Biggles Flies South

Biggles #14

by W.E. Johns

Biggles and co get sidetracked into an Egyptian adventure whilst on their way to a squadron reunion dinner in South Africa. They meet a threatened scientist and agree to help him find a lost oasis (called Zenzura) in the middle of nowhere.

Their quest is hindered by the requisite bad guy who has claimed the oasis, and the antiques buried there, who gets off to a spectacular start by marooning them at the oasis by erasing their supply (camel) train.

Genres: Adventure, Fiction, Childrens, Historical

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Invariably known as Captain W.E. Johns, William Earl Johns was born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of Richard Eastman Johns, a tailor, and Elizabeth Johns (née Earl), the daughter of a master butcher. He had a younger brother, Russell Ernest Johns, who was born on 24 October 1895.

He went to Hertford Grammar School where he was no great scholar but he did develop into a crack shot with a rifle. This fired his early ambition to be a soldier. He also attended evening classes at the local art school.

In the summer of 1907 he was apprenticed to a county municipal surveyor where he remained for four years and then in 1912 he became a sanitary inspector in Swaffham, Norfolk. Soon after taking up this appointment, his father died of tuberculosis at the age of 47.

On 6 October 1914 he married Maude Penelope Hunt (1882–1961), the daughter of the Reverend John Hunt, the vicar at Little Dunham in Norfolk. The couple had one son, William Earl Carmichael Johns, who was born in March 1916.

With war looming he joined the Territorial Army as a Private in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Norfolk Yeomanry), a cavalry regiment. In August 1914 his regiment was mobilised and was in training and on home defence duties until September 1915 when they received embarkation orders for duty overseas.

He fought at Gallipoli and in the Suez Canal area and, after moving to the Machine gun Corps, he took part in the spring offensive in Salonika in April 1917. He contracted malaria and whilst in hospital he put in for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and on 26 September 1917, he was given a temporary commission as a Second Lieutenant and posted back to England to learn to fly, which he did at No. 1 School of Aeronautics at Reading, where he was taught by a Captain Ashton.

He was posted to No. 25 Flying Training School at Thetford where he had a charmed existence, once writing off three planes in three days. He moved to Yorkshire and was then posted to France and while on a bombing raid to Mannheim his plane was shot down and he was wounded. Captured by the Germans, he later escaped before being reincarcerated where he remained until the war ended.

Reviews

[Bjorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Petrol-drinking tuaregs, hidden oases in the Nubian desert, Persian armies whose descendants ("They're white men!") still hang on to that one oasis 2,500 years after losing contact with the outside world... You'd be hard pressed to call this the most realistic of the Biggles books. On the upside, there's not nearly as much racism as you might expect (which is to say there's a certain amount, more than 12-year-old me would have picked up on), and damnit, Johns' habit of breaking tension to lecture on how flying works is still unmatched for its sheer seriousness. I haven't read Biggles since before I discovered Monty Python, and only now do I realise just how little they had to exaggerate. Ridiculous, but with a stiff upper lip you can't help but admire.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my wife asked me what was happening in my Biggles book, and I replied that Biggles was stranded in the desert, her response was "wasn't that what happened in the last one?" I of course explained to her the important distinction that the desert in 'Biggles in Africa' was more of a scorched wasteland, whereas here it was a sandy desert, but it made me realise that fourteen books in, Johns manages (in my opinion) to keep these books remarkably fresh, despite the similarities in plots and locations that naturally occur. Never does it feel like we are retreading old territory, and there are always scary new villains and creatures to face. This one was a brilliant romp through the dust bowl, with a harrowing sense of peril, and wonders to be discovered. 5 stars.

[Zoe and the Edge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really like these desert stories. So many horrible things happen to them. And this is probably one of the worst desert stories because practically nothing happens. At all.
Algy is back to being grumpy. He's tired of the action. Though considering the kind of action he gets, you can understand. Even though the others go through hell and back, at least they get to do it together. He's always by himself due to his second-in-command position. I am still surprised, considering Algy's experience, that he still uses the old adage, “What would Biggles do?” I find the great affection that Biggles' comrades have for him is amusing. He does not have the most likeable personality.

