Gold of the Gods

Mission Survival #1

by Bear Grylls

Beck Granger is on a trip to Colombia. His anthropologist uncle has taken him along on a visit to Don Rafael de Castillo, a descendent of a great explorer who claimed to have discovered a lost city of gold. But the secret of the city died with the explorer . . . until now. Beck’s uncle and Don Rafael believe they know where to find the city, but before they find it, they are both kidnapped. With Marco and Christina—the Don's children—Beck must set off into the wilds of Colombia to find the city and bring his uncle back. Along the way he must build a raft, negotiate wild river rapids, make camp, defend his friends from wild animals, and keep them all alive in the jungle. This fast-paced, exciting adventure is also full of real survival details and tips.

Book Details: Format: Paperback Publication Date: 10/1/2008 Pages: 256 Reading Level: Age 9 and Up

Genres: Adventure, Survival, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Action

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 8, 2008

About the author

Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. His journey to this acclaim started in the UK on the Isle of Wight, where his late father taught him to climb and sail. Trained from a young age in martial arts, Bear went on to spend three years as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. It was here that he perfected many of the skills that his fans all over the world enjoy watching him pit against mother-nature. Despite a free-fall parachuting accident in Africa, where he broke his back in three places, and after enduring months in military rehabilitation, Bear went on to become one of the youngest ever climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Bear went on to star in Discovery Channel's Emmy nominated Man Vs Wild and Born Survivor TV series, which has become one of the most watched shows on the planet. Off screen, Bear has lead record-breaking expeditions, from Antarctica to the Arctic, which in turn have raised over £2.5million for children around the world. In recognition of his expertise and service, Bear was appointed as the youngest ever Chief Scout to 28 million Scouts worldwide, awarded an honorary commission as a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy, and has authored 10 books, including To My Sons.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I would like to thank the publishers for giving me a chance to read this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

Gold of the Gods was a book that I was interested in because I had no idea of how good it would be. Bear Grylls is not known for being a writer but I was nicely surprised.

The book does not brilliant and its plotline is fairly formualic but it is an enjoyable romp and I found myself liking the characters well enough. Beck was a little too competent throughout so there was never any real sense of danger. Even at the end it was wrapped up too quickly and neatly. My main gripe would be that due to this the book and the characters were rather shallow. However it's an easy read, I read it during a train journey, and is well suited for children that are not generally big readers.

I liked the addition of the knots at the end although I agree with an earlier reviewer that the book in general read a bit like one of Grylls' shows but with a kid in his shoes.

Overall and enjoyable read but not a groundbreaking one. I recommend the book for younger, less competent or keen readers.

[MeskaKsiazka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawa młodzieżówka w stylu przygodowym i z lekkim zacięciem survivalu.

Książka nie wymaga od czytelnika nic poza jego uwagą, a wprowadza w bardzo fajną przygodę, która może i nie jest najwyższych lotów, ale pozwala fajnie odpocząć i dowiedzieć się czegoś o survivalu.

Survival jest jedną z głównych jeśli nie najważniejszą częścią tej książki, wszystko co się go tyczy jest napisane w bardzo profesjonalny sposób, a jednocześnie bardzo przyjemny nawet dla najmłodszego czytelnika w wieku nawet podstawówkowym. Bear Grylls jest mistrzem sztuki przetrwania nie tylko w prawdziwym życiu, ale bardzo dobrze potrafi swoją wiedzę przekazać, szczególnie najmłodszym.

Dzieciom i młodzieży w klimat bardzo fajnie pozwolą się wczuć bohaterowie którzy mają max 15 lat przez co książka jest przystępniejsza, a jej język bardziej zrozumiały.

Dla mnie osobiście jedna z ważniejszych książek w życiu (bo pierwsza jaką przeczytałem), a obecnie bardzo fajna opowiastka z morałem i nauką dla najmłodszych odbiorców.

Kolumbia daje bardzo fajny klimacik, który ja osobiście uwielbiam więc za to też plusik ode mnie.

