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The General's Daughter

The General's Daughter

List Price: $18.00
Your Price: $18.00
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Read
Review: I didn't think I'd like this book one bit. A friend had recommended it to me, and I never thought a military thriller would grab me. But doggoneit, this book is one good read. Another good sign is how well I can remember this book a year and a half after I actually read it. DeMille is a good writer. he keeps the story moving, and the reader enthralled... even though this book has very little in the way of action. All the real action occurs before the novel begins. It's the unraveling of the mystery that makes this book so fascinating. Whoever thought a bunch of people walking around and talking to people would be so well done as to keep the reader up all night? Well, this book will make you a believer. Definitely a cut above a regular thriller, DeMille is a talented writer, and I definitely will read more of his work in the future. An intelligent, well crafted novel.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pretty good novel
Review: I enjoyed reading the generals daughter. The ending was good.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An easy, take-to-the-beach book
Review: First of all, I didn't see the movie, so my impression of the book isn't colored by comparisons to it. This was the first Demille book I read. I enjoyed it, though I thought the plot was way too contrived: the title character is the poster child for "today's army" but in reality she is a rape-victim-turned-deviant-sex-addict who manages to ensnare most of her father's subordinates, all in an effort to get back at Dad for covering up the crime against her. It seemed a little too made-for-Hollywood to me, but hey... This is a book for the beach or for when you're home with a bad cold. Easy to read and more or less entertaining.

If you really want to see Demille's talent displayed, read "The Charm School". Now THAT'S a book that should be made into a movie. I read this after "The General's Daughter" and it is head and shoulders above.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read the book, but skip the movie.
Review: First of all, this is an excellent book, one for its plot, but more importantly in it's dialogue. All of the main characters, and especially the shadier characters are written well. When you read a conversation between two major characters, especially those that are opposed to each other, you get a feeling of two boxers sparring, or two dancers, each responding perfectly to the moves of the other. Also, the ending and premise are not predictable, but are still plausable. Worth the read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is Just a Fabulous Read
Review: Entertaining. Intriguing. Thrilling. This is a perfect example of modern pop fiction at its very best. I have to confess that I haven't seen the movie... but after reading the book, I have absolutely no desire to watch someone else's version of this marvelous bit of storytelling. I found myself positively aching to read faster and find out what was happening (which is in a way a bad thing, because sometimes I had to go back and reread parts I'd read in haste), but I'll tell you what... I am the most voracious reader I know, I chose this book with some trepidation, and it turned out to be a wholly fulfilling experience. Read it! See what I mean!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pure John Travolta!
Review: From the first chapter of this exciting investigative tale, you will recognize Paul Brenner as a cocky, confidently arrogant John Travolta, the actor who stared in the movie version of this book. We find two elite investigators for the Military's CID under time pressures to solve the rape and murder of Captain Campbell, the Base General's daughter. DeMille has dealt with the ugly issue of Rape and Murder in an analytical and informative way as he and his partner uncover new complications every hour into the investigation. Enjoy the meat of the book as much as you can, because the ending, although satisfying, might seem a little quick and simplistic to you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Accept this novel on its own terms and you'll enjoy it
Review: For all of the oceans of ink spilled on serious criticism and Top 100 lists, there's still something viscerally satisfying about a good straightforward read like The General's Daughter. After all, if it weren't for fare like this, what would we do for beach & airplane books? Luckily there are guys like Nelson DeMille cranking them out. DeMille, who won a Bronze Star in Viet Nam, has written a couple of excellent books, I especially liked By the Rivers of Babylon and Cathedral, though I've read some others that I didn't like as much. I'd recommend this one.

General's Daughter opens with Captain Ann Campbell, a West Point honors graduate and daughter of the general of the base, staked out, raped and strangled in an artillery field. Wisecracking investigator Paul Brenner of the Criminal Investigation Division and rape specialist Cynthia Sunhill, his former lover, team up to solve the crime. Turns out the General's daughter has a pretty sordid past, which makes just about every male at Fort Hadley a suspect. This profusion of suspects combines with normal Army red tape and extraordinary reticence about scandal, to form the basis of a briskly plotted procedural.

The solution to the mystery is pretty pedestrian and Brenner's a little too much of a wise guy, but the story hums along and DeMille does us all a favor by not piling on multiple melodramatic conclusions. He tells his story and then wraps it up neatly. The one thing I really liked was Brenner's righteous indignation at the despicable conduct of his Army brethren. At least in this novel, the sense of military honor is not dead.

Accept this novel on its own terms and you'll enjoy it.

GRADE: B-

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Better than the movie, but still brain candy
Review: I try not to read mysteries when I know who the murderer is, because it usually ruins the book. However, the movie version of "The General's Daughter" is different enough from the book in terms of characterization, suspense, and relationships that I enjoyed the book *after* the movie. Masterpiece Theater it ain't. But not bad for something to read on the plane.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Generally good
Review: This was a great whodunnit mystery. Will keep you reading until the end. I didn't like it as much as some of the other DeMille books (probably because of the storyline) Very clever and the tale twists quite often.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Where was the editor
Review: I thought the movie was excellent. I thought the audio tape was also excellent. The book needed a good editor to cut out some of the deadwood. I got bored and lost interest. I had to push myself to finish the book. I simply got bogged down in places. However, I thought the story line was excellent and made one of the best movies of the year. I'm not sure I want to read any more of the author's books, but I'd buy abridged tapes of his books anytime they are available.


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