Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Retelling of the Legendary Caper
Review: Drawing heavily from court records and testimony, Chrichton's novel of historical fiction recreates the ingenious planning and execution of perhaps the most famous crime in British history. It's a novel in a very loose sense of the word, since throughout the book, Chrichton stops the proceedings to explain Victorian social customs for several pages at a time. But this is not a complaint at all, for the details on dog fighting, rats, gender roles, fear of premature burial, chimney sweeps, tipping servants, the Crimean War, safecracking, and most importantly urbanization and railroads, are all integral to the crime, and fascinating historical tidbits in their own right. Central to the entire crime is the understanding that in the 1855, there was no such thing as dynamite or other explosives, so safes really were impregnable without keys or unlimited to time to pick them. Thus, the robbery of the monthly gold shipment that traveled by rail to France to pay for the Crimean War was deemed inconceivable, as opening the safes required four keys which were held in three separate locations. However, along comes Edward Pierce, a safecracker and master con artist who wanted that gold. The book tells how using an incredible array of scams, assistants and associates, misdirection, boldness, and quick thinking, he obtains copies of the four keys and embarks on the theft of the century. Crichton does this is a fairly documentary style for the most part, however the dialogue amongst the criminals sparkles with period underworld slang (all of which he stops to explain). The story is recounted with continual reference to the trial, so its clear from the get go that the plot was successful, yet somehow the plotters were caught. Even knowing this in advance, the suspense is maintained throughout as the plotters encounter unexpected difficulties, last minute roadblocks, and increased police attention. And despite this knowledge of the trial, the ultimate outcome is shocker. I can't say how closely Chrichton adhered to the facts of the plot, but the social context of mid-19th century England he puts it in is certainly well researched and accurate. Sure to please fans of of the David Mamet films House of Games, The Spanish Prisoner, The Heist, and of course the classic George Hill movie, The Sting.
Rating:
Summary: Michael Crichton does it again
Review: The Great Train Robbery is a fantastic novel. It is well thought out and perfectly sequenced. The book is separated into five sections, or parts. The first two parts give us background information of the characters, and detail the preparations made for the robbery. The third part details the delays and inconveniences that got in the way of a faster, smoother operation. The fourth part is the actual robbery, and the fifth, well, you'll see. One of my favorite things about Crichton is he does his research. He knows what he's talking about. Not only will you learn about "The Great Train Robbery" in this book, but you will get a great description of life in Victorian England in the 1800's. All in all, a fantastic book that has you staring at the front cover in admiration for a few minutes after you finish. The beginning is a little slow, but stick with it. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: An Ingenious Tale of Crime
Review: The Great Train Robbery follows an upper-class English man named Pierce as he plans, prepares, and executes an ingenious robbery scheme. Pierce uses his position in society to avoid suspicion while also utilizing connections with the lower class to find the perfect accomplices. His greatest asset is his understanding of human psychology, because it allows him to trick or persuade nearly everyone who stands in his way.
The story is written in documentary style, with references to the trial of Pierce and his accomplices from the very beginning. I was thoroughly convinced that it was a true story, though I now understand that it is only loosely based on fact. Chrichton does a great job of setting the scene by using the working class slang of Victorian England. He also gives us plenty of background information that pertains to the crime and the period in which it was committed. I was very impressed with this novel, and also with the reading of the audio version. The reader adjusted his voice and manner of speaking for each individual character, and added just the right amount of emotion to each part of the script.
Rating: 
Summary: The Great Train Robbery, A Masterpiece. (almost)
Review: Crichton succeeds in one of his earlier novels. He describes the planning and execution of the robbery beautifully. This is defininatly one of his very best.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Captivating Novel
Review: The book was incredibly captivating and exciting. It's about the Great Train Robbery in Great Britain in the mid 1800s. The book had an exceptional plot and sensational characters. It started off with an introduction to a master con-artist and introduced other characters as the plot un-ravelled. It truly brought you into hte criminal's head which made the plot easy to understand. The book contains some mature parts, however so I would recommend this to any teen or older. Everyone who read it in my class, enjoyed it and I believe you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Great historical novel
Review: This thrilling historical fiction book tells of a perfect gentleman and a criminal, Edward Pierce, and how he steals a gold shipment from a train traveling from London to Crimea. The story takes place mainly in Victorian London. Throughout the book, Pierce devises a plan to steal the gold and contacts different criminals and friends to help him. A great technique of Michael Chriton is his referring back and forth between the event and the subsequent trial. This keeps you wondering how Pierce and his criminals got caught and if they will escape. This book is perfect for readers who like Chriton's other books such as Jurrasic Park or The Lost World. This novel is full of suspense and wonderful details.
Rating:
Summary: The great train robbery
Review: A most excellent book which leaves you thinking, how much of this is real, all of it, any of it?? Can't tear your eyes away!!
Rating:
Summary: 10 Stars!!!
Review: Im twelve and I've read all Michael Crichton's books and I loved The Great Train Robbery the best by far. It was fast paced. Chrichton tells the story as if he were watching the trial and reporting what happened and what was said during the trial and after it. Edward Peirce a great mastermind cracksman who becomes so famous even Queen Victoria wants to attend his hanging. Peirce plans to rob a train delivering gold buillion to the troops at war. He gathers a crew of criminals to help him. I would recomend this book and any other michael crichton bookto anyone of any age. There great for guys and girls.
Rating:
Summary: Michael Crichton is a master!
Review: You might think when you first start reading this that it is a boring history lesson. Your wrong! Michael Crichton is the master of turning a history lesson into a action packed book that is non-fiction. This is a must have for Michael Crichton fans and anyone who likes a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written
Review: I've just started to love Michael Crichton so I picked up this book, mostly because it is a true story. I thought it was boring at times, but I learned a lot, The book was like a documentary/ fiction story. I thought the characters were described very well and I marvelled at how genius Edward Pierce was and cool through-out the entire book. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn a lot and are smart, if your not smart and hate or hated school then you probably won't like this book.
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