Kirkus Review

We're asked good-naturedly to believe that book characters are alive--and, by George, we do. A land developer named Sprang is trying to buy up part of the Ccrnish coast--including the Massey farm--to build resort hotels. Young Jim Massey and his widowed mother, not about to sell, are feeling the pressure. On the beach Jim meets a one-legged man in modern dress who claims to be Long John Silver. He also belongs, he says, to the League of Immortals--famous characters who go on living ""as long as we're read."" If Jim will just choose those he wants, they'll rally to help him. A call goes out to Jason, King Arthur, Robin Hood, Tarzan, Huck Finn, Count Dracula, and Hiawatha. And over the course of a long weekend, the motley group converges on the Massey place. But the all-too-human heroes are older now, fatter, gray or bald. Moreover, the elegant Arthur carries a precision rifle instead of Excalibur; Hiawatha is a radical in jeans; Huck drives a motorbike; and Jason is a gourmet cook with a fake fleece, having sold the original for cash. So with the others: poor Tarzan is diminished in both muscle and smarts, Dracula is ailing, and Robin has lost heart. But buoyed by Jim's belief in them, they successfully intimidate Sprang, who backs off. Gimmicky, true, but with a saving lightness of heart. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.