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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
Nothing like a book that takes two weeks to read despite reading the first and last third in a day - this was really good
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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
In the same way that Wilkie Collins founded the detective novel, John Buchan probably invented the spy novel with The 39 Steps. You can make an argument for James Fenimore Cooper’s The Spy, which was 100 years older, but not really.
The thing with The 39 Steps is that it’s far more dated than many older works, and is peculiarly two dimensional as a result. There’s no doubt that it gave rise to James Bond, since it contains a plethora of Bond villains, and the style is very noir, in fact it reads like a film.
But there are several immense contrivances which the entire plot hangs upon. The protagonist, Richard Hannay meets his upstairs London neighbour who divulges a world shaking plot by a criminal mastermind who is identified only by his ‘hooded’ eyes. The neighbour is found murdered the next day and our hero falls under suspicion. He decides to go on the run in Scotland, for no logical reason, and wanders around the Munros and glens, pursued by police and bad guys alike. All might be lost, but incredibly, of all the private residences in the entire U.K. he might accidentally chance upon, he wanders into the lair of the evil mastermind whom he recognises by his hooded eyes. Yes, that is the astoundingly tenuous plot device upon which the entire novel hangs, and it’s understandably laughable. If you can make the monumental effort to suspend the biggest disbelief that ever was, then you can otherwise enjoy this novel for it is well written, taut, and stylish. 7/10.
The thing with The 39 Steps is that it’s far more dated than many older works, and is peculiarly two dimensional as a result. There’s no doubt that it gave rise to James Bond, since it contains a plethora of Bond villains, and the style is very noir, in fact it reads like a film.
But there are several immense contrivances which the entire plot hangs upon. The protagonist, Richard Hannay meets his upstairs London neighbour who divulges a world shaking plot by a criminal mastermind who is identified only by his ‘hooded’ eyes. The neighbour is found murdered the next day and our hero falls under suspicion. He decides to go on the run in Scotland, for no logical reason, and wanders around the Munros and glens, pursued by police and bad guys alike. All might be lost, but incredibly, of all the private residences in the entire U.K. he might accidentally chance upon, he wanders into the lair of the evil mastermind whom he recognises by his hooded eyes. Yes, that is the astoundingly tenuous plot device upon which the entire novel hangs, and it’s understandably laughable. If you can make the monumental effort to suspend the biggest disbelief that ever was, then you can otherwise enjoy this novel for it is well written, taut, and stylish. 7/10.
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
Jesus, what rot. This was genuinely pretty garbage in almost every aspect.
I don't think I've ever read a boring and meandering "fast paced" novella before, but I now have.
This book can be summed up as "And then I went here, then I saw a river, to which I went down into the river, then I saw a hill so I went up the hill, but then I looked behind me and men were chasing me, and then I saw a plane which was following me, so then I found a place to hide and then fell asleep."
Some other general complaints to add:
-NONE of the characters act in a believable manner, not one. Every character in this is just stupid and ridiculous, Richard Hannay the main character most of all. There's multiple points where he comes across a random stranger, who he then tells everything that's just happened to him, and then that stranger just believes him and decides to help him in every way possible.
-Richard also seems to have narcolepsey or something, atleast he has to for this story to make sense. Richards room-mate is murdered by assassins so richard has a nap. Richard has assassins chasing him and are very close to catching him; he decides to have a nap.
-There's also a scene where Richard gets into a fist fight with the police for seemingly no reason, to which he runs off and faces no consequences and it's never brought up again, in fact about 5 pages later he's working with the police.
-Richard is a Mary Sue, or I suppose a gary stu. At multiple points in this story we have to know how smart, strong, fast and how excellent his eye sight is. Not joking, he describes his eyesight as "owl like" multiple times and says he sees things better than animals do. He also gets himself out of every dangerous situation easily and triumphs over any danger with ease.
-Everything that happens in this book is incredibly contrived, forced and unrealistic. You can tell constantly that things are happening just to push the plot forward without ever stopping to consider if it makes sense.
Richard gets locked in a Barn? Well there's dynamite in a closet in the barn and Richard knows how to use it. There are so many examples of ridiculous occurrences in this story that are treated as reasonable.
Rant over, don't read this. Also no; it being written in the early 1900's is no excuse, I've read books from the 17th and 18th century that are more coherent and exceedingly better written than this stinking turd of storytelling, a waste of paper.
I don't think I've ever read a boring and meandering "fast paced" novella before, but I now have.
This book can be summed up as "And then I went here, then I saw a river, to which I went down into the river, then I saw a hill so I went up the hill, but then I looked behind me and men were chasing me, and then I saw a plane which was following me, so then I found a place to hide and then fell asleep."
Some other general complaints to add:
-NONE of the characters act in a believable manner, not one. Every character in this is just stupid and ridiculous, Richard Hannay the main character most of all. There's multiple points where he comes across a random stranger, who he then tells everything that's just happened to him, and then that stranger just believes him and decides to help him in every way possible.
-Richard also seems to have narcolepsey or something, atleast he has to for this story to make sense. Richards room-mate is murdered by assassins so richard has a nap. Richard has assassins chasing him and are very close to catching him; he decides to have a nap.
-There's also a scene where Richard gets into a fist fight with the police for seemingly no reason, to which he runs off and faces no consequences and it's never brought up again, in fact about 5 pages later he's working with the police.
-Richard is a Mary Sue, or I suppose a gary stu. At multiple points in this story we have to know how smart, strong, fast and how excellent his eye sight is. Not joking, he describes his eyesight as "owl like" multiple times and says he sees things better than animals do. He also gets himself out of every dangerous situation easily and triumphs over any danger with ease.
-Everything that happens in this book is incredibly contrived, forced and unrealistic. You can tell constantly that things are happening just to push the plot forward without ever stopping to consider if it makes sense.
Richard gets locked in a Barn? Well there's dynamite in a closet in the barn and Richard knows how to use it. There are so many examples of ridiculous occurrences in this story that are treated as reasonable.
Rant over, don't read this. Also no; it being written in the early 1900's is no excuse, I've read books from the 17th and 18th century that are more coherent and exceedingly better written than this stinking turd of storytelling, a waste of paper.
3 - One of the early day thrillers about a man bored of his life who is quickly thrust into conspiracy. As it was written in 1915, some of the language is hard to grasp and it can be hard to follow. But at the same time, you’re wanting to see how Richard will escape his pursuers next. I definitely prefer the Hitchcock movie based on this book.
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A