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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!
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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: 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: 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.
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.
Rating:
Summary: One McGee's Best
Review: This was one of the most enjoyable books of the McGee series for me, and I think the fact that I have read 7 or 8 other McGee titles first may have something to do with it. In just about every book, Travis McGee does more than just flirt with women -- he flirts with the idea of falling in love with them, but he never, ever does. And so this book begins with McGee certain that he's found The One, and then she's taken from him.
So if this is your first time reading about Travis McGee...well I'd like to persuade you not to, ironically! Read "One Fearful Yellow Eye" or "The Quick Red Fox" first. Otherwise, I fear that this book may read like just another revenge story.
Rating: 
Summary: Not representative of the others
Review: This was the first Travis McGee book I read -- it's recommended as one of the best 100 mysteries by Keating -- and it really turned me off. McGee comes across as bloodthirsty and hyperviolent; not at all the sympathetic character he is in the other books. Luckily I read another McGee book and found out that The Green Ripper is not representative of the series. If, like me, you pick this book up because of Keating's recommendation, all I can say is I haven't a clue why Keating selected this as one as the best. He also choose The Blue Hammer as one of Ross Macdonald's best, when it was definitely his worst.
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Summary: Travis the Reaper
Review: Wow - where do I start? This is about the 10th McGee book I've read, and like the others, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Like so many others, it starts out with our hero's newest girlfriend, who you know will not live to the end of the story. Travis must avenge her wrongful death, which leads him to the strangest adventure he's ever had. Mysterious government agents enlist his help (who are those guys?). He stumbles into Camp Weirdo, a cross between Jonestown and Usama Bin-Laden's training center, where he isn't supposed to escape. Since the camp's residents are little more than automatons, I had little sympathy for what Travis had to do. You know Travis will be resourceful, since he has several more colorful adventures ahead. I would have given this the full 5 stars, except there were too many loose ends left unanswered. I almost thought (though I know better) that MacDonald left them on purpose to support a future McGee story.
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