Mark A. Cooper - Fledgling, etc.

[Ming]

Split from another thread.

This message on EnidBlyton.net clearly shows that what we feared is beginning to happen:

September 27, 2013 - Chris Horsefield says: I was pleased that another Enid Blyton fan also thought British Author Mark A. Cooper has a similar style to Enid Blyton. When I read his first novel I was pulled into the story as if I was reading a Famous Five novel. On researching I see he was born in Lordship Lane Dulwich, London next door to where she was born and he names her as his main influence and inspiration for writing. While I find his novels riveting and similar style don't get carried away, it's not Orange Squash and fairy cakes, his 11 year old character witnesses far more than a boy that age should. My question is can we get some of the unfinished manuscripts, yes I know they were tossed away, but if the synopsis was given to someone like Cooper could he not write them just as authors now write Ian Fleming's James Bond books? It would be a treat to read a new novel with some pop biscuits and google buns. Unless we know of another children's author who could write them and get the style correct.

Tony replied:

September 30, 2013 - Tony says: I was surprised to hear that Mark A. Cooper writes in a similar style to Enid Blyton. I had never heard of him so I checked out his website to look at his Jason Steed series. I see that he has only written the two books and according to his website - 'Jason Steed has been called the 'New karate Kid' to 'Young 007'. A fresh version of Alex Rider.' - surely nobody could seriously suggest that this Young Adult material is similar in any way to EB!

Bets says: The Anecdotage can! It's alarming that other people appear to have started thinking along the same lines as Stephen.

[Tony Summerfield]

Things have moved on a bit since I wrote my reply, Ming, as I am currently reading Mark A Cooper's first Jason Steed book (It has taken him five years to write just the two books). It is an American paperback as he doesn't have a UK publisher and as you might expect it uses American expressions and spelling. I have only read the first 30 pages so far, but Jason who lives in Hong Kong and is five years-old is already a brown belt in Karate! His father, in the army and mostly absent, has been invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party and flies back to England taking Jason with him. The Queen and the Duke have four children (the eldest is called Cuthbert!!) and whilst Jason is playing with four year-old Catherine, the youngest, she falls in a pond but Jason dove (!!) in and rescued her. The Queen arrives and says to her daughter - 'What was one doing by the pond dear?' The next day is Catherine's birthday and the grateful queen sends her butler, Archibald, to fetch Jason to the birthday party.

I can hardly wait to read on, eat your heart out, Enid!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Having borrowed a copy of Mark A. Cooper's first Jason Steed book (Fledgling), I have to say that I'm surprised at Chris Horsefield's comment that Mark A. Cooper "has a similar style to Enid Blyton." Fledgling is a fast-paced adventure story written in a simple style, but reading it felt nothing like reading Enid Blyton. Jason and his friend do have a few meetings in the garden shed - but only to experiment with beer and cigarettes (which they don't like).



*** SPOILER WARNING FOR 'FLEDGLING' ***



Jason is 10 or 11 for most of the book (younger in the opening chapters), yet much of the content seems aimed at "Young Adult" readers (around 12 and over). As someone said, Jason Steed has more in common with Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider than any Enid Blyton character, though Alex is several years older at 14-15 and Anthony Horowitz develops the back story slowly (even though the actual events of each adventure are fast-moving), taking readers inside Alex's head so we become involved with his emotions. Horowitz's writing is also slick and powerful whereas Cooper's writing has a naive quality - even a crassness at times.

Because of all this, Cooper fails to convince me in the way that Horowitz does and I find Fledgling entertaining only as a cartoon is entertaining. Here is a boy of 10 or 11 who will take on any number of grown men and defeat them in a jiffy, even killing in self-defence. He also performs other incredible feats. I found myself picturing the action in comic-strip form, with flashes and bubbles saying "Pow!", "Bang!" and "Wallop!" The Royal Family (described by Tony in his post above) are a scream and I formed Spitting Image pictures of them in my head as I read.

