MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

SensualPoet · 08-19-2011, 09:27 PM

There are few writers as prolific as Rex Stout, and fewer still who dedicated so many novels to the same character. In this case, The League of Frightened Men, originally published as a magazine serial over six weeks in the Saturday Evening Post in 1935, Nero Wolfe appears as the star of the second novel in the series along with Archie Goodwin (his right hand man), Fritz Brenner (his live-in chef) and Theodore Horstmann (his orchid man). Other regulars, like Saul Panzer and Fred Durkin, Wolfe's men on the street, and Inspector Cramer of the New York City Police Homicide Division, make critical appearances. There is something especially thrilling encountering beloved characters in these early moments of birth and definition.

Paul Chapin is a successful novelist and playwright who, twenty years earlier, was the victim of a hazing incident at Harvard which left him partially crippled. Several of the men involved in the "prank" tried over the years to make amends and informally referred to themselves as the "League of Atonement". Now, one of the pranksters has died and a note, in the form of a poem, has been sent to the members predicting doom for the others. When a second death occurs, the "League of Frightened Men" are persuaded to engage Wolfe to stop Chapin who is suspected of stalking them. But is Chapin guilty? He is certainly bitter and refuses to help though he denies he is involved. And then another death occurs ....

It's very hard not to be thoroughly charmed by the plotting, the characters and Stout's natural style at flippant, wry dialogue. The stories are told from Goodwin's perspective, a very loyal employee of Wolfe, but his own man, too, and with interests in the fairer sex piqued but never side-tracking his mission. You may want to keep your highlighter handy to share the marvelously unexpected turns of phrase that emerge from Goodwin and, especially, Wolfe. First rate read for mystery buffs and lovers on 1930s American fiction.

Available for Kindle and Kobo for about $10 and in many public libraries as an ebook for free.

08-19-2011, 09:27 PM	#420
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Rex Stout - The League of Frightened Men There are few writers as prolific as Rex Stout, and fewer still who dedicated so many novels to the same character. In this case, The League of Frightened Men, originally published as a magazine serial over six weeks in the Saturday Evening Post in 1935, Nero Wolfe appears as the star of the second novel in the series along with Archie Goodwin (his right hand man), Fritz Brenner (his live-in chef) and Theodore Horstmann (his orchid man). Other regulars, like Saul Panzer and Fred Durkin, Wolfe's men on the street, and Inspector Cramer of the New York City Police Homicide Division, make critical appearances. There is something especially thrilling encountering beloved characters in these early moments of birth and definition. Paul Chapin is a successful novelist and playwright who, twenty years earlier, was the victim of a hazing incident at Harvard which left him partially crippled. Several of the men involved in the "prank" tried over the years to make amends and informally referred to themselves as the "League of Atonement". Now, one of the pranksters has died and a note, in the form of a poem, has been sent to the members predicting doom for the others. When a second death occurs, the "League of Frightened Men" are persuaded to engage Wolfe to stop Chapin who is suspected of stalking them. But is Chapin guilty? He is certainly bitter and refuses to help though he denies he is involved. And then another death occurs .... It's very hard not to be thoroughly charmed by the plotting, the characters and Stout's natural style at flippant, wry dialogue. The stories are told from Goodwin's perspective, a very loyal employee of Wolfe, but his own man, too, and with interests in the fairer sex piqued but never side-tracking his mission. You may want to keep your highlighter handy to share the marvelously unexpected turns of phrase that emerge from Goodwin and, especially, Wolfe. First rate read for mystery buffs and lovers on 1930s American fiction. Available for Kindle and Kobo for about $10 and in many public libraries as an ebook for free.