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Summary: Thrilling Spy Novel
Review: Don't be surprised if this appears on a required reading list somewhere in your education. This book is recommended by educators on lists that students love to hate, but it is surprisingly wonderful. I enjoyed the suspense in the scenes and the variety of characters. The reader knows exactly what's going on, but is eager to find out how the characters react. I highly recommend this bok for anyone looking for adventure or suspense in a book.
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Summary: Wow, I was surprised.
Review: Ok. I was assigned to read this book by my teacher. I usually hate books that teachers make you read so when I got this I thought ugh how boring can you get? And as in most good books the first few chapters were incredibly boring, or so I thought. Then I really started to get into the book and soon I couldn't put it down. This is now one of my top three favorite books ranking number 2 only to Harry Potter. I recommend this book to anyone who likes action and romance stories.
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Summary: Bubbly which doesn't mature well
Review: I'd read this book and its numerous sequels as a young teenager, and I remember loving them. The dash, the adventure, the romance, the period charm ... These books seem to me to be the proto-type of dashing historical fiction (as perfected by Dorothy Dunnett). Recently, having suffered the clumsiness of the Broadway musical of the same name, I decided to go back to the source to rediscover the magic. But alas, it was not to be! I was surprised by how much it now grates against my adult sensibilities. The characters are two-dimensional and stereotypical (and irritatingly slow on the up-take), the dialogue unnatural (far too much repetition for instance of affected exclamations), the plot corny and the writing lacking in finesse. And of course, it is incredibly political incorrect in the dewy-eyed and over-romanticised view it takes of the (oh so wronged) noble nobility (I write sarcastically, of course). Truly great juvenile fiction can be well appreciated by the adult mind (See Diana Wynne Jones); unfortunately this one just doesn't cut it for me.Nonetheless, this really is a classic of its genre, so I would still recommend this to any young person, or anyone who is prepared to switch off his critical faculties and just enjoy an indulgent story.
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Summary: That demned, elusive Pimpernel
Review: Mystery, political intrigue, daring adventure and romance. All of this can be found in the Scarlet Pimpernel. A mysterious English hero and his band of cavaliers rescue French aristocrats from the clutches of the bloodthirsty revolutionists and their Madam Guillotine. Meanwhile a young French actress in England is forced to decide between saving her brother or the elusive Pimpernel, both whom she loves dearly. This is one of my favorite novels, but it is by no means difficult to read. Orczy can sometimes be repetitive, and sometimes she gives no proof to backup some the claims she makes. Example-Marguerite is the cleverest woman in all of Europe. This makes me think that this novel was written with a young audience in mind, but it does not make the novel any less exciting to read for anyone. The genius in the writing is not in these fine technical points, but in the extremely vivid and thrilling images pointed in your mind. Harry Potter fans will enjoy this.
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Summary: "They seek him here, they seek him there..."
Review: At the peak of the bloody French Revolution, when day after day more aristocrats are losing their heads to the dreaded guillotine, there is but one hope: the daring and mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel. Along with a league of faithful followers, the Pimpernel risks everything to save innocent lives. Filled with high adventure, intrigue, and romance, this period novel brings vividly to life the period and its characters: the beautiful but conflicted Marguerite, known as the cleverest woman in Europe, the diabolical Chauvelin, one of the most sinister villains in literature, and of course the most unforgettable character of them all, Sir Percy Blakeney--known also as the Scarlet Pimpernel!
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Summary: Th E-book version is great
Review: I just finished reading the free E-book version of this book, the book was one of the best ever, and E-book was really fun too. The text is clear and bright, and you get to make all sorts of note. Try it from Amazon E-book store's free download section, it's wonderful.
