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Summary: The first line: Theodore is in the ground.
Review: How could you not want to read a book with that first line? This amazing book is for everyone who loves suspense or historical fiction. I have recommend this novel more than any other and have yet to have someone not Love it. I even gave it to my brother who approaches reading like he does running: he only runs when chased.I could not put it down. I found myself stealing moments throughout the day, hiding from the boss, whatever it took. It is not so much a gripping work as one that you enter. I attribute this to Mr. Carr's attention to detail. (I am sure that this is also the main complaint of his critics, but oh well, to each his own.) I was lucky enough to attend a reading of Angel of Darkness (his new book). He explained that it takes him about 9 months to research one of his novels. His research is accurate down to weather. He further authenticates his tale by adding historical figures from Roosevelt and JP Morgan to Alan Comstock. Finally, I would add that Mr. Carr intends to write two to three more novels with these characters. Read The Alienist, then Angel of Darkness, so that you too will look forward to upcoming novels.
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Summary: Slow at Parts but a good book
Review: I enjoyed this book and was very pleased with the climax and the ending. The last 150 pages fly-by. Unfortunately, many sections of this book drag on and on. The writing was fluent and descriptive and the relationship development between characters was superb. Although I enjoyed this book, I am not rushing to read Caleb's next book Angel of Darkness. It's a good Mystery/Thriller and I recommend you read it...when you get a chance.
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Summary: solid entertainment worth the price
Review: After I finished Aeschylus' Oresteia Trilogy and Henry James' "The Wings of the Dove" I really, really needed light entertainment. This novel was perfect. I have a flash for those who demand that it be great literature. IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE GREAT LITERATURE. This is entertainment, not something you read for your thesis. Lighten up. As a fun was to kill a few evenings, this is wonderful.
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Summary: Absolutely Awesome
Review: I thought the book was extremely well written. Not only was ninteenth century NY portrayed accurately, bu the actual storytelling was superb.
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Summary: Why can't ALL audio books be this good?
Review: I loved reading THE ALIENIST, but I can honestly say I enjoyed the cassette version even more. Although still rich in period detail, some of the less essential material been removed. This results in a clearer and more consistent flow to the marvelous story, and an even better sense of the key characters. Edward Herrmann does a magnificent job with the prose and the dialogue, providing a beautifully modulated pleasure for the ear throughout. If the novel is ever dramatised on film, one can only hope it will be nearly as good as this audio is. Clarifying, rather than just abridging the original text of the novel, this is everything an audio version of a book should be.
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Summary: Dedicated to the true students of Psychology!
Review: As a student of Psychology, I have to tell you that I am not a very easy reader to please. I am very picky about style and the grace and ease of a writer to produce readable material. If you like historical settings and surreal characters, then read this book. Quite possibly the best psychological text ever written!! Carr's imagination is a phenomenal world of plots and schemes that come alive on paper. I could not put the book down, and am looking forward to life after Angel of Darkness. Which was also a beautiful concoction. To those of you who gave this book any lower then an 8 I suggest you drop the childhood sarcasm and develop a brain. Also I suggest some psychotherapy sessions to see what pent up subconscious conflicts you are suffering from. I also suggest that if people have any doubt at all whether or not they will like the book, put the book back on the shelf and walk away. To the pscychology students who have read this book... you know who you are, keep on reading
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Summary: The best crime story ever. Beats The Silence of Lambs.
Review: The Alienist is a absolutely enthralling book. Caleb Carr's research of early 1900s New York is flawless. His character description is vivid, and the actual mystery and how it is solved is magnificent. No doubt the best crime story I've ever read. This book has been compared to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. No way! This beats Thomas Harris's thriller page for page, no doubt about it. The description is more vivid, the research is much better, and the mystery is much more captivating. The only reason I give this book a 9 and not a 10 is because the beginning is a bit slow. Nevertheless, I applaud Mr. Carr for this masterpiece.
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Summary: Gripping...Impossible to put down
Review: The Alienist is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Most authors get tangled up in side stories and descriptions, causing them to lose the actual story. Carr, however, keeps the reader on edge and never strays from the plot while managing to give a vivid description of New York, law and psychology dyring the turn of the century. The characters and villians are realistic. The reader feels like as though he/she is there with the Isaacsons, Dr. Kriezler, Moore, and Sara Howard as they track the city's first serial killer.
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Summary: Good start, fair development, poor ending
Review: DEscription of turn of the century New York is very good, but you don't buy a mystery book for historical data. Characters are not fully developed and the ending really frustrates you. It can make a good movie though, if some of the slow parts of the book are corrected in the script.
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Summary: Very Good but a little drawn out at times
Review: It has a very detailed account of historical times and I think that's why it becomes a tad drawn out.Yet the gruesomeness of the murders and the interaction of all the characters trying to catch the murderer blend well to keep the reader finishing the book.
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