Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Read
Review: I quite liked the craziness of the people, places and events. I found this book an easy and enjoyable read and look forward to the next one
Rating: 
Summary: Small-e epic?
Review: As noted in some of the other reviews here, this is in some ways not McMurtry's strongest effort. "Last Picture Show" it ain't, but this "first in a series" effort may still have a few redeeming virtues. There *are* some pretty annoying flaws here. Early on, as Lady Tasmin is being returned to the steamer by Jim Snow (a.k.a. "Sin Killer"), she out of the blue starts asking about his plans to travel to Santa Fe, and refers to him guiding groups of travellers. I went "huh?" and spent a lot of time searching the previous pages for even a hint of any of this Santa Fe stuff. Maybe it was there at one point, but the scene must have hit the cutting room floor. We're at a loss as to where and how Tasmin pried this information out of the taciturn Mr. Snow. Somebody was not sweating the details on that point, and the same loose attitude seems evident elsewhere. If you read "Lonesome Dove" and its sequel "Streets of Laredo", you'll recall how gleefully the author pops his characters in the meat grinder. Let's just say there's a lot more hamburger in this one. But you'll hardly miss most of the thin cardboard characters, so it's easy to appreciate McMurtry's dark sense of humor in mangling them. The losses here are like a 'Toon getting crushed by a falling piano, compared to "Lonesome Dove", where they were genuinely affecting. (Especially in the TV version, when the boys are forced to string up that Dan Tanna fellow.)
Despite these reservations, I got to the end of the book wanting to find out what happened next. Clever fellow, that Larry McMurtry. He starts out with a ship full of European stereotypes, badly out of touch with reality. He steadily puts them in touch with a very harsh and often fatal reality. Maybe something more real in the way of a story will emerge. This is billed as the first of a four-volume series, so I guess I'm willing to wait for Volume II. There's a chance that McMurtry will return to form now that he's pared down the cast of characters a bit. I'll leave it to the consumer advocates out there to debate whether this four-volume thing is a cynical marketing ploy or a legitimate attempt to craft a Grand Epic. Certainly, the author has done more with fewer words.
Rating: 
Summary: how truly embarrassing for this author
Review: Made it 125 pages. Without question the worst book I have read in a decade. Let's see... a comedy that isn't funny (hah hah! the mother, cocktail in hand, fell down the stairs, bumped into a bunch of other people, broke her neck and died!); scores of characters, none of which is interesting or well-developed in any way. The jacket cover info is a bald-faced lie. Comparing this work to Lonesome Dove should earn any reviewer a jail term. How deeply, deeply unfortunate. And we get to look forward to 3 more books in the series! I blame McMurtry's editor. It is that person's duty to tell an author, even one of McMurtry's incomparable talent, that he's missed the mark this time. For those of you that read Lonesome Dove and want another McMurtry gem, read Comanche Moon. As for me, I'm going to try to forget I ever saw this one in the bookstore.
Rating: 
Summary: eh
Review: I have read A LOT of Mcmurtry's novels, but this one I like the least, which is odd, because I think I might be the only person. :) I love the rest of the books, just not this one. I actually got bored reading it. A lot of people compare the characters as dynamic as those in Lonesome Dove, but I was VERY disappointed when I actually read it, and they came no where close. I didn't fall in love with these characters, and although there were some real neat situations they got themselves into, it wasn't as gripping as some of his other books. Things were amusing like Lord Berrybender continually losing limbs, but I dunno. The way it ended it sounded like the one after this one might be better and more interesting. I love all other Mcmurtry books though! Particularly the Lonesome Dove Tetralogy, Zeke & Ned and Boones Lick.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Larry McMurtry has produced yet another masterpiece. Anyone that enjoyed the Lonesome Dove series will love Sin Killer. It's eccentric characters, hilarious plot turns, and unflinching look at life on Western front in the 1800's is McMurtry at his best. I was not able to put it down and can't wait for the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: The Fabulous Riverboat!
Review: Well, I'm biased, I'll happily admit it. I've just finished the four "Lonesome Dove" novels, and I'm a McMurtry junkie. Love his style, love his understanding of the old West, love his realism. This book, as well as being brutally honest, is also beastly funny. The large Berrybender family, travelling up the Missouri and Platte Rivers in a well-stocked steamboat, is as eccentric as they come, and we not only see the West through our modern eyes, but through the eyes of aristocratic English folk. And their servants. McMurtry tells the tale with gentle humour and a marvellous gift for words, and I enjoyed every one of them. I'm looking forward to seeing more in the promised series. But then, I'm biased.
Rating:
Summary: Zane Grey on Drugs
Review: If this is to be a four part series, McMurty should have given this one to us for free. What a mess. This book is like Zane Grey on drugs.
Rating:
Summary: A Strange And Bawdy Bunch Of Folks
Review: The Berrybenders, a large and very strange English family, have come to America to explore the West. In this, the first of four installments, they are traveling up the Missouri River on a luxurious steamboat. Most of this book is concerned with the introduction to the many characters. Thankfully, at the front of the book, there is a list of family members, servants and other assorted people connected to the family. Lord and Lady Berrybender have fourteen children in all, but not all of them are traveling with them. I did think it odd that of the children listed, Brother Seven was only briefly mentioned and Sister Ten was not included in the story at all (after the first few of their children were born, Lord Berrybender decided to give his children numbers instead of names). This is mainly a character driven story (most of the characters being extremely unlikable). Finally, towards the end of the book, a blizzard hits and the story takes off and turns (all to briefly) interesting. I am curious to discover what becomes of this strange and bawdy bunch of folks, so I will probably give the second installment a read. I am hoping it will be better than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Reading
Review: Reading through the reviews for Sin Killer, I see there is a decided split of opinion about this one. I really enjoyed the novel, but I can see how many would absolutely hate it. I think if you are looking for a Western in the Lonesome Dove vein, keep looking and don't pick this one up. I think the publishers do this novel a disservice by packaging it in the manner of Lonesome Dove. If you enjoy a good toungue-in-cheek romp, one that will take you a little below the surface if you want to, then give Sin Killer a try. Larry McMurtry is certainly a talented writer. I have read many of his novels, and on the storytelling level, none ever fail to disappoint and in that connection Sin Killer makes enjoyable reading. The story of the Berrybender family--an eccentric collection of British nutcases in the early 18th century who decide to explore the American west on a steamboat so the borderline insane patriarch can go hunting--is, of course, absurd. The story, however, allows McMurtry to explore the differences between American and British culture at the time, enabling him to smash through the assumptions that the Americans were wild and uncivilized. Most characters in the novel (except for perhaps the Sin Killer himself) are full of folly and hubris, and McMurtry exploits them to our benefit. The characters in the novel form a microcosm of their respective societies--everyone being an exaggeration. The story is fun and makes for fun reading (so long as you can forget you ever read Lonesome Dove). If you can handle this one not being anything like Lonesome Dove (other than it being written by McMurtry and taking place in the American West), if you are looking for an enjoyable, humorous read, pick this one up. It's a lot of fun.
Rating:
Summary: Barely readable
Review: I'm a fan of McMurtry but this one is a stretch. I've lived in England and I've camped in much of the area along the Missouri that he is writing about. Of course this is not a realistic book, but I didn't get even a whiff of authenticity in his characters or his landscapes. Funny? I didn't think so. For humor it seems to me you have to have something to push against and the characters and situations are so far out that nothing is surprising. A 1 star minus for my taste.
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