Rating: 
Summary: by far one of Mills best
Review: 2, that's how many days it took me to read this, I didn't want to put it down, at the end i wished it was one of those novels that was a 1000 pages long. Mills is at his best here.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading his earlier books this one was a real disappointment. The plotline was not very convincing. It appears that Mills has a contract to produce a book per year. This one felt forced. Stick with the earlier ones especially Sphere of Influence.
Rating: 
Summary: delightful Mr. Smith takes tobacco
Review: CEO Paul Trainer of the tobacco giant Terra Holding Corporation knows his gigantic business is in trouble due to a law suit they will probably lose in Montana. He decides he needs an idiotic spokesperson so he turns to employee Trevor Barnett, whose job comes from an ancestor who was an industry giant and left him a trust fund that requires he work for the firm. Relying on the Peter Principle, Paul promotes Trevor to positions way above his apparent level of competency.With bankruptcy pending, Paul and his associates establish a diabolical strategy that they insist Trevor must sell to the public. All tobacco-processing plants are closed, workers are placed on furloughs, and there are recalls of products from the stores and vending machines. The plan is that there will be no more cigarettes until the industry is legally exempt from lawsuits and courts sanctions. As the economy tanks, Anne Kimball of Smokeless Youth meets Trevor. She provides him with the backbone he needs to push for a campaign where the people will decide whether smoking is a first amendment right. As the couple falls in love the issue becomes even more explosive. SMOKE SCREEN is a delightful Mr. Smith takes tobacco (rather than Washington) type of tale that hooks the audience from the moment Paul plots to use Trevor. The Runyonesque story line is fun as the no smoking policy causes havoc for politicians and the economy in such a way that it seems as if everyone inhaled. Fans of a charming amusing David with a female for a spinal column vs. Goliath novel will want to read Kyle Mills whimsical story. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Living off his savings....
Review: First let me say that I loved all of Kyle Mill's previous books. They had great characters, excellent plot development, and enough action/suspense to keep the pages turning fast. This is not the case with Smoke Sceen and I felt it was more a personal agenda type book that counted on the fans to finance it. Basically we did because we bought it expecting the high quality fiction we had in previous books. I'll admit Trevor Barnett is a likeable enough character (in a hapless idiot turns super-hero way) but this book just never gets its feet under and pretty much plods through from beginning to end never actually making a point or capturing the interest of the reader. It basically reminds me of TOm Clancy's disaster "REd Rabbit" in that it seems to be an effort based on ego instead of any creative design. But...unlike any of Clancy's future novels (all of which I will from now on check out at the library) I must admit that I am looking forward to Mill's next book and will probably buy it quickly...please Kyle..no more diappointments!!!
Rating:
Summary: Change of perspective but truely fun and enjoyable
Review: First of all, the people who have written poor reviews of this book are clearly demanding that authors stay within the cookie cutter format of novel writing. I was surprised and pleased to see that Mr. Mills has expanded his horizons.
The key to a Kyle Mills book is taking a scenario in the real world and focus in on 3-5 main points or hooks and ignore the rest. With a narrow perspective on the world we're able, with only a small stretch of the imagination, to sit back and go on a fun ride. I can see how this is disappointing or frustrating for some because you're screaming at the book, "what about second hand smoke?!?" By focusing on some key points the author expects the reader to suspend disbelief. This isn't for everyone but for those it works for it's an incredibly fun ride.
His characters are wonderful; although the main character's love interest is a little under-developed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Change of perspective but truely fun and enjoyable
Review: First of all, the people who have written poor reviews of this book are clearly demanding that authors stay within the cookie cutter format of novel writing. I was surprised and pleased to see that Mr. Mills has expanded his horizons.
The key to a Kyle Mills book is taking a scenario in the real world and focus in on 3-5 main points or hooks and ignore the rest. With a narrow perspective on the world we're able, with only a small stretch of the imagination, to sit back and go on a fun ride. I can see how this is disappointing or frustrating for some because you're screaming at the book, "what about second hand smoke?!?" By focusing on some key points the author expects the reader to suspend disbelief. This isn't for everyone but for those it works for it's an incredibly fun ride.
