a character in the early books, I thought I'd put the second published Biggles book next on my reading list. I suspect that since it's set in central Brazil, it is sadly unlikely that there will be many squid attacks. (Though who am I to judge? Johnsiverse squid could probably drag themselves over to the Andes using their tentacles alone.) We might be in luck and get some piranhas though...
The Cruise of the Condor (1933)
Very Basic Plot Synopsis: Shortly after the end of WWI, Biggles' eccentric explorer uncle, Dickpa, appeals to Biggles and Algy to help him with an expedition to discover Atahualpa's lost treasure in the depths of darkest Brazil. They, clearly being adrenalin junkies, agree. In their quest they are threatened by greedy rubber moguls, and attacked by crocodiles, natives, waterfalls, condors, giant crabs, and plane-eating ants. It is fifteen different shades of awesome. They discover a lost Incan town, and the lost treasure, but promptly lose it again in a volcanic eruption. Woe. Now, on to the entertainment!
Notes
p.7-8: This is sufficiently early in the sequence of Biggles books that we still win a physical description of our heroes at the start, and it's fangirlish in the extreme. I quote at length:
BIGGLES: 'Slim, clean-shaven, and as straight as a lance, his carriage suggested military training that was half denied by the odd, wistful look on his pale, rather boyish face; tiny lines graven around the corners of his mouth and steady grey eyes gave him an expression of self-confidence and assurance beyond his years.'
...well, I guess Johns could have started going on about his slim, girlish hands again. That would *probably* have been more fangirlish. But it's a close run thing. (And, on a tangent - didn't Biggles' eyes used to be hazel? I know hazel is a catch-all expression for eyes-that-can't-make-up-their-mind-what-colour-they-are, but still.)
ALGY: '[Biggles'] companion was about the same age, perhaps a trifle younger, but rather more stocky in build. His round, freckled face, surmounted by an untidy crop of fair hair, carried eyes that twinkled humorously at the slightest pretext.'
N'awwww. *pets Algy*. It's weird though, I never think of Algy as being particularly fair. Somewhere in the sandy area, usually. Still, I guess that could just about be covered by this description.
p.8: Assuming, as most of us do, that Biggles' cousin Algernon Montgomery introduced in 'The Camels Are Coming', is one and the same as Algy Lacey of the later stories, then we have proof here that Algy is Biggles' cousin on Biggles' mother's side of the family, as Algy doesn't know Biggles' uncle Dickpa, who is Biggles' father's brother. Dickpa is an explorer, and inhabits a red-brick Elizabethan house with fairly extensive grounds; he's got enough money to spare that he can give Biggles a blank cheque with which to buy a plane, and there's no mention that he's ever been in trade or anything else that might explain his wealth. The easiest conclusion would seem to be that he's a gentleman of independent means, which in turn rather suggests that Biggles' father (and hence family) are too.
p.27, 87: Biggles seems to be *particularly* apprehensive about the Brazilian snakes. I was half expected an Indiana Jones "Snakes...why did it have to be snakes?" moment. On p.119 it's an unexpected snake in the jungle which comes close to making Biggles panic. Also: oh please God let there be snakes on a plane somewhere in this book.
p.39: Algy says he'll wire his 'people' to let them know he'll be away, so we assume he's still got a few living relatives he keeps in regular contact with. Biggles, interestingly, doesn't mention any similar concerns, even though in 'The Camels Are Coming' there is mention of his father and brother being in the army. Are their deaths mentioned? Presumably Biggles didn't had particularly close relations with them, as he didn't even know they'd enlisted in 'Camels...'
p.68: Johns pretty much never bothers to characterise Smyth, but I sense that he's almost taking the piss out of himself for it here. Smyth makes a snarky comment about Biggles' plan - just about his first line in the book - to which Biggles responds '"You don't often speak, but when you do you say something."' Mmm, meta.
p.107: Everyone else in the party goes out into the jungle armed to the teeth. Algy carries the food. Oh, poppet.
p.165: '...Biggles's hands, which were small and delicate, were now blistered and raw as a result of his labour at the wall.' 1. Any mention of Biggles' small, delicate hands gives a book at least ten bonus points. 2. Poor wooby. 3. Oh my word, the hurt/comfort potential
Lines to cherish
Practically every line between Algy and Biggles for about the first chapter or so is eminently quotable, but I'll try to forebear and just pick out the best.
p.7: [Biggles:] '"The trouble about civil life is that nothing ever seems to happen. What interest people got out of it before the war I can't imagine; it must have been deadly dull. Even peace-time flying is so tame that I can't get a kick out of it. No ack-ack, no nothing - just fly from here to there, and there you are. This peace seems a grim business to me."
