Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I've read 5-6 Grisham novels and they usually keep my attention and interest. This one is the worst by far. Some have said this one was preachy in that it showed his disdain for these types of lawsuits and lawyers. I didn't get that -- it seemed to me that he was almost excusing them. After all, the main character never redeems himself. Furthermore, this novel seemed to just trudge along. Half the book is about the wealth and possessions Clay acquires. I mean literally -- he buys this, that and then some more of this and a building to put them in.... Zzzz...
Also, the characters in this novel were very one dimensional and bland. The most interesting is Ridley, Clay's supermodel, trophy girlfriend!
While I don't think the end is predictable (I was hoping the character would right some wrongs or go to jail) it is anticlimactic and disappointing. It is as if it is saying, "Clay did all this stuff wrong, hurt all these people, allowed an innocent man to go to jail for life, but Clay is okay in the end and that's what matters." I hope Grisham's next is better...of course in my opinion it won't be too hard.
Rating: 
Summary: King of Warts
Review: This is the last Grisham I am going to read. It is bad. It is poorly written. It is dull. It has no character you care about. I feel that Grisham started as a writer who had some depth and made it fun to read thrillers while learning a bit about law. However, this book dedicated to greed by both the protagonist and the author is the end. Sorry guys. This is the last one for this kid.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not my Grisham favorite. It seemed a bit
Review: 'soap-opera-ish'. It was trying to teach, preach and tell a story at the same time and just did not cut the mustard for me. If you want a light read, and don't want to miss anything Grisham writes, you will enjoy this. Just don't take it too seriously. I still look forwrd to Grisham's next.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor to rich in less time then you think
Review: This is a great novel, on an average public defender that likes being average, but sooon finds himself being more then just average. I really enjoyed this novel as I do every John Grisham novel. With the detail, and a smoothness I just can't explain. A must read, for anyone dreaming of a little more then normal life.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not as good
Review: This book seemed to go too fast.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but ultimately unfulfilling
Review: I think I've read all of John Grisham's novels and this one is definitely my least favorite. Like all of his books it's eminently readable - the pages keep turning, almost by themselves! But it's a pretty obvious conclusion that you see building up, the motivations of the characters were not convincing and the final pages were mostly a "so what"?
Rating:
Summary: Not one for the time capsule.
Review: On the positive side, this was a compelling read - suspenseful, with interesting characters and decent plot development. Sadly, it ultimately disappoints. The main character's journey into greed and arrogance would seem to lead the reader toward something either meaningful, catastrophic, or in-your-face-greed-is-good cynical. Maybe it tries to do all three, but sadly, it succeeds at none. The almost inadvertant climax leads into an unsatisfying, incomplete, unresolved, weak ending with the reader (or at least this reader) feeling, "So, what was the point of this again?" Grisham seems to have been drifting toward this type of unresolved ending, with no clear resolution. "The Summons" ended with a similar lack of resolution, but worked better. With "King", Grisham just left me wanting. Not more, but something else.
Rating:
Summary: Justice Becomes an Oxymoron
Review: Grisham is back to his legal thrillers, and I was SO involved in this one that addresses pharmaceutical companies and mass tort litigation. Justice becomes an oxymoron as the main character is led astray from his values, from the girl he loves and greed takes over. An expose on the big business of advertising, pharamaceuticals, mass torts, environmentalism and sprawl, corporate and personal greed, with a bit of product liability and temptation tossed in for seasoning. Grisham has a way of painting a picture, and being a moralist, and having a clever twist at the end and his sarcastic comments are always (to me) quite wonderful. The author also seems to be a man I can respect when it comes to affairs of the heart. His view point of the failings of our justice system, and the greed of the men in suits may result in the reader having a different perspective on the pharmaceutical industry and class action lawsuits.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham Morality Tale on Evil of Mass Torts
Review: In this average John Grisham legal novel, the character has his life changed by sudden wealth stemming from his entry into the world of mass torts as a trial lawyer. We meet our young lawyer idealistically toiling away as a public defender and as the paramour of a rich girl who wants more than matrimony from her knight in shinning armor (she wants her knight to have wads of cash in addition to compassion and great performance in the sack). Fortune appears in the form of a mysterious stranger who offers the lawyer more money than he could make in a lifetime defending poor criminals. The source of his new wealth: mass tort cases handed up on a silver platter if our attorney will settle with the families of murder victims whose murdered loved one was the unfortunate side effect of a new wonder being secretly tested in drug clinics around the world. The young attorney accepts, holds his nose and settles the suits and becomes the new "King of Torts," as his success suing his first drug company catapults him into the front ranks of the country's trial attorneys. His untold riches finance cars, planes, a beautiful consort, a national profile and the burying of his conscience. In the end, his world collapses when he reaches for a "case to far" and the FBI catches up with him for short selling the stock of a company against which he was about to file a class action suit. Riches gone, he wins back his girl (who finally decides that a wad of cash borne by the wrong suitor might be a worse deal than the right suitor whose only credit is his newly rediscovered character). They then ride off into the sunrise (east from Washington DC to a flat in London). This novel has some of the character development of the standard Grisham fare, though it pales besides some of his earlier work. The action is fast paced, and some of the early sub plots are interesting -- particularly the conspiracy with the original bad drug. His portrayal of the Mass Tort Trial Attorney world fascinates - particularly his Patton French character - the granddaddy of mass tort actions and a caricature of greedy lawyers at the top of their game. What this book is mostly is a morality tale on two levels. First, the evil of a legal system which allows mass tort trial lawyers to decimate companies good and bad with the no-holds-barred fee system that currently exists. Second, the evil effect of quick and ill-earned wealth on the character of otherwise normal people. (one quote from the book: "nobody, nobody earns six million dollars in six months") This book is interesting and a quick read. I thought the ending was not as calculated and dependent on the earlier story as has been the case in previous efforts -- it just kind of happened and was declared by the author. All in all, a middling effort from Grisham; still a good read because he is one of the best popular novelists around.
Rating:
Summary: Ho-Hum - Too "Formula"
Review: I used to love Grisham. His novels were fun, fast-paced and exciting. Maybe my literary tastes have changed, but "King of Torts" was disappointing. If you want a light read, this may be the ticket for you, but I'm tired of the predictable formula. Grisham gets brownie points for research perhaps, but I thought there were BIG plot holes and credibility problems in this book. I've read almost all that Grisham has written and just get the feeling that his writing is getting watered down as he's "compelled" to keep cranking out the books. Yes, we've finally gotten out of the South, but really, this is a pretty flat read.
| 
