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A review by whogivesabook
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
3.0
Meticulous. Intricate. Charming. These are the words I’d use.
Billed as the first modern spy novel, published in 1903, Childers has achieved a really interesting effect with this book. At first it just seems to be a classic travel adventure, but soon you are piecing together the clues of a larger scheme.
I think what I really enjoyed about this was the relationship between Davies and Carruthers. It is so brilliantly rendered in the early scenes. The differences between the two men are comical and almost lead you into believing that it will be a comedy rather than a thriller.
I know very little about sailing. I’ve been on boats. Small vessels and such. Whilst I lived elsewhere in the country my father owned one for a number of years, but I think I only sailed on her twice. Anyway, the technical aspects are beyond me. What is obvious from casting off is that Childers knew what he was talking about. And that level of expertise is a little infectious, at least to me. You find yourself really interested in it because that passion really fizzes. And it is also really precise in its direction. There isn’t a footstep that isn’t accounted for, where it is relevant (naturally).
I think that I’m not a great audience for the book. The wind just isn’t in the sails here and it is all down to taste. I’m just not a huge spy thriller sort of guy. Thrillers, yes. Mystery, yes. But a spy? I just find it all a little half-baked a lot of the time. And perhaps this loaf is better made than most, but I think beyond an indulgence in the crust, the inner structure just didn’t fill me up.
I think I will read this again though. Either if I develop an interest in sailing for myself (which I have been close to). Or if I suddenly start enjoying spy stories (which most men do after 50).
Pick this up if you’re a sailing fan. But now I’m off to learn more about the author, because his life and his death are really fascinating!
Billed as the first modern spy novel, published in 1903, Childers has achieved a really interesting effect with this book. At first it just seems to be a classic travel adventure, but soon you are piecing together the clues of a larger scheme.
I think what I really enjoyed about this was the relationship between Davies and Carruthers. It is so brilliantly rendered in the early scenes. The differences between the two men are comical and almost lead you into believing that it will be a comedy rather than a thriller.
I know very little about sailing. I’ve been on boats. Small vessels and such. Whilst I lived elsewhere in the country my father owned one for a number of years, but I think I only sailed on her twice. Anyway, the technical aspects are beyond me. What is obvious from casting off is that Childers knew what he was talking about. And that level of expertise is a little infectious, at least to me. You find yourself really interested in it because that passion really fizzes. And it is also really precise in its direction. There isn’t a footstep that isn’t accounted for, where it is relevant (naturally).
I think that I’m not a great audience for the book. The wind just isn’t in the sails here and it is all down to taste. I’m just not a huge spy thriller sort of guy. Thrillers, yes. Mystery, yes. But a spy? I just find it all a little half-baked a lot of the time. And perhaps this loaf is better made than most, but I think beyond an indulgence in the crust, the inner structure just didn’t fill me up.
I think I will read this again though. Either if I develop an interest in sailing for myself (which I have been close to). Or if I suddenly start enjoying spy stories (which most men do after 50).
Pick this up if you’re a sailing fan. But now I’m off to learn more about the author, because his life and his death are really fascinating!