Czemu nie 5 gwiazdek? Pierwsza opcja jest taka że jestem za stary na takie książki, a druga to brak efektu wow bo wszystko jest przewidywalne i wiadomo jak się skończy i że będzie to szczęśliwe zakończenie.

[Siobhán Bayertz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I knew Bear Grylls had written survival non-fiction books, but until recently, I didn't know he had written fiction too.

There was nothing overly complex in terms of plot and characters. Things seemed too easy for Beck in terms of his knowledge and skills. I generally like my main characters in these types of books to, of course, be talented badas**s, but a little bit of a struggle does also make the stories very interesting.

This was, however, a quick, entertaining read. I would say especially good for children who may find reading difficult or aren't the most keen of readers.

I plan to read the rest in the series.

[Lady Earth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear Grylls-től megszokott laza, de nagytudású, gördülékeny stílusban megírt ifjúsági kalandkönyv. Könnyed szórakozás, izgalmas cselekmény, megalapozott túlélési ismeretek. Amit hiányoltam kissé, hogy bár ez egy sorozat kezdőkötete, Beck gyerekéveiről csak visszaemlékezésekből tudunk meg részleteket, meg hogy mennyi helyen járt a papájával, és mennyi mindent megtanult. Azért jó lett volna, ha nem szuperhősként jelenik meg elsőre, aki mindent tud, hanem belepillanthattunk volna kicsit abba is, ő hogyan tanult meg dolgokat.
De azért valószínüleg fogom olvasni a további köteteket is! :)

[Eszter Beáta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel is exciting, but is more or less for younger people. The main character is a survivor like the author, but he is still a teenager. He knows already everything about the nature, that is sometimes good, sometimes irritating. The book is good written in the beginning and during the expedition part but the ending is half-baked. (It seems like the author didn't have time to finish it properly.)

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

び、微妙……だったかな。

サバイバルゲームでおなじみのベア・グリルスさんが執筆した子供向け冒険もの。

主人公のベックくんは、12才だけどサバイバルの達人で、まぁ、ほっとんどベアさんのようなもの。これはプロテインだーと嬉しそうに魚の目玉握りつぶしてすすったり、サバイバル技術のデティールはすんごく詳しくて、もしもジャングルでさまよったり、海上を遭難することがあれば、こうすればいいんだなぁという点では興味深いような気もしたけれど、いかんせ、誰にも感情移入できなかったので。うーん。小説書くのって難しいんだな、と。

[Jillian Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest I can't remember which Mission Survival books I've read (it's been years and feels like a lifetime ago) so I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt and say that I've read them all because I have such strong memories of some of them.

[Pradhnya · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adventurous novel from Bear Grylls.
It seems so authentic and feels like you are wherever the characters go. Definitely recommend reading this if you want to learn Spanish fast.

[Heidi Matheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this for my 11-year old but decided to read it myself first. Really enjoyed it. A good mix of adventure and survival education. Think my 11-year old is going to enjoy the series.

[The Bibliognost Bampot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically just like his TV series. A good concept, will appeal to tween boys.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my 8 year old son. It was a bit slow to start and he didn’t think there was enough action, but half way through it really got going and had us hooked.

[Almaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book it looks like a movie in your head. Full of adventure and a little bit of a thriller.
It makes you want to know more and read on and on. Would recommend it to people above ages 12+.

[Jennie Collison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 11 year son and I both read this separately as part of our summer reading challenge - a fun, easy reading adventure book at a good pace with great facts along the way :)

[Izzie Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good 😊

[Sy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book. I wish I could survive like that.

