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qwelling4's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
juliusv's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
ananotherthing's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
mborer23's review against another edition
3.0
Poirot and Hastings take on a global crime syndicate in this adventure, which is pretty different from their usual milieu of inheritance murders and society thefts. It's too big a narrative for these two, and the strain does show a bit.
Suspending one's disbelief can only go so far. Poirot seems to be not just an analytical genius, but positively omniscient here, as well as ridiculously wealthy; Hastings is somehow both cleverer and dumber than usual.
That being said, I'm pretty sure that Ian Fleming borrowed some of these plot points for his James Bond novels: super-villains out to conquer the world; a master of disguise; a hideout inside a hollowed-out mountain; an atomic threat to global security.
Overall, I'd say this was not Poirot's finest adventure.
Suspending one's disbelief can only go so far. Poirot seems to be not just an analytical genius, but positively omniscient here, as well as ridiculously wealthy; Hastings is somehow both cleverer and dumber than usual.
That being said, I'm pretty sure that Ian Fleming borrowed some of these plot points for his James Bond novels: super-villains out to conquer the world; a master of disguise; a hideout inside a hollowed-out mountain; an atomic threat to global security.
Overall, I'd say this was not Poirot's finest adventure.
emmuw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
Good book, just not my cup of tea
genteelblackhole's review against another edition
2.0
Probably the weakest Agatha Christie book I’ve read so far. The plot is a disjointed mess, with Poirot on the hunt for the titular Big Four crime syndicate in a series of episodic chapters. It’s essentially a book of short stories masquerading as a novel, and putting Poirot in a type of story entirely unsuited to him as a character. The pace is breathless, small mysteries are solved not long after they’re introduced, and there’s plenty of racist depictions of Chinese characters along the way. Not much to recommend it at all.
jayarna's review against another edition
3.0
Way too many plot conveniences. I really prefer her locked door mysteries
ch177816's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5