Rating: 
Summary: HOT FUN EROTIC STORY
Review: Ben Tyler has done a great job bringing us this novel. It was pure fun to read. I read it all day long and could not even put it down to eat. I knew from the wonderfully designed cover that it would be a super book and I was correct. I want a sequel, Mr. Tyler. I also recommend Camping in the Backyard by Anthony J. Zatti and A Better Place by Mark A. Roeder.
Rating: 
Summary: Like All the Characters, This Book ...
Review: Did Ben Tyler ever once re-read his own writing? Did his agent, editor, or publisher ever pick up a single page of manuscript and look it over? Either the answer is no, or else every person involved in the publication of this piece of useless tripe is illiterate. The writing is amateurish and heavy-handed, at best, condescending at worst. Tyler has apparently never heard the old first rule of writing fiction, "show, don't tell". He asserts all sorts of things about his characters' feelings, thoughts, and inner lives without ever bothering to illustrate the same. On the other hand, he loves to fling around lots of big vocabulary words, but has so little idea of how to construct a graceful sentence that the only theme he really communicates is how much smarter he thinks he is than his readers. The grammar is atrocious, and run-on sentences, illegible sentence fragments abound-- not to mention statements like "No matter what he did, Bart just couldn't impress Shari no matter what he did." See what a single re-reading and some simple editing might have accomplished?
In addition to the Freshman English problems, the underlying content is pointless. These characters are both unlikeable and uninteresting, and if any novel has ever featured such a drippy, shallow protagonist, I'd like to know what it is. Even the purported draw of this novel, the supposed gossip and revelations into Hollywood, turns out to be a hollow promise. There's not a single rumor here that hasn't already been trumpeted on the covers of every tabloid in the nation, not a single innuendo too titillating for People Magazine, and not even one new thought about the nefarious ways of the movie biz-- Mr. Tyler has actually achieved something quite considerable by managing to make this most salacious, manipulative slice of our society utterly boring.
Unbelievable, poorly researched at best, and containing barely a single readable paragraph. Please spend more than a weekend on your next work, Ben.
Rating:
Summary: Worse than bad
Review: Give me a break. Some people have likened Tyler to a gay Jackie Collins; I hope Collins takes offense. I am no fan of Collins, but she is not a sloppy writer. I am all for a light read, but even a light read should have some modicum of decent writing. Ben Tyler has to be one of the worst and sloppiest authors writing gay fiction today (and that's saying a LOT). All the characters in this novel are two dimensional (but I think that may be giving them two too many dimensions)and very few, if any, of the characters are likable. Rod Dominguez, supposedly the hot sexy stud who is an aspiring screenwriter but makes his living as a hustler is one of the most shallow, pathetic and unlikeable fictional characters of all time. Shari Draper, the horrible boss, is so over the top that it's hard to even picture her as a character. All subtlety is lost on Tyler; he feeds the story with ridiculous (and overlong) similes, no allusion gets by without Tyler feeling the need to explain it to us (note: allusions are just that because they should be clear enough to not be explained. When Tyler has two characters get together in a loving relationship, the writing and the dialogue are so saccharine and cliched that I had to skip through those sections before sugar shock set in. It reads like a parody, but sadly, in the romance scenes, Tyler is dead serious. This novel is purportedly a savage skewering of Hollywood, but again, I think subtlety and restraint would have made this much more effective. Plus, there is a climactic revelation about one of the main villains that may have once been a fresh and novel twist, but seems so tired and worn here that it seems Tyler just didn't know what else to do, so he threw in this twist to try and make the character more "layered" with motivation; instead, this just cheapens the book even further. If you want a true skewering of Hollywood, watch Altman's "The Player", if you want fiction so vapid, shallow and pathetic that they need to package it in an ultra-sexy cover reminiscent of old Gordon Merrick novels, then "Tricks of the Trade" is the book to read. But if you want to spare yourself the agony of a wasted time but still want quality gay fiction, read David Leavitt or Mark Merlis.
