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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
A scientist who actually solves impossible crimes using stone cold logic.
Everything that people complain about with Sherlock Holmes--the inconsistency, the lack of fair play--is absent here. The stories are solved using fair, if not obvious, logic. Details are consistent. And yet the reviews for this book are not as glowing, nor the character as beloved, as Holmes.
It's almost as though what people say they want in a Great Detective isn't what they actually want. [Whistles.]
I liked these stories, although they did get repetitive after a while. They are puzzles, not adventures, and don't particularly engage the emotions. A fun point is that these are the type of mysteries that you'd see with Scooby Doo. There's even one with a tricked-up ghost. But the characters here aren't nearly as fun.
Clever, well written, logical. Just not stories to love.
Read if you like Holmes stories. Either you'll appreciate Holmes more, or you'll appreciate the logic here better!
Everything that people complain about with Sherlock Holmes--the inconsistency, the lack of fair play--is absent here. The stories are solved using fair, if not obvious, logic. Details are consistent. And yet the reviews for this book are not as glowing, nor the character as beloved, as Holmes.
It's almost as though what people say they want in a Great Detective isn't what they actually want. [Whistles.]
I liked these stories, although they did get repetitive after a while. They are puzzles, not adventures, and don't particularly engage the emotions. A fun point is that these are the type of mysteries that you'd see with Scooby Doo. There's even one with a tricked-up ghost. But the characters here aren't nearly as fun.
Clever, well written, logical. Just not stories to love.
Read if you like Holmes stories. Either you'll appreciate Holmes more, or you'll appreciate the logic here better!
The main story, "The Problem of Cell 13," made an impression upon reading it in my youth - it's always remained in my memory. It set a sort of standard for me of human ingenuity. (The other, shorter stories aren't quite as good, so I'm rating the whole book 3 stars.)
Much later I learned the sad fact the the author died on the Titanic.
Much later I learned the sad fact the the author died on the Titanic.
I suppose it is true the series is a one trick pony as stated in the intro. however I enjoyed every bit of them, found them entertaining and smart, and found that the thinking machine himself had grown on me by the ending.
Large compilation of short stories all featuring the Thinking Machine, Professor Van Dusen.
The good: Some creative locked room mysteries, some ingenious solutions, little historical gems that were just 'life as we knew it' when written, but strike the modern reader as so different. (like the 'automobile helmets' the young ladies wear when driving in that fast modern car!)
The bad: Wow, an escaped orangutan that kidnaps a baby? Really? Sometimes the solutions to these mysteries are chosen more for their effect than because they would really make any sense. Large plot holes now and then. And several stereotypes that were accepted then, but not any more!
The annoying: Apparently this is from several books or collections of his stories, because Van Dusen is introduced, including the whole story of how he got his name, his peculiar looks, etc, etc, several times in here, at least 10. That got old. I remember from the last time! But that couldn't be helped, really, without really editing the stories from the way they were written. But would it have been so hard to put the stories in chronological order? That was just sloppy. He refers to this case involving a cockatoo that related to his current mystery, but that story wasn't in the collection until much later. No reason they couldn't have fixed that.
In short, I got this one for the Kindle for 99 cents. I wouldn't have paid much more than that, but since these are out of print and I liked the ones I have read, I thought it would be worth a dollar to give it a try. I'm glad I did - it was fun. I like the old-fashioned feel to the stories, like their complete horror at discovering the three or four day old dead body of a murdered young woman. Now a cop, even a rookie, wouldn't even flinch. Times have changed. But sometimes the dated feel made the stories clunky. The writing was still fresh, though, if not brilliant, and the stories themselves were easy to read. I really liked the one where his wife wrote the first half and challenged him to come up with a solution. Fun stuff.
The good: Some creative locked room mysteries, some ingenious solutions, little historical gems that were just 'life as we knew it' when written, but strike the modern reader as so different. (like the 'automobile helmets' the young ladies wear when driving in that fast modern car!)
The bad: Wow, an escaped orangutan that kidnaps a baby? Really? Sometimes the solutions to these mysteries are chosen more for their effect than because they would really make any sense. Large plot holes now and then. And several stereotypes that were accepted then, but not any more!
The annoying: Apparently this is from several books or collections of his stories, because Van Dusen is introduced, including the whole story of how he got his name, his peculiar looks, etc, etc, several times in here, at least 10. That got old. I remember from the last time! But that couldn't be helped, really, without really editing the stories from the way they were written. But would it have been so hard to put the stories in chronological order? That was just sloppy. He refers to this case involving a cockatoo that related to his current mystery, but that story wasn't in the collection until much later. No reason they couldn't have fixed that.
In short, I got this one for the Kindle for 99 cents. I wouldn't have paid much more than that, but since these are out of print and I liked the ones I have read, I thought it would be worth a dollar to give it a try. I'm glad I did - it was fun. I like the old-fashioned feel to the stories, like their complete horror at discovering the three or four day old dead body of a murdered young woman. Now a cop, even a rookie, wouldn't even flinch. Times have changed. But sometimes the dated feel made the stories clunky. The writing was still fresh, though, if not brilliant, and the stories themselves were easy to read. I really liked the one where his wife wrote the first half and challenged him to come up with a solution. Fun stuff.
Fun, entertained, quite simple but good, I love the main character so weird and so cool, arrogant, good.
But I mean, sometimes is like Frutelle make the other characters stupid to pronounce more the intelligence of The Dr. but apart from that really cool histories to pass the time
But I mean, sometimes is like Frutelle make the other characters stupid to pronounce more the intelligence of The Dr. but apart from that really cool histories to pass the time