Rating: 
Summary: Too woolly to get to the grind
Review: Brings the descriptive color of James Lee Burke to the days of the wall's collapse and a complex understanding of the conflict, confusion and disillusion in the surround. Having been in Berlin, Budapest and Prague in those months, I commend his insight. Extraordinary descriptive language and use of metaphor. Similar qualities to the superlative "Bombay Ice."
Rating: 
Summary: Vivid style and color. Depicits the confusion of 1989.
Review: Brings the descriptive color of James Lee Burke to the days of the wall's collapse and a complex understanding of the conflict, confusion and disillusion in the surround. Having been in Berlin, Budapest and Prague in those months, I commend his insight. Extraordinary descriptive language and use of metaphor. Similar qualities to the superlative "Bombay Ice."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent piece of historical fiction
Review: I am not a huge fan of spy novels, but this book kept me riveted from the beginning. At times the book did seem a bit like Forrest Gump, in that the characters just happened to end up at ground zero of all the most chaotic events surrounding the Wall's fall. However, to successfully capture the feel and madness of the time, Marks must do this. The book is excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Cold War history.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent piece of historical fiction
Review: I am not a huge fan of spy novels, but this book kept me riveted from the beginning. At times the book did seem a bit like Forrest Gump, in that the characters just happened to end up at ground zero of all the most chaotic events surrounding the Wall's fall. However, to successfully capture the feel and madness of the time, Marks must do this. The book is excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Cold War history.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Read
Review: I found this book while on vacation in a beach house and I was looking forward to a good book to escape with. Too bad this wasn't the book. The plot was weak -- too cliched and too convenient. ...And Styles?? Jiri must not be that good of a terrorist if his two attempts on Styles still haven't finished the job. Maybe I missed something since most reviewers enjoyed the book. But as a German and History teacher, this novel really left something to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: I was expecting big things from this thriller, set amidst the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent uprisings in Eastern Europe--and found it all rather disappointing in the end. One problem is that there were way too many characters bouncing around all over the place, and while some felt real, far too many others were simply too cardboard for me (especially the main villain Styles, and the spunky young reporter Jodie). Marks does manage to introduce the reader to the major events of those months, and captures the aura fairly well--but at the expense of any kind of plausibility in many of the characters' actions, and certainly at the expense of the weak plot. Although strong on atmosphere, overall comparisons to Greene and LeCarré are way off-track.
Rating:
Summary: Racist?
Review: No, The Wall isn't racist, a Hollywood establishment that hasn't seen fit to greenlight a movie based on this amazing thriller centered on a black hero is. Denzel, Will Smith, don't you pay guys to find properties like this for you!
If you love Tom Clancy or those other frequent flyer authors, move on. What John Marks has accomplished in this epic, globe-trotting tour-de-force is a combination of J R R Tolkien and Martin Cruz Smith that no one else could have dreamt up. Shoot outs with Commies in the Mountains of Mordor, that's what this book has, and if some amateur reviewers didn't get it, thank god the professionals at Publishers Weekly did.
I only hope this guy writes another novel before the tiresome twits get him down.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Plotting
Review: On November 9, 1989, in a shocking turn of events, Stuart Glennick, an American spy, defects to the East. Accompanying Stuart on his flight to the Communists is his German girl friend, Uta Silk. Three hours later, the wall comes tumbling down. Uta changes her mind and returns to the West. Meanwhile, a fellow spy, Stuart's best friend Nester Cates has been sent in to bring Stuart back at all costs. At the same time that Stuart flees the West, his brother Douglas is in Berlin looking for solace after losing his job and wife. Instead of finding inner peace and harmony, Douglas is mistaken for a terrorist and is in danger from both sides. Still, everything returns to Stuart and how his defection is affecting everyone in his circle. THE WALL is great historical fiction that brings to life the most dynamic series of events that culminate with the fall of the Iron Curtain. Stuart is a great character, whose motives are clearly shown by author John Marks. ! The impact of his defection on his friends, lover, and sibling is also distinctly spelled out so that readers can understand their deepest feelings. Though there are moments when the novel seems a bit stretched (for instance, the resemblance between Douglas and the terrorist), the dramatization of the fall of the wall and the rest of the East is a brilliant thriller that clarifies what really happened in an exciting way. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Read
Review: Rewarding reading for those interested in Eastern Europe and the reunification of Germany. Terrific characters and authentic atmosphere. A great start by a talented writer.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative, complicated thriller
Review: Rewarding reading for those interested in Eastern Europe and the reunification of Germany. Terrific characters and authentic atmosphere. A great start by a talented writer.
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