A review by gracecrandall
Richard Hannay Complete Collection: The Thirty-nine Steps, Greenmantle, Mr Standfast, The Three Hostages, The Island of Sheep, The Courts of the Morning by John Buchan
5.0
Ciphers! Disguises! Being chased over the moors by a malicious biplane! This book hits every one of the classic spy story criteria I know of, and it’s all the more amazing for it.
Richard Hannay, lately of North Africa, moved to England in hopes of finding something interesting there—or at least something pleasant. His hopes have been sorely disappointed.
However, his apathetic haze is broken when his upstairs neighbor—an American named Scudder—comes to his rooms seeking refuge from a group of men who want him dead. Hannay welcomes his unexpected and highly interesting houseguest easily enough, but brushes off his stories of plots and assassinations.
At least—until Scudder ends up dead on his living room floor, with Hannay wanted for his murder. Cue a wild chase across the whole of England, and Hannay running for his life while desperately trying to figure out the secret that Scudder took to his grave.
First off, this story is just plain fun. It made my heart pound and go ‘this!! Yes!this is a real adventure!!’
Richard Hannay is a smart, cool-headed character, but he’s far from immune to fears and doubts—which serve to make him feel far more solid and human as a character. He thinks his way out of scrapes almost as fast as he gets into new ones, and the peril never feels forced—there’s a very real suspense through the whole book, which I really enjoyed.
The author also does an excellent job of characterizing and humanizing everyone else in the story, no matter how briefly they occupy our attention. Even the villains have a spark of relatability (which serves to make them all the more terrifying). The characters consist of everyone from a nosy innkeeper to a stolid road worker to a foppish politician. It’s a fascinating cross-section of society, beautifully portrayed.
Overall, I really loved this book, and I’m looking forward to the two sequels!
Richard Hannay, lately of North Africa, moved to England in hopes of finding something interesting there—or at least something pleasant. His hopes have been sorely disappointed.
However, his apathetic haze is broken when his upstairs neighbor—an American named Scudder—comes to his rooms seeking refuge from a group of men who want him dead. Hannay welcomes his unexpected and highly interesting houseguest easily enough, but brushes off his stories of plots and assassinations.
At least—until Scudder ends up dead on his living room floor, with Hannay wanted for his murder. Cue a wild chase across the whole of England, and Hannay running for his life while desperately trying to figure out the secret that Scudder took to his grave.
First off, this story is just plain fun. It made my heart pound and go ‘this!! Yes!this is a real adventure!!’
Richard Hannay is a smart, cool-headed character, but he’s far from immune to fears and doubts—which serve to make him feel far more solid and human as a character. He thinks his way out of scrapes almost as fast as he gets into new ones, and the peril never feels forced—there’s a very real suspense through the whole book, which I really enjoyed.
The author also does an excellent job of characterizing and humanizing everyone else in the story, no matter how briefly they occupy our attention. Even the villains have a spark of relatability (which serves to make them all the more terrifying). The characters consist of everyone from a nosy innkeeper to a stolid road worker to a foppish politician. It’s a fascinating cross-section of society, beautifully portrayed.
Overall, I really loved this book, and I’m looking forward to the two sequels!