I'm afraid I waited in vain for anything remotely resembling pop biscuits or google buns!

[Spiffygirl]

I bought the Jason Steed books by Mark A. Cooper after reading they were Prince Williams favorite, When reading Tony and Chris remarks I thought I would comment there is now 3 books the latest one came out last month.
Book 1 Fledgling was one of the best books I have read in a very long time (Not giving my age away) The second book followed was a thrilling adventure and the 3rd book pretty much amazed me.

Similar to Enid Blyton?? Well looking further into it, Cooper was born in Dulwich London next door to where Enid Blyton was born, also above a store (shop). On Goodreads it says his main influence is Enid Blyton. He was born at the time of her death so he is much younger.
The Jason Steed novels are similar in style only, his book are for todays young readers, Jason Steed is set in the 1970's, when the Osmonds were in the pop charts. The novels are warm, have great morals, love, freindship and emotion. However Jason Steed is no pussy, his mother dies giving him birth and his father shows no love and blames Jason for the loss of his wife. Jason builds a tough shell around himself and buries himself in martial arts training. He takes on bullies and the bad guys, aged 11 he is at Sea Cadet camp and a Royal marine military exercise goes wrong, leaving Jason in the middle of it with just a few days to recover a cassette that can disarm a nuclear missile. He does it, there are casualties.
So it's a far cry from Secret Seven / Famous Five, but the pace, the fun, the adventure is very much Enid Blyton.

No pop biscuits or google buns but then if there was we would call it plagiarism. Jason Steed eats Carrot Cake and drinks milk, in a secret code message he calls himself 'Carrot Cake Eater' to identify himself

I teach middle school in Calhoun, Tennessee and my students adore the Jason Steed novels, I passed them to them and we had to buy more. The typical tween (9-13) of today has a fast mind, they can text faster than they can talk, they live in a computer age and if they are going to read a novel they need something fast, simple with good guy /bad guy. Mark A. Cooper seems to capture that, with his strong Enid Blyton influence the novels are perfect for todays youngsters.

I have tried introducing Famous Five / Secret Seven into my reading class, the new covers are up to date but the writing is (Forgive me for saying this) half a century away. The language is not something kids can relate to, I hope Cooper continues to write the series and keep the Enid Blyton Style alive.

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's interesting to read your views, Spiffygirl. I've only read the first Jason Steed title, Fledgling, and I didn't really find it similar in style to Enid Blyton. That's partly because Enid Blyton's language has a slightly old-fashioned flavour. Also, she often creates a feeling of bonhomie at the beginning of her books as the main characters meet and make plans. Many of her adventure books involve a group of children working together so there's lots of lively dialogue throughout, and relatively few scenes where we focus on an individual. This "togetherness" and friendly conversation means that her stories feel particularly warm, even when the characters are in great danger. Although Jason Steed does have good friends who support him, at times he seems alone with his gifts and he is the one others must rely on - even men in the military.

...it's a far cry from Secret Seven / Famous Five, but the pace, the fun, the adventure is very much Enid Blyton.

Fledgling is fast-paced and quick to read, like an Enid Blyton novel, but the tone and language feel very different.

No pop biscuits or google buns but then if there was we would call it plagiarism.

When I wrote "I'm afraid I waited in vain for anything remotely resembling pop biscuits or google buns!" I was referring to Chris Horsefield's comment on enidblyton.net, quoted by Ming in her post above:

My question is can we get some of the unfinished manuscripts, yes I know they were tossed away, but if the synopsis was given to someone like Cooper could he not write them just as authors now write Ian Fleming's James Bond books? It would be a treat to read a new novel with some pop biscuits and google buns.

Mark A. Cooper may well be capable of writing continuation books about the Enchanted Wood (where pop biscuits and google buns are to be found) but I think he would need to modify his style of writing for that sort of fantasy story aimed at younger children.

[Tony Summerfield]

I thought it might be kinder for me not to post here, but I have just had to answer this message on our Facebook page:-

Is it true Mark A. Cooper the Jason Steed author is writing a new Secret Seven series? I hope u Say yes !