[Tafferner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad. Just bad.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Bear Grylls, a survival expert, who goes into a jungle in search of a lost city, but there is a policeman who is also on the trail to get himself the gold. Beck has to find the city and rescue the president with the help of his friends, the president's children. My favourite part is when they meet a bushmaster viper face to face, and Beck kills it. They then eat the snake by roasting it over a fire! Beck is my favourite character because he knows a lot about surviving in the wild. I learned that a shark can smell a drop of blood from almost 350 metres away.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

27th April 2013
Received a free copy today as part of a first reads giveaway I am still reading another giveaway book at the moment but will read and review as soon as possible.
17th May 2013
Started this book this evening, reading a few chapters. (I am reading this alongside a couple of other giveaway books having had a lucky month for receiving free giveaways that has left me somewhat behind in reading and reviewing)
I have a feeling that even though this book is aimed at older children / teens I am going to learn quite a lot from it. I have never been camping in my life so surviving in a jungle is well beyond my capabilities and being only fluent in English and coming across Spanish phrases in conversational text of this book already I am sure this book is going to fill my brain with new things. It is always hard to review a book intended for children as an adult viewpoint is somewhat different but I will do my best to be as thorough as I can without giving away spoilers to the storyline.
21st May 2013
Well I was correct in thinking I'd learn a thing or two from this book but at the same time some of the survival techniques used so far have turned my stomach as I can be a bit squeamish at times, the back cover says this is aimed at 9yrs+ and I think all the brownies / scouts and other adventurers around this age would be less bothered by the survival gore than myself and I imagine better informed by the end of the book on survival than they teach at basic brownie and scout groups. Still despite my squeamish stomach I am finding this to be an interesting and easy read and even with my limited reading time hoping to be finished before the end of the week at current reading rate.
25th/26th May 2013
Though to a point I have enjoyed this book I felt it began to lose storyline plot a bit and become more of a step by step survival guide as the characters travelled through the jungle, this may appeal more to younger more adventurous readers but for myself it became a bit tedious. Just as the storyline began to pick up again for what I thought was going to be the big rescue / discovery scenario at the end it began to feel rushed and tied up rather quickly and then over with quickly and far less thrilling than I would have imagined for a storyline such as this. Unfortunately this made me mark down a little and doesn't make me want to rush out and get further books in this series even with a sneak preview of the next book at the end of his one.
Think in this case I will leave this series of adventures for the younger readers around 9-12yrs, after that age I think they'd be after a bit more or need to be adventurers themselves to enjoy and appreciate the learning curve these story's have within them.

[Edel Waugh Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!!!! First can I say the characters are awesome and brave and gutsy.. We get a good back history as to why Beck and his uncle are so close and it really sets us up for the story. We first meet Beck when he and his Uncle Al are in Columbia... Beck is not long there when the story take a drastic turn and Beck and his buddies Christina and Marco find themselves using ever bit of survival knowledge that they have ever learned. From the opening pages to the very last one this story will you keep you on your toes and your adrenaline pumping as you watch these friends come up against all manner of hazard and animal/sea life, the story does not get boring at any stage, it keeps a steady pace which makes reading it easy and fun . The book has plenty of survival tips as well as little snippets of history..It is fascinating seeing how these friends use all their skills in the wilderness while telling you things not to do. This story will appeal to all who love adventure with a sense of danger ...I am really excited about this series!

[Jaguar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I think it was a great survival book, and something, I as a writer, have wanted to write. Now I understand how I should do it. This was a survival mystery and my favorite character is the main character, Beck Granger. I am wondering if Bear Grylls purposely made the main characters initials BG (Beck Granger) which also stands for Bear Grylls (BG). ;) Either way, I really loved this book, it was a fast read. Full of suspense, mystery, and survival. Yes it has it all. I want to read book #2 and I want to read and own all the books in the series. Bear Grylls is a very good author. He will get you to love the characters. I do have one thing I wished it had. More survival tips. And I wish the book was a bit longer. 200 seemed to short. 500 pages would be great!

I recommend this book to people who like a very suspense filled book and is about survival. If you a big fan of survival expert, Bear Grylls, you'll love this book. Can't wait to read the second book.

[Vika Ryabova · Rating 2 out of 5]

С точки зрения литературы - книжка на "троечку". Сюжет линейный и предсказуемый, герои схематические, главный герой - страшно зануден со своими поучениями :) Но поскольку это скорее инструкция по выживанию, а не художественное произведение, не будем слишком строгими. Дети оооочень любят такого рода сведения. И еще они обожают тему путешествия на плоту. Я скучала, а ребенку 8-9 лет, скорее всего, будет любопытно. Мы же тоже в свое время с восторгом читали "Таинственный остров", где нам постоянно рассказывали, как добывают железную руду, где берут серу, что к чему :) Думаю, многие из тех, кто интересуется экстремальными видами спорта, знают и автора, смотрят его передачи, и купят книгу из-за этого.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay read? It's a passable adventure for younger readers, not too graphic or terrifying, but also not that memorable.

