Rating: 
Summary: Another good book written by Alice Hoffman.
Review: "The River King" takes place in Massachusetts. Carlin Leander and Gus Pierce are both students at the Haddan School, which is a boarding school. Carlin attends on a swimming scholarship, while Gus, a troubled kid, is sent there by his father. The two meet and become good friends. In the meantime, Carlin starts dating Harry McKenna, a senior with a lot of influence on the other students. Other characters are introduced throughout the story, such as Betsy Chase, a woman who is engaged to a man who also works for the school, and Abel Grey, a police officer who becomes interested in Betsy. One morning, a student's drowned body is found in a river by the school. The school wants to keep the situation quiet, and labels the death an accidental drowning; however, when an autopsy is conducted, the results suggest foul play. Abel ignores the warnings from the school and the police department, and further investigates the situation. He knows that there is a murderer, or murderers, out there, and he wants justice. "The River King" was well written. The reader will be kept interested throughout the whole book, even though I found that the story picked up speed in the middle. Fans will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: As always, Hoffman delivers magic!
Review: To truly experience Alice Hoffman's work, you need the ability to suspend all rational thought for a bit. Hoffman's tales are conjured with both a writer's voice and a magician's wand. She is never boring. In THE RIVER KING, Ms. Hoffman tells the story of a small town in Massachusetts...she divides the town into the haves and the have nots. An elite private school adds to the class distinctions. When one of Haddan School's students is found drowned in the troubled Haddan River, city and students alike are effected. Haddan School's own troubled past becomes part of Hoffman's tapestry. The fragrance of roses appears in the middle of winter. Fish appear out of nowhere. The dead boy's image shows up in photographs. Bees swarm in October. Mysterious illness strikes students. No one rests until the mystery is solved. THE RIVER KING is one of Hoffman's best efforts. It is not light, easy, summertime reading. It is to be savored and will linger with you long after you've finished. Like Hoffman's past work, some mysteries are solved. Some will never be. That's what it's like to read a good Alice Hoffman story. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I *HATE* it when I finish a book and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This book did just that; I've read Alice Hoffman before and while I can't say I'm a huge fan, I've found her other work to be engaging and aside from her annoying use of fantasy and magic, I've usually gotten a good read. Not so in "The River King"... there were a number of distractions that cropped up: she has her faculty meeting in the library -- but no, suddenly it's in the auditorium. Then we're sort of led to think that maybe Annie was a tragic character from long ago, but she evidently was a contemporary of some of the people in the book. That just didn't seem believable. My biggest beef with this book, though, is that the plot (loosely wrought and contrived as it was) just sort of sputtered and petered out. What about that lame excuse for not pursuing the murder investigation? I doubt whether that would happen AT ALL in real life. I don't know where Alice Hoffman wanted to go with this, but it wound up being a big fat disappointment. I had expected so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to her usual standard
Review: I can't say this book was the best that I have ever read, but I enjoyed it. The suspense had a way of buliding up, but there were things that were so obviously impossible to happen that I almost kicked the characters. And I don't understand the point of the end of the story. Why didn't those kids get in trouble? Once I put it down I just realized that some things are better left unknown and the justice is always a dish served at the wrong time.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I had a hard time getting through this. I will usually give any book a good long time to kick in and hook my interest, but The River King just never did. Worse, it bored me to tears....when it didn't have me squinting at the pages, saying, "What?" To put it succinctly, this was one of the most bizarre and puzzling books I have ever read. The characters practically define the term "one-dimensional"; I never understood or cared about any of them - once I figured out who they were in relation to one another that is. They did not fit, alone or together with one another. As a matter of fact, everything in this book, from the plot (or lack of one) to the setting, from the dialog to the development was jerky, disjointed and malformed. What a waste of time!
Rating:
Summary: Maybe she's a great writer, but...
Review: I'm unfamiliar with Alice Hoffman's other work, but if this book is indicative of her talent, I'm inclined to remain that way. I have a tendency to continue reading books I dislike, just because I don't like to quit things halfway through, so I kept on reading well past the point I had begun to wonder "why am I reading this?". The plot is as worn as an old shoe and the reader must continually endure schmaltzy references to the "mysterious wafting scent of roses" indicating - what? A ghostly indication of the character's victimhood? As if we didn't recognize this on our own? The characters seem to have been ripped straight out of a melodrama, complete with fainting spells and evil sneers. And the ending is just halfhearted. There's sure to be a movie, where at least the only wafting odor will be that of popcorn.
Rating:
Summary: move over Practical Magic
Review: it is my belief that this is Alice Hoffman's best work, her writing is simply beautiful from beginning to END! this is the first novel of her's that i completely enjoyed, though i loved the movie Practical Magic the novel was severely lacking and her others i cannot seem to get into, but this novel pulled me and wouldn't let go, i loved the character of Able Grey and the whole situation built up around him and his mysterious family history, and how could u not feel sorry for the character of Gus and just want to love that poor teenage boy who couldn't seem to fit in...all and all it is a wonderful and beautiful book! go read it!
Rating:
Summary: Best Yet!
Review: So far I have read Practical Magic, Illumination Night, Seventh Heaven, Blue Diary, Here on Earth, Drowning Season, and The River King. I found that the River King was the best yet. It had true emotions expressed throughout the book that touches you in an unexplainable way. This book was not only moving, but it had a little mystery to it as well. If you read any of her books. Read this one.
Rating:
Summary: On par with Practical Magic
Review: The other reviews of this novel do not give "The River King" justice. It is truly an excellent piece of work. Hoffman's descriptive writing, as usual, is wonderfully melodic, and the characters in this book are some of the most endearing I have encountered. Gus, one of the main characters, is the type of person you just want to hold and protect, and Carlin is equally captivating, though infuriatingly human. Betsy and Abe, the two adults with a romance, are just as captivating. I highly reccommend this book. I have read quite a few of Hoffman's works, and I would say this (along with Practical Magic) is one of her best.
I just finished reading it 2 days ago, and no matter how hard I try I can't stop thinking about it. The characters are so wonderful that I just can't leave them behind me. Be forwarned, it's a terribly sad book, but it is definitely worth the read! In fact, I hope everyone reads it! I think it's a fantastic book, despite what the other reviewers say.Another reviewer has said that it does not leave you feeling like a piece of yourself has been released-this is true. But I think that the reason you don't feel like you have released a piece of yourself is because it becomes such a part of you that you cannot let it go. It's that good.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasurable Read
Review: The River King, by Alice Hoffman is a well-rounded book. There is the right amount of sentiment, tragedy, and suspense to balance the plot and the overall experience of the book. While this particular work does not excel in any of these categories, it is a nice combination.
It is set around the late 1990's at a private high school in the small town of Haddan, Massachusetts. The main story follows the lives of an incoming freshman, a new photography teacher, and a local police officer. Everything plays out in a continuous cycle of events that intertwine and include the past and the present.
While The River King may not be the intellectual thriller of Conrad, or have the wildly imaginative characters like in Faulkner, it is good writing for our day and age. The themes are modern and the story is life-like. I would recommend it as a good book to read for pleasure.
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