The Riddle of the Sands (Abridged) Audiobook

" This historical curio gets bogged down as surely as the Dulcibella in a German sandbank. "

" Often billed as the first spy novel, unless you are REALLY interested in yachting,the Frisian Islands, yachting, early 20th century European naval policy, yachting, spies, and yachting, then this probably isn't for you. Tedious at times and unreadable during the rest, this book hasn't aged well. "

" First half of this early espionage novel is very heavy going, and it was something of a relief to finally finish reading it. The sailing terminology is frustrating for the casual reader, and the action only really starts to pick up in the final third. "

" Said to be the first British spy novel, this little gem is a fascinating study of coastal navigation. It even includes charts. "

" I read this in my youth, enjoyed it, bought a copy to read again, enjoyed it and passed it one then repeated the whole process a few years later. It's a reasonably good spy story but it's also nicely intertwined with a book about sailing which actually turns out to be quite interesting. "

" i found this quite hard to read as it had a lot of sailing terms i wasn't familiar with, but it has a good storyline "

" Sand. More sand. This book was not for me. "

" Although the style is somewhat old-fashioned because of when this book was written, I found the narrative fascinating, both for the sailing experience and for the espionage elements. Many consider this the first spy novel, but it also had historical impact in the run-up to WWI. Well worth the read. "

" The back of the book ruins the ending for you, but I enjoyed this book due to the refined writing style, in-depth descriptions of boats/sailing, and surprisingly good suspense during certain portions. "

" great story- reminded me of the John Bucchan books especially "the 39 steps".If you are into sailing , which I know nothing about I would guess the detail around the boat and seamanship would be fascinating. "

" Surprisingly interesting given the insane amount of detail about sailing in places I've never heard of. "

" Starts out very strong--a tale of sailing and espionage on the North Sea prior to World War I, but gets extremely repetitive and the plot fails to spark interest about half way through the book. "

" I had a difficult time getting into this book with all the nautical details of the voyage. It just did not keep my interest. "

" I read this about 2 years ago. Not my usual thing but I do like a book with maps. I got through it and can say I enjoyed it. Very interesting. "

" A superior spy novel, exciting and evocative. There is also a hell of a lot in it about sailing, and it gets technical pretty fast, but somehow I find those passages soothing rather than boring (can't say I actually retained what they taught me tho). "

" Great! Just don't read the back of the penguin classics edition - it gives away the whole story! And it's supposed to be a mystery! Would have Lo edits en more if it wasn't for that. "

" I was very interested inreading this book. I had heard about it for years and enjoyed it very much. It was a little slow going in places then picked up and held my interst. "

" definitely a book for sailing enthusiasts. first time i read this i was utterly confused. It made a lot more sense this time around "