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Summary: THE BEGINNING OF A GENRE? (Similarities Between Novels)
Review: I've read THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL more than once. As a Zorro fan, I've often wondered if THE MARK OF ZORRO author, Johnston McCulley, drew on her work as inspiration for his own. I think he must have. If I'm right, then THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL was the start of a whole genre--that of the masked hero. Because Zorro became the inspiration for Batman, the Lone Ranger, and other such heroes. The similarities between THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL and THE MARK OF ZORRO lead me to believe it must be true. First of all, Sir Percy Blakeney and Don Diego Vega are both wealthy aristocrats. Both pretend to be lifeless fops, while leading double lives as dashing, daring heroes. Both rescue innocent people from evil government: the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues aristocrats from the French Revolution's guillotine, and El Zorro rescues innocent people from a wicked governor. Both leave their marks: The Scarlet Pimpernel leaves behind a small red flower--a pimpernel--and Zorro leaves behind a carved Z. Both lead bands of men, the Scarlet Pimpernel from the first, and Zorro late in the novel. And both are relentlessly pursued by evil governments determined to stop them from saving their victims. The list of similarities are, too me, too many and too striking to be coincidence. Johnston may have drawn on real-life bandidos from California history for the man he created, but I believe he drew on THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL for the plot.
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Summary: wow!
Review: This is a wonderful book, and I definitely intend to read it over and over again (I must've read this 50 times already!) My romance with this book started at the age of nine, and after all these years, I STILL LOVE IT! This is one of my all time favorites, and a definite recommended read! The balance of humor, adventure, and romance make this book unforgettable and the blend of characters are better than jane austen even! I guarantee you that you won't forget this tale once you read it. As for myself, i'm in love with Sir Percy, the hero of this book.
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Summary: *YAWN*
Review: I loved the book version, but boy, the audio version was a dissapointment. The readings were a bit dull, and it was reallly REALLY long. This is one of my all time favorite stories, but even my partiality to this story wasn't ebough to sustain my interest in these extremely dragging tapes.
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Summary: Hehehe, no wonder. Very refreshing and fun book
Review: I first read this book because it was there in front of me,and I really had nothing else to do, it was sort of a let's read the back of the cereal box reaction to some gloom in having Winter vacation almost over. Eh hem, so I picked it up and loved the first chapter. I rushed on into the second, I started to get bored with it, and was somewhat disappointed. I was ready to put it down, until things started to pick up once more with the 3rd chapter, and from then on it was smooth going and wickedly easy to pay attention. First off...A PIMPERNEL IS A HUMBLE WAYSIDE ENGLISH FLOWER. SUCH AS A ROSE OR A DAISY OR A PANSY. In the book it's used as a communication symbol. Understand? Good. The plot? Well nowadays it isn't anything brand new, but for its time it was. This was the first "masked hero" kind of a story, which is pretty impressive considering we wouldn't have dear old Superman or Batman or Zorro or anybody if it weren't for that good old Scarlet Pimpernel. The Pimpernel rescues "aristos" and anyone else who needs the help, from the Reign of Terror in France. It's actually a very refreshing and fun book. I liked it a lot and think that its a true classic, which it is. The characters? Hehe, ok there's Percy Blakeney, that fool, that fop, that ridiculously annoying "demmed idiot." There's his charming wife, Marguerite, who is considered the "cleverest woman in all Europe". Her "cleverness" doesn't really show all too much, but after you look back at the end of the book you realize that your lasting impression is that she is definitely pretty darned clever. And heck, she is. There's Chauvelin. Ok he's the bad guy. He's nasty, and wicked, and despicable, and it's easy to hate him, yet I love him. Ok so now there's the Scarlet Pimpernel, who actually is --------, but no one but his best friends know that it's him. His friends are part of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and help rescue the "innocent" ( or maybe not so innocent) from the claws of the guillotine. The Scarlet Pimpernel has some extremely interesting escapes and I think that is where Orczy's imagination sets in. It is like Sherlock Holmes without the feeling of "I have to figure this out." and more of "I shall see how it plays out and relax a bit." The book is sometimes funny, in an odd way, but look to it more for some good romantic scenes and some great excitement. Good vs. Evil. Masked Hero. Brave lady. Happy Ending. It's one of those, feel good, refreshing, suspenseful, two hanky books. Heck it's only 3 bucks! Why don't ya just buy it? You shan't regret it.
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