Rating:
Summary: White-hot, sex-filled page-turner
Review: I have to admit that I bought the book solely based on the really hot cover. I mostly read non-fiction, but the story grabbed me from the second page and now I think this is THE BEST NOVEL I'VE EVER READ! There is more than enough sex to satisfy anyone who expects a hot time after looking at the cover. The writer knows Hollywood and isn't afraid to name names. I hope there is a sequel coming soon!!!
Rating:
Summary: What a Great Read
Review: I just finished reading this book and I gotta say, I loved every single bit of it. The Characters were very well developed. I felt as though I was right there in the mix feeling what the characters went through and salavating over the character of Rod. I couldn't help but fall in love with Bart. I also found myself indentifying at times with what these men went through. I give this book a huge thumbs up. I had a hard time putting it down.
Rating:
Summary: Is this what Hollywood is really like?
Review: I read this funny novel in one sitting. It is a very fast paced gossipy and shrewd skewering of Hollywood types. The twist ending was fun and there a few steamy scenes that makes you want for more. I will look forward to other Ben Tyler novels. Perhaps there is a sequel there somewhere when scary Shari comes back to get revenge!
Rating: 
Summary: Not so tricky
Review: I've tried twice to get into this bestselling book. It's clever and fun, but I can't seem to make it past page 90. It just gets so vapid so quickly, and it's nowhere as great as some of the books to which it's compared ("Sex Toys of the Gods", "California Screaming"). I've even tried skipping ahead, but all the zippy inside jokes get real thin. At least the cover will help sell it.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Trick is getting through this book!
Review: Novels about making it in Hollywood are nothing new. Hollywood has a reputation where everyone uses everyone to get what they want as fast as they can. "Tricks of the Trade" is such a novel but there's a lot more plot here, and this book is a fast, easy read full of vivid characters who know a little about back stabbing and getting their own way. There's Bart Cain, the main character, who is a publicity writer for Sterling Studios; Shari Draper, Bart's homophobic boss; Rod Dominguez, the hot Latino stud who hustles by night and writes so called brilliant scripts by day; and Jim Fallon, the All-American sit-com star whose career is in the dumps. Bart meets Rod in a chat room, and the two get together for some action. Soon Bart is instantly hooked on Rod, and after Rod talks Bart into getting his script read by the studio, he drops him like a ton of lead. Into the picture steps, Jim Fallon, who thinks Rod's script is his answer to his sagging career. This story, with more twists than you can imagine, leaves you exhausted by the end of the book, trying to keep up with it all. The fun is in seeing just how far each of these characters will go to get ahead. You will find yourself racing toward the finish line to see who comes out the winner in this fun, but busy novel. It's an enjoyable read that's well worth the time.
Joe Hanssen
Rating: 
Summary: Making It in Hollywood!
Review: Novels about making it in Hollywood are nothing new. Hollywood has a reputation where everyone uses everyone to get what they want as fast as they can. "Tricks of the Trade" is such a novel but there's a lot more plot here, and this book is a fast, easy read full of vivid characters who know a little about back stabbing and getting their own way. There's Bart Cain, the main character, who is a publicity writer for Sterling Studios; Shari Draper, Bart's homophobic boss; Rod Dominguez, the hot Latino stud who hustles by night and writes so called brilliant scripts by day; and Jim Fallon, the All-American sit-com star whose career is in the dumps. Bart meets Rod in a chat room, and the two get together for some action. Soon Bart is instantly hooked on Rod, and after Rod talks Bart into getting his script read by the studio, he drops him like a ton of lead. Into the picture steps, Jim Fallon, who thinks Rod's script is his answer to his sagging career. This story, with more twists than you can imagine, leaves you exhausted by the end of the book, trying to keep up with it all. The fun is in seeing just how far each of these characters will go to get ahead. You will find yourself racing toward the finish line to see who comes out the winner in this fun, but busy novel. It's an enjoyable read that's well worth the time.
Joe Hanssen
Rating:
Summary: Painless but thin and surprisingly sloppy
Review: The author, a gay publicist at a huge Hollywood studio, has created a witty, fast-paced novel about a gay publicist at a huge Hollywood studio. Besides the wicked satire, imaginative plot and colorful main characters, half the fun of this book is trying to figure out which real-life stars and studio honchos were the models for the demanding loonies that the hero must placate. (Most are disguised only thinly.)
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