Product Description

On Christmas Eve 1957, alone in the cockpit of his Vampire, an RAF pilot is returning from Germany to Lakenheath on leave - 66 minutes of trouble-free, routine flying. Then, out over the North Sea, the fog begins to close in, radio contact ceases, and the compass goes haywire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17918 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From the Publisher
'A stirring and beautiful story' The Times

Customer Reviews

One of the best stories I have ever read.
The Shepard is without doubt one of the most beautiful and moving stories I have ever read. Forsyth's books are always to be savoured but this is one of those rare gems of which you will probably find only a few in your life. Forsyth's writing takes you into the story in a way that few authors can, and gives you a truly wonderful ride for your money. The black and white illustrations within the book only add to the atmosphere, the format works very well.

It will only take you an evening to read the Shepard, but that evening is still with me 15 years on. Wonderful!

A stunning end, which I never had thought about!
If you like books, this is the absolute maximum! I was 15 when I first read it. Now, 9 years later, I'm still reading it. Every time, again and again, I'm stunned with the plot. If you read this with a glass of whisky and a fire burning and you'll have a spendid evening (and stunning night getting over the shock).

A Real Gem
The Shepherd is by far the best thing that Forsyth has written. It transcends the rest of his work, and deserves to stand alone.

It's short. It's beautifully paced. It scintillates in the way that favourite childhood books do. (My edition is even beautifully illustrated.) But it's chilling, it evokes solitude, fear and panic, and its conclusion is ambiguous but warming.

Sadly (for me), Forsyth then launched himself on a career as a thriller writer. But I wonder if he has another Shepherd in there somewhere...