mturner2's review against another edition
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
3.75
sarahcoller's review against another edition
5.0
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!
mrears0_0's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
2.5
ivaisreading's review against another edition
4.0
It’s fascinating to read what is generally regarded as the birth of the political thriller. But it’s also absolutely priceless that there’s an entire chapter dedicated to Hannay disguising himself as a roadman.
disreputable_dog's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
lise_haag's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
bookishtory2665's review against another edition
3.0
The author, John Buchan, was recruited for the Propaganda Bureau in 1914 and in 1917, under Buchan, the Bureau was reformed into the Department of Information. The Thirty-Nine Steps was written during that time period and originally appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine in 1915 and published in book form later that year. There have been several film adaptions of the novel with the first being Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 version and the latest being one developed for British television in 2008. Its considered a precursor to the modern spy novel and is set in the year before the start of the first World War.
The protagonist, Richard Hannay, is a mining engineer who has recently returned to England after years working abroad in South Africa and is, at the start of the book, bored. So much so that he's beginning to consider returning to Africa when a neighbor knocks on his door. Within a couple of days, Hannay is wanted for murder and being pursued by spies and that's where the book takes off.
At 104 pages, its a short read. I thought it lacked a certain richness in character development and some of what happened was maybe a trifle too convenient, but all in all, its a fun, fast read. I found that I really wanted to know what was going on and to see how Hannay would extricate himself from difficult situations -- without the aid of modern technology.
The protagonist, Richard Hannay, is a mining engineer who has recently returned to England after years working abroad in South Africa and is, at the start of the book, bored. So much so that he's beginning to consider returning to Africa when a neighbor knocks on his door. Within a couple of days, Hannay is wanted for murder and being pursued by spies and that's where the book takes off.
At 104 pages, its a short read. I thought it lacked a certain richness in character development and some of what happened was maybe a trifle too convenient, but all in all, its a fun, fast read. I found that I really wanted to know what was going on and to see how Hannay would extricate himself from difficult situations -- without the aid of modern technology.
blackbird27's review against another edition
4.0
Father of the entire thriller genre, still compulsively readable at a century's remove. This was my second reading, and because I was reading it a chapter a night alongside three other books (all in different apps; I may be slightly compulsive), I had to force myself not to barrel onto the next chapter, Buchan's terse prose and knack for suspense is so addictive.
I'd forgotten most of the plot from the first reading, some fifteen years ago now, and more seriously I'd forgotten the casual antisemitism slipped into the background of the conspiracy the protagonist is uncovering: that it's then attributed to an American crank and drifts into ordinary wartime Germany vs. England rah-rah doesn't make it much better (any nationalism is particularly disgusting right now), but is just another reminder that pulp always draws from the cultural lies in circulation at a given moment.
The books I'm reading through are almost all literary canon rather than classic genre fiction -- and the 1910s inaugurated the era in which the division was starker than at any time before or since -- but The Thirty-Nine Steps is so ruthlessly effective at accomplishing its frankly preposterous mission that I don't feel too odd about including it.
I'd forgotten most of the plot from the first reading, some fifteen years ago now, and more seriously I'd forgotten the casual antisemitism slipped into the background of the conspiracy the protagonist is uncovering: that it's then attributed to an American crank and drifts into ordinary wartime Germany vs. England rah-rah doesn't make it much better (any nationalism is particularly disgusting right now), but is just another reminder that pulp always draws from the cultural lies in circulation at a given moment.
The books I'm reading through are almost all literary canon rather than classic genre fiction -- and the 1910s inaugurated the era in which the division was starker than at any time before or since -- but The Thirty-Nine Steps is so ruthlessly effective at accomplishing its frankly preposterous mission that I don't feel too odd about including it.