Rating: 
Summary: Historical novel with a modern touch
Review: I was surprised by this novel, mainly by the historical detail it contained. Having grown up in NYC, it was particularly interesting to read about the city as it was 100 years ago. Mr. Carr is adept at creating atmosphere primarily in his detailed visual descriptions and discussion of sociopolitical forces as they relate to the story's characters. He is very well-versed in the history of 19th century NY and this book is a testament to that knowledge. The character development also kept me interested. The main flaw is the rather unoriginal and often boring serial-killer storyline. To be fair, however, Mr. Carr does spin a good tale. If you enjoy atmospheric mysteries with a touch of nostalgia, you'll probably enjoy this book.
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Summary: The novel that defines the term "Historical Thriller"
Review: This tour-de-force has left me eager to read its sequel, "The Angel of Darkness". Caleb Carr guides us through the New York City of 1896 with such precision that I felt impelled to download an old map and follow the characters' paths."The Alienist" is credibly written as a reminiscence by John Schuyler Moore. In 1919 the death of Theodore Roosevelt leads Moore to share with us the story of his friend Laszlo Kreizler's hunt for a serial killer, a hunt sanctioned by New York Police Commissioner Roosevelt in the spring of 1896. A metropolis at a crossroads, New York is home to a great many disparate forces who share an interest in keeping the city's law enforcement as corrupt and inefficient as it is. Efforts at reform are likely to be met with hostility, as Roosevelt soon found out. So when Roosevelt decides to accept Kreizler's help in assembling a task force to track down a particularly vicious serial killer, it is essential that Kreizler and his team work in secrecy, and that Roosevelt not be publicly associated with their effort. The plot is skilfully woven and the characters are well drawn. Carr painstakingly constructs a credible trail of evidence for his characters to follow, and grounds the story on a solid factual basis, cleverly working real historical events such as New York's notoriously corrupt 1890 census into the trail. This one will definitely keep you turning the pages till very late at night.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, but know what to expect
Review: When I first found this book, I had never heard of it, and the description on the back didn't tell me much more than the fact that this was "the reading experience of a lifetime." That almost made me laugh. That being said, I'm not even sure why I bought it. But I'm glad I did. Because what I found was a harrowing journey through the darkest trenches of a serial killer's mind, set in the not so perfect year of 1896.
As inhabitants of the not so perfect year of 2002, we tend to look at the years before the 20th century as times of innocence and beauty. Caleb Carr shows us the dark realities of the late 1800's, and some of them are far darker than those of today. There is no arguing that months and months of research must have gone into writing this book; the descriptions of New York City are so incredibly accurate, if not a little overly-extensive, that you feel as if you've been transported back in time and are standing there with all of the protagonists.
And I personally, would love to be standing there with them. The characters, while some of them are a little stereotypical, are very fascinating even if they're extremely dark, especially the complex Dr. Kreizler. They are a little underdeveloped, and anyone who argues otherwise has never read a character-driven novel. But this is not a character-driven novel, and besides, Caleb Carr's original plan, whether or not it will ever eventually be fulfilled, was to make this a series of novels, each told from the perspective of one of the protagonists. If that means all of them, that's 7 books. Completely developing each character in the first novel would leave nothing to be said in the remaining 6, and certain characters were already developed further in the sequel.
This is a great novel, and while it will never be a literary classic, as historical thrillers go, you can't do any better.
Rating:
Summary: Darkness in the Gilded Era
Review: You are irresistibly drawn into this book, especially if you are a fan of murder mysteries, New York history, psychological thrillers, crime fiction or all of the above. Caleb Carr is one of the few writers to tackle late 19th century New York culture and crime with convincing authority. As dark, dangerous, and alluring as any of the dives he describes.
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Summary: All aboard for New York in the 90's
Review: This book hauntingly evokes 1890's New York in a way that will please anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Carr embroiders the story with so much skill that the detailed facts don't enter your mind like a history lesson, but rather with the interest we'd give today's news. Dr. Laszlo Kreisler is a man swimming against the tide, like many in his day and age when scientific disciplines were struggling against generations of mistrust and supersition. He is an early psychoanalyst, a man who can read the nature of a mind in the traces left by its crimes. Of course historical fiction is never complete without a well-known name upon the stage, and in this book that name is Theodore Roosevelt. As the newly-appointed chief of police of New York, Roosevelt needs help in solving an especially grisly murder. A century later Kreisler's successors have become a crucial part of the team but in this Victorian day the coppers would be suspicious of a scientist in there midst, and so Kreisler will labor in secret to elaborate a personality sketch of the man the police seek. Working with him will be his old friend John Moore, now a crime reporter for the Times and the perfect sidekick to assist, but not overshadow, the complex Dr. Kreisler. This book draws you in and will keep you turning its page till late at night - if you really want to think about such evil beings as the book's villian late at night, that is! You may want to borrow your little one's night-light.
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Summary: Abbie Hoffman goes sleuthing!
