Customer Reviews

Field of Thirteen

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I highly recommend this book to both new Dick Francis readers and old. For the longtime reader of Francis' work, this is a refreshing reminder of another side of the author, too often played down in favor of plot excitement: subtlety and wit.

The classic Francis protagonist is the principled loner (sometimes jaded, sometimes not) who stumbles onto a mystery and into trouble, then follows through to the bitter (and successful) end, usually with numerous bruises, a couple of sprains, and probably at least one fairly serious broken bone or other bloody inconvenience. More often than not (at least in the first three decades of his books), the narrator finds love, as well. Throughout four decades of writing, Francis' stoic narrators have become a bit predictable (though still fun), which makes the unpredictability of this collection all the more enjoyable.

Relying more on irony and wit than in any other book, Francis has concocted a series of clever plots with interesting characters (really different from his usual heroes). These stories are very enjoyable and even a bit droll. They move quickly, surprise, and reward. By all means pick this one up.

At a time when Mr. Francis may be winding down his career, this collection is a real gold mine, and one last glimpse at a great mystery writer's talent.

If you type in "Field of 13" in Amazon you get about 20 books from the US Department of the Interior talking about grassland studies and the effectiveness of different pesticides. If I were you I would pick one of those documents over this book. It really is that bad, I almost thought I saw this as an episode of Simon and Simon - quick, easy plot that takes no brain power at all to comprehend. To be fair I only got to page 100 so maybe it did a 180 and got better but I doubt it.

THE PLOT OR PREMISE:
A collection of thirteen short stories, eight of which were published previously in various magazines.

WHAT I LIKED:
b) Dead on Red -- A contract killer kills a jockey for another jockey, but the results are not quite what the surviving jockey had desired. (4.00/5.00)

c) Song for Mona -- A snobbish daughter is ashamed of her mother's life and history while others find her charming and praise her. (4.00/5.00)

e) Collision Course -- An editor loses his job and runs into snobs who won't let him park his boat at their restaurant while he has dinner with three publishers. Turns out the owner is a up-and-comer who needs to win an upcoming race in order to attract horses to his farm. An interesting battle develops. (4.00/5.00)

g) Carrot for a Chestnut -- Fixing a race by doping the horse with a doctored carrot. With a great twist at the end. (3.50/5.00)

j) Blind Chance -- A man has a perfect way to know the outcomes of photo-finish races, and to make money on it. Until disaster strikes. (4.00/5.00)

k) Corkscrew -- An honest man is charged with a crime and his lawyer swindles his parents out of the bail money. He doesn't count on the road to justice being somewhat long and windy. (3.75/5.00)

l) The Day of the Losers -- Money from an old robbery is the glue that holds this story together as the police attempt to fix a race in order to catch a crook. There are twists all around at the end. (3.50/5.00)

m) Haig's Death -- All the people who have their fates resting on the outcome of a race are all affected when the decision falls to the judge, whose fate has already been decided. Multiple storylines all leading to a combined finish. (3.50/5.00)

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
a) Raid at Kingdom Hill -- A bomb scare at the racetrack, and money goes missing during the chaos. (2.00/5.00)

d) Bright White Star -- The theft of a horse from an auction and a wandering tramp who is displaced from his home on the land...includes a great set-up/intro though -- "Write us a story," they said. I asked, "What about?" "About three thousand words," they replied. (2.00/5.00)

f) Nightmare -- A horse thief is running from his past where his father was killed during a theft. (2.50/5.00)

h) The Gift -- A down-and-out alcoholic journalist finds the horseracing story of the century, but may be too drunk to write it. (2.00/5.00)

i) Spring Fever -- A woman falls in love with her jockey and is taken advantage of, at first. (2.50/5.00)

THE BOTTOM LINE:
A couple of stories are pretty good, but an average collection overall. 3.00 lilypads out of 5.00.

Other Information:
- Source: New
- Original date of review: March 2001, updated 2011.
- Tags: Action, Adventure, Amateur Detective, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Prose, Sports

As the previous two reviewers, I am a great fan of Dick Francis - in fact I inherited that status from my mother who when I was sixteen and in bed with a bad case of flu lent me one of her Dick Francis and that was it - I was hooked and trapped for life.- Same thing happened with my daughter who since early teens is an avid reader.- As we live in Uruguay - we cannot claim to have read every single one of his books as we had to make do with what it is brought to the country - and apparently not many uruguayans enjoy Dick Francis in English.- Anyway I have got at least 20 of his books ( perhaps more) and sometimes when I see a title I have to read a small review to remember whether I have already got it or if it is a new one.- What I can tell you is that although there are some books that I have enjoyed more than others - of course all the books cannot appeal to everybody the same way - he is a great writer, he has an excellent style, I love his british ways (british nanny and british schools since my grandmother downwards) and that is why I didn't agree with fellow the reviewer who in rating I think it was "Trial Run" ( I am not sure) said typical Dick Francis - british horsy stuff etc... in a rather derogative way... regarding this book - I can neither rate it nor write about it since I have not read it YET but I sure will.- and then I will get in touch with you again.- Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you.-

Short stories normally aren't my favourites. But these 13 are great. Every one of them.

This is a truly excellent collection of short stories! Dick Francis takes short departures from his typical style to bring us a grouping of stories painting vivid pictures of people we've all known. I liked these stories even better than his books, because he breaks out of his traditional formula and gives us some neat surprises.

I'm an avid Francis reader, and I grabbed this one,only to be confused by his preface.His word processor must have gone haywire.I shut the book while reading "Corkscrew";(writers who have to rely on the parenthetical expression to work in detail after detail are just lazy); I couldn't continue.I'll just have to wait for his next one.

I have purchased and read (many times over) every Dick Francis story ever written and published. I've stood in line to have his books autographed and noencounter with him - in person or in print has ever disappointed. This collection of short stories is no exception. The genre can be difficult and is not suited for everyone, but Mr. Francis does his usual grand job and I loved every minute!