Rating: 
Summary: Perfect paperback thriller; easy to read & exciting
Review: Although not written with the best grammar and has one cliche too many, it sure keeps you turning pages; intelligently plotted; builds suspense; A-plus in its genre..... Kept me up till 2 and 3 in the morning!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect paperback thriller; easy to read & exciting
Review: Although not written with the best grammar and has one cliche too many, it sure keeps you turning pages; intelligently plotted; builds suspense; A-plus in its genre..... Kept me up till 2 and 3 in the morning!
Rating:
Summary: The Green Ripper Review
Review: Ho, ho, ho! Merrrrry Christmas! The Green Ripper is here to wish all you nice boys and girls a very merry Christmas -- with a machine gun!Ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta! John D. MacDonald's classic mystery of love and revenge, religion and fanaticism "The Green Ripper" may be one of the most chilling entertainment novels I've ever read. Ripper was his seventeenth Travis McGee novel, and MacDonald explores the dark side of religio-terroristic minds with a mastery of craft that left me wondering (in several passages) whether he _identified_ with obsessive minds, or was acerbically satirizing such minds. I think the line between the two is probably thinner than we might -- at first glance -- like to admit. The story begins with McGee's soulmate dying unexpectedly, and inexplicably, and the early pages follow McGee's realization that her death was not accidental -- but was the result of an assassin's dart. And you can't help but wonder.... whether you would be driven to revenge if _your_ wife or loved one was killed in this way. But MacDonald ratchets it up, here, man because McGee finds that the assassins are linked to a religious-terrorist group based in Ukiah, California. And once you open up religion in an entertainment novel, you've got some really rich ground to work. A few of the passages spoken by the religious nuts are so convincing and so sincere, you don't know whether to hate them or relate to them. Indeed, McGee even crosses the line becoming one of the group and by sleeping with a [street walker]-turned-gun-toting machine of destruction. I love this storyline, in that as a writer how obsessive minded are you? Truly great entertainment writers like MacDonald, King, Leonard, Koontz, Mary Higgins Clark (whose Green Ripper blurbs appear on the dust-jacket) know how far you have to push yourself into that world to achieve artistic integrity, and there are times when the difference between being a really good writer and being an obsessive fanatic is subtle as hell. Still, it's safest just to treat a book like The Green Ripper as a metaphor and to take it at face value; that is, as an entertaining mystery thriller. But it's because this novel holds something deeper, I think, that so many intelligent readers can relate to it. A remarkable gem in the Travis McGee jewelry store. And a novel that I -- for one -- highly recommend to all serious-minded fiction readers. Stacey
Rating: 
Summary: A book for a grungy day
Review: In this entry in the series, McGee has found a True Love, a woman seemingly compatible with all facets of his existence, who is able to give meaning to his life, and then she is cruelly killed by a seemingly random process. In earlier books, other lovers have been killed, but never one he sees such a future with. Her murder jolts McGee notably more than any prior tragedy, into a depressed and narrow focus on revenge; he breaks off from Meyer (who articulates equally nihilistic views), and his usual cynicism becomes total negativism. He takes on a simpler identity, and follows a series of clues and lucky breaks to a terrorist boot camp for the organization that ordered his lover's execution. He (justifiably and unavoidably, it seems) massacres all the group's members, in a spree that sickens but in the end also partly redeems him. There is a certain class of mysteries that is fulfilling to read when you feel depressed, disgusted, and generally grungy. Quite a bit of Chandler, and some of Lawrence Block, falls into this class. This is the only book in the McGee series that really fits into the class, but it's almost perfect of its kind. See also Block's "Such Men Are Dangerous."
Rating:
Summary: Travis comes to the rescue--again!
Review: John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee seems timeless. This "knight in tarnished armor," as Time magazine called him, is as pertinent today as when "The Green Ripper" was published in 1979. Travis, once again, is confronted with his own mortality when Gretel, the woman he feels he is truly in love with, is murdered. McGee, as in episodes past (and this is the18th) feels that retribution, or justice, whichever comes first, is something that he, personally, must pursue. The "game is afoot," as it were, and the chase leads us through the forces of a religious cult (quite the topic in 1979), the Church of the Apocrypha. Travis "joins" to gain their confidence and little does he know the far-reaching ramifications of this group. The author cites George Santayana in a preface statement: "Fanaticism is described as redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim." And when you have finished "The Green Ripper," fanaticism is spelled with a capital "F"! Probably, "The Green Ripper" is the most suspenseful of the McGee series (always characterized by a color in the title). MacDonald is methodical in his plot developments and while suspense is naturally a necessary ingredient, in this book it becomes perhaps the most important aspect. But the author stays true to McGee, probably Florida's most famous literary character, and readers will not be disappointed. As in the other books, vivid description, poignant characterization, and a top-drawer storyline, marked by sparks of good humor, are MacDonald's trademark. It's a worthy read! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
Rating:
Summary: Travis comes to the rescue--again!