His characters are wonderful; although the main character's love interest is a little under-developed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and Informative
Review: Great escapism, and clever writing. Mills shows a great knack for the first person POV.
Rating:
Summary: (4 +) WEIRD & CLEVER - But Still The Essence of Kyle Mills
Review: I bet Kyle Mills really enjoyed writing this book. In some ways SMOKE SCREEN is a major departure from his earlier works (summarized in my review of FREE FALL on 8/17/03); it is a story of corporate and political intrigue told in the first person from the viewpoint Trevor Barnett, a third generation member of one of the founding families of Terra, America's preeminent tobacco company. In order to receive the income from the trust established by his grandfather, Trevor must remain an employee of Terra; his status as a "trustafarian" (read the book for a great definition) has left him bereft of both ambition and any real goals in life. He spends his time writing largely irrelevant reports, hoping for a meaningful relationship with the girl of his dreams (who unfortunately works for an anti-smoking organization), and amusing his aging Great Pyrenees, Nicotine. In a moment of drunken frustration he inadvertently submits a (really clever) summary of the new Surgeon General's report to the company's Board of Directors which he believes will probably get him fired by the CEO, Paul Trainer. Instead, he unexpectedly and inexplicably receives a series of promotions which make him Trainer's key aide and put him in direct conflict with his father, the company's chief counsel. As a Montana trial proceeds that appears to be likely to force the industry into bankruptcy, Trevor's outspokenness and articulateness lead Trainer to choose him to be Terra's spokesman for their new strategy. In a game of political hardball, the tobacco industry halts the production and sale of all cigarettes until Congress and the President implement legislation which will shield the industry from future product liability by recognizing that smoking is a choice for which individuals have to bear the responsibility for the consequences of their actions. (Previous readers of Mills' earlier works will recognize a reprise of discussions of many of the same philosophical issues that have arisen with regard to the use of illegal drugs.) The political pressures quickly mount on the hypocritical politicians pictured in the story, both because of the panic of smokers cut off from their nicotine but also because of the economic effect caused by the loss of jobs (not just in the tobacco industry itself but also retailers, trucking companies, etc.) and the loss of the huge tax receipts and payments to the federal and state governments under previous legislative compromises. Even the anti-smoking forces have ironically lost their major source of funding. So, Trevor eventually faces his "fork in the road" moment, when he has to decide which side he is on, what his real beliefs are, and how much risk he is willing to take to achieve his goals if he can finally decide what they are. (And maybe have a chance to win the girl of his dreams at the same time.) There are many great moments of dialog along the way, some deeply philosophical and consonant with the author's libertarian tendencies, many others just fun as Trevor's thoughts and words reflect Mills' cleverness with language. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Paul Trainer "jumped up with the creaking bones and boundless energy of a nursing home escapee on amphetamines", and also one early in the book when we first meet Trevor's boss Chris Carmen, who was "as fine a specimen ...of a Double-Breasted Seether" as Trevor had ever run across. Since this story is written as a cross between a satire and a serious thriller, I am not sure what the readership appeal will be. However, I really enjoyed it, both because I thought that it was well written and because I believe that if it were possible for our society to adopt this fictional agreement between all the parties involved we would be both better off and truer to the principles on which this country was founded. In fact, I only wish my hope were realistic that tobacco industry managers and politicians could be forced to have their eyes opened by reading this book. My two criticisms and the reason that I did not rate it five stars are that the character development is not as good as in some of Mills other books (perhaps because of the fact this was a first person narration) and that the action on occasion seemed somewhat inconsistent and quite improbable within the storyline constructed by the author. Tucker Andersen
Rating:
Summary: cool story
Review: I have read all of Kyle Mills' novels, and this was definitely different from the rest, but it was a good story. He already ran this type of story line in slow burning, where a drug was taken from the streets, but it was nice to see him move in a direction different from the FBI stories. It started too slowly, but the last 2/3 flew by in a way similar to his earlier reads. I can't wait for the next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Kyle Mills - Hate This Book!
Review: I was so disappointed when I opened this book and found it was written in the first person. I've read all of Kyle Mills' previous books and loved every one of them, but I didn't get past the second page of this one. If you like books written in the first person, good for you, but it's a writing style I just can't get into.
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