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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
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 fun adventure novel, written in sparse language and appropriately backdropped by World War I. There are some, of course, that will say the novel's strain on the reader's credulity is a mark against it; on the contrary, it's an assumption one must make to properly enjoy an adventure novel. Buchan said it himself, in a letter he wrote that precludes the novel, calling "the dime novel" a "romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible." Adventure novels are, by nature, very extraordinary — if they weren't, then they either 1) wouldn't be interesting, or 2) wouldn't be categorized as an adventure.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
slow-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
fast-paced
I enjoyed this short story or novella. It was published during World War I and is a cleverly written story with the main character, a bored Englishman who is suddenly thrust into saving his country from spies. A James Bond without the gadgets or a thoughtful Sherlock Holmes. Well worth the read and I am glad that the author has written more novels involving this character.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
With World War I looming over Europe, Richard Hannay returns home to London. When his American neighbour confides in Richard secret details of a plot to murder the Greek Premier, Richard is pulled into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
I have so many different versions of this book in my head due to the Hitchcock film and the BBC movie. I expected a story closer to those, but found that the source material is quite different. As much as most readers hate when I say this, I prefer the films to the book. It's a little too tidy and too convenient for me. Maybe it is as I look through it with a modern viewpoint, but that Hannay just takes a crazy person into his home for a week seems a stretch. The whole kick off doesn't seem genuine and you wonder why Hannay goes to all the fuss. Granted, he was in danger but he doesn't really know how much in the beginning. There are some great scenes and you can tell why it has continued to be in print. It screams that it should be a movie as you read it.
A fabulous mystery to read. Loved this candid story of unsuspecting lad thrown into the the intricate world of espionage, adventure and mystery.