Golden Age

It is wonderful to have access to these stories from the Golden Age of Crime Fiction - a wonderful ripping yarn!!!

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Exasperating at times

I did struggle to finish this because the main character can't seem to not fall into every trap. Can't fault the narrator, David Timson, who made the best of the story possible.

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Passable adventure story

This book has to be seen in its context; this is a 1920's English adventure story. If you are looking for gritty realism, then you are in the wrong place. It is brimming with stiff upper lip, dastardly villains, delicate but plucky ladies and a suave, assured hero. It is a passable adventure to while away a long drive, although one can see why the series has not passed the test of time in the same way as John Buchan's Richard Hannay novels.

I started this intrigued by some reviews of its racism and portrayal of Indian characters. I feel this is a very unreasonable imposition of modern values on quite a gentle period piece. Take that level of censorship and we would wipe out pretty much every work of fiction before 1950, and quite a lot since.

All in all, a light, frothy listen, but not a series I will return to.

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7 people found this helpful

Of its time ...

Casual racism and antisemitism abound here. Started off as a fairly promising 'boy's own' adventure but degenerated into rather boring pastiche. Couldn't finish.

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1 person found this helpful

Dreadful tosh

I greatly enjoy detective yarns from the so-called Golden Age of crime writing, but this was decidedly bronze medal stuff. The premise was fine, and when the author was describing the Indian countryside (clearly taken from personal experience) that too also held up. However, the pace was even uneven and character stereotypes were embarrassing shallow. We had to suffer cringing natives, who often gave in after little more than a bluff or sharp stare from an pukka Englishman, plus a hero-worshipping No2, and then Wallace's batman, who came across like like Long John Silver's idiot brother. "Swab me decks!" has never been used so often and with so little justification. Even allowing for the fact that what is acceptable in conversation has changed in the last couple of generation, too much of the dialogue here was simply excruciating. I'd recommend fast-forwarding through any passage involving Wallace's family. I had had great hopes for the series, but no. It was awful.

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2 people found this helpful

Poor attempt at a Boy's Own Adventure, ruined by over the top bigotry

The narrator makes a fine first of this mediocre tale of casual racism, anti-Semitism, classism and misogyny in post-war India. Having read many an historical novel, I'm used to the queasiness of accepting the unacceptable for the sake of a genuinely Ripping Yarn, but this just isn't good enough to cringe and get on with.

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