An Oxford professor hires Donald Ross to pilot a seaplane to Greenland to take a photographic survey, seeking evidence of Viking and Celtic settlements. Professor Lockwood plans to accompany Ross. Lockwood’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Alix, feels he should not travel alone, so she decides to accompany him. Lockwood and Alix have no idea what they are getting into.

The first three-fourths of this book is about the trip to Greenland. It describes the preparations and the trip itself, how seaplanes are refueled, and lots of aviation-related specifics. It takes a hard turn in the last quarter, becoming almost a different book completely, though still set in Greenland. The characters are well-developed. I enjoyed it up to the last quarter, which ventured into bizarre territory.

It was published in 1940 and reflects many of the attitudes of the time. I had previously read Shute’s A Town Like Alice, which I enjoyed immensely. This one does not quite measure up, but the writing is strong. I will definitely be reading more of his work.

3.5
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Donald Ross is a pilot, trained by the Royal Air Force and then polished and honed flying the northern route in Canada after the war. A no nonsense man, raised by a school-marm aunt, always capable and infinitely trustworthy, he is hired by an Oxford don, Mr. Lockwood, to pilot an archaeological expedition to Greenland at an ancient Viking settlement called Brattalid. Mr. Lockwood has an overbearing daughter who insists on accompanying her father on the trip, and it becomes immediately evident that she and the pilot will make up the most interesting part of this story.

This novel is not very like the Nevil Shute’s I know so well, even though it is written in his easy-going, detail-rich, captivating style. It contains a bit of magic realism, although when it was written that phase had yet to be coined. I was okay with that element, but it did seem to turn the novel from one kind of story to quite another. The transition seemed somewhat abrupt, as up to that point, the book was stark realism and detail. The extraordinary details of the flight and the obstacles of the trip, in fact, made me feel as if I were flying with this company of travelers. So, while the first 3/4 of the book worked well for me, the ending seemed weak.

An Old Captivity isn’t Shute’s best work, although it is completely adequate. It is obvious Nevil Shute understood the mechanics involved and also the mental and physical strength necessary to pilot under these conditions, and the sort of person who would be willing to take on such an adventure. I cannot help admiring the courage of those who would undertake such a potentially perilous journey in search of knowledge for mankind.

While I hope to keep reading his books until I can say I have read them all, I keep hoping there is just one more of his true masterpieces out there that I haven’t touched yet, but despairing of such a discovery.
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Donald Ross is a young man who learned flying in the military, then honed his craft flying about Canada, learning the intricacies of flying over the water and in remote places. He gets a job with an archeologist, Mr. Lockwood, who wants to investigate the possibility of Celtic settlements on Greenland. The operation is to be financed by Lockwood's rich, industrialist brother. There's a clinker, however, it seems that Lockwood's frumpy and prickly daughter, Alix, is to join the expedition. To Ross, that doesn't bode well, but he does need a job and likes the challenge.

So, they head off. In Iceland, Ross begins having sleep problems. He procures a prescription of "propylin" (no idea what that might be). The first few nights, he sleeps like the dead and wakes up refreshed. But as the journey progresses, he begins having strange dreams. He begins reliving the life of some early settler to Greenland hundreds of years previously. Strangely, Alix seems to appear in the dreams as well. He even begins seeing "remembered" landmarks. Something like that.

This being Nevil Shute, the book is chock full of nerdy technical details about planes and engines and flying into and out of sea landings and how to secure sea planes and so forth. Still, it's quite a good yarn, as are all Nevil Shute tales, albeit somewhat more mystical than most of his works. Truly a GoodRead.
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A fascinating book by Shute. His usual competent engineer hero is tasked with organising an archaeologist's air photography mission to Greenland, sponsored by the archaeologist's rich elder brother, and to his dismay accompanied by the archaeologist's daughter. The planning and implementation of the expedition are lovingly detailed; the year is roughly 1937 (the book was published in 1940, but there is no mention of impending war).

And then three quarters of the way through, we have a sudden shift; and our competent engineer hero falls into a coma and dreams of a past life as a Scottish slave among the Viking settlers of Greenland, with the professor's daughter being his lover's reincarnation. That part of the story told on its own could easily fall into total cliche, but the fact that we have had a couple of hundred pages of technical exposition beforehand makes it tremendously effective. A very pleasant surprise. ( )

Shute, always a good reed ( )