Two young Englishmen, messing about in boats, notice some suspicious German naval activities -- and are drawn into a world of intrigue and excitement!
Reviews
The tale becomes more and more gripping
5
By Priscilla Rockwood
Two stories run side by side: the riddle of the title, concerning an unknown threat to England, and the redemption of a feckless civil servant named - naturally - Carruthers. The setting is lovely; the life aboard ship is vividly described; the author never leaves important details vague. The story gets gradually faster, and as the adventure of the heroes slowly gets near to the core of the plot, the tale becomes more and more gripping.
A fascinating nautical adventure full of mystery and intrigue.
5
By Marcus Shilley
Written in 1903, this is one of the greatest yachting adventure stories of all time. Additionally it is a darn good mystery. The story's charm comes from the interaction of two quintessentially English men who were once school chums -- the aristocratic Carruthers, who serves as narrator and secondary protagonist, and the shy, eccentric Davies, whose obsessive desire to check out a hunch sets them on an epic quest. The story's power comes from the North Sea, whose 12-foot tides and wild storms have carved out a unique marine landscape between the Friesian barrier islands and the Dutch and northern German coast. A silty body of mostly shallow water at high tide, a mostly walkable expanse ravine-scarred mudflats at low tide, and an astonishing spectacle of slow and fast-moving water when the tide is changing, this hybrid land- and seascape is, indeed, a riddle of the sands.
The novel is a rich amalgam of intrigue and adventure, which opens the readers eyes to a landscape/seascape which few have seen. And it plays out against the gathering storm clouds of war. A fascinating nautical adventure full of mystery and intrigue.
Agatha Christie, Edgar Wallace, Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, R. Austin Freeman, H. C. McNeile, G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Morrison, Ernest Bramah, Victor L. Whitechurch, Thomas W. Hanshew, E. W. Hornung, J. S. Fletcher, Rober Barr, Frank Froest, C. N. Williamson, A. M. Williamson, Isabel Ostander, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur B. Reeve, Émile Gaboriau, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Richard Marsh, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Arthur J. Rees, Carolyn Wells, William Le Queux, Frank L. Packard, Fred M. White, Allan Pinkerton, Marcel Allain, Pierre Souvestre, E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Anna Maynard Barbour, A. E. W. Mason, Louis Tracy, Auguste Groner, Sax Rohmer, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Cleveland Moffett, Louis Joseph Vance, Jackson Gregory, Frank H. Spearman, Murray Leinster, Erskine Childers, Dorothy L. Sayers, Freeman Wills Crofts, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, H.C. Bailey, H. Beam Piper, James Hay, Melville Davisson Post, Anna Katharine Green, Ambrose Bierce, John R. Coryell, Frederic Arnold Kummer & Arthur Cheney Train
Agatha Christie, Edgar Wallace, Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, R. Austin Freeman, H. C. McNeile, G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Morrison, Ernest Bramah, Victor L. Whitechurch, Thomas W. Hanshew, E. W. Hornung, J. S. Fletcher, Rober Barr, Frank Froest, C. N. Williamson, A. M. Williamson, Isabel Ostander, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur B. Reeve, Émile Gaboriau, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Richard Marsh, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Arthur J. Rees, Carolyn Wells, William Le Queux, Frank L. Packard, Fred M. White, Allan Pinkerton, Marcel Allain, Pierre Souvestre, E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Anna Maynard Barbour, A. E. W. Mason, Louis Tracy, Auguste Groner, Sax Rohmer, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Cleveland Moffett, Louis Joseph Vance, Jackson Gregory, Frank H. Spearman, Murray Leinster, Erskine Childers, Dorothy L. Sayers, Freeman Wills Crofts, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, H.C. Bailey, H. Beam Piper, James Hay, Melville Davisson Post, Anna Katharine Green, Ambrose Bierce, John R. Coryell, Frederic Arnold Kummer & Arthur Cheney Train
Henry Rider Haggard, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, John Buchan, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Anthony Hope, Erskine Childers, Allen Upward, Fred Merrick White, Grant Allen, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, William Andrew Johnston, Marcel Allain, Edgar Wallace, Thomas Hardy, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, AtoZ Classics, Frederic Arnold Kummer & Louis Joseph Vance