My answer was that it was news to me if that was the case, as think it would be hard to find anybody less suitable to do so.

I have read Fledgling and I enjoyed it, but I'm afraid it was for all the wrong reasons! I laughed more out loud with this book than with any other that I have read this year, it was so totally unrealistic that it was comical! I know the author is British, but he seems to have no idea as to how things would have worked in England in the early 1970s and the book is clearly aimed at the American market.

Without spoiling the book for potential readers, just to give you a flavour, try to imagine a boy who has just had his eleventh birthday being awarded the Victoria Cross by the Queen in a private ceremony. As she is Jason's girlfriend, the Queen's youngest daughter was also present! Peter, from the Secret Seven, would be well jealous of Jason's many heroic achievements, he leaves a few dead bodies along the way, whilst others are luckier and just end up in hospital.

They say laughter is good for you, so I have just ordered the next two books in the series, but I cannot imagine an author less like Enid Blyton. If anybody does want to read the book, I would advise them to miss the prologue, as it simply repeats word for word several pages from one of the last chapters in the book. I would guess that the author thought the early chapters were a bit dull and he wanted to thrill his readers at the start of the book.

[Tally Ho Henry]

I mentioned to my wife maybe two years ago that Coopers style was very similar to Enid Blyton, maybe that's why our two grandsons found the Jason Steed books so fascinating and hard to put down.
Before I retired I was an English teacher, I can remember when Enid Blyton was the only author who could pull in reluctant readers.
She was often criticized for her easy flow, 'child-like' manner of writing. The same has been said of Mark Coopers, he will never win a prize for literacy.

I think many are missing the match here. Enid Blyton is a one-off they broke the mold when they made her, she can't be replaced. However we now have an author who was brought up on Enid Blyton, born in the same neighborhood no less. Don't expect his books to be the same, they are not, they are nothing like Enid Blytons.
However he phrases the same, the pace of the story is the same, it is very easy to read and pretty basic. We have good guys and rotters.
The Jason Steed character is nothing like an Enid Blyton character but they have similar morals, they love, they care, they take on bullies.
If you pick up a Jason Steed novel don't expect it to be like Enid Blyton it's not.
What you have is a children's books written by a British author who no doubt learnt English, writing and phrases by reading Enid Byton books. The guy was born five years before her death, we would expect his novels to be different, violence is more acceptable today, so is a little cupid romance.
I would also say his writing is very much like that of Enid Blyton and thank god his stories are original and not anything like Enid's characters that would be plagiarism and probably would not work with todays children.
Cooper has mastered an art of writing books for TODAYS CHILDREN, in exactly the same way that Enid did in her day. As adults some of you may be missing that.
For a couple of years rumors have been circulating that his novels are similar and many internet post often ask questions who is similar to Enid Blyton, Coopers, name always comes up. When they ask who writes similar to Enid Blyton I think they are asking, "What book can we get our grand children to read that are simple and easy to read but have action and adventure to stimulate them, just like Enid Blyton" Then no other name will come up other than Mark A. Cooper.
I think some people posting here are expecting Lemonade and Spiffy fun with Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and of course Timmy. That is not the case, with Jason Steed, you get Jason, Scott and Princess Catherine.
And a whole new modern world full of dangers that never existed in the 1940's and 1950's.
The result is a series adored by young fans, including Prince William.

[Tally Ho Henry]

To the question posted by Tony, is Mark Cooper writing the next Secret Seven series, I have not found anything either. The author now lives in Florida, I think this is more hope than truth on behalf of keen readers.

Many of us old-timers could never see anyone replace Enid and that is true. However could someone pick up a pen and write a new Secret Seven series with the same characters, but in todays world with smart phones. The answer would be yes of course they could, would it be any good? Everyone in the Enid Blyton Society would say no!

