fullybooked2017

The words ‘Walt Disney tie-in’ are seldom – if ever – uttered in the sepulchral corridors of Fully Booked Towers, but this looks intriguing. First published by Hutchinson in 1975, The Shepherd has become something of a minor classic. Disney have now made a short film, to be released on 1st December. The trailer is below.

The story? Simple and timeless. The ‘home for Christmas’ trope had been interpreted in many different ways over the years, but here we have a rather special take. It is Christmas Eve, 1957, and an RAF pilot is scheduled to fly home from his airbase in Germany to be with his family in England. In his Vampire jet fighter it should be an hour or so in the air, and then the welcome lights of the landing strip at Lakenheath. But mid-air, fog closes in and, inexplicably, his compass spins like a roulette wheel, and his radio dies. All alone in the freezing dark, the pilot begins to believe his simple flight home will end in disaster. Then, something impossible happens …..

Ghost stories should chill, and this certainly does, but it is also profoundly moving. The Shepherd has never been out of print, which is a huge tribute to Frederick Forsyth, one of our finest storytellers. This latest edition, with a foreword by the author, is published by Penguin and is out now.