Review: John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee seems timeless. This "knight in tarnished armor," as Time magazine called him, is as pertinent today as when "The Green Ripper" was published in 1979. Travis, once again, is confronted with his own mortality when Gretel, the woman he feels he is truly in love with, is murdered. McGee, as in episodes past (and this is the18th) feels that retribution, or justice, whichever comes first, is something that he, personally, must pursue. The "game is afoot," as it were, and the chase leads us through the forces of a religious cult (quite the topic in 1979), the Church of the Apocrypha. Travis "joins" to gain their confidence and little does he know the far-reaching ramifications of this group. The author cites George Santayana in a preface statement: "Fanaticism is described as redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim." And when you have finished "The Green Ripper," fanaticism is spelled with a capital "F"! Probably, "The Green Ripper" is the most suspenseful of the McGee series (always characterized by a color in the title). MacDonald is methodical in his plot developments and while suspense is naturally a necessary ingredient, in this book it becomes perhaps the most important aspect. But the author stays true to McGee, probably Florida's most famous literary character, and readers will not be disappointed. As in the other books, vivid description, poignant characterization, and a top-drawer storyline, marked by sparks of good humor, are MacDonald's trademark. It's a worthy read! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
Rating:
Summary: Travis the Reaper
Review: One of the later books, and closing in on the end of the series, this is my favorite McGee sketch of all time. It is terribly tragic McGee, though, given the death of his beloved and the deepest depth of darkness into which McGee goes to find solace - even if it is the cold comfort of murderous revenge. I must confess to having a strong penchant for vengeance, if this is my favorite of the long line of McGees (oops, got me there). By the time the book is over, one has seen McGee at his absolutely most lethal - and rightly so. All along the way the eternal McGee reflections offer insight into the process of grief, revenge, and humanity - truly a wonderful read.
Rating: 
Summary: Trav does Rambo
Review: Readers of John McD's previous novel in the Travis McGee series (Empty Copper Sea) will note that our hero is becoming aware that he is stuck in the sixties and may never grow up. In The Green Ripper we see a dark side of Travis that somehow seems misplaced. While Travis has committed the occasional murder in self-defense (Darker than Amber), he is transformed into John Rambo as he murders 10 or 11 religious cult terrorists while fighting for his own life. The Epilogue finds Trav committing adultery with a 40-ish moneyed wife,who is a totally new character. For my money, I prefer the lazy, real estate savvy, beach bunny/ Busted Flush Trav. This guy borders on being a jerk. But maybe that's just part of growing up.
Rating:
Summary: Vengeance, insanity and destruction
Review: The love of his life is murdered, and McGee seeks who did it. He runs across a combination of political terrorists and religious fanatics (are not both the same, ultimately?), who wish to destroy society so a new, better one can take its place. This novel is about vengeance, and the insanity that comes with it. It is about terrorism, and how they will murder the innocent. It's about those who think that destroying society will automatically lead to something better taking its place. This is a brutal, violent novel, one not for the squeamish, about the dark side of human nature.
Rating:
Summary: McGee the Hammer
Review: This is a book of vengeance and revenge. Travis has finally found true love, and she is snatched from him by death. At first it appears to be a lethal illness, then horrifyingly a random sophisticated killing. Trav is almost mad with a desire to find one face to batter and then to execute the killer. To face the fact that the murder appears to be an organizational hit with no single one-of-a-kind killer seems obscenely unfair. Travis follows some paper-thin leads, discards his identity, and infiltrates a terrorist camp sponsored by a cult religious group. This is a fast paced book, one of my all-time favorite McGees. I was struck by MacDonald's uncanny accuracy in depicting the terrorist personality way back in 1979. The healthy young American soldiers in superb shape confidently believed their next lives would be vastly improved by destroying the civilization in this one. They disdained, even looked forward to death. One character tells McGee that the terrorists will not "waste" their rockets on military vessels. Blowing up a planeload of civilians containing women and children was far more "productive." The finale is a fine display of McGee's sniperly abilities, derring-do and just plain luck. (Rambo has nothing on him!) The only thing that dated "The Green Ripper" was McGee's reluctance to treat the female terrorists as anything but "ladies" no matter how fearsome they were. Today no such chivalry (even if misguided) would be allowed.
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