- Mass Market Paperback: 285 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group; Bantam Crime Line e. edition (1 Mar 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553278193
- ISBN-13: 978-0553278194
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 1.9 x 17.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 135,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Fer-de-Lance (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)
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Product Description
Product Description
As any herpetologist will tell you, the fer-de-lance is among the most dreaded snakes known to man. When someone makes a present of one to Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin knows he's getting dreadully close to solving the devilishly clever murders of an immigrant and a college president. As for Wolfe, he's playing snake charmer in a case with more twists than an anaconda -- whistling a seductive tune he hopes will catch a killer who's still got poison in his heart.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clever Dialog with So-So Mystery,
By
This review is from: Fer-de-lance (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Nero Wolfe is one of the most famous detectives in fiction. Wolfe is a genius for solving murders but that is not what makes these books worth reading. It is Wolfe's eccentricities combined with the narration of Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin. Rex Stout displays clever and funny writing (especially the dialogs), to keep the story moving. Nero Wolfe is, of course, the incredibly obese detective who rarely leaves his apartment in Manhattan but sends Archie Goodwin, (his hardboiled, skirt-chasing assistant) to gather evidence for him so that Wolfe can sit in his chair and solve the case.
Fer-De-Lance is the first book in the Nero Wolfe series (there are 73 in the series) and it is amazing how fully developed the characters were even in this first book. It has been said that that you can pick up any of the novels in any order and you won't feel out of place. In this story, Wolfe is short of money (a perennial problem as he lives in an expensive apartment, with a chef, a gardener to maintain his precious orchids, and Archie on staff). Wolfe first needs to find a case that can pay him enough and he is lucky enough to find a convenient murder and even better he has a clue that the police don't have as he knows another murder is linked to the first. Slowly, and yet inexorably, Wolfe reels in the murderer and solves the case. But solving the murder is only a small part of the story. It is the narration of Archie Goodwin, the wonderful dialog, and the uniqueness of Nero Wolfe, that make this a fun story to read. There is little mystery in the actual murder but watching Wolfe crack the case and figure out how to get the evidence against the killer is pure joy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entry to the world of a legend,
By Bizgen (Liphook) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fer-de-Lance (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) (Kindle Edition)
For those of us in the huge band of followers of Nero Wolfe, this book is essential reading. It is a somewhat dated only because it is written in such beautiful English and every part of the plot is immaculately explained. And of course, there is no overt violence, except to a reptile. The reason it is essential reading is because it was published in 1934 and is the first of the 47 volumes concerning Rex Stout (if we consider the volumes of short stories as well). Fer de Lance sets the scene for Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, the genius detective and his smart sidekick; in the Kindle edition there is even a map of the office (not quite as I imagined it, and full and fascinating notes on the characters, which were never intended for publication, but have been eagerly enjoyed by his huge following. Because he cleverly referred to previous cases, I did not realise that this was the first in series. One has to read every word to understand the full and quite complicated plot. It is a relatively long novel, if one compares it to some that follow. All the better for that. But it was satisfying and interesting explore the machinations of the devious killer as he is outwitted at every turn by our brilliant master investigator. We are given the first delicious intimations of books to come, the interest in gourmet cooking for the gourmand that is Wolfe. His orchid sideline is introduced. Maybe some of the books that follow are a little slicker, a little more amusing. Rex Stout was part of his characters by then. But you have to read this book to get the most out of the rest. I loved it and couldn't put it down, the last third I was stuck at the breakfast table in my dressing gown until I finished it at noon. Unheard of, for me!
3.0 out of 5 stars
The introduction to great characters in detective fiction,
By
This review is from: Fer-de-lance (Nero Wolfe Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
First Sentence: There was no reason why I shouldn't have been sent for the beer that day, for the last ends of the Fairmont National Bank case had been gathered in the week before and there was nothing for me to do but errands, and Wolfe never hesitated about running me down to Murray Street for a can of shoe-polish if he happened to need one.
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin's first published case becomes one of two parts; a young woman hires Wolfe to find her missing brother, and a college president has been murdered on the golf course. The link: a golf club. The fun of reading Nero Wolfe is not the plot, although this one did have a good twist to it, but for the characters. On one hand, you have Wolfe, the corpulent, beer drinking, gourmand who has orchids cultivated in his attic conservatory. He is well-read, well-spoken, often difficult to deal with yet a brilliant deductive and intuitive thinker. On the other hand is Archie, orphaned as a child, lives in Wolfe's brownstone, uses common English, and drinks milk. The two characters are complete opposites but one immediately senses the underlying respect and affection which goes beyond a working relationship. It is the dialogue, as well as the relationship of these two characters, that make the book, and series, work. An interesting aspect to this book is that we meet the characters seven years in, so references to previous cases abound. In most cases, this would annoy me as there would be that sense of something missing. Stout, however, is so adept in his writing and his characters are so well developed, the previous case references simply become historical notations. Stout was writing in present time, now history to us. Because of that, we are presented a living sense of time, place, social mores and behavior. There were certain expressions, common at the time. They are objectionable to us today and serve as a reminder of our advancement from the past. One element with which I did have a problem, was some of Archie's slang. There were times I had to re-read sentences or paragraphs to understand what he was saying. It was fun to go back and re-visit Nero and Archie, but not so much as to make me want to reread all the books. However, if you've never read Rex Stout, I do recommend picking up at least a few of his books. FER-DE-LANCE (Pri Inv-Nero Wolf/Archie Goodwin-New York City-Golden Age/1934) - Good Stout, Rex - 1st in series Bantam Books, ©1934, US Paperback - ISBN: 0553278193
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