Most of the interesting passages also have that "cool track coach or biology teacher" vibes, which is a slightly weird dynamic for an action-packed book about three teens, but educational nonetheless. The environment is well-envisioned, but the characters are paper-thin and not all that engaging.

In fact, two of the main characters are fraternal twins, who are completely interchangable, except of course when the girl does something wrong/gets in trouble/falls in the river. Then Gary Stu-Beck Granger is ready to step in and save the day with one more nugget of survivalist advice. It's probably not meant to read as condescending ... but it does.

[Skyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on goodreads giveaway.
I loved this book and also all the survival tips in there. I don't think I will ever actually have to use any of them but I found them really interesting. My favourite characters in the book is probably the twins. They made me laugh a lot in the book and especially when they made Ringo sound like the policeman to scare Beck.
What disappointed me most about the book is that the books story is all about finding El Dorado. But it never says in the book that they did find it. I probably would have given it 5 stars if they did find El Dorado.
I would recommend it to all ages.

[reea · Rating 4 out of 5]

ear Grylls nevét, ahogyan mindenki, úgy én is a túlélőműsoraiból ismerem. Igazából látni nem láttam egyet sem teljesen, két három részből több kisebb nagyobb részleten sikerült elképednem a bátyáméknál, akiknél mindig szól a tv. De ettől függetlenül természetesen tisztában voltam vele, hogy kiről beszélünk, mert ugye ott volt még a mémmé válása is, amiből megtudtam, itt még ő sem élné túl, majd jött a hír, hogy kalandregényt írt, ami ha fel nem is villanyozott, mégis érdekelt. Egy jó kis akcióban még tavaly beszereztem, aztán áprilisban végre el is olvastam.

http://napifalat.blogspot.hu/2013/06/...

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was, well, OK. It very much read like one of Bear's shows, with the main character teaching how to survive pretty much any encounter. The story surrounding the incidents was interesting as well. Was it a great book, no, but it was entertaining and fun. It very much reminded me of a young indiana jones type of novel, and I could see the movie version of it being more fun to watch than it actually was to read.

I will pick up the next one at some point to read as well. Just wish it wasn't so hard to get a hold of here in the states!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take out mentions of GPS and reality TV shows and this could be a tale featured in Boys Own, Hotspur, Rover or any other classic boy’s comic or story book. It’s a ripping yarn, rollicking good read and terrific tale of the old school. Well written and stuffed full of useful survival tips for that time when your plane crashes in the jungle I’m sure it’ll appeal to its target audience of young readers – I’m young in heart if not in body and I certainly enjoyed it! I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads - thank you.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy watching bear's tv shows and are not looking for complex characters you will probably like this book.
The main character takes control and shows us how to survive in the Columbian jungle.
Nice touch with "Bear's survival tips" at the back which shows the reader how to tie some basic yet very useful knots.
The book is dedicated to his son Marmaduke, I can imagine Bear telling it as a bedtime story.

First reads winner.

[Padraic Rafter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well first off I won this book in a Goodreads competition, so it not a book I would have read normally. This book is aimed at young adults and chidlren and I could only describe it as a Bear Grylls episode meets Indiana Jones with a pinch of Macgyver, which I think you will agree is not a bad mix. Over all it was a fast read with a little history, survival and some story great for its target market.

[Farida El Kafrawy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a goodreads first reads giveaway Very enjoyable read. I am a bit past the recommended age but I found it was a great read. I finished it in only 4 or less hours of reading so its definitely a good book to read when travelling. I actually learn a lot more about survival in those 4 hours than I have in my whole life. I knew Bear Grylls is a survival expert but I never knew he could write. Overall thumbs up.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant