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Summary: Mr. Carr turns from the Past, to the Future
Review: Caleb Carr is an author far better known for his novels set in 19th Century New York (ie, The Alienist) than anything else. So I was very surprised earlier this year when Time began serializing the first chapters of this novel.As a reader of science fiction, I was skeptical. What i was reading was clearly science fiction, even if it is not labelled explicitly as such (and indeed, its not listed here as SF). I at first dismissed the whole idea as a silly stunt from an author who probably would get the speculative science very very wrong. And it turned out that I was very wrong. I became fascinated with the exploits of Dr. Wolfe, the alluring but deadly Larissa Tressalian, and her brillant and sickly brother Malcolm. I looked forward to the publication of the full hardcover novel and grabbed it immediately. Although the promise of the first chapters suffers a bit, in my opinion in the later portions of the book, all in all, I was satisfied with Killing Time. It really IS science fiction, even if it isn't labelled as such. More importantly, though, its GOOD Science Fiction. Try it.
Rating: 
Summary: Caleb Carr Rules!
Review: I just finished reading Killing Time by Caleb Carr and I can honestly say that it was time well spent. Having read Carr's two previous works it is obvious that this guy only gets better with age. The story was fascinating and the writing was, as always, crisp and to the point . Do yourself a favor......pick this one up, and while your at it check out The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness as well, you won't be disappointed. Mr. Carr, my hat is off to you!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Awful
Review: I enjoyed The Alienist and Carr's derivative follow-up The Angel of Darkness. However, Killing Time is a slog. A ludicrous plot, stilted prose and "deep" ideas about propaganda and culture that are laughably naive. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Why Caleb Why!!
Review: Looking back on how happy I was to see this book sitting quietly on the shelf in Borders it's funny to think of how much I disliked it. I agree with all the other negative feedback that has been left regarding this book. Anyone who hasn't read Carr's work should read The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness and pretend like this book was written by an author who deserves to be known for writting trash....like Dean Koontz.
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Summary: Elmer Fudd Reads a Killing Time...
Review: I haven't finished this book and I'm not sure I will. I'm shocked that Caleb Carr's editors, producers, handlers and the like would allow him to read his own book on audiotape with the lisp he has! I'm so distracted every time he says a word with the letter "s" in it - he sounds just like Elmer Fudd! It really detracts from the overall book-on-tape experience. What a bummer! An author's ego should come second to a listener's enjoyment.
Rating: 
Summary: Killing Time...Not Quickly Enough
Review: I'll admit I was curious by the premise elaborated by the book's jacket, and had admired Carr's writing in "The Alienist". Yet these two novels seem to be written by two entirely different people. While "Killing Time" is an entirely different yarn than Carr's previous writings, gone are the intellectual research and vivid characters that made his previous words so enjoyable.
The novel begins fairly well. Short chapters, quick to the point, rife with conspiracy that the government intends to keep hidden. The plot begins by expostulating the world's position in 2024; economic collapse, inescapable wars, rampant pollution. When the novel's protagonist Gideon Wolfe stumbles upon video that has doctored images of the president's assassination, he finds himself unbelievably caught up in the plans of a group of expatriate idealists. And this is where the novel jumps off course from political thriller to science-fiction, well, mumbo jumbo of sorts. This band of characters believe that they can wake the world from its informational corruption by corrupting the information given to them. The world wants to be deceived.
At first Wolfe is swept up in their idealism, but when one of their plots results in a nucelar disaster, Wolfe pulls out and searches for some place in the world that isn't corrupted by the advance of technology and information. Carr has an interesting premise, but can't bring to fruition the possible destruction of the world through the use of sci-fi language, schemes and characters. While some predictions are eerily uncanny in a post-9/11 world, his story is too unbelievable to offer any solution to the world's problems.
Rating:
Summary: Quite possibly...
Review: ...the worst book of all-time. What a dissappointment after reading the Alienist, which was one of my favorite books of all-time. Angel of Darkness was somewhere between those two.
Rating:
Summary: Non-Fiction Disguised as Fiction
Review: Call it intellectual, philosophical, prophetic, whatever. I call it boring and opaque. I felt like I was reading someone's undergraduate assignment.
I chose to read this book because I heard Carr was a great writer. I assume this is true for his other books, but this book is just beyond boring. It is less of a story and more of a string of worst case scenarios for Carr's predictions for the future.
Sure, it may be a commentary on today's problems and what will go wrong if we do not straighten up, but I really did not care as I was reading it. He just did not connect with me as a reader. Frankly, I'd rather read a non-fiction social commentary than an essay pretending to be fiction.
Skip it. Read his other books.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Awful
Review: I enjoyed The Alienist and Carr's derivative follow-up The Angel of Darkness. However, Killing Time is a slog. A ludicrous plot, stilted prose and "deep" ideas about propaganda and culture that are laughably naive. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Why Caleb Why!!
Review: Looking back on how happy I was to see this book sitting quietly on the shelf in Borders it's funny to think of how much I disliked it. I agree with all the other negative feedback that has been left regarding this book. Anyone who hasn't read Carr's work should read The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness and pretend like this book was written by an author who deserves to be known for writting trash....like Dean Koontz.
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