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gossamerwingedgazelle's review against another edition
In the forward, the author indicates that this book isn't really very good. Perhaps that biased me, but when I started to find it boring, I decided that I'd set it aside for now. Perhaps I'll come back to it, but I'll try reading the next one first.
booksblanketsandahotbeverage's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
The introduction to another long series of books, radio and film, this story was disavowed by the author. Only his third novel, the introduction for a 1980 reprint states "I can see so much wrong with it that I am humbly astonished that it got published at all". While rough at times, it was a decent thriller, and contains passages that really shine.
Simon Templar in this novel is more a dilettante than the Robin Hood character he would become. Established in a small seaside English village, he is there to root out the Tiger, a gang leader who stole a large sum of gold in Chicago - then return that gold for a 20% reward. In this story, we don't know who the Tiger is - and neither does Simon. This town has a large cast of characters with an interest in this business.
These characters are also hit and miss, some pure caricature. One is a direct nod to the writing of contemporary Wodehouse (What ho?). The strongest character is Patricia Holm, and she carried much of the latter half of the story. She occurred frequently in later stories, but never in the radio or television stories.
Much like Sherlock Holmes, the Saint's stories appear in a scatter of novels, novellas and short stories. While not the fully fledged gentleman bandit he would be come, there are enough pieces of him here to make the book worth reading (despite what the author said). One must also ignore the wrap up to the story, as Charteris didn't plan on a series when he wrote this novel. I have a trove of these stories on my eReader, and look forward to many more pleasurable evenings spent with The Saint.
Simon Templar in this novel is more a dilettante than the Robin Hood character he would become. Established in a small seaside English village, he is there to root out the Tiger, a gang leader who stole a large sum of gold in Chicago - then return that gold for a 20% reward. In this story, we don't know who the Tiger is - and neither does Simon. This town has a large cast of characters with an interest in this business.
These characters are also hit and miss, some pure caricature. One is a direct nod to the writing of contemporary Wodehouse (What ho?). The strongest character is Patricia Holm, and she carried much of the latter half of the story. She occurred frequently in later stories, but never in the radio or television stories.
Much like Sherlock Holmes, the Saint's stories appear in a scatter of novels, novellas and short stories. While not the fully fledged gentleman bandit he would be come, there are enough pieces of him here to make the book worth reading (despite what the author said). One must also ignore the wrap up to the story, as Charteris didn't plan on a series when he wrote this novel. I have a trove of these stories on my eReader, and look forward to many more pleasurable evenings spent with The Saint.
jonjeffryes's review against another edition
3.0
The version I read was called “Meet—The Tiger!” which I like better. The saint is more Raffles than Hercule Poirot with the focus more on derring-do and witticisms than mystery. The central mystery —Who is the ‘Tiger’?—feels underdeveloped as you only barely get to meet the cast of characters. The book gets better as it goes on and The Saint and his female partner Patricia are fun characters. It’s especially refreshing to read a female character 1929 who is written as an equal to her male counterpart.
erraticeldandil's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
smcleish's review
4.0
Originally published on my blog here in May 2003.
Before changing publishers to Hodder and Stoughton, a move which coincided with his writing career suddenly taking off, Leslie Charteris wrote about half a dozen thrillers for Ward, Lock & Co. Meet the Tiger is one of these, and is a Saint book, written three or four years before the novel which Hodder designated as the first in that long series, Enter the Saint. It's gone on to be comparatively forgotten ever since, with fewer reprints making it harder to track down. (I've been collecting Leslie Charteris for about twenty years, and this was the first copy I'd ever seen.)
Meet the Tiger derives much of its character from the juxtaposition of two widely separate worlds: the Chicago gangster culture and a sleepy, tiny Devon fishing village (these were the days before mass car ownership brought tourism to such picturesque settings). The Saint has come to Baynscombe on the trail of a massive hoard of stolen bullion, but has to work out which of the village characters are members of the Tiger's gang (known as the Cubs) and, most importantly, who is the Tiger himself. The situation is complicated by his first meeting with Patricia Holm, destined to be a part of many of the novels which eventually followed.
The most interesting question any Saint fan has about Meet the Tiger is how the series characters in their earliest manifestation match up with their later versions. (As well as Simon Templar and Patricia Holm, Meet the Tiger also introduces the Saint's manservant, Orace.) In fact, there is not all that much difference; the facetiae are not quite as polished and lighthearted, and it would be odd to describe the later Saint as "inexperienced with women". Orace is given a big part, in contrast to the way that he later fades into the background as other sidekicks come along. Patricia is much the same, the beautiful young woman who is nearly as competent an adventurer as Simon; it is nice to read the story of their original meeting at last.
It is in the plotting that Charteris shows his inexperience, a flaw which Meet the Tiger shares with the other pre-Hodder books that I have read. Like many thirties thriller writers, Charteris consistently shows a liking for the fantastic - incredible disguises, villains leading double lives as respectable citizens, and so on. Later on, he can make it seem believable (The Saint in New York being an outstanding example), but here the creakiness of the plot is quite clear. [b:Enter The Saint|1793043|Enter The Saint|Leslie Charteris|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328997839s/1793043.jpg|2275124][b:The Saint In New York|1988609|The Saint In New York|Leslie Charteris|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329045615s/1988609.jpg|1992202]
Before changing publishers to Hodder and Stoughton, a move which coincided with his writing career suddenly taking off, Leslie Charteris wrote about half a dozen thrillers for Ward, Lock & Co. Meet the Tiger is one of these, and is a Saint book, written three or four years before the novel which Hodder designated as the first in that long series, Enter the Saint. It's gone on to be comparatively forgotten ever since, with fewer reprints making it harder to track down. (I've been collecting Leslie Charteris for about twenty years, and this was the first copy I'd ever seen.)
Meet the Tiger derives much of its character from the juxtaposition of two widely separate worlds: the Chicago gangster culture and a sleepy, tiny Devon fishing village (these were the days before mass car ownership brought tourism to such picturesque settings). The Saint has come to Baynscombe on the trail of a massive hoard of stolen bullion, but has to work out which of the village characters are members of the Tiger's gang (known as the Cubs) and, most importantly, who is the Tiger himself. The situation is complicated by his first meeting with Patricia Holm, destined to be a part of many of the novels which eventually followed.
The most interesting question any Saint fan has about Meet the Tiger is how the series characters in their earliest manifestation match up with their later versions. (As well as Simon Templar and Patricia Holm, Meet the Tiger also introduces the Saint's manservant, Orace.) In fact, there is not all that much difference; the facetiae are not quite as polished and lighthearted, and it would be odd to describe the later Saint as "inexperienced with women". Orace is given a big part, in contrast to the way that he later fades into the background as other sidekicks come along. Patricia is much the same, the beautiful young woman who is nearly as competent an adventurer as Simon; it is nice to read the story of their original meeting at last.
It is in the plotting that Charteris shows his inexperience, a flaw which Meet the Tiger shares with the other pre-Hodder books that I have read. Like many thirties thriller writers, Charteris consistently shows a liking for the fantastic - incredible disguises, villains leading double lives as respectable citizens, and so on. Later on, he can make it seem believable (The Saint in New York being an outstanding example), but here the creakiness of the plot is quite clear. [b:Enter The Saint|1793043|Enter The Saint|Leslie Charteris|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328997839s/1793043.jpg|2275124][b:The Saint In New York|1988609|The Saint In New York|Leslie Charteris|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329045615s/1988609.jpg|1992202]
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