The Forgotten Door, by Alexander Key (Faber, 13s. 6d.), is
SF diluted—or strengthened —with Morality Tale. A boy drops from another planet knowing no human speech or customs, but able to communicate with animals and read the minds of others. The Stallion of the Desert, by Kelman Frost (Abelard-Schuman, 15s.), shows an Algeria still French. An Arab boy, be- friended by a local Caid and given a superb horse, finds new confidence and resourcefulness, then gets involved with murderous Foreign Legion deserters, then with equally thuggish gun-runners. Vivid terrain is described from experience, as is that of The Pass of Morning, by Showell Styles (Gollancz, 15s.), a mountaineering tale of kidnapping, mostly in unfamiliar Norway, the teenaged protagonists well-handled and the climb- ing information expert.
PETER VANSIITART
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