Lord of the Nutcracker men vs The Machine Gunners: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: World War, War, Historical Fiction, History, Children's fiction, Fiction
Lord of the Nutcracker men
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Ten-year-old Johnny eagerly plays at war with the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. He demolishes imaginary foes. But in 1914 Germany looms as the real enemy of Europe, and all too soon…
The Machine Gunners
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After an air raid, a group of English children find a German machine gun and hide it from adults who are looking for it.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Lord of the Nutcracker men has the widest readership — 582 ratings behind its score.
- Lord of the Nutcracker men runs the darker storyline; The Machine Gunners stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Lord of the Nutcracker men | The Machine Gunners | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (582) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1) | 4.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (1) | 4.5 (2) |
Reception
| Lord of the Nutcracker men | The Machine Gunners | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 582 | 2 |
| Editions | 5 | 20 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 377 | — |
| Reading it now | 17 | — |
| Written reviews | 102 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 32 | 861 |
| Pages | 212 | 187 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Lord of the Nutcracker men or The Machine Gunners?
Lord of the Nutcracker men has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Lord of the Nutcracker men 3.9/5, The Machine Gunners 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Lord of the Nutcracker men or The Machine Gunners?
The Machine Gunners is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Machine Gunners (187 pages, ≈ 3 h 28 m); Lord of the Nutcracker men (212 pages, ≈ 3 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: Lord of the Nutcracker men or The Machine Gunners?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Lord of the Nutcracker men: Light; The Machine Gunners: Light.
Have both books been made into films?
Lord of the Nutcracker men: no film adaptation on record; The Machine Gunners: 1 film adaptation.