Labors Of Hercules: Amazon.ca: Agatha Christie: Books

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Review

Richly devious and quite brilliant. -- San Francisco Chronicle

Book Description

A unique collection of stories featuring Hercule Poirot and linked by mythological figures and classical legend and lore. It's everything "Christie's admirers have come to expect" (New Yorker), including her fans' favorite detective in a dozen of his most unusual cases.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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4 star:		(6)
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Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars My little grey cells rejoiced, May 17 2011

By

N Rasheed (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Labours Of Hercules (Paperback)

I'm a huge Hercule Poirot fan. There is perhaps no greater detective in my opinion, solving crimes through mental processes (just the way I like to think too!). I've read this book several times in the past 5 years. The wonder of all wonders, I have a terrible memory for remembering endings, so I can reread this book at leisure every year!

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5.0 out of 5 stars 20th century Hercules, May 15 2004

By

Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Labors Of Hercules (Mass Market Paperback)

This 1947 short story collection opens in Poirot's London apartment where he is spending an evening with an old friend, Dr. Burton. The subject turns to names and Dr. Burton asks Poirot about his unusual first name, implying that Poirot does not resemble the original Hercules at all. Poirot, who had not read the Greek myths before, decides to rise to the challenge and undertake his own 12 labors. These labors are related in a linked series of short stories, each adventure is complete unto its self but most contain references to earlier stories in the arc. The stories are names after the origninal 12 labors and are:

The Nemean Lion - Poirot unmasks a dognapping gang
The Lernean Hydra - involves rumor, murder and a love triangle
The Arcadian Deer - young love sends Poirot on a long quest
The Ermanthian Boar - Poirot captures a crime lord
The Augean Stables - Poirot clears political intrigue and scandal
The Stymphalean Birds - Poirot halts a blackmail scheme
The Cretan Bull - Poirot unearths an old scandal to stop a crime
The Horses of Diomedes - Poirot breaks up a drug ring
The Girdle of Hyppolita - Poirot finds a missing art treasure
The Flock of Geryon - Poirot stops a religious conman
The Apples of the Hesperides - Poirot locates a missing treasure
The Capture of Cerberus - Poirot enters Hell for an old friend

The stories are all Christie gems, usually leading the reader astray and ending with a surprise twist. It is also amusing to see the Poirot interpretation of the labors, the lion becomes a Pekinese dog, the harpies harmless old women etc. This is a good book to take on a trip, the short story format lends itself to reading in interrupted spurts.

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4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable take on greek mythology, Mar 26 2003

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JR (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Labors Of Hercules (Mass Market Paperback)

Creative, ingenious but farfetched; still - some of Agatha's more detailed, colorful stories. (Farfetched only in that Poirot wants to retire after 12 cases and miraculously finds 12 in which to do so.) Miss Canaby in the first tale reappears in the Flock of Geryon, which later on: became the basis for a longer version in the novel The Pale Horse. (Some elements are nearly the same in short story and novel form.) The Erymanthanian Boar is set in a remote ski lodge on top of a tall mountain, which was the same location as the 1960's film version of Christie's Ten Little Indians. The writers even used the broken tramcar premise in the screenplay, perhaps inspired by or lifted from this piece. It's one of Poirot's more violent cases. Finally, The Learnean Hydra is almost an exact duplicate of the story the Cornish Mystery from the Underdog collection of stories, proving that maybe Christie might have written way too much in her long career, or simply liked to expand on her previous works. She was more prolific in her day than Danielle Steele is in this one.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Hercule Poirot goes Greek
As always, Hercule Poirot is on the verge of retirement. But before he settles down to cultivate vegetable marrows once and for all, he decides to take on twelve last cases, in... Read more

Published on Jan 19 2003 by Geert Daelemans

5.0 out of 5 stars Destroying modern monsters
If you're interested in an unabridged audio version, the Raymond Massey recording is excellent, although it omits both the prologue and the last paragraph or so of the final... Read more

Published on Mar 16 2002 by Michele L. Worley