Rating: 
Summary: Flat-out awful
Review: This is an appallingly bad book, with a plot that not only never thickens, it practically never appears. Although an extraordinary number of characters is present, none of them has the slightest dimensionality, with the possible exception of the author/narrator, who is given to making banal observations about both academic life and the African American upper middle class experience as if they were either original or perceptive. This reader began to hope that if there were a plot somewhere in this dreadfully overwritten, verbose muddle, it would involve knocking off the narrator himself, and as expeditiously as possible. So far it hasn't happened, and I have given up after grimly slogging my way to page 343 (out of 654). I am absolutely baffled about the hype for this thing and can only assume it comes from the author's reputation as a legal scholar, which I am in no position to evaluate. If the publicity has you intrigued and you must read this, I strongly suggest you buy a used copy. It will read just as badly, but you won't feel as ripped off. I'd rate it with no stars, but that's not an option here.
Rating: 
Summary: Mystery Reveals More Than "Whodunit?"
Review: Some novels offer wonderfully detailed characterization. Others have a dynamic plot. Still others seductively entice readers with masterful prose. I can't really say what makes this novel great...most likely, it's the sum of all those things...but it is. Prof. Carter is a tremendous writer (even if it's his first attempt at fiction) and his orchestration of narrative is accomplished with rare and choice instruments: upper-middle class black society intertwined with Ivy League law school society; the hunger for romance in a stale marriage; hope for grace in the midst of anxious depravity; overcoming "sins of the father"...there's a lot here.
It's not just a mystery novel. It's not a "black" novel (if there is such a thing). It's a novel that catches on the trials of trying to live life the right way and looking for truths we can hang our hats on...we all search for them, I think.
I was sorry it had to end.
Rating:
Summary: Over-Rated Racial Garbage
Review: Maybe I'm just a middle-class white girl from Un-diverse Central Wisconsin, but this book was way too racial for me. I don't understand how race can consume your entire life, your every thought, your every action. The author is WAY too hung up on who is of the paler nation and who is of the darker nation, etc. It really distracted me from the book and I had to put it down halfway through. I don't even CARE who killed the judge. I really don't. Seemed Mr. Carter wanted to make some type of social statement that I just don't relate to.
Rating:
Summary: The Extant Anti-Thriller
Review: There is a lot to say, sociologically in every way about this book. I went into THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK with a bad attiude: from various critics I had read (who I have a huge amount of respect for) it sounded dire. But then, critics are never a good reason to not pick it up at all. If you glance through the various recent reviews (at the time of writing) on this website too, you will not find any particularly high appraisals either. Let's try and work out what is going on here, then, because the author was paid $4.2 million for this grand oeuvre, and publishers are usually fairly frugal with their bugets for first novels. For a start, this is not, in the traditional sense, a first novel. Stephen L. Carter has written numerous works of non-fiction before, which are incredibly and often moving excercises of historical and political theory. So it's not as if he has NEVER picked up a pen before and attempted in one swift blow a six-hundred page debut! In writing non-fiction, you only have to imagine how many times Mr. Carter must have sketched out a random prose of fiction about the state or history he was researching ... it's a natural human inclination. This book was pegged as a thriller, and a kind of socio-analysis of American society a the same time. This, I think, is where the reaction lies. If you've seen EYES WIDE SHUT (Kubric's last work) you'll understand why people were so disappointed on seeing it: they expected their commercial, loveable Tom Cruise to be the commercial, loveable Tom he always is and that they are so familiar with. People did not want to see a genuine piece of art with agenuinly brilliant actor: they wanted to unwind. In THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK, the scenario was very similar: the public thought they had a new Grisham, and found to their horror that they were left here with a new voice. And not only that, this voice had a gutteral hallmark to it. The EOP is a great, far-reaching piece of work. Inside every description, in every telephone call and mild familial banter, is a subliminal critique on society. The plot is a mechanism for super-analysis, somethng very few authors still manage to pull off. Read this book, and while doing so, look for hints ... there are many of them. This book was, to me, the extant anti-thriller: a place where all society like sheep came to congregate to find that their hero was a member of mensa instead of an actor off a Hollywood side-show. Well worth its money, and well worth its time.
