Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
This book had such potential, and I know it is a staple in classic spy/thriller novels but looking back it’s hard to see why.
Convenient narrative and plot armour almost constantly resolving every issue the character may come across, in ways that would be literally impossible. The book begins with the character allowing a stranger to stay in his house for days, who just happens to be a spy and trusts him implicitly(?)
The author has an eye for character writing and this is the sole reason I enjoyed this book, despite several of the descriptions being highly classist.
It reads like a film script rather than a book.
Convenient narrative and plot armour almost constantly resolving every issue the character may come across, in ways that would be literally impossible. The book begins with the character allowing a stranger to stay in his house for days, who just happens to be a spy and trusts him implicitly(?)
The author has an eye for character writing and this is the sole reason I enjoyed this book, despite several of the descriptions being highly classist.
It reads like a film script rather than a book.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
adventurous
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
A classic fast-paced thriller which was an enjoyable quick read.
“ I used to use my brains as far as they went, and after they came to a blank wall I guessed, and I usually found my guesses pretty right.”
This quote about sums it up for me - It’s not far before this guy’s brains run out, that’s for sure. I’ll give it two stars because at points it was so dumb it had me cracking up. Imagine - espionage done mostly by wandering into random buildings in Scotland and just looking at people and guessing if you can trust them. Then you tell them *everything* and there’s a fifty/fifty chance they will also give you a sandwich. You go to apprehend the villains and instead, play an entire game of bridge with them, and have a nice time. This whole situation begins because you allow the sketchiest man alive to stay in your house, and this international man of mystery tells you all about a diabolical top-secret plot because you seem cool to him. He is then murdered and you fully insert yourself into the situation because you just don’t care for London. This is fine and not a problem. Despite your utter lack of knowledge or resources you truly are the best man for the job and the entire British government is on board with this. Incredible.
And then we are told this is all a plot by the nefarious
Jews?? When there is literally not a single Jew in the story??? Imagine writing an anti-Semitic propaganda piece like this and forgetting to actually add the nefarious Jews. Embarrassing.
People defend this story by saying it’s the first of its kind, the prototype of the spy genre and, sure, but it’s also just *stupid*.
This quote about sums it up for me - It’s not far before this guy’s brains run out, that’s for sure. I’ll give it two stars because at points it was so dumb it had me cracking up. Imagine - espionage done mostly by wandering into random buildings in Scotland and just looking at people and guessing if you can trust them. Then you tell them *everything* and there’s a fifty/fifty chance they will also give you a sandwich. You go to apprehend the villains and instead, play an entire game of bridge with them, and have a nice time. This whole situation begins because you allow the sketchiest man alive to stay in your house, and this international man of mystery tells you all about a diabolical top-secret plot because you seem cool to him. He is then murdered and you fully insert yourself into the situation because you just don’t care for London. This is fine and not a problem. Despite your utter lack of knowledge or resources you truly are the best man for the job and the entire British government is on board with this. Incredible.
And then we are told this is all a plot by the nefarious
Jews?? When there is literally not a single Jew in the story??? Imagine writing an anti-Semitic propaganda piece like this and forgetting to actually add the nefarious Jews. Embarrassing.
People defend this story by saying it’s the first of its kind, the prototype of the spy genre and, sure, but it’s also just *stupid*.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
fast-paced
Fantastic, fast-paced tale with exceptional writing.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
I was pleasantly surprised by this little story that caught my attention from the very first page. It's not my normal genre but I've been wanting to cross a few easier reads off my classics challenge lists. Reading it with the author's dedication in mind, it was fun to imagine him cooking up this little tale for his friend to enjoy. This was a super fun story with lots of likeable characters and just enough setting description to keep a little picture in my mind. I love how it ended---splendid!
