Pale Kings and Princes vs The Widening Gyre: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Spenser, Massachusetts, Boston, Private investigators, Fiction
Pale Kings and Princes
“The sun that brief December day shone weakly through the west-facing window of Garrett Kingsley's office.”
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Spenser is hired to determine whether a reporter was killed by dope dealers or by an irate husband.
The Widening Gyre
“I was nursing a bottle of Murphy's Irish Whiskey, drinking it from the neck of the bottle sparingly, and looking down from the window of my office at Berkeley Street where it crosses Boylstone.”
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The adoring wife of a senatorial candidate has a smile as sweet as candy and dots her "i's" with little hearts. A blond beauty, she is the perfect mate for an ambitious politician, but she has a little problem with sex…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Widening Gyre is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 5 for Pale Kings and Princes.
- The Widening Gyre has the widest readership — 341 ratings behind its score.
- Pale Kings and Princes reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 2 times.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Pale Kings and Princes | The Widening Gyre | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.0 (42) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (14) | 4.3 (14) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (258) | 4.0 (341) |
Reception
| Pale Kings and Princes | The Widening Gyre | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 258 | 341 |
| Editions | 5 | 13 |
| Citations | 2 | 1 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 102 | 120 |
| Pages | 312 | 183 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Pale Kings and Princes or The Widening Gyre?
The Widening Gyre has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Widening Gyre 4.0/5, Pale Kings and Princes 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: Pale Kings and Princes or The Widening Gyre?
The Widening Gyre is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Widening Gyre (183 pages, ≈ 3 h 23 m); Pale Kings and Princes (312 pages, ≈ 5 h 47 m).
Which is harder to read: Pale Kings and Princes or The Widening Gyre?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Pale Kings and Princes: Moderate; The Widening Gyre: Moderate.