Rating:
Summary: Very, very dissapointing.
Review: My wife just purchased this book for me as I had been impressed by a lunatic (hindsight) raving about it on NPR. This book was a big surprise... I was expecting such a good read. The first shock one gets, before even getting a chance to meet the cookie-cutter characters, is over how poorly the book is written. Mr. Carter, the author, even confuses his tenses throughout! The reader is often unaware if events are transpiring in the present or in one of the redundant flashbacks littering the narrative. Worse still, the book does not give the different perspective I had hoped for... nor any well-produced vision at all. Mr. Carter's own racism bleeds heavily onto each character making each one entirely identical and utterly stereotypical. The best thing I can say is that there is some pretty good vocabulary throughout. It does nothing for the story-telling, however :P The author is a novice story teller. If he wanted to preach, he shouldn't have wrapped his ideals in such a terrible package!
Rating: 
Summary: High hopes; meager pay-off
Review: "As so often, I am the first to speak, and what I say is utterly stupid." The narrator of THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK speaks to the reader through 64 over-long and cliche-ridden chapters. (The quote above opens up chapter 51... and by then, we know the narrator is telling us the truth.) The plot is a stacked deck; the characters are good, but he uses them unimaginatively. Stephen L. Carter has written some wonderful non-fiction books. But his first novel is slow, dull, terribly long-winded and full of stock characters and situations. I was surprised and disappointed, almost from beginning to end.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing--For Many Reasons
Review: When I heard that Stephen Carter, the highly regarded Yale law professor had written a legal thriller I was very curious, very intrigued. So I ran out and got The Emperor of Ocean Park. While the novel is far from perfect, it has a good many qualities which I think many will enjoy. One thing I appreciated was its accurate portrayal of the legal world. Carter has some brilliant and on target observations of that world, particularly of that of the law school that are a refreshing departure from, let's say, the works of John Grisham. Another strong point is the entirely plausible plot. It is grounded in reality, without being dull or boring. Professor Carter is clearly a very intelligent person, and his writing, for the most part, reflects that. I do, however, have a few complaints about the novel--my main complaint being that his editor appears to have forgotten to actually edit. This novel is very long, and probably could have been better if it were about 100 pages shorter. I also warn that the ending is a bit frustrating--some may be disappointed by it--but that's all I am going to say. Overall, however, The Emperor of Ocean Park is a well written and engaging novel which I believe most will enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Page turner with political insights
Review: Mr. Carter takes us on a thrilling ride, digressing here and there, but still keeping the reader captivated. His writing style is delicious, peppered with wit and slightly sardonic commentary. At times I felt as though I was a student; he peaked my interest with some of the books and people he references. Come to think of it, this would make a perfect gift for anyone in academia. I don't think of the book's length as a con necessarily, but I do agree that some of the fat could have been trimmed.
Rating:
Summary: Not a murder myster, but a one sided debate on race in USA
Review: Carter has written a 657 book on racisim in America, which is a very important subject, however he was paid to write a murder mystery. From the first page it is obvious that the mysterious murder of his judge father is only a subplot. Conversations that lead to evidence are broken allowing the author to vent on race, affirmative action, and his never ending fear that his wife is cheating on him. I could not get into this book. I found myself skiming pages, trying to find some, any, element of plot in this heavy handed, one-sided, lecture on how Carter views race relations in America. Maybe he should write that book and not a surgar coated nonexistant murder mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Not a murder myster, but a one sided debate on race in USA
Review: Carter has written a 657 page book on racisim in America, which is a very important subject, however he was paid to write a murder mystery. From the first page it is obvious that the mysterious murder of his judge father is only a subplot. Conversations that lead to evidence are broken allowing the author to vent on race, affirmative action, and his never ending fear that his wife is cheating on him. I could not get into this book. I found myself skiming pages, trying to find some, any, element of plot in this heavy handed, one-sided, lecture on how Carter views race relations in America. Maybe he should write that book and not a surgar coated nonexistant murder mystery.
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