Rating: 
Summary: Are you sure Caleb Carr wrote this?!
Review: Ever since I read The Alienist, I have touted the brilliance of Mr. Carr. Angel of Darkness was a lesser effort, but I continued to praise the author's writing to anyone who would listen. I have been waiting anxiously for his next novel. I don't read his books, I savor each word, marveling at his abilities. As I began doing with this book. I was so thoroughly bored, however, that I gave up half way through. So, I have to ask, did someone mistakening put his name on the cover? The characters are cartoonish, the action boring, and the ending, well, I'll never know. I think I will reread The Alienist instead.
Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: I was so incredibly excited to find out that Mr. Carr had a new book. I absolutely loved and highly recommend his previous fictional efforts. The mix of fiction and history is perfect. What a major disappointment to discover that his latest effort is neither. I felt that the characters were unbelievable and unlikable and the dialogue very "cheesy." Not quite sci-fi and not quite thriller. Please Caleb, I'll forgive you this time, but return to what you know best.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, the idea was interesting
Review: Well, I'll start by saying that I do think that Caleb Carr is a very talented writer, HOWEVER, this book is an amateur effort, at best. Every chapter ends with heavy handed foreshadowing, and a cliff hanger which seems to be thrown in to keep you from putting the book down in disgust. The characters are very one-dimensional, especially the main character, and the book almost feels like a Luddite rant. Up until the end, technology is described as a purely destructive force, but then it is used to solve all the worlds ills in a Deus ex machina-like resolution, which to me felt like Star Trek's universal translator. To sum things up, while I do think that Caleb Carr writes very good historical thrillers, science fiction fables are not his forte. I would suggest picking up any James Morrow book instead of reading this.
Rating:
Summary: very disappointing
Review: I had loved The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness - but I couldn't even bear to finish reading this one! The characters are cartoonish, the short chapters jarring. It seemed like the author had a good idea, but didn't develop it with the depth and richness of his previous novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what you would expect from Carr but just as good.
Review: I have to admit; I was hoping for another book in the same style as The Alienist and was at first a bit disappointed with a story set in the future. However, once I got past my initial impressions and settled into the book, I was quite impressed. Carr is a versitile writer; make no mistake about that. I think that some of the negative reviews are from people who can't adapt their expectations of an author. That's to bad because Carr's latest is as good as his previous work. I couldn't put down this book and stayed up late (much latter than I should have) reading it. Not many books make me do that. If you like Carr, I think you'll like this one also.
Rating:
Summary: Caleb Carr, a man after, and not before, his time
Review: In his previous two novels, The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness, Caleb Carr draws upon his exceptional historical knowledge of turn-of-the-century New York to weave a credible and fantastic tale involving five extremely well-developed protagonists and one mysterious, psychopthic and misunderstood villain.His background in U.S. history helped him tap into the paranoia, destitution, and cultural taboos that served to create situations for the five sleuths who went to solve two seemingly unsolvable murders. Caleb Carr should have stuck with history. This foray into the future sullies his literary reputation. At least Stephen King composed thirty or so good works before he started putting out hacks. Killing Time is an unsophisticated, shallow and wholly unrealistic work. The futuristic technologies introduced in this story are wholly unbelievable because he does not include his usual level of detail. Further, the futuristic technology serves not only as the premise for the story, but also as a Deus Ex Machina -- machine of the gods -- that an author uses to write himself out of a corner. The technology conveniently saves the main characters in several instances. The story is decent, though shallow. Had Carr dreamed up the level of detail in this story to a level even near to Alienist and Angel, the book would have been decent. Without the detail, it is yet another bad book by a good author who feels pressured to put something, anything, on the store shelves.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth it
Review: This book was seriously disappointing. It's hard to believe that this is the author of 'The Alienist'.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, albeit melodramatic, novel of the future.
Review: "Killing Time" is the latest novel by Caleb Carr, the author of the bestseller novel, "The Alienist". This book takes place in the year 2023, in a world laid waste by pollution and racked by violent warfare all over the globe. The protagonist, Dr. Gideon Wolfe, is a psychiatrist and an expert in history, who gets involved with a band of intellectual fanatatics led by the Tressalian siblings, Malcolm and Larissa. Malcolm, Larissa and their cohorts have one important goal: to prove to the world that the Information Age has enabled both governments and corporations to dupe the average citizens into believing anything that they see in the news media or on the Internet. The Tressalians and their colleagues decide to create a series of hoaxes and then to subsequently reveal the source of these hoaxes, in order to show how easy it is to manipulate information in the modern world. Unfortunately, their schemes backfire big time, leading to tragedy. The strengths of the book lie in the well thought out scenario of what a future world may look like: depopulated oceans, filthy cities and nuclear devices for sale to the highest bidder. The characters are lively, from the brilliant, but slightly mad Malcolm to the morally troubled Dr. Wolfe, who is not sure that he agrees with Malcolm's theories. Carr provides suspense, action and romance, but he gives no easy answers to the problems that will plague our society in the future. The book's major weakness is the melodrama that seeps into the plot, which at times seem too contrived to be believable. Nonetheless, "Killing Time" is a thought-provoking look at the possibly dark future of humanity if we continue along our present course.
Rating:
Summary: This can't be
Review: How disappointing! I've been watching for another book by Carr, but not one like this. It's hard to believe he's the same author who wrote Alienist and Angel. I read half the book (only because I was stuck in an airport) and found both the characters and writing style to be extremely superficial. No way I could get interested. (I hardly put either of his first two books down.) Decided to skip to the end for the surprise--which was as disappointing as the rest of the book. Please tell me this wasn't really Caleb Carr's doing!!
Rating:
Summary: Too bad.....
Review: Quite a negative surprise. I was becoming a Caleb fan, and waited a long time (for me) for this new book, and now we get this Hi-tech, Sci-Fi junk. He should stick with what he knows. If I wanted to read this type of book, I would seek better Authors in this field. Pity, we might be witnessing the death of a good Author, who got bored with his previous style. Shame.
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