Where The Jungle Ends

The Professionals #1

by Ken Blake

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Pseudonym for Kenneth Bulmer

Reviews

[Amy H. Sturgis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading the novelizations of The Professionals as I treat myself to a rewatch-athon of the cult television series, courtesy of the new blu-ray sets currently being released. "Ken Blake" (who was, apparently, a pseudonym for science fiction author Kenneth Bulmer) strikes a hard-bitten noir tone perfectly appropriate for the Lads from CI5. It's fascinating to see how the "chalk and cheese" characters developed, what the drive and bite of the "they're on our doorstep" Cold War/Age of Terrorism momentum reflects about its era, and how much of the series changed from what was on the scripted pages when it made its way to the screen. (Much of the dark humor and subtext genuinely came from improvised moments between series leads Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw.) I particularly like seeing CI5 Controller George Cowley from the novel's perspective.

This volume includes adaptations of "Old Dogs with New Tricks," "Long Shot," "Where the Jungle Ends," and "Killer with a Long Arm."


[Note to self, as a follow-up to previous notes in the status updates: "Killer with a Long Arm" reflects a lot of line-changing (here Bodie sleeps "easy, quick" from "Habit. Belgian Congo" instead of Doyle from habit as a cop, etc.) and line absences (no references to or jokes about Bodie's alleged relationship with Betty), but the iconic "Since when did you miss?" exchange at the end remains intact.]

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my physical library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)

I can't believe I forgot to add this series. I enjoyed the books as a teen, long before I was able to see the series having been too young for it when it was on TV, years prior. Now its on all the time, which is great, saves me pulling out my dvds!

In case anyone cares, out of Bodie and Doyle, I pick Bodie. I'm a huge fan of Doyle's actor, Martin Shaw, but character wise, Bodie just edges out Doyle. *stops rambling.*


First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Karen Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good adaptation of four episodes from the British television series from the late seventies and early eighties. The series focused on the head of a special unit called CI5, which has a special mandate from the British government to investigate domestic plots and crimes and has carte blanche is stopping them. The head of CI5 is George Cowley and his two chief operatives are Ray Doyle, a former London officer, and William Bodie, whose checkered past included stints with the SAS and as a mercenary.

This novel, the first in a series, includes episodes from the first season, including the title track, Where the Jungle Ends, about a group of former mercenary colleagues of Bodie's who hire themselves out to an English crime lord to pull a daring heist.

The four stories are tied together well, although they are shortened from the original scripts. The characters are introduced well and plenty of background is given for those unfamiliar with the series. The book is written well enough to be a stand alone action novel. Highly recommended even if one has never seen the series.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4

I thought this was a very good adaptation of the some episodes from the first season of the show.
Characters immediately reminded me of the series. Nothing stood out as being added to the stories as happens sometimes in adaptations but I didn’t care tbh.
I read this series when they first came out in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s but lost them over time, saw a couple in local charity shops and felt a tug of nostalgia.
Overall definitely worth reading I think, will continue with the series over the next year reading one per month and perhaps at some point try to acquire the Blu-ray editions of the four seasons as well.

[David Pearce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is damn good fun and a real trip down memory lane. Its one main weakness is the fact that the book is three stories glued together and you can definitely see the join! The characterisations of Bodie, Doyle and Cowley are spot on and fully reflect the humour and danger of the three men. I loved it and I will definitely read another couple that I have recently unearthed.

[Andy Lancelot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve started re-watching this TV series having bought a DVD box set recently. I was an avid fan as a teenager.

This novelisation is essentially four short stories bringing four episodes together. I felt it worked well and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Looks like I’ll have to continue collecting these books now!

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me back down memory lane to when I was a teenager and I read these. It was a good read and was also an episode in the TV show back in the late 70's early 80's.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good adaptation of the TV series. Once I had read the book I re-watched the episodes on ITV4.

Pure nostalgia to a show I watched back in the day.

[Zechariah]

not a bad read plenty of action

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelization of a TV episode of The Professionals.