Wah. @_@ My poor Biggles. It's not exactly news that WWI tended to mess people up, but still.
p.13: 'Algy, who had landed on a loose bearskin rug, skidded violently, and, after making a wild effort to save himself, measured his length on the floor.
"Can't you land without stunting?" grinned Biggles.
Heheh. Poor baby Algy. One advantage to losing all semblence of character in the later books - at least you're spared these indignities.
p.13: Biggles introducing Algy after his pratfall as 'the man who managed to survive the war more by luck than judgement.' Bless.
p.23: Biggles calls the Matto Grosso 'the Matey Grocer' and 'the Mater Grasso' (p.37); he later begins to refer to Attahualpa as 'Attaboy' (p.168). I suspect he's only doing it to irritate Dickpa. He's such a child :D
p.45: [Dickpa, as Biggles is fired at while escaping from his house:] '"I should never forgive myself if, after all he has been through - "
"I shouldn't worry," broke in Algy. "Biggles can take care of himself, never fear."
I love early Algy. It's the way he can combine this absolute faith in Biggles and his abilities with the feeling of 'well, yes, but just in case, I'll always be there to back him up.'
p.52: 'Biggles glanced at Algy, sitting in the second pilot's seat at his left hand, and smiled.'
*melts fangirlishly* Awwww. It's not even a particularly plot-related smile. It's just a 'gosh, it's nice to be glancing at you' smile.
p.113: '"I was wondering if it was possible to put the machine down here," replied Biggles, removing a bee from his ear.'
I'm sorry, but I can't be the only one who finds that unreasonably amusing, can I? EDIT: p.146: OH MY GOD HE DOES IT AGAIN. Best pointless leitmotiv ever.
p.118: Biggles, having just been chased across the river by crocodiles: 'He darted across the beach and then paused for breath, trembling slightly, for the strain of the last two months had been intense.'
Um, yeah, Biggles. Because this is just *exactly* what you need straight after your near breakdown at the end of the war. Definitely. Biggles' nightmarish trip across the river has more than a little in common, in descriptive terms, with Ginger's exploits in Air Commodore; both highlight the POV character's inexperience with the horrors that life well-outside the Home Counties can throw at one. Here it's Biggles, in only his first full-length story and his first story outside the War, who is nearly driven to panic and hysteria - it's a very nice touch from W.E. Johns, reminding the reader that for all Biggles' war-taught coolness and natural courage, he's still only about twenty.
p.153: '"Ants!" gasped Algy in a choking whisper. "Hundreds of thousands of millions of myriads - and we thought they were all here. I can here them - hark at the pattering in the grass!"' OH MY GOD, IT'S THE ANTS FROM THAT EPISODE OF MACGYVER. THE ONES THAT MAKE TINY EVIL ANT-BOATS TO CROSS RIVERS, AND SCREAM TINY ANTY SCREAMS WHEN THEY ARE DROWNED. Only in *this* version, we then get ant wars. And ant-eaters which come and eat the victorious ants. Truly, this book is a thing of awe and wonder.
p.162: '"I always try to finish what I start. I came here to see Mr. Atta-somebody's treasure. All right; my motto is, 'Atta boy' while I have the strength to stand up."'
Oh, Biggles. You twit.
p.165: Biggles addresses Algy as 'boy'. *raises eyebrows in old-fashioned way*. Um.
p.174: '"By the anti-clockwise propeller of my sainted aunt..."'
