Book Review: Biggles and the Black Peril

”Listen, my lad,” interrupted Biggles quietly, “never worry your head wondering what might have happened - that doesn’t matter two hoots. Always stick to facts; they are the only things that count.”

Another Biggles adventure! In Biggles and the Black Peril, Biggles and friends confront the peril of Fascism and the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact (never named, but clearly at work behind this aviation collaboration between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia).

The book begins when Biggles and Algy set out for a joyride in their airplane, intending to have a nice picnic and nip back home in time for dinner… only to discover a SECRET AIRFIELD on the coast! Unfortunately, as they are scoping out this secret airfield, a MYSTERIOUS FOREIGN PLANE arrives. In the course of attempting to scope out this plane, Biggles is CAPTURED.

After escaping his foes, albeit at the cost of a sprained ankle, Biggles runs into Ginger Hebblethwaite, a teenager who just ran away from home in order to join the RAF. Ginger is such a pilot junkie that he already knows who Biggles is! Delighted to have fallen in with his hero, Ginger eagerly offers to help the injured Biggles, who sends him to the nearest town for help.

Unfortunately, before Ginger returns, Biggles is captured again. Fortunately, Biggles mentioned his home aerodrome to Ginger, who at once telegraphs Algy for help! Algy rushes to the scene, and through the combination of Algy’s war-skills and Ginger’s street smarts (plus his extensive knowledge of American gangster films), they rescue Biggles from the baddies.

Once they’ve rescued Biggles, it’s only natural that Biggles and Algy should take this teenage civilian with them on an espionage mission to Germany and/or the Soviet Union to investigate these mysterious foreign monster planes, which are clearly part of some nefarious plan to invade England. More adventure ensues!

I had already met Ginger in a different book, but it was great fun to see him at his first appearance. Johns has the gift of making his characters memorable in just a few broad strokes.

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As skygiants has bamboozled me into actually writing that World War II Sir Gawain and the Green Knight retelling where the knights of the round table are all RAF pilots, I must of course turn my Biggles reading toward World War II books next. Tallyho!