The Dark Triangle

Publishing details:

UK: Faber, 1981, went out of print soon afterwards, h/b. ISBN 0-571-11584-5

Synopsis:

The plane carrying the UK Prime Minister and the US President has disappeared while flying over the Bermuda Triangle. Our four friends, together with young Sue Howard, who has become attached to Chris since their meeting in Guernsey (see 'The Blue Aura') venture into the Triangle by boat, and are captured by a strange creatures who resemble walking dolphins, called Sembrians, who plan to use them for vivisection...

Commentary:

The last 'Chris Godfrey' novel to be published to date, and not a particularly memorable ending. Perhaps the problem is that the style of the prose and the characterisations seem too old fashioned at times; for example, the PM and President are referred to throughout as 'President Maxwell' and 'Miss Moore'. Also, the themes explored are somewhat similar to those in 'The Blue Aura' and 'The Caves of Drach' - alien perfection, human suspicion.

The novel is partly concerned with telepathy, but strangely our team seem sceptical of the idea - have they forgotten Gill and Gail?

Preview:

The former magistrate who journeys into space
WHEN he began writing science fiction stories for children, Walter Hughes, a former Bilston magistrate, reversed his name. "I really didn't expect to get then published and when I did I thought I'd get my legg pulled by people who knew me," he said at his home in Elm Avenue, Bilston. "The publishers asked me what name I wanted to use and I could only think of turning my name round." Now he is stuck with it. Young people in many countries who eagerly await his forthcoming books, know him as Hugh Walters, author of 20 books for the 11-to-16 age group. His latest, The Dark Triangle (Faber and Faber, £4.95), is based on the Ber- muda Triangle in the Western Atlantic, where ships and aircraft are said to have disappeared without trace. The story suggests a political cover-	by RAY SEATON up. But when the British Prime Minister and the United States Presi- dent disappear, the mystery can no longer be ignored. The United Stations Exploration Agency is called to investigate and the scene is set for a series of strange adventures. Mr Hughes, a company director, does not accept that his stories are fantasies. He prefers to think of them as stories based on scientific facts. He does a lot of research to get the detail right, a lesson he learned after a spate of letters from young readers correct- ing him when he got wrong the position of Venus in one of his stories. "They are clued-up these days," he said. "I make sure of getting factual detail." He has visited Cape Canaveral and Houston space stations.	He writes two books a year, keeping to a regular routine of working for an hour each morning, 7 am to 8 am, before leaving for his office. "I'm at my brightest then, but I write again in the evenings if I feel like it." Two years ago another publisher, Abelard and Schuman, asked him to write similar stories for the seven to 11 age group. Another, Scholar on the Moon, is due out soon, bringing his total to 23. Current developments in space travel provide a spur and a challenge. "If I deal with Saturn in a future book I shall have to take into account the recent probe," he said. His earlier books were straightfor- ward space fiction. Now he has intro- duced elements of detection to add to the excitement of interplanetary travel. At the age of 70, he is still looking out for new ideas and bringing himself up to date with the scientific world for his brand of escapism.
Walter Hughes: A lot of research before he writes . . .