Oh, *Biggles* ^_^ Amusingly, by Air Commodore Algy has co-opted this phrase (or a variation of it) for his own use.
p.184: 'Biggles, hardened almost to brutality by the careless hand of war...'
Oh, owie. This on the subject of how unusual Biggles' emotional reaction is to discovering the Incan city. Algy darling, couldn't you have picked a slightly more emotionally stable boyfriend >_<
p.224: [Just after escaping from the volcanic eruption by the skin of their teeth in the Condor:] 'Biggles drew the stick back gently into his stomach and climbed high, glancing for the first time at his companion in the cockpit. It was Algy. A feeble grin spread over his face, which was as black as a stoker's from the ash that had adhered to the perspiration on it.
"Nice flying weather for phoenixes," he yelled, and Biggles, in spite of the seriousness of their position, could not repress a smile.'
Oh, they are *so* precious in these early books. Especially Algy.
p.247: [On the subject of their possible return to Brazil:] "I've a feeling in my bones that I shall see it again," observed Biggles quietly.
"Me too," declared Algy.
"Then you'll need a mechanic, sir," murmured Smyth softly.'
...I don't know quite why, but the quiet affirmation of loyalty, the use of the adverb 'softly' in conjunction with the verb 'murmured', all combine to give me the damnedest feeling that Smyth is declaring his undying love here.
Giant squid sightings
None, sadly. Darn it. Still, p.119 does give us 'a monstrous crab with tall, stilt-like legs and waving antennae' which menaces Biggles on a beach. It's not *quite* as good, but any giant marine fauna is better than nothing.
Conclusions
An awesomely fun book, replete with waterfalls, thugs, piranhas, crocodiles, giant crabs, and PLANE-EATING ANTS, who rather stole the show for me, I have to say :D The plot cracks on at a tremendous pace (as rather indicated by the length of my plot summery...), with hardly a page going by without some terrible denizen of the Brazilian jungle taking a pot-shot at our heroes. They're rather hard-done-by this story - eaten alive by insects, menaced by crocodiles and snakes, terrified by corpses, shot at, bullied and threatened - which really serves them right for going around whinging about how bored they are now there aren't any Germans to shoot at.
Smyth, as per usual, gets remarkably little to do, and only really seems to be in this story so Biggles won't have to feel bad about leaving Dickpa by himself when he and Algy go of and make trouble. Well, that and the moment when he stopped Biggles and Algy plummetting to a rather messy death in the cave system, that was actually pretty cool. Dickpa is quite entertaining, if a trifle generic (yes, Biggles has an uncle who is an independently wealthy explorer and an outcast from the archaeological community for his Maverick Opinions. He also has many large guns and a stiff upper-lip like you wouldn't believe. Quelle surprise.), but I do rather like the fact that he's always the one with the elephant gun. I didn't actually notice an instance where he addresses Biggles as 'Biggles', but I was desperately hoping for one. He'll probably have known Biggles since he was teeny tiny; and presumably, as Biggles' paternal uncle, his surname is Bigglesworth too. Both of these reasons would have made it *utterly ridiculous* to call Biggles 'Biggles' rather than James, which is why I truly hope he did at some point.
And, as you may have gathered, the stars of the show were emphatically Biggles and Algy. Their banter is so beautiful in the early books. I say it every time I read one of these early stories, but the amount of care and concern they show for each other, the amount of faith they have in each other, the closeness and ease of their friendship - they're perfect. I read this and wonder why the internet isn't inundated with adorable Biggles/Algy fic ^_^
Since I've been rediscovering the joy of the way Algy actually has a character in the early books, I thought I'd put the second published Biggles book next on my reading list. I suspect that since it's set in central Brazil, it is sadly unlikely that there will be many squid attacks. (Though who am I to judge? Johnsiverse squid could probably drag themselves over to the Andes using their tentacles alone.) We might be in luck and get some piranhas though...
