Books For Boys

I watched and enjoyed BBC Four’s “The Return Of The Hero” last night, on the subject of the re-emergance of the adventure book for a modern young male audience. Some interesting interviews and extracts, although it did seem a bit like a puff piece for Anthony Horowitz and Charlie Higson.
The point I found more interesting was that there was an air of complaint that as publishers in the 21st century became increasingly run by the dreaded girls, boy’s stories became sidelined in favour of touchy feely stuff by authors like Jacqueline Wilson and Anne Fine. It would, the programme posited, take the appearance of a certain boy wizard to reinvigorate the market.

erm. Not true. Let’s not even start shouting sexism, because what we’ve been presented with is a narrow focus and lazy research. There was always plenty of adventure and derring-do out there for the enquiring young mind – just not the sort of thing that the programme makers viewed as within their remit.

I’m talking SF and fantasy, of course. I grew up reading the sort of books celebrated in the programme. Biggles, John Buchan, (who my mum got me into!) Edgars Wallace and Rice Burroughs and so on. That material led me quickly to the SF of writers like Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein, and the classics of Wells and Verne. From there, my path was made clear to me. And most of the boys I went to school with were happily devouring horror and fantasy from the likes of James Herbert and Stephen Donaldson from the age of 12.

Interestingly, there was also an interview with Conn and Hal Iddulgen, writers of The Dangerous Book For Boys, a birthday present that I read with delight. There is a section at the back on Books Every Boy Should Read. This includes (deep beath) David Eddings, the late lamented David Gemmell, Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott Card‘s Ender’s Game, the Midshipman novels of David Feintuch, Raymond Feist, of course the Narnia books and Tolkien’s magnum opus and even good lord Stephen King! (actually the Dark Tower books would be great for a boy. Cowboys, fantasy and horror? Yes indeed!) I could go on – what about Clive Barker’s Weaveworld? Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon’s Sassinak stories (ok, yes, the main character’s female, but it’s big on adventure. Try one, you can always pass it on to your little sister.) And this is before we start talking about Bernard Cornwell, George McDonald Fraser, Patrick O’Brian, Philip Pullman… (actually, where the heck is Philip Pullman in that list, guys? Don’t tell me it’s because Lyra’s a girl…) Nothing for boys before Alex Rider? I don’t think so…
I guess the problem is that little in the list I’ve made above is specifically aimed at children. I think the list in the Dangerous Book for Boys is a great starting point, and should help develop a habit that will last a lifetime. Not convinced about the Famous Five books, though…