BOOKS OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3898, 27 November 1928, Page 72

BOOKS OF THE DAY.

A VIRILE TALE OF ALASKA. “ Partners Three.” By- Elby Wagner. (Cloth, Gs net.) New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (Per Dymock’s Book. Arcade, Sydney.) A virile and swiftly-moving tale of Alaskan mining life is this story- of “ Partners Three.” In one of the earlier gold rushes up the Yukon, two prospectors meet with a man and woman caught in the treacherous rapids of an Alaskan river. The man is swept away, but the girl is rescued and taken into partnership with the two rescuers. They are rough-and-ready men of the north, but they- treat her chivalrously, and protect her on the arduous journey to the mining camp, and in the turbulent scenes, which follow. They- stake a claim, and the story which follows tells of the vicissitudes and adventures which were actually a part of that epoch-making gold rush. The hastily-built mining town, the saloons, the gambling hells, the rough characters—male and female—the crude code of laws, in which might often made right—these are the partial ingredients of the story of “ Partners Three.” Its narrative is onrushing and relentless, and its characters have none of the niceties or veneer of the drawing room; but it tells of a land where men are men, and underneath the rugged exteriors is more than one heart of gold. Back of the adventure is a vein of true romance. The girl, who through force of circumstances has become a partner in the game of fate, finds that she must make an even more momentous decision. For the reader who likes to get away to the wide open spaces, this story can be unhesitatingly recommended. Anyone who reads Mr Wagner’s tale of Alaskan life will not need to be told that he went through the scenes he

describes. Mr Wagner has spent most of his life in the West, and when the gold rush to Alaska came, he took part in it. In a letter to the publishers he says: “ For your information, I might mention that I not only spent many- years in Alaska, but I actually- lived all I have written about. I have been on the trails; in the middle of winter I crossed the glacier mentioned in the story; and I worked in the mines witli pick and shovel. So you see that anything I write about Alaska is from first-hand knowledge of facts, and not from mere observation and hearsay.” The pioneers to the Frozen North were men not unlike the Vikings of old. The perils of the unknown—far from repelling them—actually intrigued them. And when to this is added the lure of gold, what greater incentive can there be? THE UPHEAVAL OF WAR. “Traceries.” By Olive Wadsley. (Cloth, Gs net.) London: Cassell and Co., Ltd.. “And then came the war ! ” —old ideals shattered, old conventions scorned, new aspects of duty, of sex, of love. The effect of those flaming days of sudden passions and violent emotions on the average man and girl is here described with graphic and sometimes breathless realism. Like some great axe the war fell across the youth of thousands like Santa Gordon and her brother Slyvester, at one blow cleaving for ever the'old ideals, the old contentments, the old loves. This is in no sense a war novel, yet it depicts with almost dreadful realism the effect of war on the lives of that generation which was just coining of age when the catastrophe happened. Santa is in Germany; she is IS—a romantic IS—when Max von Dornen comes into her life, to fill her with a love that carries all before it.- Through the mist of romance that surrounds her she can see none but him. Then comes the war. Santa goes back to England, to the fretful life of a Bay-swater boarding house, to service in France with its hectic alternation of joy- and tragedy, and then to the confusion, the topsy-turvy- pandemonium of life after the armistice. And woven through her story are the threads of the lives of those around her; Sylvester, her young brother, Charles, Gengie, and Mickey—all real people drawn with unerring skill. Then Santa goes back to see Max. This is a story' of the pre-war outlook of youth, its post-war outlook, the traceries made on the hearts and minds of the girls and men of those days by their hates and loves, their acceptances, and their idealisms. MODERN YOUTH. “ Little Sins.” By Katharine Brush. (Cloth, Gs net.) London: Cassell and Co., Ltd. This is a story of to-day, alive with the throb and passion of modern y-outh. It tells of two girls brought together by chance and closely concerned in each other’s destiny. The brilliance of conception and style that carried Glitter ” to such heights of success is'even more apparent in this new story, which reflects with sometimes startling fidelitv the spirit of this world of 1928, yet the author describes with sympathy and understanding its often strange vagaries and seeming inconsequence. “ Little Sins ” is the story of Gav Leonard and Dolly Quinn—Gay, the adored of many, who finds existence but a sort of frivolous butterfly- dream, and Dolly, who rushes into the fray- of life with zest and enthusiasm, making the utmost of all it offers her. Yet, widely separated as these two girls are /in circumstances and temperament, they are strangely concerned in each other’s happiness. All the men and women we meet in this book are pulsating with life—Alan Pomeroy, that rare type beloved of men and women alike; Jerry, so weak in his character yet so strong in his love; Nick, the genial newspaper man; Bee, the model, whom experience has made so wise. This book is like the enlargement of a snapshot. Little, unnoticed things are brought to sight, and the reader can watch the by-play and see the incidents which so often pass unnoticed in the rush of th day, y-et which really have far-reaching effects. “ Little Sins ” is a remarkable book, and its publication is an event of importance. A FINE DETECTIVE STORY. “ Red Altars.” By John G. Brandon. (Cloth, Gs net.) London: Cassell and Co., Ltd. This is a book of thrills and mysteries to keep the hardened reader of detective stories in an agony of suspense. When Scotland Yard and the Service de Surete of Paris pit themselves against the cleverest secret society 1 of international assassins the world has

ever known something is bound to happen—and it does. Mr Brandon’s latest book is one of the most mysterious mystery stories that has been told. There is not a dull moment from beginning to end, not a single page which does not set the reader to know what is going to happen on the next.

