Rating: 
Summary: Contrived, bizarre, stereotyped, and----GREAT!
Review: A little melodramatic, but hey!--this is escape reading. In escape reading we want to get away from reality---that's why they call it escape. We WANT the Good Guys to prevail. We revel in the Bad Guys comeuppance. And we get a warm fuzzy feeling when any Bad Guy turns out to have a good lside. In Absolute Power David Baldacci gives us all these features. So the ending is contrived. We forgive contrivance in an author who has kept us guessing for most of lthe 505 pages of his story. ( What is harder to forgive is the mayhem Hollywood wreaked in converting this well-written first novel into a conventional pot-boiler, rescued mainly by tough guy Clint Eastwood.) You want contrived? Start with Luther Whitney witnessing a capital crime involving the President of the United States. Throw in massive cover-up by the Secret Service, the FBI and local police forces. Now add circumstances in which all these august bodies learn too late that Luther was a witness. All this leads to the mandatory chase scene (at which, of course, Hollywood escels.) Contrived or not, we cheer for this career criminal to win, all the while knowing that he cannot. Move over, John Grisham, James Patterson, John Sandford. Make room on that pedestal for newcomer David Baldacci.
Rating:
Summary: A Fast Paced Entertaining Read
Review: A good page turning read that got me through my recent trip. Based on the current White House resident, a pretty plausable plot. I then rented the movie and it was very disappointing since I thought the book would make a good movie. However, the screenwriter messed up the plot too much.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best crime/mystery/thrillers I've read in years.
Review: The book begins with a theft and you are totally absorbed in the criminal aspect of the opening chapter. You believe wholeheartedly that this is going to be a story of this crime and this criminal when a schocking turn of events turns the story in a totally different direction; involving criminal action at the top echelon of government. Although our hero is a totally reprehensible professional criminal, you begin to sympathize and gain compassion for his situation as the book unfolds. This is not a one character read and the more characters added the more diverse the novel becomes. It ends with questionable judgment for all concerned. Just when you feel the writer has his story in a corner a new twist comes to the fore. I highly recommend this book for any follower of this genre and for anyone who just wants a good read.
Rating:
Summary: better than the movie
Review: This book was great. From the first chapter I couldn't put it down. The end was great. Baldacci has become my favourite author, I have now read all of his books. But don't bother with the movie. It is nothing like the book and is a complete let down
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: If one is looking for a book which focuses on a bizarre possibility of facts, then this book is what the doctor ordered. However, in lieu of what we have been reading lately coming out of Washington, one must wonder just how close are we to some fairly bizarre situations becoming reality. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute Great Beach Read!!!
Review: Whatever you do, do not see the movie! The book is infinitely better and more realistic, if that can be so. For a perfect companion on the beach take it along with your sunscreen!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: I thought that this book was filled with many details that sounded plausible. The plot, however, was a bit hard to believe until I read about the Clinton scandal. Still, it got a bit boring after a while, but picks up a bit near the end. It was good for a first book though, I suppose, and it was good enough to be made into a movie with a major star.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute Junk
Review: I give this book a "2" because I actually finished the book - I kept waiting for it to turn into the thriller everyone had been raving about. It was a page-turner alright - I kept reading because I couldn't believe that such a paint-by-numbers, ready-to-sell-to-Hollywood piece of junk was getting people so worked up! The characters, for a lack of a better word, were beyond bland. Baldacci's idea of characterization is to describe how "beautiful" a woman is or how devastatingly handsome the hero is. This book should have been titled "Absolute Shallowness".
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT READ FROM START TO FINISH. COULD NOT QUIT
Review: FIRST TIME I READ BALDACCI BUT RAN TO THE STORE TO GET HIS NEXT AND AM ANXIOUSLY AWAITING HIS THIRD. BETTER THAN MOST OF LUDLUM'S. MOVIE WAS ALMOST AS GOOD BUT DEVIATED FROM BOOK TOO MUCH. EASTWOOD WAS EXCELLENT AS LUTHER WHITNEY
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a page turner!
Review: I am a big John Grisham fan and was looking for a book to tide me over until the next one comes out. This book was so suspenseful with many unexpected happenings. I will definitely be looking for other books to read from this author!
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