King of the Golden Valley [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Alan Scholefield (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA An exciting adventure story that tells of a Peking-to-London auto race in 1939. However, most of the action takes place in the present, when Daniel Wynter receives a worn and stained letter from his father. This letter had been lost in the mountains of Tibet for 46 years. Daniel had known his father only through the gossip surrounding his auto race and from his bitter and disillusioned mother who had divorced him years ago. Wanting to know more about the circumstances of this race and a supposed scandal about his father, Daniel and his girlfriend, along with others, go to Tibet to discover what really happened to his father. A book with a love interest, fast-paced and suspenseful action, well-defined characters, and an unexpected ending. Pat Royal, Prince George's County Public School System, Md.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 1910 the exciting Peking-London motor race has brought to a head the lifelong rivalry of Edward Hollande and Harry Coles Wynter. Seventy-five years later Daniel Wynter receives a lost letter, dated 1939, from the grandfather he never knew, recovered from the remote area of Chinese Turkestan, where Harry Coles Wynter had retired in disgrace, accused of the attempted murder of his rival. Wynter's search for the truth about his grandfather involves him in a web of mystery and deceit. Scholefield's novel tells a good story succinctly and concisely. The tale of the race is at the heart of the book, and it is described with enough specifics to intrigue the general reader and delight the motoring enthusiast. Scholefield is a fine writer, and he successfully uses diaries to tell a unique story. A good selection for public libraries. Lydia Burruel, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books (January 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708916058
• ISBN-13: 978-0708916056
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,312,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Readable and diverting thriller, September 1, 2005

By 

F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King of the Golden Valley (Hardcover)

This novel opens on a short prologue ,set in Chinese Turkestan during 1939.Musa Alun ,a courier employed by the British Consulate is swept away by an avalanche and the letters and packages he is carrying are buried under tons of snow .
We then move forward to London in the mid 1980's .One of the long buried packages comes to the psssession of Daniel Wynter an unemployed navy veteran who is living with the successful televsion writer Julia .The package was written by his grandfather and hinta at a scandal involving himself and a man named Holland ,revolvinh around the Peking-London automobile race in 1910
Daniel digs into the case ,being rebuffed by Victiria Hollandse the daughter of the Hiollande mentioned in the letter .eventually with the help of a pulp fiction writer ,Preece he uncoverrs some of the truth .
Daniels grandfather had been falsely accused of sabotaging Hollandes vehicle in the race and espite strenous efforts wyner was unable eo clear his name
Victia Holland agrees to finanace an expedition to the area -now part of China .wyner ,Julia,Victoria and Parker an employee of Holland embark on the trip during the course of which they make a number of discoveries about the truth behind the accusations and have a run in with the Chinese military who are anxious to prevent the truth of their depredations in the area leaking out to the West

The major obstacle to total absorbtion in the book lies with its structure .It moves fro 1939 to 1985 ;we are then given long excerpts from Wynter's diaries of the race which are facinating when dealing with actual historical background such as the changing face of Chinese politics in 1910 but do unforunately distance the reader from total involvement .the diary excerpts are surrounded by other interpolations -such as interviews ,press articles etc-and the " narrated by diverse hands" structure makes for choppy reading
The last section -as the expedition move into the Golden valley is the best and is quite gripping
Despite being
well written and nicely characterised this is just short of top drawer thanks mainly to its jumping back and forth in time as well as by its multi-narrator structure