The Blackbird vs Windmills of the gods: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Spy Fiction, Fiction
The Blackbird
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Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, he wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hardboiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using…
Windmills of the gods
“Stanton Rogers was destined to be President of the United States.”
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A college professor, a naive Kansan, becomes the US ambassador to Romania and learns a lot about life.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Blackbird is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for Windmills of the gods.
- Windmills of the gods has the widest readership — 32345 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| The Blackbird | Windmills of the gods | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.7 (679) | 3.9 (32345) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.7 (36) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (55) |
Reception
| The Blackbird | Windmills of the gods | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 679 | 32345 |
| Editions | 10 | 14 |
| Citations | — | 1 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 265 | 7999 |
| Reading it now | 36 | 530 |
| Written reviews | 85 | 826 |
| Wikipedia attention | 252 | 802 |
| Pages | 184 | 384 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Blackbird or Windmills of the gods?
Windmills of the gods has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Windmills of the gods 3.9/5, The Blackbird 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Blackbird or Windmills of the gods?
The Blackbird is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Blackbird (184 pages, ≈ 3 h 24 m); Windmills of the gods (384 pages, ≈ 7 h 07 m).
Which is harder to read: The Blackbird or Windmills of the gods?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Blackbird: Moderate; Windmills of the gods: Moderate.