There is always an enthralling, if grim, fascination about that stran—e underworld of international crooks and ruffians that lives in the heart of London. Few know more about it than the author of ‘Red Altars,’ and in this gripping story’he shows how near we are, in our daily life, to those sinister figures who slink along the streets bent on mischief and evil that has for its end the overthrow of modern civilisation. \\ ere it not for Scotland Yard and the superb intellect at the back of our police force a reign of terror would be launched upon an unsuspecting world at any moment ! It is only by taking their Ines in their hands that dauntless men and women of the C.I.D. can cope with tliis spectre of anarchy and murder. “Red Altars” will' delight the most critical as well as the most avid of mystery lovers. It is a book that will be long remembered, and will take its place amongst the masterpieces of detective fiction. A YOUNG GIRL’S LIFE. “ Head in the Wind.” By Lesley Storm. (Cloth, 6s net.) London: Cassell and Co., Ltd. A young girl faced with a tragedy in her family which calls for the exercise of all her self-reliance and strengthens the finer traits of her character, such is the keystone of this powerful new novel by the author of “Lady, What of Life?'” that brilliant and successful first novel which awakened so many’ expectations. Stephanie Lucas, the heroine, who -is determined to go through life in her own way, finds that her fate really becomes dependent upon family influences and tragedies, and that what she wills is really- not so potent in shaping her destiny- as the moulds applied by the forces of heredity and inhibition. The threads of mistakes, passions, and commonplace happenings of everydaylife are woven into a net which' entangles the steps, not only- of Stephanie, but of her father, brother, and sister, and detains her feet from the path where she might have walked side by side with David, who, by accident, was a stepbrother, but by- inclination and choice might have become something much more intimate. Disaster, disillusionment, and love cross one another to form the pattern in a cleverly-told and well-written story, which sustains its interest to the climax, and win l>e found to’uphold the reputation already gained by the author. This is a brilliant and fearless work, full of insight and charm. MORE FLAMING YOUTH. “ Unforbidden Fruit.” By Warner Fabian. (Cloth, Gs net.) London: Stanley' Paul and Co., Ltd. (per Dymock’s Book Arcade, Sydney). The author of “ Flaming Youth,” “ Summer Bachelors,” and “ Sailors' Wives ” makes a few more daring revelations in this his latest book, “ Unforbidden Fruit.” What is to be gained from the publication of this type of literature it is hard to decide." But probably the author has no thoughts of any of his readers wishing to. draw a moral, and merely presents certain slice.-, of modern life as they’ appeal to him. This is a tale of feminine collegiate psychology. The author has investigated social conditions in several of the leading colleges of America, and has embodied his findings in this book. It concerns the outlook of a new generation, to whom life is both a laboratory’ experiment and an engrossing adventure, and to which the formulas of law, custom, and society ccunt as nothing in comparison to the unappeased desire for the fulfilment of experience. That the presentation will arouse criticism and even resentment is a foregone conclusion. No one college is pictured, but the portrayal is composite, and a jury of the representatives of six leading institutions has vouched for its essential faithfulness to the newest femininity. WICKED OLD MEN. “The Three Crows,” By John Hunter. (Cloth, Gs net.) London: Cassell and Co., Ltd. Mr Hunter has the power of telling a highly improbable story so well that he makes his readers believe implicitly in whatever he says. The three crows in this tale are like living people, especially the oldest in all his wickedness, and there is an atmosphere of terror and fear through the book which is very convincing. It is only a pity that the ending was not a little less commonplace. The Three Crows—Matthew, Montague, and Mornington—form a combination of unscrupulous villainy that is terrible in its unswerving purpose to the accomplishment of its ends. The particular object of their evil machinations in this story is the reputed millionaire, Maurice Gatterman, owner of the palatial edifice known as the Gatterman Building, situated in a prominent position in the West End.

Its site was on that formerly occupied by property owned by a man who had himself been a victim of the Three Crows, and in his desperate need had led them to believe that certain valuable

documents were buried under his old house. The papers related to a fortune, to which the Crows claimed succession, Mby this was so, and how they set to work to obtain it, is unfolded in a story that is packed with dramatic happenings, Virginia Telford, private secretary- to Gatterman, and therefore well acquainted with all his affairs, is involved in the Crow's campaign against her employer, but in time she becomes a particularobject of their ayil designs. Her adventures and romance with Tony- Stevens are not tire least remarkable in this powerful story. It is Tony who defeats the Crow trio and secures for Virginia —who proves to be the rightful heir—the foitune for which they were seeking. BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIA, “The Great Barrier Reef.” Bv Randolph Bedford. Illustrated with photographs by’ E. F. Pollock and Frank Hurley. “ Inland Australia ”: A series of photographs with an article by Randolf Bedford. Sydney: Art in Australia, Limited. Here are two more of the artistic and beautiful publications issued for Christinas gifts by that enterprising firm. Art in Australia. “ 1 lie Great Barrier Reef ” contains a descriptive and very interesting article by Randolph Bedford, telling ail about that great stretch of coral on the east coast of Australia, south of Brisbane, beloved by scientists, tourists, artists, and sight-seers, and photographs of the flora and the fish and bird life on the reef. Inland Australia” is equally appealing, being a series of photographs splendidly reproduced and supplied with / descriptive letterpress, and an article > written by Randolph Bedford to link’ them together.