Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Rating:
Summary: Not anywhere near his usual...
Review: I found this book to be so far below the quality of Sheldon's other work that it is hard to believe he even wrote it. I have enjoyed all his other books, but this lacked plot, character development and a decent story line. The outcome was predictable and that is unusual for his work also.

Rating:
Summary: A slow-witted and stupid story.
Review: I have read many wonderful books by Sidney Sheldon however, this better be the last one. 'Are You Afraid of The Dark?' is a childlike story about a couple of half-witted women chasing after a conglomerate army of equally half-witted thugs. It's a stupid story of epic proportions and not worth the price.
Mark Hiller
Chehalis, WA.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother Turning On the Lights
Review: I'm so disappointed at the demise of my favorite author's writing that I am near tears. I've been a fan of Sidney Sheldon's since The Other Side of Midnight. I requested his newest book for Xmas and was excited to get this as requested. I planned an afternoon when I would be uninterrupted to begin his latest suspense thriller.

To my great disappointment, the storyline of this book reminded me of a storyline from General Hospital back in the 1980's -- the evil scientist has created a weather machine...

The characters were scantily developed, and were quite unlikable. The details of nearly everything were very sketchy. I found myself LAUGHING at the pathetic plot. The entire story is two women running around, followed by inept assassins, with the evil scientist anticipating their every move.

The book began with such promise, and Sheldon's ability to keep me turning pages remains a strong skill. It took me a little over three hours to read this expensive hardback.

I have NEVER read a book so bad that I will not forward it on to friends, or donate it. This one made it straight into the trash.





Rating:
Summary: not his best, but still worth the time
Review: I've read all of Sidney Sheldon's books and do agree that it's not among his best books, like Master of the Game, but it was still a great way to spend my commute on the El.

Rating:
Summary: don't waste your time or money
Review: It's obvious people have different tastes in books! I thought this was one of the worst books I've ever read. The underlying gimmick - whoever controls the weather has power - is cute but the story is stupid and badly written. The characters are stereotypes - stick figure stereotypes at that - and the power and resources at the hands of the bad guy(s) are over the top. Maybe it's supposed to be a parody but to me it seems like the author whipped of a quick book to squeeze a little more money out of his name.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Sidney Sheldon doesn't write like Updike or Joyce, but he gets the message across and the suspense is there! I found myself tired of thinking too much reading an Amy Tan book with ten gazillion characters, so I took a break with Sidney and it was worth it. A lot of imagination in this book "Are You Afraid of the Dark" and anyone with a high school education can understand it.

I liked that I never could quite predict what was going to happen next in this murder mystery. The good characters are good and the evil characters are very evil. No gray areas here, but it's kind of fun. I agree with a recent reviewer who said, "fresh scenery and characters, not a deep and thought provoking work of art but rather a pleasant respite from our own mundane worlds. Sheldon, like Stephen J. Cannell, uses his experience in screenplay writing to bring his novels alive, snapping and crackling with energy and tension."

That says it all. His books are not "Ivy league" but they are fun and enjoyable.

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"

Rating:
Summary: Simplistic Junk
Review: Sidney Sheldon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" is a prime example of the generic crap that a `name' author often churns out just to make a buck.

Nobody would buy this book if some no-name had written it, and no publishing house would even consider putting something as boring and generic and just plain stupid as this in print had it been the work product of an unknown.

This book is simplistic formula to the max and is not worth your time or money.

Rating:
Summary: Who wrote this tripe
Review: This is bad beyond words. Terrible characters, plot and narration. Decent cover though! And what has the title to do with anything? No more, please, I give!

Rating:
Summary: Who turned out the lights?
Review: This is the question one must ask concerning this lastet Sidney Sheldon novel. It's definitely NOT his best work to date but it could be one of his most thrilling works to date. If you're looking for a different type read that's also fast paced, compelling, riveting, eyeopening, pageturner-can't put down novel, then you need to read LUST OF THE FLESH by Beverly Rolyat. About a district attorney who's caught up in a web of destruction and deceit, lies, betrayal, lust, murder, mystery, suspense, romance and sex galore! Is he really the biological father of his ex-wife's promiscuous teenage daughter's infant son? Or has he been set up? An enlightening novel through and through. Enjoy your read!

Rating:
Summary: I know 6th graders who can construct a better story.
Review: This novel doesn't even comes close to any previous Sheldon work. It is trite, the plot is non-existent, the characters are cardboard at best and say the stupidest things, and the whole thing is a huge waste of time. I gave it one star because that's as low as the ranking goes. For work of this caliber Amazon needs a line of minus stars.
The sad part is this novel was most likely only published to trade on the previous well-done work by this author, and that is the only reason i read it.
You know, there is much validity to the cliche "quit while you are ahead" and it is really a shame that Sheldon 's editor didn't remind him of that.