The 7 Professors of the Far North

by John Fardell

Book Overview

Detailed maps and diagrams enhance Fardell's debut novel, which overflows with suspense, intrigue, and high adventure with wild inventions, narrow escapes, and surprises around every corner. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142407356
• ISBN13: 9780142407356
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 217 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Best Book I Ever Read

I liked the book so much because it had a lot of action and some mystery. The 7 Professors started out as friends but one had a sinister plot in mind. Their goal was to build a university in the far north, but then the bad professor burned the buildings down and kidnapped the other professors. Will 3 kids be able to rescue the professors?! Read this book to find out.

Pure, escapist fun!

The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell book is pure, escapist fun, perfect for older elementary school kids looking for a spy adventure. Originally published in England, the book does contain some British terminology, but nothing that will unfamiliar to Harry Potter fans. The story begins when Sam's parents send him to spend his vacation week with their old friend Professor Ampersand. Eleven-year-old Sam quickly becomes friends with the professor's great-niece and nephew, Zara and Ben, and finds the professor unusual, but wonderful. Professor Ampersand and Sam share a love of scientific inventions (automatic cooking machines, for example, and a motorcycle with a three-passenger enclosed sidecar). Here's a passage from when Sam first visits the professor's house: "The professor was right, Sam decided. He did feel at home here. There was something about the sparkle of the fairy lights reflecting magically on glass test tubes; something about the warm glow of the lamps casting mysterious shadows of still more mysterious inventions; something that made Sam's stomach tingle the way it had when he'd first breathed in the smell of the motorbike and sidecar." Sam doesn't get much time to enjoy the professor's house, however. His first night is interrupted by the arrival of a colleague of the professor's, Eric Gauntraker, exhausted and ill and bearing a mysterious message. The children learn that the two professors were part of a team of "Seven Professors of the Far North", founding members of a university on the remote, icy island country of Nordbergen. Before the university could really get off the ground, one of their members, Professor Murdo, betrayed the team, and the local community, and destroyed the university. And now, years later, Murdo has reappeared on the island. Professors Ampersand and Gauntraker convene their other four colleagues to discuss a plan of action. Before they can get very far, however, all six professors are kidnapped by mysterious intruders. The children are left on their own, hidden away upstairs with a clue that the professors have left them. And, being intrepid and loyal children, they set out to search for, and rescue, the professors. They discover a hidden means of transportation up to the far north (it's very cool!) and make a few friends along the way. They also, with the help of another child who has been kidnapped by Professor Murdo, uncover Murdo's heinous plot, and encounter many dangers. None of it is very plausible. But it is suspenseful, fun, fast-paced, and filled with likable characters. Personally, I can't wait to read the sequel, The Flight of the Silver Turtle. This book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on January 27th, 2007.

Very inventive and loads of fun!

I'm not a kid, and I haven't been one for so long it's sad. But like a kid, the cover of the book caught my eye and intrigued me. The price was great so I bought it and I'm glad I did. This is a really wonderful book-- full of fun, adventure, and invention. Another reviewer here compared it to the Harry Potter books and I agree: it holds up quite nicely. The characters aren't quite as rich (Fardell doesn't quite seem to know what to do with Zara) but the story is a page-turner and you never know quite what you're going to get on that next page. For parents wondering about the book, it's definitely appropriate for kids as young as 9 or 10, provided they're up to reading a "real" book. The situations are tense but I don't think there's anything that's likely to give them nightmares. And the bad guys are punished, even when, as in one case, it's someone who does something illegal but is kind and helpful to the young heroes. Also, there are no, ahem, "adult" situations at all, so you don't have to worry about it in that regard. One other good thing is that two of the kids in the book are girls and they're very brave, noble and smart. Plus, they're presented completely on the same level as the boys, not just "smart for a girl" or anything like that. The only problem I had was with the climactic scene: it seemed to be too quick, a little too convenient, and a little too easy. Once they got to that scene there were no more complications or twists. That's one thing I can say about the Potter books: they're twisty and interesting right up till the end. I'm tempted to give my review only 4 stars for two reasons: 1) A "5" implies that this is the best-- that it can't get any better. But that's not the case. It *could* be better. And 2) Well, it could be better. HOWEVER, it's definitely worth reading and I wouldn't want to risk lowering the overall ranking by giving it only 4 stars. The qualms I had with the climax are likely just my own pickiness, so I don't want anyone put off, yet I do want to keep the review honest.

2nd review for this book

I realized I wanted my review in the hardback too! My son): I really liked the part when they were on the ISNT train and I really liked when they went on the plane and how one of the characters escaped. It was a fascinating book. I would definitely read another book that he has written. (Mom:)My son read the book in 5 days and was glued to the book. It was a great adventure story about 3 kids saving the world (and it had a few pictures). It was a great mixture of a good story, fantasy and geography. In fact, the book was very well written especially for a children's book, but a much more manageable size than Harry Potter. My son is a third grader and enjoyed every minute of it!

A delightful and fast-paced fantasy adventure

THE SEVEN PROFESSORS OF THE FAR NORTH is an exciting adventure tale, rippled with inventive and surprising technology. It begins when 11-year-old Sam Carnabie is invited to spend his Easter holidays with an old friend of his parents, Professor Ampersand. Professor Ampersand, an inventor, has dozens of interesting contraptions, from a motorcycle built for four to an oven-boiler that heats water at the same time that it cooks food. Professor Ampersand's great niece and nephew, Ben and Zara, are delighted to show Sam all the innovative delights their house has to offer. No sooner have they finished dinner on the very first night of Sam's visit, however, than an urgent message arrives, quickly followed by five of Professor Ampersand's former colleagues. Together with another scientist, Professor Murdo, they were once responsible for trying to found a top-level university at Nordberg, a tiny island in the far north. However, when Professor Murdo's unethical experiments came to light, he decided to flee, taking his six colleagues with him and abandoning them in a huge field of snow and ice. Only a secret known to one of them, a secret they've all promised never to reveal, got them home safely. When Professor Murdo's private soldiers show up a few hours later and kidnap all six professors, Sam, Ben and Zara are left with only a confusing clue to the secret and their unwavering determination as they set off to find the professors and unmask Murdo's frightening scheme. The three children's surprising and exciting adventures are at the heart of the rest of the book as they wend their way north to the island of Nordberg. Alternating with scenes from the life of another girl, Marcia, who ends up in Professor Murdo's clutches for entirely different reasons, the story of Ben, Zara and Sam's escapades are edge-of-your-seat exciting, but always plausible in the context of the story. Fardell's world of surprising inventions means that the reader is constantly making new discoveries right along with the kids in the story. Although based in fact and science rather than fantasy, Fardell's world building is on a par with the Harry Potter books --- in fact, THE SEVEN PROFESSORS OF THE FAR NORTH reminded me more of the spirit of Harry Potter than any of the numerous copycat fantasy books spawned since the young wizard's success. Each of the three children brings his or her own skills to the adventure --- Sam's preparedness, Ben's map-reading abilities, Zara's boldness --- and each of them comes up with innovative ideas when they're most needed, usually just in the nick of time. As the book approaches its exciting conclusion, it's easy to believe that their adventures have helped Sam, Ben and Zara develop the courage they need to confront Professor Murdo. From start to finish, John Fardell's THE SEVEN PROFESSORS OF THE FAR NORTH is a delight to read. --- Reviewed by Paula Jolin