Sexton Blake and the Great War

*THANK YOU to Rebellion and Netgalley for graciously providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

No better way of reading this book,than to sit on a large armchair....pour yourself a glass of fine brandy in front of a crackling fireplace....and immerse yourself in it.
Our famous adventuring detective Sexton Blake is giving us a fair share of adventures and a fine way to put it into words is "he was not a man accustomed to worrying
about his own safety when the well-being of Great Britain was at
stake.".
Wether by water,in disguise,fighting enemy spies or one exchange that stuck in my head -
“Bribe?” The Kaiser’s face flushed. “I am offering you a present!”
“I apologise, sire,” Sexton Blake answered; “but I never accept
presents from rulers of foreign nations in cases like this!”
“Very well,” he said at last; “there are other ways of getting your
silence—without buying it!”
Action driven with a strong and distinctive atmosphere and as the synopsis says - As brilliant as Sherlock Holmes. As daring as James Bond.

Some months ago I was thrilled to have purchased my "The First Sexton Blake mystery" mega pak, and I absolutely loved it. Since then I have been searching for more Sexton Blake books - and this one came up and it just as wonderful as the first. More a war escapade then mystery, but it has a wonderful "Boy's Own " charm about it but for a larger audience. Set before the First World War, it picks up on the history and tensions of the time and really is a lovely dip into the past.
Will certainly look for more Sexton Blake books.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for an advance copy of Sexton Blake and the Great War, the first anthology in a projected series to feature the great detective Sexton Blake and his assistant, Tinker.

The anthology comprises of three different adventures with a war theme all written by different authors at different times, Naval Manoeuvres (Norman Goddard, 1908), On War Service (Cecil Hayter, 1916) and Private Tinker (William Murray Graydon, 1915). To put the stories in context the editor, Mark Hodder, prefaces each story with an interview with Sexton Blake.

I must admit that my only knowledge of Sexton Blake was as the idol of every schoolboy who ever appeared in Golden Age crime fiction, much more so than Sherlock Holmes, so when the opportunity to read of his exploits arose I jumped at the chance to find out what all the fuss was about. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit into bygone days and despite the stories being over 100 years old they are very readable and moreish, full of derring do, tension and excitement. I knew they were going to get out of all the tricky situations they found themselves in, but my heart was still in my mouth more often than not. It’s stirring stuff.

The “interview” sections are an inspired invention as they give snippets of information about the authors and try to frame the novellas in a context suitable for modern sensibilities, for example they explain that some of the overt racism has been removed with footnotes to explain when. Personally I’m in two minds about this decision- it makes for a more comfortable read but destroys the integrity of the text and a part of the picture of the prevailing attitudes of the time.

These really are ripping yarns with a British stiff upper lip and sense of duty. Blake refuses payment when in service for his country and is relentless in his pursuit of his mission. He seems to be master of everything from armed combat to flawless German by way of smart thinking and resourcefulness. There’s no point in examining the stories for realism or counting the number of coincidences, lucky breaks and nick of times moments as it is headache inducing, better to just go with the flow and enjoy the drama.

I had no idea that there was such a Sexton Blake industry behind the character but each author puts a slightly different slant on the character. In the first one he’s an action hero, in the second the emphasis is more on problem solving and in the third it’s about emotions. It’s interesting to see.

Sexton Blake and the Great War is escapist fiction that I have no hesitation in recommending as a good read.

Sexton Blake anthology series is a wonderful read.I settled back in my reading chair opened the book and was off following Sexton Blake& his sidekick off on their adventure .Full of mystery adventure really enjoyed will be reading more about the Sexton. #netgalley#rebelion

I love this reissue of classic stories. This is said to be volume 1 and I can't wait for the next volume. Give me more Sexton Blake!

This was a very interesting book. The characters were well written and by the end of the book you felt like you really got to know them. It was suspenseful and held my attention to the very end. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

It was great to read Sexton Blake's adventures after reading his name in an endless list of Golden Age mysteries.
It was an engrossing and entertaining read and I loved the style of writing and the well crafted plots.
I look forward to reading other stories featuring this character.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Sexton Blake and the Great War is a reformat and re-release of three short novels from WWI Britain. Originally published before and during the first world war, this reformat by Rebellion publishing is 430 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

My library is more heavily weighted to the golden age and interwar period of classic British mysteries, so Sexton Blake was not really familiar to me previously. These three works are short and easily read. They're what I would call "ripping yarns" and full of action and espionage. They're absolutely a product of their time and, despite being partially edited for modern audiences, contain some eyebrow raising casual racism and other story stopping bits of dialogue which have been mostly excised from the current release. The historical notes and introductions are cleverly written in as a dialogue instead of the dry potentially academic editing notes which often accompany such re-releases. It works quite well in context and I liked reading them very much.

The writing quality is generally pretty high, especially considering that many of these stories were banged out as public entertainment and, let's face it, propaganda for morale boosting on a very tight schedule.

I definitely would recommend the updated versions to anyone looking for light and entertaining action books, especially fans of series characters. For all my friends and acquaintances who enjoy the old John Creasey series like The Toff and The Baron, these (though set somewhat earlier in time) will fill the bill nicely.

Four stars (warning, product of its time and reflects many of the social mores and attitudes of same).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.