The Cruise of the Condor (1933)
Very Basic Plot Synopsis: Shortly after the end of WWI, Biggles' eccentric explorer uncle, Dickpa, appeals to Biggles and Algy to help him with an expedition to discover Atahualpa's lost treasure in the depths of darkest Brazil. They, clearly being adrenalin junkies, agree. In their quest they are threatened by greedy rubber moguls, and attacked by crocodiles, natives, waterfalls, condors, giant crabs, and plane-eating ants. It is fifteen different shades of awesome. They discover a lost Incan town, and the lost treasure, but promptly lose it again in a volcanic eruption. Woe. Now, on to the entertainment!
Notes
p.7-8: This is sufficiently early in the sequence of Biggles books that we still win a physical description of our heroes at the start, and it's fangirlish in the extreme. I quote at length:
BIGGLES: 'Slim, clean-shaven, and as straight as a lance, his carriage suggested military training that was half denied by the odd, wistful look on his pale, rather boyish face; tiny lines graven around the corners of his mouth and steady grey eyes gave him an expression of self-confidence and assurance beyond his years.'
...well, I guess Johns could have started going on about his slim, girlish hands again. That would *probably* have been more fangirlish. But it's a close run thing. (And, on a tangent - didn't Biggles' eyes used to be hazel? I know hazel is a catch-all expression for eyes-that-can't-make-up-their-mind-what-colour-they-are, but still.)
ALGY: '[Biggles'] companion was about the same age, perhaps a trifle younger, but rather more stocky in build. His round, freckled face, surmounted by an untidy crop of fair hair, carried eyes that twinkled humorously at the slightest pretext.'
N'awwww. *pets Algy*. It's weird though, I never think of Algy as being particularly fair. Somewhere in the sandy area, usually. Still, I guess that could just about be covered by this description.
p.8: Assuming, as most of us do, that Biggles' cousin Algernon Montgomery introduced in 'The Camels Are Coming', is one and the same as Algy Lacey of the later stories, then we have proof here that Algy is Biggles' cousin on Biggles' mother's side of the family, as Algy doesn't know Biggles' uncle Dickpa, who is Biggles' father's brother. Dickpa is an explorer, and inhabits a red-brick Elizabethan house with fairly extensive grounds; he's got enough money to spare that he can give Biggles a blank cheque with which to buy a plane, and there's no mention that he's ever been in trade or anything else that might explain his wealth. The easiest conclusion would seem to be that he's a gentleman of independent means, which in turn rather suggests that Biggles' father (and hence family) are too.
p.27, 87: Biggles seems to be *particularly* apprehensive about the Brazilian snakes. I was half expected an Indiana Jones "Snakes...why did it have to be snakes?" moment. On p.119 it's an unexpected snake in the jungle which comes close to making Biggles panic. Also: oh please God let there be snakes on a plane somewhere in this book.
p.39: Algy says he'll wire his 'people' to let them know he'll be away, so we assume he's still got a few living relatives he keeps in regular contact with. Biggles, interestingly, doesn't mention any similar concerns, even though in 'The Camels Are Coming' there is mention of his father and brother being in the army. Are their deaths mentioned? Presumably Biggles didn't had particularly close relations with them, as he didn't even know they'd enlisted in 'Camels...'
p.68: Johns pretty much never bothers to characterise Smyth, but I sense that he's almost taking the piss out of himself for it here. Smyth makes a snarky comment about Biggles' plan - just about his first line in the book - to which Biggles responds '"You don't often speak, but when you do you say something."' Mmm, meta.
p.107: Everyone else in the party goes out into the jungle armed to the teeth. Algy carries the food. Oh, poppet.
p.165: '...Biggles's hands, which were small and delicate, were now blistered and raw as a result of his labour at the wall.' 1. Any mention of Biggles' small, delicate hands gives a book at least ten bonus points. 2. Poor wooby. 3. Oh my word, the hurt/comfort potential
Lines to cherish
Practically every line between Algy and Biggles for about the first chapter or so is eminently quotable, but I'll try to forebear and just pick out the best.
p.7: [Biggles:] '"The trouble about civil life is that nothing ever seems to happen. What interest people got out of it before the war I can't imagine; it must have been deadly dull. Even peace-time flying is so tame that I can't get a kick out of it. No ack-ack, no nothing - just fly from here to there, and there you are. This peace seems a grim business to me."
