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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
This one felt like Christie was trying too hard to be someone else (John Buchan, perhaps?). It’s a spy or international intrigue story more than an Hercule Poirot mystery and as such it doesn’t hold up as well as some of her other works.
Wenn Agatha Christie jemals eine Räuberpistole geschrieben hat, dann ist es dieses Buch. Natürlich ist es spannend, aber die Story wirkt einfach schlimm konstruiert, was sie allerdings auch ist.
Gemessen am Zeitpunkt der Publikation und dem Drängen ihres ersten Verlegers, ist es wohl kein Wunder, dass sie es in dieser komplizierten Zeit nicht fertig gebracht hat, einen runden Roman aus einer Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten zu stricken. Das führt dann eben dazu, dass Poirot streckenweise out of Charakter erscheint, plötzlich Rauchbomben und Pistolen mit sich trägt und die Story um eine großangelegte Verschwörung einer kriminellen Vereinigung insgesamt ziemlich wüst und unglaubwürdig ausfällt. Spannende Lektüre bleibt auch dieses Buch, wenngleich der Verleger wohl besser daran getan hätte, es bei den Kurzgeschichten zu belassen.
Gemessen am Zeitpunkt der Publikation und dem Drängen ihres ersten Verlegers, ist es wohl kein Wunder, dass sie es in dieser komplizierten Zeit nicht fertig gebracht hat, einen runden Roman aus einer Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten zu stricken. Das führt dann eben dazu, dass Poirot streckenweise out of Charakter erscheint, plötzlich Rauchbomben und Pistolen mit sich trägt und die Story um eine großangelegte Verschwörung einer kriminellen Vereinigung insgesamt ziemlich wüst und unglaubwürdig ausfällt. Spannende Lektüre bleibt auch dieses Buch, wenngleich der Verleger wohl besser daran getan hätte, es bei den Kurzgeschichten zu belassen.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fairly early on in reading this book I got the impression that it is a fix-up novel comprised of a series of previously published short stories, and after finishing it find that this is exactly what it is. There are half a dozen or so individual escapades that more or less stand on their own, with an overriding through-line. The book is unlike any Hercule Poirot book I've read before--it reads more like a pulp adventure of The Shadow or Doc Savage than the cozy mysteries I've come to expect from M. Poirot. The titular Big Four are international spies/terrorists out to take over the world using an atomic death ray. Each vignette features Poirot foiling some minor plot of theirs en route to discovering the mystery of their real identities. The narrator, Poirot's friend Hastings, is about as dense as they come when it comes to understanding some pretty obvious clues in the cases. This book was first published in 1927 and has just come into the public domain this year. What will pastiche writers do with it? Maybe tell us what happened to the mastermind who, in true pulp fashion, may or may not have gotten away.
Be warned that there are some outdated, racist descriptions of Chinese people in this book.
Be warned that there are some outdated, racist descriptions of Chinese people in this book.
Definitely works a lot better as short stories than the novel would. Very, very enjoyable to read, one of the most enjoyable Christie books, similar to Partners in Crime. It all ties together well. Its biggest issue though is that it is very 1920s about foreign people (especially Chinese), which is very unfortunate. But it's a really fun read mostly.
Not her best, certainly far-fetched, but always enjoyable, and besides, I love Hastings.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
One of Christie's shorter Poirot stories with a plot that comes off a bit more 007 than classic Poirot. I remember reading it but I honestly couldn't explain it. Certainly one of the things I've read.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The book follows Hastings and Poirot through a series of smaller mysteries connected to 'The Big Four'. The majority of the book follows the same formula of them finding a case, then realizing it's connected to one of the main antagonists. The big four consist of #1 Chinaman Li Chang Yen 'The Brain',#2 American Abe Ryland '$', #3 Frenchwoman Scientist Madame Olivier, and #4 'The Destroyer' Claud Darrell.
The overall plot of the book is simple, Poirot is obsessed with this 'Big Four' and every case he takes somehow leads back to this world superpower. Thankfully, the book is told from the perspective of Hastings, who is very likable imo, so it was a nice balance to the simple plot. I thankfully checked out a few reviews before reading, so I was prepared for the short story style of story. It's BEST to think of this book like a crime TV show where every episode has it's own plot, until 70% of the way through the season, the REAL plot begins. While not groundbreaking by any means, it was still interesting throughout because Hastings THANKFULLY skipped any boring bits. Towards the end I did find that I was just waiting for the story to end because Poirot's solutions for certain situations were just SO ridiculous and unbelieveable that it annoyed me. I did like that Countess Vera Rossakoff made a reappearance at the end BUT I did not like Poirot's final trump card of.... finding her long lost son and BUYING him and keeping him in a safe house months in advance just in case i guess......?? Keep in mind I didn't even think that him faking his own death was all that unbelievable, but this ending just grated on my last nerve. Seriously just a crap ending to a story that was barely hanging on anyways.
Because of the ending, and overall over-exaggerations of cleverness in Poirot's 'solutions' this would've sat at 2 stars for me. Thankfully I really like Hastings as a narrator and character, so he alone brings this up to 2.5 stars.
As far as Christie's go I think this one is skippable. As far as 'un-Christie' Christe's go, I wouldn't waste my time with this one if I were you, pick up 'Endless Night' instead if you want to read a great 'un-Christie' Christie.
The overall plot of the book is simple, Poirot is obsessed with this 'Big Four' and every case he takes somehow leads back to this world superpower. Thankfully, the book is told from the perspective of Hastings, who is very likable imo, so it was a nice balance to the simple plot. I thankfully checked out a few reviews before reading, so I was prepared for the short story style of story. It's BEST to think of this book like a crime TV show where every episode has it's own plot, until 70% of the way through the season, the REAL plot begins. While not groundbreaking by any means, it was still interesting throughout because Hastings THANKFULLY skipped any boring bits. Towards the end I did find that I was just waiting for the story to end because Poirot's solutions for certain situations were just SO ridiculous and unbelieveable that it annoyed me.
Because of the ending, and overall over-exaggerations of cleverness in Poirot's 'solutions' this would've sat at 2 stars for me. Thankfully I really like Hastings as a narrator and character, so he alone brings this up to 2.5 stars.
As far as Christie's go I think this one is skippable. As far as 'un-Christie' Christe's go, I wouldn't waste my time with this one if I were you, pick up 'Endless Night' instead if you want to read a great 'un-Christie' Christie.