A ripping yarn, as my fellow reviewer Kay said.

"Remember, it is always the empty desert and the empty sky that cast their spell over them - these, and the hot, strong, antiseptic sunlight which burns up all rot and decay... It isn't inhuman. It's the humanity of one part of the human race." p.183 (of my edition).

British Intelligence officers are sent to put a stop to the Germans using a Muslim uprising in Turkey to win against the allies in WWI. They get into a mighty lot of dangerous scrapes, but lo and behold, at the last minute they always get conveniently saved. ( )

Greenmantle was published in 1916 midway through the first world war. It is a fast paced adventure story that is filled with heroic exploits during the war. It is the second of the five novels featuring Richard Hannay: the first and most famous [The 39 Steps] had taken place just before the start of the war. In this novel war is a glorious business: a great show in which any real man should be proud to be involved. The climax of the novel features the capture of the town of Erzurum by the Russians from the Turks, which had taken place in February 1915.

Richard Hannay volunteers to go on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. His task is to find details of a rumoured rising of Islamic forces that are being nurtured by the Germans. A religious leader will rise and lead the faithful to a victory over the West. Hannay has a scrap of paper on which three short phrases from a British spy uttered on his death bed have been recorded. He sets off with two close allies, each one making separate fact finding journeys through Germany to rendezvous in Istanbul.

This world of adventures is for manly heroes battling against overwhelming odds. Unfortunately one of their adversaries proves to be a woman, who creates havoc in the minds of the men. Hannay admits:

Women had never come much my way, and I knew about as much of their ways as I knew about the Chinese language. All my life I had lived with men only, and rather a rough crowd at that.

The novel is both sexist and racist and celebrates the glory of fighting men, published at a time when Britain and its allies were locked in a war against the Germans. If this does not disturb you too much and you are prepared to take it for what it was at the time of its publication, then the novel does have some attraction. Buchan has the ability to hold the readers attention with his descriptions of scenarios; whether it is a fight to the death in a locked room, a fugitive struggling to avoid capture in a foreign city or an artillery bombardment on the field of battle. His description of Istanbul during the war years and the final battle outside Erzurum are memorable and he keeps the story moving along, although there is always the necessity for the principal characters to win through with some fortunate coincidences or chance meetings. As unrealistic as this novel is, there is time for the characters to reflect on their situation, even if this reflection is tempered by the desire to uphold the fairness and sportsmanship of the upper classes.

If this novel climbs above its comic book status, then it does so only briefly. I was able to enjoy the more atmospheric situations and so 3 stars. ( )

After sustaining an injury at the Battle of Loos (1915) Major Richard Hannay is given a mission to investigate the rumours that are circulating in Europe of an uprising in the Muslim area. He is aided in the task by John Blenkiron, Sandy (aka Ludovick Gustavus Arbuthnot) and Peter Pienaar. All the information they have are three words - Kasredin, cancer and v.I.
An enjoyable thriller, originally written in 1916 ( )

I get the feeling that John Buchan was surprised that The 39 Steps, the slim spy thriller he tossed off on the eve of World War I, became a success. He reprised its protagonist, Richard Hannay, for an extended, convoluted tale set during that war.
After the amateur Hannay’s success in foiling the Black Stone in that first book, it’s no surprise that the military quickly recognized his abilities. When this book opens, he is a major, convalescing from his wounds, and on the verge of appointment to lead his own battalion.
Sir Walter Bullivant intervenes. He runs British counter-intelligence under cover of a desk job in the foreign office. A man with Hannay’s natural gift for spydom can’t be wasted merely commanding a battalion if instead, he could be foiling the holy war that the nefarious Germans are plotting to stir up in the Middle East.
A big task, so he’s not expected to do it alone. His number two at the front, Sandy, wounded alongside Hannay and now recovering, turns out to have spent the pre-war years networking in the Ottoman and Russian Empires, picking up languages, allies, and secret identities. Nice coincidence, that. One of many. Hannay, changing boats in Portugal on his way to be inserted into Germany, just happens to run into Peter, an old companion from his days in the veldts of southern Africa. Hannay drafts Peter into the scheme. Rounding out the quartet of spies is an overweight, dyspeptic, wealthy American, John S. Blenkiron, who inserts himself into Germany by posing as himself (the U. S hadn’t yet entered the war). The four make their way, separately or in tandem, to their rendezvous in Constantinople, where they hope to be able to flesh out the spare clues Bullivant had provided them and then find a way to thwart whatever is planned.
Spoiler alert: they accomplish their mission, but it’s dicey along the way. Your enjoyment of the tale will depend on your tolerance for lucky breaks and unlikely encounters (we’ll leave aside the improbability of a Dutchman — the secret identity of Hannay — understanding neither German nor English). Whenever things seem hopeless, the right person unexpectedly turns up, or there is a fortunate turn in the weather (either for the better or the worse, whichever is needed for our heroes).
While reading the book, I took this for the mark of an inept novelist. On reconsideration, I think there might be an alternate explanation. This combination of fortitude and fortune reminds me of the moral universe of Homer and Herodotus. This male band of brothers exults in danger. The prospect of their death doesn’t daunt them, only the possibility they might fail to carry out what they were sent to do. Their boldness is rooted in trust in divine providence. These are the ethics of Achilles, ready to laud an opposing Hector even while viewing most of their adversaries as evil. And for the main antagonist, Buchan has created a woman as fearsome as Hera. She might be the most memorable character of the book. ( )

Really solid WWI spy adventure from Buchan, party of the Richard Hannay series. Really a ripping good adventure story. Unfortunately, it started out so slow and talky that I almost gave up on it. I'm glad I didn't though. This one has Hannay spying for the Brits in the Ottoman Empire. Interesting and fun. ( )