Wah. @_@ My poor Biggles. It's not exactly news that WWI tended to mess people up, but still.
p.13: 'Algy, who had landed on a loose bearskin rug, skidded violently, and, after making a wild effort to save himself, measured his length on the floor.
"Can't you land without stunting?" grinned Biggles.
Heheh. Poor baby Algy. One advantage to losing all semblence of character in the later books - at least you're spared these indignities.
p.13: Biggles introducing Algy after his pratfall as 'the man who managed to survive the war more by luck than judgement.' Bless.
p.23: Biggles calls the Matto Grosso 'the Matey Grocer' and 'the Mater Grasso' (p.37); he later begins to refer to Attahualpa as 'Attaboy' (p.168). I suspect he's only doing it to irritate Dickpa. He's such a child :D
p.45: [Dickpa, as Biggles is fired at while escaping from his house:] '"I should never forgive myself if, after all he has been through - "
"I shouldn't worry," broke in Algy. "Biggles can take care of himself, never fear."
I love early Algy. It's the way he can combine this absolute faith in Biggles and his abilities with the feeling of 'well, yes, but just in case, I'll always be there to back him up.'
p.52: 'Biggles glanced at Algy, sitting in the second pilot's seat at his left hand, and smiled.'
*melts fangirlishly* Awwww. It's not even a particularly plot-related smile. It's just a 'gosh, it's nice to be glancing at you' smile.
p.113: '"I was wondering if it was possible to put the machine down here," replied Biggles, removing a bee from his ear.'
I'm sorry, but I can't be the only one who finds that unreasonably amusing, can I? EDIT: p.146: OH MY GOD HE DOES IT AGAIN. Best pointless leitmotiv ever.
p.118: Biggles, having just been chased across the river by crocodiles: 'He darted across the beach and then paused for breath, trembling slightly, for the strain of the last two months had been intense.'
Um, yeah, Biggles. Because this is just *exactly* what you need straight after your near breakdown at the end of the war. Definitely. Biggles' nightmarish trip across the river has more than a little in common, in descriptive terms, with Ginger's exploits in Air Commodore; both highlight the POV character's inexperience with the horrors that life well-outside the Home Counties can throw at one. Here it's Biggles, in only his first full-length story and his first story outside the War, who is nearly driven to panic and hysteria - it's a very nice touch from W.E. Johns, reminding the reader that for all Biggles' war-taught coolness and natural courage, he's still only about twenty.
p.153: '"Ants!" gasped Algy in a choking whisper. "Hundreds of thousands of millions of myriads - and we thought they were all here. I can here them - hark at the pattering in the grass!"' OH MY GOD, IT'S THE ANTS FROM THAT EPISODE OF MACGYVER. THE ONES THAT MAKE TINY EVIL ANT-BOATS TO CROSS RIVERS, AND SCREAM TINY ANTY SCREAMS WHEN THEY ARE DROWNED. Only in *this* version, we then get ant wars. And ant-eaters which come and eat the victorious ants. Truly, this book is a thing of awe and wonder.
p.162: '"I always try to finish what I start. I came here to see Mr. Atta-somebody's treasure. All right; my motto is, 'Atta boy' while I have the strength to stand up."'
Oh, Biggles. You twit.
p.165: Biggles addresses Algy as 'boy'. *raises eyebrows in old-fashioned way*. Um.
p.174: '"By the anti-clockwise propeller of my sainted aunt..."'
Oh, *Biggles* ^_^ Amusingly, by Air Commodore Algy has co-opted this phrase (or a variation of it) for his own use.
p.184: 'Biggles, hardened almost to brutality by the careless hand of war...'
Oh, owie. This on the subject of how unusual Biggles' emotional reaction is to discovering the Incan city. Algy darling, couldn't you have picked a slightly more emotionally stable boyfriend >_<
p.224: [Just after escaping from the volcanic eruption by the skin of their teeth in the Condor:] 'Biggles drew the stick back gently into his stomach and climbed high, glancing for the first time at his companion in the cockpit. It was Algy. A feeble grin spread over his face, which was as black as a stoker's from the ash that had adhered to the perspiration on it.
