The Three Hostages (1922)

Sorry but I know this book is a classic and I respect that this was written in 1924/25 but this book wasnt for me.
Found it confusing the way it keeps jumping from how the hero Dick Hannay unravels the clues.
It was to far fetched and full of posh upper class twits for me.
Probably in the day this book was really cutting edge and exciting but its so dated now. ( )

Complete with an introduction by Christopher Hitchings that firmly places this in the 'guilty pleasure' category, Buchan digs out Richard Hannay from his comfortable retreat in the country to - yet again - be involved in devious global plots. Hannay's utterly unimpressionable nature turns out to be a major advantage as he proves impervious to the most dastardly of attempts to influence and overpower him, while at the same time - and with help from his old friends and plucky spouse - solving devilishly cunning tricks and ruses. I agree with Hitch - it's a lot of fun...

A great adventure story - fantastic characters, a real page turner. From a plot perspective, this is a brilliant book, my only plot criticism is that I found the last couple of chapters had a bit of a 'tacked-on-as-an-afterthought' feel to them.

Others have mentioned the pervasive racism in The Three Hostages. I would say that this is more marked than I remember it being in the first three books of the series. However, if you can overlook this, it's a great read. ( )

gripping adventure, but one must put aside its pervasive racism against any ethnic group other than the scots and english. other than that, issues and world trouble-spots seem strangely contemporary, given that the book was written in 1924. in its own nearer future, seems to predict new german war, economic collapse, etc. ( )

I read this again every few years. It's a great story. A bit hard to get into but give it a chance. Author John Buchan also wrote The 39 Steps. Same hero in this book, Richard Hannay. ( )