Review: Think that consent decrees, affirmative action, and the like are causing too many women to be placed in law enforcement positions that they really aren't equipped to handle? You old meanie you. Caleb Carr will shame you to death by showing you an intrepid late 19th century aspiring young policwoman that the nasty old male police establishment is just plain mean to. There, that'll learn ya. Think that homosexuals today are becoming too aggressive? Too visible? Too dominant in the fashion industry and in some aspects of our culture? Trying too hard to portray themselves as "mainstream" by changing the concept of marriage? Fiddle-faddle. Caleb Carr will provide you with a graphic description of an old-fashioned PHYSICAL gay-bashing, circa 1896. Now aren't you just ashamed of yourself for your disapproving attitude towards the alternatively-lifestyled? Aren't you starting to shamefacedly regard yourself as no better than those monstrous assailants? Think that the welfare is counterproductive? That it might actually hurt those that it is supposed to help? By perpetuating a cycle of poverty? Pish-posh. Caleb Carr will take you on a tour of the worst slum in old New York. And rub your nose in those brutal conditions. Now, don't you just feel as though something HAS to be done? ANYTHING? You know, in order to ease your conscience? Think that the past is to be revered and treasured? That for all its faults, it might, in some ways, be a repository for the accumulated wisdom of the ages? How dare you? How DARE you? You just hush up your mouth and sit down and read Caleb Carr's "The Alienist", which is a different type of historical novel, and you will learn that the past is to be unreservedly and unqualifiedly LOATHED! And once you've learned THAT lesson, why, that should make it easier for the author to "sell" his vision of what the FUTURE should be. Oh yeah, there's a murder mystery in there. Somewhere. Something about a bunch of corpses showing up around New York City with their eyes gouged out. Or something. And a chief of police who's - uh - going to be President someday. And - uh - I think there's a psychologist in there who engages in what we moderners would call the "profiling" of criminals, but again, this story takes place in the PAST (chooey!) so they call him an "alienist". You say you want a revolution? You'll have to settle for a narrative, DISGUISED as a murder mystery, in which 1960's New Left philosophy is superimposed onto an 1896 setting like ketchup on ice cream. If a "journalist" from an underground newspaper or maybe one of those free "throwaway" papers that are distributed in large metropolitan areas sought to write a murder mystery, "The Alienist" is pretty much what it would read like. And if you doubt that, look at the photo on the back cover of the book. And gaze in awe and revulsion at the long-haired unkempt aging flower child that is staring at you. It's the author, folks. Abbie Hoffman goes sleuthing. Hey hey! Ho Ho! Artistic integrity has GOT to go! By abusing artistic license.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed bag
Review: "The Alienist" was suggested to me when I was reading "Theodore Rex", since it is historical fiction in which Teddy Roosevelt pops up as NYC Police Commissioner. If I knew the book was "Silence of the Lambs"-like in its graphic descriptions of horrific murders, I probably would have steered clear of "The Alienist". Nevertheless, I did enjoy some aspects of the book. I appreciated the painstaking detail through which Caleb Carr transports us to 1896 Manhattan. Similarly, the process of building a psychological profile of a serial killer was fascinating, especially since at that time, Carr's unorthodox group of investigators were truly in unchartered waters. Roosevelt pops up in a charming and seemingly authentic manner, putting an unofficial team together to investigate the killings. However, the gory and gruesome murders, in nauseating detail, were way too much for me. Quite frankly, the book was so gruesome at times that I am simply glad it's over and done with.
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Summary: A teenager's perspective on...
Review: I first read The Alienist when I was in 8th grade. I absolutely loved it. Now 4 years later as a junior in high school, I read it again for school. (That took some begging). It is still just amazing as the first time.
This smart, funny thriller is for anyone who is a sucker for a good historical fiction book paired with an awesome mystery. Set in late 19th century New York, the reader follows a team of six investigators hunting down a vicious serial killer. Through a series of clues, autopsies, and other seemingly random events, they piece together a picture of their killer. Dr.Kreizler, the alienist, uses profiling, an investigative technique that wasn't even in popular use until the mid 1980's. The Isaacson brothers never cease to make me laugh and Sara Howard should be every woman's role model. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a relatively strong stomach and a good taste for adventure. I read it when I was 13 and completely understood it and wasn't even really disturbed by it, but I'm odd like that. I strongly suggest you give it a try. It will be well worth your time. All 600 pages of it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Obviously Caleb Carr can write. There's little doubt that Mr. Carr can turn phrase after phrase of smooth and easy-reading prose. Given his talent and the clever plot, this could have been such a good book. My biggest disappointment with this book is that his novel did not fulfill the promise of the early pages. There are other disappointments as well. His penchant political proselytizing and endowing late nineteenth century and early twentieth century characters with late twentieth century sensibilities is a major distraction. Teddy Roosevelt the feminist? It is also apparently true that Mr. Carr is capable and willing to do extensive research in support of his fiction. But it appears that the willingness to do research is limited to only those areas that interest him. The novel suffers from inaccuracies in certain areas, which makes the rest of his research suspect. In the area of character development, Mr. Carr does a masterful job ascribing motivation to the serial murderer. However, the motivations of many of his other characters are shallow to the point of being insipid.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing but effective
Review: Though the actual plotline and characters fall within the all too familiar cliched stereotypes, the implications regarding the nature of the vicims (young male prostitues) and the pyschosis of the serial killer make this one book that will stay with me for a long time. As a gay teenager, this book was more frightening than anything else; in fact, it scared me worse than any book I can remember. Of course this isn't great literature, but it is a disturbingly effective look at some of the monsters society can create.
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