Greenmantle (Oxford World's Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Spy Novel
Review: The number of absurd coincidences, cliffhangers, and deus ex machinas required to sustain the plot of this boy scout daydream would challenge anyone's ability to suspend disbelief. I would rate it as slightly less credible than the Wizard of Oz. This silliness spoiled it for me, though I might have loved it if I had run across it at the age of 12. This book does not give any kind of reliable view of World War I. It is a fairytale. Also despite what other reviewers have said, I found the South African apartheid-style racism pervasive and offensive. This kind of thought was no more acceptable in 1916 than it is today, as Gandhi made so eloquently clear at the time.

Rating:
Summary: Silly, misleading, and offensive
Review: The number of absurd coincidences, cliffhangers, and deus ex machinas required to sustain the plot of this boy scout daydream would challenge anyone's ability to suspend disbelief. I would rate it as slightly less credible than the Wizard of Oz. This silliness spoiled it for me, though I might have loved it if I had run across it at the age of 12. This book does not give any kind of reliable view of World War I. It is a fairytale. Also despite what other reviewers have said, I found the South African apartheid-style racism pervasive and offensive. This kind of thought was no more acceptable in 1916 than it is today, as Gandhi made so eloquently clear at the time.

Rating:
Summary: This was a very exciting (although confusing) book.
Review: This book had all of the elements of a good spy novel--danger, exotic locations, and neat plot twists. It is about a young mining engineer's espionage adventures during World War I. The book was a real page-turner and I couldn't put it down. However, some of the political information confused me. If you're a World War I buff you might understand some of the technical stuff, though. This book also continues the adventures of one of my favorite characters, Richard Hannay, who first appeared in The Thirty-Nine Steps. He is an extremely likable character and this book is a great one if you like espionage novels and adventure stories. P.S. Read it and you'll see why this would make a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: A great little spy novel
Review: This story is a strange one if you do not understand the world as it was during the confusing times of World War One. However, if you are reading this book simply for enjoyment, you picked a good one. It is a little rascist, but if only you consider the time it was written and the beliefs then, I don't think you can consider it a bad book. It is not proper to judge a book written in the early twentieth century by our current standards of political correctness. It is simply a good indicator of past views of various people. If you don't mind the little rascism this book has and remember that it was written when that was perfectly normal, you should enjoy it immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Classic spy story in Yates mode!
Review: This was the second time I read this story and must admit that it seemed longer, somehow, the second time around. It's good to see Richard Hannay pitted against the 'Hun', once more. This time with a band of faithful followers to upset the Germans' plans of set the Middle East aflame with a 'Jehad'. Parts of the book bog down in technicalities of the Great War effort, but then, the story is being told by a soldier fighting said war! Hannay's storytelling betrays his jingoistic belief in the British Empire and British fairness and holds himself proudly as the pre-Apartheid South African that he is! In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend anyone else to read it, the prequel and the 3 sequels.

Rating:
Summary: Dull and Delicious
Review: You know, I really don't like war stories (although I do tend toward wartime authors) and I wouldn't have read this book if I hadn't been bored. But I did, and I've been thankful ever since. Yes, it contains racism, but it is simply the way people thought then. Yes it does tend to get technical, but John Buchan was doing the best thing a writer can do and "writing what he knew". And yes, the philo/psycological discusions can get old after a few readings, but I found them another interesting look at the thought life of wartime Europe. The characters are all well developed (I can't stand characters that all act the same), so well that I can't say who is my favorite (permit me a feminine little sigh, however, over the heartbreaking Sandy. But if I did that I'd have to giggle over Peter and argue about Blenkiron and hold my breath with Richard Hannay). The book does seem to start out slow, but keep on going, and don't skip a thing. I'll tell you a secret, though, despite all I just said, I really read this book for the last three pages! The thing is, you can't really "get" all the beauty and relief and grandur of it unless you read the rest, there's just something missing in it, believe me, I've tried.