The Avengers International Fan Forum

It is indeed a pity that these were never released. The fourth book features Steed & Cathy but the synopsis is very long. If I can find time I'll type it out or failing that shorten it to a more desirable length.

Avengerholic wrote:It is indeed a pity that these were never released. The fourth book features Steed & Cathy but the synopsis is very long. If I can find time I'll type it out or failing that shorten it to a more desirable length.

Really? Steed and Cathy? That's unusual considering her episodes were less well-known at that point, although I suppose it would have been nice to break from Emma on occasion as a writer. I'd love to read it. You could always scan it to save time. I've got storage space...

I subscribed to this series back in the mid 90s. The text outlining the (unpublished?) Cathy Gale story is quite long. As I don't have much time this morning I'll post it in two parts:

The Magical History Tour
Subtitled "A more congenial spot"

John Steed and Mrs Catherine Gale are on holiday in Australia, at the request of an old World War Two acquaintance of Steed's, one Arthur Gidgalong. Intrigued by the resurfacing of an old legend concerning the "rock men" - strange figures who emerge from a gigantic monolith far greater in dimension than Ayers Rock and the Olgas, but which does not appear on any map - the trio are soon setting forth on an expedition into the centre.

The party soon proves the existence of the rock - a structure almost thirty miles in diameter, possessed of some curious magnetic proprty which creates an almost constant barrier of sand-storms around its perimeter and renders it invisible to air-craft radar. The group succeeds in breaching the rock's defences, however, and finds within it a lush, almost temperate paradise - a huge rift valley holding the remnants of a once vast inland sea as a lake in its centre, along with rich green pastures, farm-lets, and woods nurtured by frequent rainfall caused by electrical storms. The biggest surprise is yet to come, however, when the "rock med" turn out to be knights in shining armour, the descendants of the legendary Arthurian court - the knights of the round table! Captain Cook, it seems, was not the first Englishman to claim part of Australia for his monarch - that privilege fell to Sir Lancelot, almost a millennium before.

I'll post the other half this evening.

Here's the second part:

The old sage, Merlin, (many old names have been handed down the generations it seems) relates to the astounded travellers the tale of how Arthur and his court fled Camelot in the face od a massive Nordic invasion. Aboard two captured long-ships, they fled their beloved Misty Isles and set sail for sunnier climes. His story is one of courage and deprivation, as the travellers sail the forbidding West African coastline (braving the attacks of strange wild beasts and fierce tribes in their quests for fresh water), attempt to set up a colony at the Cape of Good Hope (their name also), and are eventually driven from the dark continent by the attacks of fierce raiders from the north. So begins a truly harrowing journey across the vastness of the Indian Ocean, and landfall in North West Australia. Here, to their joy, the natives are found to be friendly, and survivors of Camelot set up a new home alongside the Aboriginal people. The Britons long, however, for a more temperate climate and, guided by ancient local legends of a lush paradise somewhere in the midst of the desert, they set off to discover their future kingdom. In their suits of armour, with face-protecting visors, the knighrs are able to breach the sand-storm barrier and, finding the wonder-land beyond the rock walls, soon return to devise a way of escorting their women, children, and the remnants of their sheep and cattle flocks, to their new home. A castle is soon erected by the shores of the central lake; a fortress within a fortress. Paradise, it seems, has been regained.

No-one has breached these walls in almost a thousand years. The occasional sojourning knight who braved the storms in search of adventure has contributed to, and reinforced, the Aboriginal legends of the rock-dwellers. But now, the present Arthur - the 20th King to wear the crown of Camelot - seeks a wife. And when the present trio of invaders arrive, who better for a queen than the dynamic blonde beauty at John Steed's side?


I also have a letter promoting The Missing Cases Series Two, which contained summaries of several other forthcoming stories. I add details of these if anyone is interested.

dissolute wrote:Geoff sent me everything he still had a few years ago, and he didn't include these - he didn't even hava a copy of "Before the Mast" anymore, so that's the one book I'm missing from my collection (well, along with "The Ultimate Avengers" which seems impossible to get - there are billions of copies of "The Complete Avengers", strangely enough.

I guess Dave did a smaller print run for his magnificent octopus.

I was also lucky enough to be gifted a box bursting with goodies from Geoff. It was sent by surface mail (I couldn't afford airmail) and took five months to arrive. There was only a photocopy of 'Before The Mast' inside, but I'd be happy to make you a copy. I think he may have posted on here in the past.

Jasper Groat wrote:

dissolute wrote:Geoff sent me everything he still had a few years ago, and he didn't include these - he didn't even hava a copy of "Before the Mast" anymore, so that's the one book I'm missing from my collection (well, along with "The Ultimate Avengers" which seems impossible to get - there are billions of copies of "The Complete Avengers", strangely enough.

I guess Dave did a smaller print run for his magnificent octopus.

I was also lucky enough to be gifted a box bursting with goodies from Geoff. It was sent by surface mail (I couldn't afford airmail) and took five months to arrive. There was only a photocopy of 'Before The Mast' inside, but I'd be happy to make you a copy. I think he may have posted on here in the past.

I scanned "Before the Mast" ages ago, and it's still in my photobucket account for anyone who's interested.

http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r192 ... 0004-2.jpg

Nice work.

Timeless A-Peel wrote:Fascinating! Some of those sound quite interesting, actually. I'm very sorry they were never released! It does sound as though they were written--there's too much information in the summary for it to be otherwise. Thanks for sharing!

amazing what seems to turn up,from time to time...

Jasper Groat wrote:Nice work.

Pleasure. I saved you some scanning at least.

dissolute wrote:Geoff sent me everything he still had a few years ago, and he didn't include these - he didn't even hava a copy of "Before the Mast" anymore, so that's the one book I'm missing from my collection.

Some kind soul on this forum uploaded the Before the mast novelette by Geoff Barlow. I can't find it anywhere now though Can anyone help me locate it as I'd like to save it to my pc. I have the other 3 by Geoff, so this Tara novel is the only one missing from my collection too. Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction. Or maybe it was on the old forum in which case it's gone If anyone has it can they upload here Many thanks, Rich.