The Hammer of Eden

Rating:
Summary: Terrible book!
Review: I should have read these reviews before buying the book. Ken Follett's writing has been generally very good but this book's author needs to go back to Basic Writing I in highschool! Use the $$ I wasted on this book Ken and take a good writing course.

Rating:
Summary: Hammer of Eden
Review: Some of Follett's books have captivated me for weeks after I finished them. This one wasn't even interesting while I was reading it. I hope Ken can get back to the topics he knows about and quit writing formula books that don't do his talents credit.

Rating:
Summary: Follett's Worst Offering To Date
Review: This is the least inspiring offering by Follett since "The Big Needle" in 1978. It is poorly conceived and poorly written. It contains the earmark characters that appear in most Follett adventures, now in the guise of aging American hippies. It is obvious the author knows little about American culture, despite claiming a great deal of research. The writing sounds like an English secondary student musing about whay life must be like in America. It is difficult and exasperating to read. I would avoid it and I am usually a fan of the author's work.

Rating:
Summary: great book!
Review: it was very suspenseful, i couldnt put it down! great book to read if you like thrillers.

Rating:
Summary: So sad
Review: Follett showed such incredible ability in the Pillars of the Earth and is so incredible disappointing in Hammer of Eden. It appears he wrote this book for a one hour movie of the week. So sad.

Rating:
Summary: Hardly earth shaking
Review: None of Ken Follett's books are really boring and all can keep the reader's attention during the reading of them. However, I can still remember clearly a number of scenes from Eye of the Needle more than a decade after reading the book. Only a couple of weeks away from reading The Hammer of Eden I can hardly recall anything significant about either the characters or the plot. The book was marginally interesting - primarily because of the plot set-up, which, however implausible was at least unique - but poor follow thru and limp characters result in a story that doesn't add up to Follett at his best. Too bad, because when he is good he is very, very good. Not here, however.

Rating:
Summary: Too Many Mistakes for a Quake
Review: bought the book because as a previous reader of Ken Follets' most notably the Pillars of the Earth thought he would deliver. Yes, what was read out of touch. Ken gave tribute to notables in California, but forgot some things, like it does not take minutes to hang up the phone in the presidio to take a helicopter across the bay. or even drive across the bay in LESS THAN MINUTES. check out page 417, where sloppy writing ensued and i only point this out, because i was livid with the timing aspects in his latest novel. the lingo, well, who says "he got clean away", i cringed when i read that.

Rating:
Summary: No Follet Book is worse than this one
Review: I don't know what's worse in this book: the writing, the plot, or the character development. The writing is so stilted and uninspiring that I cannot believe this is the same author who wrote "A Place Called Freedom." Even more amazing are the reviews by people who actually thought this was a good book! There is simply no room for intelligent disagreement about this book. It stinks.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting bad guys
Review: The main villian is an illiterate, con-man, barely competent thief and murderer. And Follett managed to make me actually like the guy. The plot is believable when you take into account the great skills of the FBI managing the Chineese atomic spy case current now, or the grand manner in which they investigated the Branch Davidians in Texas.

The complaints in the other reviews can be summarized as "this one is different, not historical, not England." It is contemporary California and that is not all bad. Take this book on its own merits. It is a fun read and you get your money's worth for entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: Come On People Lighten Up!
Review: I wrote a review in July and after areading everyone else's reviews I was utterly dissapoited. It had all of the great components of a great novel, yet we have people calling it The Bummer Of Eden. What more do they want? Follett's portral of his characters was outstanding. He developed them very well and created specific details to their exact motives. If you wanted more sex, it would have become a trashy novel. But if you wanted stellar example of good writing this is it! [e-mail]