Reviewers everywhere like it, my English teacher loves it (hence why he put it as one of only two books which we had to read from this genre) and I enjoyed this book as well very much and why I had not heard about it sooner I don't know. To me, this book is brilliantly written and, once again, this classic is one of the best books I have read. This book is all about the qualtiy and not so much the quality with the book only consisting of 160 pages making it appeal to the less keen of readers as well (this explains why this book and The Man Who Was Thursday were so popular back in the day when most people weren't such animate readers on account of the books being rather small).
I love the fact that the way the author writes provides a very strong flavour of the time when the book was set (it is almost like each word has been analysed in minute detail to make sure that every word fits his image of the era). The text is not to dissimilar to that of The Man Who Was Thursday, in a good way, because the words on the page are just the tip of the iceburg with intriguing mysteries lying ever so slightly below the surface for the more avid reader amongst others. However, this is key good feature is also the book's downfall because from time to time, it became a bit difficult to follow the story line because of how packed the story was with extra puzzles to solve. Also, in general, sometimes the date of when the book was written, the length of speeches (which became occasionally more like monolouges) and the complexity of the text meant it was too hard to read for even the most enthusiastic of readers. But that was the way of the times and those who lived back then would think the ways we write now are just as alien to them as their writing ways are ,and always will be, to us.
The book is packed full of tension devices and is a model example of how to build up tension effectively; the suspense created is outstanding and is mentioned in many book reviews for its quality. The plot once again, like other classics, is magnificent (I think the reason 'classics' are called 'classics'' in the first place is now because of the plot for it is such a common trait in any 'classic' and when I think about it without a good plot there is no such thing as a great novel). So simple yet effective (a man on the run trying to convince the authorities that he has been framed) and so complex and yet so easy to understand (delving into the world of spies, espionage and politics as well). However, the story as a whole is slightly so you (the reader) doesn't have time to appreciate the plot until the book is finsihed. Finally, on a positive note, the quality of text is so good you can learn a lot about the author when taking into account the way he writes the 'novel'. You can feel that he enjoyed writing the book because of the subtle humour woven into the fabric of the story thoughout and you can tell that the author has a love of open countryside (particually the rolling moors of Scotland) because of how he describes it so beautifully and that he hates cities because he describes them (London) in the opposite manor entirely.
Overall opinion of the book:
Plot: Once again, a work of art (but only if understanded properly) using the events of the time (the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand) as inspiration for his novel (WARNING SPOILER ALERT. IF YOU WANT TO READ THE BOOK WITHOUT ME RUINING THE SURPRISE FOR YOU, CONTINUE READING ATER THE BOLD TYPING FINISHES) to prevent another assassination which will leave Britain at war with the rest of Europe, if not the world.
Text: Perfectly crafted and a joy to read most of the time (apart from when the old fashioned ntext and monologues kick in).
Score out of 10: 9.5 (almost perfection again apart from small criticisms which affect every book in this world becuase it is in Human Nature to criticise anything that is not yours).