"Nice flying weather for phoenixes," he yelled, and Biggles, in spite of the seriousness of their position, could not repress a smile.'
Oh, they are *so* precious in these early books. Especially Algy.
p.247: [On the subject of their possible return to Brazil:] "I've a feeling in my bones that I shall see it again," observed Biggles quietly.
"Me too," declared Algy.
"Then you'll need a mechanic, sir," murmured Smyth softly.'
...I don't know quite why, but the quiet affirmation of loyalty, the use of the adverb 'softly' in conjunction with the verb 'murmured', all combine to give me the damnedest feeling that Smyth is declaring his undying love here.
Giant squid sightings
None, sadly. Darn it. Still, p.119 does give us 'a monstrous crab with tall, stilt-like legs and waving antennae' which menaces Biggles on a beach. It's not *quite* as good, but any giant marine fauna is better than nothing.
Conclusions
An awesomely fun book, replete with waterfalls, thugs, piranhas, crocodiles, giant crabs, and PLANE-EATING ANTS, who rather stole the show for me, I have to say :D The plot cracks on at a tremendous pace (as rather indicated by the length of my plot summery...), with hardly a page going by without some terrible denizen of the Brazilian jungle taking a pot-shot at our heroes. They're rather hard-done-by this story - eaten alive by insects, menaced by crocodiles and snakes, terrified by corpses, shot at, bullied and threatened - which really serves them right for going around whinging about how bored they are now there aren't any Germans to shoot at.
Smyth, as per usual, gets remarkably little to do, and only really seems to be in this story so Biggles won't have to feel bad about leaving Dickpa by himself when he and Algy go of and make trouble. Well, that and the moment when he stopped Biggles and Algy plummetting to a rather messy death in the cave system, that was actually pretty cool. Dickpa is quite entertaining, if a trifle generic (yes, Biggles has an uncle who is an independently wealthy explorer and an outcast from the archaeological community for his Maverick Opinions. He also has many large guns and a stiff upper-lip like you wouldn't believe. Quelle surprise.), but I do rather like the fact that he's always the one with the elephant gun. I didn't actually notice an instance where he addresses Biggles as 'Biggles', but I was desperately hoping for one. He'll probably have known Biggles since he was teeny tiny; and presumably, as Biggles' paternal uncle, his surname is Bigglesworth too. Both of these reasons would have made it *utterly ridiculous* to call Biggles 'Biggles' rather than James, which is why I truly hope he did at some point.
And, as you may have gathered, the stars of the show were emphatically Biggles and Algy. Their banter is so beautiful in the early books. I say it every time I read one of these early stories, but the amount of care and concern they show for each other, the amount of faith they have in each other, the closeness and ease of their friendship - they're perfect. I read this and wonder why the internet isn't inundated with adorable Biggles/Algy fic ^_^
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no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 10:35 am (UTC)2)adkjfhsjkdghlsfkhgslkjfghskjfghsjkghlskfhgdljfhgdjkfhgslkdghlskg
3) Srsly, where is all the fic? Why
4) I LOVE BIGGLES
(this is Kat from emma's btw)
no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 01:14 pm (UTC)2) vnzionklvncmnvzlnvknknk
3) I'm still waiting with bated breath for some of the crack AU :D This fandom needs moar fic. Yes, I know I speak from a position of absolutely no moral authority, as I have contributed the sum total of about three drabbles to the Cause, but I'm damned if that's going to stop me from nagging other people! You're not getting away from St. Giles' fair without at least a drabble or two being nagged out of you, be warned :D
4) ME TOO. (Though I kinda love Algy more right now :D)
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Date: 2008-09-03 01:43 pm (UTC)Algy. You are an adorable pile of screaming at nature and being a poof. Biggles, you are an adorable pile of WAR TRAUMA PSYCHOSIS and great fondness for your cousin. Oh the inbred upper classes. At least they can't breed! They just end up spawning things like Ginger, which no one can be forgiven for.
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Date: 2008-09-03 10:35 am (UTC)precisely.
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Date: 2008-09-03 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-30 03:22 am (UTC)