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Wednesday Reading Meme
Jan. 29th, 2025 08:11 pmWhat I've Just Finished Reading
Picture the scene. I am on Faded Page, trying to find a reference in a Gimlet book so I can write absolute filth with moderate canon accuracy. While looking for said Gimlet, I am distracted by the cover of a book on the front page of the site which has an aeroplane on it.
Eight days later, I have read seven books.
The Ted Scott Flying Stories are a collection of 20 books published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate between 1927 and 1943. They are perhaps the most formulaic books I've ever read while also being patently insane by turns, and I am becoming convinced that the homoerotic subtext was actually intentional on the part of at least one of the ghost-writers, because I can't believe it could be by accident.
Ted Scott begins the series as a young man with a thirst for aviation but no money to learn. By the end of the first book (Over the Ocean to Paris) he is the most famous pilot in the world, and a national hero, all because he met a young millionaire (Walter Hapworth) who - within about six hours of meeting him - decided he NEEDED to pay for his flight training, and then later for all the expenses related to attempting the first ever transatlantic flight, which amounted to about thirty thousand dollars. By the fourth book he has learnt to fly so that he can go with Ted on long distance flights, alone, and by the fifth book Ted is calling him by his first name. The WEJ Discord has been witness to my ongoing breakdown over this, which started as kind of a joke and is now firmly embedded as canon in my heart.
Every book opens with a summary of the events of the entire series, which is useful because so far one of them has been so racist I actually gasped and I wouldn't wish that on anyone (Rescued in the Clouds, which is a shame because it also features Ted rescuing two pilots in midair from a burning plane). Ted is a charming enough protagonist on his own, modest to a fault and generally baffled by how much attention he gets for being The Best Pilot On Earth. I think this is probably due to the authors trying to set him up as a role model for the young male audience while also getting in some American Exceptionalism (there are a few wincingly earnest speeches about how America is The Best Nation and should therefore Win At Aviation) but it makes it much easier to root for him than heroes in other contemporary series from the syndicate, which I've looked through and immediately had to turn away from due to Bad.
I have thus far read the first seven books and can comfortably class these books as Easy Reads. They are somewhere sub-Biggles in complexity and have a sort of breathless plotting style which is admittedly starting to grate at my nerves, especially with regard to Sudden Fog and Dangerous Storms, and since the author was never a pilot there is also a paucity of interesting details about flying which weren't directly plagiarised from contemporary magazines. The real draw is, of course, the slash potential.
( A selection of quotes which are fun both in and out of context )
I only have about five more available to me before I'd have to actually buy a physical book, which is a barrier to entry I don't think Ted Scott will successfully clear. However, I do heartily recommend the first and third books at the very least if you're in the market for Plane Adventures And Light Slash. It's been a real experience, and I thank the Discord for their enthusiasm in embracing the concept of the sexting tube (it's a long story).
What I'm Reading Now
Obviously the next Ted Scott (The Lone Eagle of the Border, or Ted Scott and the Diamond Smugglers).
What I Plan To Read Next
PROBABLY TED SCOTT, let's be honest. I also have Sergeant Bigglesworth, C.I.D. on the boil, and a copy of the Sir Patrick Moore book Mission to Mars in my work bag.
Picture the scene. I am on Faded Page, trying to find a reference in a Gimlet book so I can write absolute filth with moderate canon accuracy. While looking for said Gimlet, I am distracted by the cover of a book on the front page of the site which has an aeroplane on it.
Eight days later, I have read seven books.
The Ted Scott Flying Stories are a collection of 20 books published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate between 1927 and 1943. They are perhaps the most formulaic books I've ever read while also being patently insane by turns, and I am becoming convinced that the homoerotic subtext was actually intentional on the part of at least one of the ghost-writers, because I can't believe it could be by accident.
Ted Scott begins the series as a young man with a thirst for aviation but no money to learn. By the end of the first book (Over the Ocean to Paris) he is the most famous pilot in the world, and a national hero, all because he met a young millionaire (Walter Hapworth) who - within about six hours of meeting him - decided he NEEDED to pay for his flight training, and then later for all the expenses related to attempting the first ever transatlantic flight, which amounted to about thirty thousand dollars. By the fourth book he has learnt to fly so that he can go with Ted on long distance flights, alone, and by the fifth book Ted is calling him by his first name. The WEJ Discord has been witness to my ongoing breakdown over this, which started as kind of a joke and is now firmly embedded as canon in my heart.
Every book opens with a summary of the events of the entire series, which is useful because so far one of them has been so racist I actually gasped and I wouldn't wish that on anyone (Rescued in the Clouds, which is a shame because it also features Ted rescuing two pilots in midair from a burning plane). Ted is a charming enough protagonist on his own, modest to a fault and generally baffled by how much attention he gets for being The Best Pilot On Earth. I think this is probably due to the authors trying to set him up as a role model for the young male audience while also getting in some American Exceptionalism (there are a few wincingly earnest speeches about how America is The Best Nation and should therefore Win At Aviation) but it makes it much easier to root for him than heroes in other contemporary series from the syndicate, which I've looked through and immediately had to turn away from due to Bad.
I have thus far read the first seven books and can comfortably class these books as Easy Reads. They are somewhere sub-Biggles in complexity and have a sort of breathless plotting style which is admittedly starting to grate at my nerves, especially with regard to Sudden Fog and Dangerous Storms, and since the author was never a pilot there is also a paucity of interesting details about flying which weren't directly plagiarised from contemporary magazines. The real draw is, of course, the slash potential.
I only have about five more available to me before I'd have to actually buy a physical book, which is a barrier to entry I don't think Ted Scott will successfully clear. However, I do heartily recommend the first and third books at the very least if you're in the market for Plane Adventures And Light Slash. It's been a real experience, and I thank the Discord for their enthusiasm in embracing the concept of the sexting tube (it's a long story).
What I'm Reading Now
Obviously the next Ted Scott (The Lone Eagle of the Border, or Ted Scott and the Diamond Smugglers).
What I Plan To Read Next
PROBABLY TED SCOTT, let's be honest. I also have Sergeant Bigglesworth, C.I.D. on the boil, and a copy of the Sir Patrick Moore book Mission to Mars in my work bag.