But as children start putting down the controls to a computer game and start reading them, then the answer would be yes. Imagine a world in thirty years from now, most of us gone and along with us Enid Blyton. What a fitting tribute to have her characters brought forward for the next generations just as they continue to do with James Bond, Jason Borne long after the author has passed.

We have an author who fits that bill, one who comes with Royal apporoval. If he does I feel sorry for him, he will be attacked for not being as good as Enid Blyton. Come on be honest we would all attack him saying it's nothing like Enid or not as good. For we are not writers and writers that can pull in children the way Enid Blyton and Mark Cooper can do. That is a gift given to them by god, Hans Christian Andersen, Enid Blyton and Mark Cooper have a talent only children can see.

[Spiffygirl]

I found this article on Mark A. Cooper it seems he is coming under the same criticism as enid Blyton did when she had her books banned from certain libraries.


Monday marked the start of 2013's Teen Read Week. With young adult literature regularly burning up the bestseller lists, it's clear many young adults don't need an excuse to seek out the written word: Sixteen- to 29-year-olds are the largest group checking out books from their local libraries and on-line. Among the authors taking advantage is Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" and local Sarasota author Mark A. Cooper.
Mark A. Cooper's first novel 'Fledgling Jason Steed' made its debut in 2008, since then it has been published in five different languages and has been named Prince Williams Favorite Novel.
This week to coincide with Young Adult book 3, mark released book 3 in the Jason Steed trilogy. Titles Jason Steed Absolutely Nothing received rave reviews in its first day and was in the top 100 on Amazon within a few hours.
The Jason Steed novels appealed to youngsters age 10 to adult. Fledgling was voted book of the year 2009 by fictionbookreviwer knocking Twilight off top spot.
It's not all good news for the British born author. His work has received much criticism from literacy experts who say his style is basic and even childish, others compare him to Enid Blyton when his novel was banned from a middle school library in Idaho stating the English was not good enough" (A brave comment from the Americans considering Cooper is British born).
Cooper has has a huge fan base including celebrities such as Prince William and Justin Bieber. Cooper defended his work stating "Kids today do not want to read a 500 page novel written 50 years ago, with each page describing the color of the wallpaper and the scenery. Kids live in a faster world where they can text faster than they can write, they are brought up with computers, cell phones and need something written at a fast pace to keep them reading and coming back for more.
Although true his statement backfired his novel Fledgling Jason Steed was the most illegally down loaded book in the world for 2 years, no doubt costing the author thousands in lost royalties.

[Tony Summerfield]

It would seem that we have a Mark A. Cooper fan club posting here, but perhaps I can throw a bit of a damp towel on things by pointing out a couple of facts.

Firstly, he has no publisher in the UK at present and furthermore it would seem that he has had to self-publish the third book as the publisher is listed as CreateSpace, which would seem to say that he hasn't got an American publisher either.

Secondly, much is made of it being Prince William's favourite book - Mark A. Cooper even has a photo on his home page, but a website about Prince William has the same photo and the caption says it was taken in 2000 when he was 18 - many years before Fledgling was even written!

[Carlotta King]

I'm wondering, (being a very cynical person!!!) if the popularity of this book has got a lot to do with the fact that it is plastered everywhere that it's loved by the likes of Prince William and Justin Bieber, who, as we all know, are both adored by millions of teenagers everywhere.....
I'm sure if Prince William and Justin Bieber and other 'young stars' all professed a love of reading Latin or tea-leaves, everyone would suddenly love that as well!

[Moonraker]

I would take all the 'facts' about this book with a pinch of salt. I'm not so sure it is that popular - especially as it appears to be self-published. I'm not even convinced that there isn't a bit of Spam on the menu - it seems funny that all of a sudden there is a flurry of posts both here and over on enidblyton.net. It even appears that some of the posters might even be the same person.

[pete9012S]

Just asked my library to order an epub version of this book for me.
If it made Tony guffaw out load it can't bee too bad!!!

[Boatbuilder]

Assuming you are referring to 'Fledgling' It is available in both paperback and Kindle formats, Pete.

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