Riddle of the Sands

From AudioFile
Journalist, novelist, politician, agitator, spy--this author's life would make better reading than any of his fiction. Still, this spy thriller raised a lot of commotion when first published in 1903 (the year of Sherlock Holmes's retirement). Indeed, it spawned a whole genre. It is a first-person tale of stereotypical young Englishmen on the scent of German spies in the North Sea. This is all very conventional Edwardian fare except for the loving details of yachting and the prophetic hint of German imperial ambition. Dermot Kerrigan has the right sound for the hero/storyteller--youthful, energetic, just a bit strident. But whatever tension and adventure may have enlivened the book has been excised in an awkward abridgment, which also makes the plot twists hard to follow. Arbitrary pauses and a laconic pace further cut suspense. In the final analysis, this narrator fails to muster the excitement inherent to the story. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY, December 3, 1998
"These Cover to Cover tapes offer up a delectable feast for fans of the spoken word. We're talking class act here - from the elegant covers to the accomplished readers."


Eric Ambler
"Not only a good spy story but also one of the finest tales about small-sailing craft ever written."


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Two young Englishmen encounter suspicious German naval activity in the North Sea and enter a world of suspense and intrigue. This 1903 thriller is notable for its richness of detail about sailing and unsurpassed narrative style. 4 maps.



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