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Jimmy Pibble #3
The Seals
On a remote Scottish island a fanatical religious sect is striving to build the Eternal City—with damp cement. On to the scene comes Detective-Superintendent James Pribble in response to a curious summons.
For Sir Francis Francis, twice Nobel Prize winner, is seemingly being held prisoner by the mad monks, who regard him as their financial saviour.
In fact, they will stop at nothing to make sure he stays—including murder.
For Sir Francis Francis, twice Nobel Prize winner, is seemingly being held prisoner by the mad monks, who regard him as their financial saviour.
In fact, they will stop at nothing to make sure he stays—including murder.
189 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
12 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Peter Dickinson
141 books156 followersPeter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL was a prolific English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories.
Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.
Peter Dickinson lived in Hampshire with his second wife, author Robin McKinley. He wrote more than fifty novels for adults and young readers. He won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Award twice, and his novel The Blue Hawk won The Guardian Award in 1975.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 11, 2019
One of those books that, after reading it, I question not just why I read it, but why we read books in general, why books even exist, what the whole project of fiction is about.
Not that it was a bad book at all; it was well-enough constructed, well-enough expressed, certainly novel in various ways, not cliched. But it was odd; sort of I don't know maybe stitched together from disparate and not particularly compatible parts, so that I felt like I'd been perhaps hopping from stone to stone in a pond, and ended up at one edge of the pond where the stones seemed to end, but not with any sense of having gotten anywhere.
We say, I say, that stories are one of the most important things we do, one of the most human, the thing that we are always doing and can't help but doing. But there are some books, and this is one, where after reading it I somehow am skeptical about all of that. What, really, was all of that about?
Not that it was a bad book at all; it was well-enough constructed, well-enough expressed, certainly novel in various ways, not cliched. But it was odd; sort of I don't know maybe stitched together from disparate and not particularly compatible parts, so that I felt like I'd been perhaps hopping from stone to stone in a pond, and ended up at one edge of the pond where the stones seemed to end, but not with any sense of having gotten anywhere.
We say, I say, that stories are one of the most important things we do, one of the most human, the thing that we are always doing and can't help but doing. But there are some books, and this is one, where after reading it I somehow am skeptical about all of that. What, really, was all of that about?
February 2, 2011
Fewer foreshadowings, in this Pibble book, of Dickinson's themes to come. Madness isn't something Dickinson dwelt on much, but it is a central theme in this book. And, as always with Pibble, there is introspection, a constant mental examination of his life so far that informs and illuminates his life at the moment. The first time I read this one I didn't like it at all, but it has grown on me over the years. And now I marvel that he never manages to mention the name of the board game that underlies the action. A quiet tour de force.
July 5, 2017
Sir Francis Francis is ninety-two and claiming that someone stole his valuable memoirs. Sir Francis was one of the individuals who worked on the atomic bomb for which he won the Nobel Prize. Interestingly enough, Sir Francis worked with Pibble’s father all those many years earlier. Superintendent James Pibble is asking himself if the memoirs really existed. Is the old man forgetful? Or paranoid? Pibble is beginning to wonder just why Sir Fancis contacted him to begin with.
Once he begins to work on the case located on a small and isolated island off the coast of Scotland he realizes that the strange religious sect that calls it home the island doesn’t want Sir Francis to leave. Are they holding him against his will? Why do they want him to stay so badly?
As Pibble delves further into the case, we find him going down memory lane. He recalls his time with his father when he was a child and older. It is a very interesting aspect of the case as we learn more about Pibble’s life. He goes this case alone, without his colleagues or any help from the other police officers.
This is a very good addition to the James Pibble series. I truly enjoyed it.
Peter Dickinson was a fine writer. Even though these stories were originally written in 1960’s, they seem timeless to me. These books are well written, although the plotting kind of loses track once in a while. Commander James Pibble is a keenly observant witness to human behavior. He picks up on minute clues in body language. I don’t know how I have missed reading him before and will continue to read him.
I want to thank Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.
Once he begins to work on the case located on a small and isolated island off the coast of Scotland he realizes that the strange religious sect that calls it home the island doesn’t want Sir Francis to leave. Are they holding him against his will? Why do they want him to stay so badly?
As Pibble delves further into the case, we find him going down memory lane. He recalls his time with his father when he was a child and older. It is a very interesting aspect of the case as we learn more about Pibble’s life. He goes this case alone, without his colleagues or any help from the other police officers.
This is a very good addition to the James Pibble series. I truly enjoyed it.
Peter Dickinson was a fine writer. Even though these stories were originally written in 1960’s, they seem timeless to me. These books are well written, although the plotting kind of loses track once in a while. Commander James Pibble is a keenly observant witness to human behavior. He picks up on minute clues in body language. I don’t know how I have missed reading him before and will continue to read him.
I want to thank Netgalley and Open Road Integrated Media for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.
December 10, 2018
Third book in the James Pibble collection, this novel struck me as in between the other two. Pibble was slightly more humanized (well, he's never really cardboard, but in this one he has more of a past) and the other characters are all rather complex -- which makes for a more interesting novel. The "problem" and the mechanics of the device are both a bit far-fetched (not as silly as the Old English Peep Show, but a bit of a strain), but that all happens near the end, and I didn't mind so much. Great setting!
July 21, 2024
Dickinson tries something different: this is a thriller displaying the author's characteristically intricate plot and imaginative mise-en-scene. The writing is - just about - adequate to the fearsome demands of description and imagination. Satisfying resolution.
September 19, 2022
Great tension and all of the thorny personalities and moral ambiguity that make Dickinson's mysteries stand out, but I solved this one so early on I was surprised no additional twist came.
January 6, 2023
Is this supposed to be a parody of Scientology? Its credibility is very poor. The last few chapters are an escape that's awfully complicated. I don't know how it got published.
September 9, 2007
James Pibble responds to a urgent appeal from Sir Francis Francis, a scientist whom his father worked for many years ago. Pibble had a complicated relationship with his father and wants to find out more about what made his father tick. He sets off for a remote island in Scotland only to find that Francis is holed up in some sort of religious sect, is in very bad health, and is being unable to get away.
I thought it was a very exciting book, although it was nothing like I expected. It's fairly old, and shows its age a bit, but the story is still very good.
I thought it was a very exciting book, although it was nothing like I expected. It's fairly old, and shows its age a bit, but the story is still very good.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews