Rating: 
Summary: A mindless compilation of everything "cool"
Review: Joe Quirk's debut novel tries to "have something for everyone": it is about a tattooed, blading, computer hacking, music afficiando who is a courier. However, in trying to blend everything that he has read is the new fad over the last five years, Quirk creates a mindless story that lacks style or enjoyable plot. Quirk tries to write in slang associated with each of the pop culture references but ends up sounding like a stammering 15 year old. The Ultimate Rush has been hailed as the first major novel about rollerblading but anyone interested in the sport will see (and Quirk admitted this in a issue of a blading magazine) that the descriptions are extremely inaccurate. Those interested in reading about rollerblading shouldn't waste money on this trash and people wanting a hacker thriller should check anything by Neal Stephenson or William Gibson.
Rating: 
Summary: Sensory Overload with Sugar on it
Review: Oh my god, what a ride! The genius of what "Joe Quirk" has done is all the more amazing when you consider the fact that this book actually got published. I was beginning to think it was impossible to find a book by a contemporary author about characters other than the disillusioned middle and upper classes. As far as I know there has never been a book about this particular iteration of the nihilist fringe element in our society. The author doesn't let up on those of us who are unschooled in the jargon of "badass" bladers, skate boarders, etc. and I couldn't have been happier. READ it for its originality and for the love the author put into it even if you don't think you have anything in common with people with blue hair and pierced bodies. It has been a revelation. I could go on and on, this book excites me so, but I'll just try to chill and wait for Mr. Quirk's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Sensory Overload with Sugar on it
Review: Oh my god, what a ride! The genius of what "Joe Quirk" has done is all the more amazing when you consider the fact that this book actually got published. I was beginning to think it was impossible to find a book by a contemporary author about characters other than the disillusioned middle and upper classes. As far as I know there has never been a book about this particular iteration of the nihilist fringe element in our society. The author doesn't let up on those of us who are unschooled in the jargon of "badass" bladers, skate boarders, etc. and I couldn't have been happier. READ it for its originality and for the love the author put into it even if you don't think you have anything in common with people with blue hair and pierced bodies. It has been a revelation. I could go on and on, this book excites me so, but I'll just try to chill and wait for Mr. Quirk's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Read
Review: Okay, let's just accept the fact that, well, there are no facts in this book. Joe Quirk has admitted that he knows nothing about either inline skating or computer hacking and his writing backs him up on this. His mistakes are laughable, from his dearth of knowledge about the laws of physics to the fiberglass wheels he places on the bottoms of his character's skates (which would shatter under punishment of riding San Francisco's hills) to the impossible computer programs his characters write to his complete botch-up of the retail distribution methods of crack cocaine. But you have to decide why you are reading this book. Is it to gain factual information regarding the underground life of messengers? I propose not. Is it to experience a realistic trip through cyberspace? I hope not. Or is it to take a breathtaking journey through the fictional San Francisco in Joe Quirk's mind? If that's your goal, then you will not be disappointed. Upon reading the first three pages of "The Ultimate Rush", I was feeling likeI had been punched in the stomach. I was breathless, tense and shaking, as though I had shared Chet Griffin's ride to the Mission from on high. I have not read anything that gripping or funny since the first three pages of Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, Quirk cannot maintain the adrenaline rush of his opening chapter (I say fortunately, because I would not have survived the novel at that opening pace), but he does settle into a rather nice little thriller, one that is chilling, amusing and exciting and just plain fun. I kept reading deep into the night, hoping to regain that cherry high of the opening. I wasn't disappointed. Quirk's characters are fully realized and alive, albeit from a world most of us will never visit. His girlfriend, Ho, skategrrrrrl supreme and punk rocking lesbian, is fabulous and his next door neighbor, a wheelchair-bound hacker, is funny and resourceful. As has been mentioned before, the plot is ludicrous: Chet is hired to transport illegal data via skates down San Francisco's dangerous hills. The crooks to whom he delivers eventually turn on and attempt to murder him. He decides to turn the tables by turning rival gangs and crooked cops on one another in an amazing climactic battle. That's all. If you like witty, page-turning, heartstopping novels, give this one a try. You probably won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Read
Review: Okay, let's just accept the fact that, well, there are no facts in this book. Joe Quirk has admitted that he knows nothing about either inline skating or computer hacking and his writing backs him up on this. His mistakes are laughable, from his dearth of knowledge about the laws of physics to the fiberglass wheels he places on the bottoms of his character's skates (which would shatter under punishment of riding San Francisco's hills) to the impossible computer programs his characters write to his complete botch-up of the retail distribution methods of crack cocaine. But you have to decide why you are reading this book. Is it to gain factual information regarding the underground life of messengers? I propose not. Is it to experience a realistic trip through cyberspace? I hope not. Or is it to take a breathtaking journey through the fictional San Francisco in Joe Quirk's mind? If that's your goal, then you will not be disappointed. Upon reading the first three pages of "The Ultimate Rush", I was feeling likeI had been punched in the stomach. I was breathless, tense and shaking, as though I had shared Chet Griffin's ride to the Mission from on high. I have not read anything that gripping or funny since the first three pages of Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, Quirk cannot maintain the adrenaline rush of his opening chapter (I say fortunately, because I would not have survived the novel at that opening pace), but he does settle into a rather nice little thriller, one that is chilling, amusing and exciting and just plain fun. I kept reading deep into the night, hoping to regain that cherry high of the opening. I wasn't disappointed. Quirk's characters are fully realized and alive, albeit from a world most of us will never visit. His girlfriend, Ho, skategrrrrrl supreme and punk rocking lesbian, is fabulous and his next door neighbor, a wheelchair-bound hacker, is funny and resourceful. As has been mentioned before, the plot is ludicrous: Chet is hired to transport illegal data via skates down San Francisco's dangerous hills. The crooks to whom he delivers eventually turn on and attempt to murder him. He decides to turn the tables by turning rival gangs and crooked cops on one another in an amazing climactic battle. That's all. If you like witty, page-turning, heartstopping novels, give this one a try. You probably won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: not deep, not totally accurate, but more fun than yr mom!
Review: okay, so it's not the great american novel. but when was the last time you read a book that you really couldn't put down? i fell behind in classes cos i HAD to finish this book. and then i was upset when it was over. the narrator, chet, is completely lovable. if there is one thing the author seems to know about, it is the intricate inner-workings of the 20something male mind. not the same thing can really be said about the 20something lesbian mind, but you can't have everything. completely worthwhile book, but would make an even better movie. keep yr fingers crossed.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun read, hilarious in spots but could have been better.
Review: Overall I liked this book but it could have been lots better. It's different and the central character is pretty unique. It's also incredibly funny in spots. That said, there's a few glaring difficiencies. The worst is the overworked finale showdown between police, chinese gunmen, Italian mobsters, skateboarders (all present in groups) and of course covered by the press. Give me a break --- YAWN!!! This orgasm of text is best skipped by the reader. Other than that the book is OK.
Rating:
Summary: a courier sez: decent summer standby reading
Review: Quirk's English is certainly unique, but at times I felt like I was reading a book based on a movie -- he seemed to be describing some hyper-kinetic scene playing on the monitor of his mind. Problem was, I wasn't seeing the same picture. The part where Chet makes his high-speed roller run around the corner (and over the car door) still seems against the laws of physics, and I've heard gripes that the streets don't exactly gel. Still, it was fairly amusing (until Chet sat down in front of the computer) and there were some excellent turns of phrase ("bent over like prison rookies. . .I don't have to lock my ride to some rottweiller's urinal. . .and wave toodle-oo to my sewer-mouthed colleagues grinding a slow zigzag up the side of Nob Hill"). Ho was captivating altho' a little too obviously sexualized in some points. My major gripe is with this being billed as a "courier book," because so little of the book is actually about couriering. Overall, not worth it, but better than most of the drek passing for "light" fiction these days.
Rating:
Summary: Just plain fun.
Review: Quirk's writing leaps off the page in an assault of exuberance and good humor. His characters are wild yet lovable, his situations absurd yet real, his perspective both quirky and profound. I cannot imagine how anybody could not love this book. Fellow readers, I STRONGLY recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Ride
Review: The Chinese Mob, The Itailian Mob, corrupt police, Skate Punks, Stock fraud, does is seem too much? Maybe, but Joe Quirk spins a wonderfully written tale with great pace about a rollerblanding messenger caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lots of action and great wit keeps this story moving along quickly to the action packed climax.
|