P.S.
I didn't know Algy hates eavesdroppers.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bizarre story in many respects although the episode of Biggles and the crocodile makes it worth the price of admission. I must admit that I had no idea the Tuareg drank petrol. I thought they drank mint tea.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Egypte: farao's, pyramides, de sfinx, Cleopatra, ...
Niets van dat alles - behalve een korte verwijzing naar Cleopatra, en niet eens een postieve. Nee, Biggles en de zijnen leren Egypte erg eenzijdig kennen: een dorre woestijn, hitte, dorst en erg veel zand. Zelfs de aanleiding tot dit avontuur, een perzische oorlogsexpeditie die in woestijn verdween, dat toch aanleiding zou kunnen geven tot archelogische bespiegelingen, worden door Johns door monde van Biggles enkel belachelijk gemaakt en naar het tweede plan verwezen.
De vrienden landen met hun vliegtuig in de woesijn en hebben benzine nodig. Het grootste deel van dit verhaal gaat over het verblijf en het overleven in die woestijn. Ze worden geplaagd door kamelen, schorpioenen, vleermuizen en zelfs een grote nijlkrokodil. De ontdekking van de resten van de perzische expedite is geen bron van vreugde want ze moeten proberen hun leven te redden, dat is de enige prioriteit die hun rest.
Johns mist meerdere malen een mooie kans om er wat humor in te brengen, wat dit tot een droog (letterlijk) en grimmig avontuur maakt. De beschrijving van de woestijn en de omstandigheden is meesterlijk, zowel vanuit de lucht als ter plaatse. De toearegs zijn geen romantische lieverdjes maar levensechte gevaarlijke sadistische christenmoordenaars.
Een dorstig, leerzaam en erg spannend verhaal dat binnen de reeks zeker een ereplaats verdient.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book, probably as a pre-teen. This is where I first heard of the Tuareg of the Sahara. Having first read of their culture in Biggles books, as a Science teacher I used to use the example of their blue-black garb as a practical application of convection. Tuareg clothing is loose-fitting and multi-layered, this reducing direct contact with the skin. Heat from the sun is absorbed through the dark fabric thus warming air closer to the skin which escapes at the neck. Cooler air is drawn in from the bottom. I also enjoyed the historical opening chapter which led me to read deeper into Cambyses, son of XmCyrus the Great, founder of the Persisn Empire; and the Siwah Oasis, where Alexander the Great was crowned as Pharoah of Egypt. I enjoyed this story and gained much more from it than I had when I first read it as a child.

[Nick Pengelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one when I first read it (many decades ago). Who wouldn't love a tale about the discovery of Cambyses' lost army in the Libyan desert, with the descendants living in an isolated discovery? On re-reading it feels rushed. I feel Johns' could have done a lot more with such a great plot idea. Still love the escape device though, with (spoiler alert) Biggles blowing up the petrol store, and the bit with the crocodile is awesome!

[Daniel Bratell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fourth Biggles in Africa book I read in a row, but the first one north of Sahara. Or actually in the middle of Sahara. What do you think about a missing oasis and treasures from 500 BC? Biggles was not interested either until the bad guys tried to interfere.

So instead if lions we get scorpions.

[Barry Haworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the earlier Biggles books, in which Biggles, Algy and Ginger have an adventure in the African desert while on their way somewhere else. A hunt for treasure with trackless deserts, sand storms, fierce natives, an evil rival and a crocodile.

I remember reading this some years ago with enjoyment. I had less enjoyment this time around I think. Still an OK read.

[Micah Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as Biggles flies West and Biggles flies East, but good all the same. It certainly made me feel thirsty, and also thankful that I haven't got lost in a desert (yet)!

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic Biggles adventure where they get out of trouble just in time. Very exotic and remote desert setting with a sense of history.

[Andy Gore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biggles has so many narrow escapes that the story does lose some of its dynamics which is a shame as I do love the books so.

[Vera Schofield · Rating 4 out of 5]

very readable although a book for 11 to 15 year-olds I still found it gripping

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reviewing the series as a whole, rather than the books individually
The Biggles series is great adventure fiction: we get high stakes, aerial action (in most of the books), and a hero who is endlessly loyal, competent, and calm under pressure.

I love the dogfights, recon missions, and wartime scenarios.

Where the series falls short is character depth. Some attitudes and simplifications reflect the period in which the books were written. There are very definitely dated elements, but considering the era the books were written - overall the series performs well. More than a few of the stories defy plausibility, but who doesn't love to curl up with a good adventure book or 10?

“Never say die.”

[David Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crafty murdering foreigners armed with daggers with curved blades, a lost and buried Roman army, haboobs, plane crashes, sacrificial crocodiles and death by ants. Biggles lays waste to Egypt. Ripping.

[Salome · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine myself drinking petrol like those Tuagers in the desert, but even Biggles' mind was overheated enough for him to claim that he would drink almost anything. Another adventure where the nature joins forces with the bad guys to opposite Biggles and his friends together.

[Mark Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Edwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

En weer eentje uit.