Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

The books! Over seven hundred of them and still counting...
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Courtenay
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Courtenay »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Just found out that Quercus have published another adult Famous Five title - Five Go Down Under:
As an Australian Blyton fan, I'm extra insulted. :evil:
This is just a bunch of words that include several references to things in Australia. Hard to believe a real person wrote this. It could have been generated by a low-grade algorithm.
I have a feeling "Ausdragon" may have hit on something here... :shock: :roll: :x
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

There's no real storyline here; events are driven purely by a need to connect one tired cliche to another.
Sounds about like all the other so-called 'adult' Famous Fives. :|
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
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Favourite book/series: The Adventure Series, Galliano's Circus
Favourite character: Lotta
Location: Both Aussie and British; living in Cheshire

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Courtenay »

Well, exactly. I recently picked up another of the new ones, Five Escape Brexit Island, and — just as with all the others — promptly found I couldn't read more than a few lines before my brain turned to mush. :x There was simply no real plot, no resemblance to any of the characters we know from Blyton (other than their names) and nothing even remotely engaging, let alone witty, about any of it.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
Posts: 16029
Joined: 26 Feb 2005, 22:38
Favourite book/series: Rubadub Mystery, Famous Five and The Find-Outers
Favourite character: Snubby, Uncle Robert, George, Fatty
Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

I wonder why Bruno Vincent stopped writing them? Maybe he saw how badly the last batch were affecting his career as a 'comedy' book writer...
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
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Favourite book/series: The Adventure Series, Galliano's Circus
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Location: Both Aussie and British; living in Cheshire

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Courtenay »

Or maybe word got around that he was really a low-grade algorithm and the publishers changed the name on the books so the public won't realise it's still the same computer doing the writing. :twisted:
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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pete9012S
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by pete9012S »

Image


Do we know anything about the new writer's background,love of Blyton etc?


The Famous Five have gone on their greatest adventure yet - a trip Down Under to Oz for some gap year fun.
Enid Blyton's books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, Julian, George, Dick, Anne and Timmy head Down Under for some relaxing holiday fun. But will it be the adventure they had hoped for?

Setting up camp in Bondi they soon meet the Sydney Six, a couple of guitar-strumming Kiwis and a rogue South African and find themselves in the thick of Sydney's real estate perils and the attempts of their omnipresent cousin Rupert Kirrin to buy up the local media.

But when the sun, surf and bluebottles have their revenge and things don't quite go to plan, it's time to head for the country for a spot of sheep-shearing and quad-bike riding. Will the country be kinder to them or will their close calls with the Australian wildlife have them heading back to the city before you can say decaff soy latte?
Image
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Rob Houghton
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Favourite book/series: Rubadub Mystery, Famous Five and The Find-Outers
Favourite character: Snubby, Uncle Robert, George, Fatty
Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Courtenay wrote:Or maybe word got around that he was really a low-grade algorithm and the publishers changed the name on the books so the public won't realise it's still the same computer doing the writing. :twisted:
Well, Bruno Vincent did apparently co-write that 'best seller' 'Do Ants Have A***holes?' :roll:

But then again, this could also have been a computer...although surely a computer would do a better job?! :lol:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
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Favourite book/series: The Adventure Series, Galliano's Circus
Favourite character: Lotta
Location: Both Aussie and British; living in Cheshire

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Courtenay »

Whoever the current writer/algorithm actually is, I bet she (it?) doesn't have enough genuine knowledge of Aussie wildlife to end the story with the Five being eaten alive by drop bears. I would. :twisted: :wink:
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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pete9012S
Posts: 17568
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Favourite book/series: Five On A Treasure Island
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by pete9012S »

...the attempts of their omnipresent cousin Rupert Kirrin to buy up the local media.
Who the hell is he? And what side of the family does he come from??
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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Rob Houghton
Posts: 16029
Joined: 26 Feb 2005, 22:38
Favourite book/series: Rubadub Mystery, Famous Five and The Find-Outers
Favourite character: Snubby, Uncle Robert, George, Fatty
Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

the transported convict side maybe? :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
Posts: 19274
Joined: 07 Feb 2014, 01:22
Favourite book/series: The Adventure Series, Galliano's Circus
Favourite character: Lotta
Location: Both Aussie and British; living in Cheshire

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Courtenay »

:twisted:
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
User avatar
Rob Houghton
Posts: 16029
Joined: 26 Feb 2005, 22:38
Favourite book/series: Rubadub Mystery, Famous Five and The Find-Outers
Favourite character: Snubby, Uncle Robert, George, Fatty
Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Rob Houghton »

Image
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Daisy
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Daisy »

:lol: :lol: :lol:
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.

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Lucky Star
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by Lucky Star »

Oh dear I had hoped we had heard the last of these "books". :roll:
"What a lot of trouble one avoids if one refuses to have anything to do with the common herd. To have no job, to devote ones life to literature, is the most wonderful thing in the world. - Cicero

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pete9012S
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Re: Famous Five 'Adult' Books!

Post by pete9012S »

Perhaps this interview with the author of the first batch will allow some to soften towards these 'Enid Blyton' books?

Interview with Famous Five Spoof Author Bruno Vincent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W4gufE3VRU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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