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Walter Scott, Daniel Defoe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D. H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, H.G. Wells, Edgar Wallace, R. Austin Freeman, Anna Katharine Green, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Ernest Bramah, Sapper, Arthur Morrison, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan, Robert William Chambers, E. Phillips Oppenheim, J. S. Fletcher, Richard Marsh, Annie Haynes, Alexandre Dumas, Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, Émile Gaboriau, Marcel Allain, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Washington Irving, Guy de Maupassant, E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Sax Rohmer, Erskine Childers, E. W. Hornung, Earl Derr Biggers & S. S. Van Dine
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Arthur Conan Doyle, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Walter Scott, Daniel Defoe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D. H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, H.G. Wells, R. Austin Freeman, Anna Katharine Green, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Ernest Bramah, Sapper, Arthur Morrison, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan, Robert William Chambers, E. Phillips Oppenheim, J. S. Fletcher, Richard Marsh, Annie Haynes, Alexandre Dumas, Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, Émile Gaboriau, Marcel Allain, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Washington Irving, Guy de Maupassant, E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Sax Rohmer, Erskine Childers, E. W. Hornung, Earl Derr Biggers & S. S. Van Dine
Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Walter Scott, Daniel Defoe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D. H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, H.G. Wells, Edgar Wallace, R. Austin Freeman, Anna Katharine Green, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Sapper, Ernest Bramah, Arthur Morrison, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan, Robert William Chambers, E. Phillips Oppenheim, J. S. Fletcher, Richard Marsh, Annie Haynes, Alexandre Dumas, Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, Émile Gaboriau, Marcel Allain, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Washington Irving, Guy de Maupassant, E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Sax Rohmer, Erskine Childers, E. W. Hornung, Earl Derr Biggers & S. S. Van Dine
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Walter Scott, Daniel Defoe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D. H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, H.G. Wells, Edgar Wallace, R. Austin Freeman, Anna Katharine Green, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Ernest Bramah, Sapper, Arthur Morrison, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Robert William Chambers, J. S. Fletcher, Richard Marsh, Annie Haynes, Alexandre Dumas, Maurice Leblanc, Gaston Leroux, Émile Gaboriau, Marcel Allain, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, H. P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Washington Irving, Guy de Maupassant, E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Sax Rohmer, Erskine Childers, E. W. Hornung & Earl Derr Biggers
Edgar Allan Poe, Anna Katharine Green, Louis Tracy, Jackson Gregory, Carolyn Wells, Louis Joseph Vance, Arthur Cheney Train, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Bramah, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Arthur Morrison, Cleveland Moffett, Agatha Christie, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Sax Rohmer, Ambrose Bierce, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Thomas W. Hanshew, Murray Leinster, Allan Pinkerton, H. Beam Piper, Auguste Groner, Freeman Wills Crofts, James Hay, Edgar Wallace, Frank Froest, Pierre Souvestre, Marcel Allain, Melville Davisson Post, Frederic Arnold Kummer, Richard Marsh, Arthur J. Rees, E. Phillips Oppenheim, J. S. Fletcher, C. N. Williamson, A. M. Williamson, R. Austin Freeman, A. E. W. Mason, E. W. Hornung, Frank L. Packard, A. A. Milne, Arthur B. Reeve, E. C. Bentley, Frank H. Spearman, H. C. McNeile, Fred M. White, Dorothy L. Sayers, Émile Gaboriau, Victor L. Whitechurch, Catherine Louisa Pirkis, John R. Coryell, Rober Barr, Isabel Ostander, Anna Maynard Barbour, William Le Queux, G.K. Chesterton & H. C. Bailey
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
Marcel Allain, Grant Allen, John Buchan, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Erskine Childers, Wilkie Collins, Arthur Griffiths, Henry Rider Haggard, Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hope, William Andrew Johnston, Frederic Arnold Kummer, William Le Queux, Frank Norris, Edward Phillips Oppenheim, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Allen Upward, Louis Joseph Vance, Edgar Wallace & Fred Merrick White
