Rating: 
Summary: Needs editing!
Review: The pages seem to turn themselves, but there are too many of them! The whole chess motif is wasted on a non-player and becomes boring, though it probably was intended to accent the novel's racial undertones. Unnecessary--they're obvious already. The judge, who starts down the slippery slope of criminality in an attempt to find justice for his daughter's death, is in many ways a sympathetic, understandable character. One wonders, though, why he did not place the "arrangements" in a bank safe deposit box with Misha having power of attorney. That would have shortened the novel considerably.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor of ocean park
Review: I just finished the book. I found the story to be interesting but felt it was a bit long.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating from cover to cover
Review: In my many years of leisure reading I do not recall a work that held my attention more than The Emperor of Ocean Park. Well-written, thought-provoking, and at all times totally engaging, the characters came to life with such force and clarity that I could see them in my mind's eye. Until an accident forced my hectic schedule to a near halt exactly one week ago, I had been stealing a few minutes a couple of times a week to "tune in" to the latest happenings in the life of Misha Garland. I recall thinking about Misha and his family while engaged in other activities, so compelling were they and those whose paths they crossed. After finishing this book and even hanging on to every word of the Mr. Carter's notes, I still feel the pain of Misha's many losses. I hope this is the first of many from Mr. Carter.
Rating:
Summary: Too many words my dear Carter
Review: The Emperor of Ocean Park was the first of a two-book deal with an initial advance of reputedly 4.2 million dollars. This could explain both its best-seller status (the marketing people would have to ensure it was) and the general trashing by the critics (no first time novelist can be worth that much can they?)
Leaving aside the vagaries of the publishing industry though, is the book any good?
Well yes and no, because really it is three books in one. Firstly it is a fascinating insight into upper middle class black American society, particularly the academic and legal profession. Secondly it is a sometimes moving examination of family life. Third, it is a risible ham-fisted thriller.
The social insight is authoritative and raises interesting questions about the nature of authority and the responsibilities that go with it. That family life is often sacrificed on the alter of material gain is not an area most readers associate with black writing, and this is a refreshing cultural angle.
However, as a thriller it fails. Without going into detail, numbered amongst its faults are the "and with one leap he broke free" quality of plotting.
Overall, the prose is frequently didactic and the points laboured and oft repeated as if to a jury of dullards (yes, Mr Carter is a law professor)
As a first time novelist, the author has not been served well by his editor. The early, relatively taut tone has become slipshod by page two-hundred, and is too flabby overall by a similar number of pages. A good editor could have rendered it an excellent first novel, as it is, it is mediocre
Rating: 
Summary: Great -- With a few complaints
Review: We passed this book around our office (and believe me, with a book this size it took a long, long time to pass it around!) and we all seemed to have the same opinion. We liked it, but had similar complaints. I was irritated when Talcott said he didn't go for white women - If it had been a white man saying he didn't go for black women, it would have sounded somehow racist, but Talcott, apparently, can get away with this because he's black. I got tired of how many times throughout the book he had to take a page or so to carry on about how much he loved his kid. He seemed to be groping for new ways to describe just how MUCH he loved his kid. We all agreed that his slavish devotion to Kimmer made an otherwise noble character look downright pathetic and kind of stupid. Finally, did Talcott like ANYONE??? (Besides Kimmer and his kid?) It seemed like so often he would say something like, "So-and-so was a nice guy, very intelligent, witty, etc., and yet there was something about him I just didn't like." Several times his final take on someone was that he ought to like them, but didn't. I skimmed through the other reviews here and several times saw something that was very disturbing: Talcott was a highly educated black man who loved classical music and classic literature and some reviewers saw these references to music and literature as a black man's attempt to "show off" to white people. Now, I'm not one to hysterically look for racism where none, in fact, exists, but this is a very racist attitude. Have these reviewers never encountered an educated black person before? And if they have, and the black person dares to exhibit their intelligence or education, does that necessarily mean they are trying to "show off" to the white person? The racist (and there's no other word for it) response to Talcott's intelligence is bothersome! Despite my above minor criticisms, I did love the book and can't wait for another one by this author.
Rating:
Summary: A fine mystery.
Review: This long book is first of all a mystery, a very well plotted and engaging one, if somewhat implausible. There are two settings: black upper class Washington of a somewhat earlier time, and ivy league law school academia. The main character, Talcott Garland, is a member of both sets, although now more a well off yuppie than rich. Talcott is a man of conscience and introspection, who is a member of a disfunctional family and has a disfunctional marriage. He is well worth spending time with. The depiction of his marriage, and his totally selfish wife is very accomplished, whereas most of the other characters are those you might expect to find in an amusement. I certainly did not take away new insight into the black experience, academia or family life. In other words, read this as a fine mystery with some elevating aspects, not as a significant piece of literature. It is not always a page turner, especially in the first part, but I never found it dull.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start, but great finish!
Review: The start of this book was a quite slow for me. At 650 pages, I need something to convince me it's worth the time and effort...well, I guess this book was worth it. I admit, after of about a week's reading, I put the book down. It was a little dry. There was a lot of writings on what I felt was the authors own personal view of society and life. That's not what I picked up this book for, I picked it up for a STORY. Buried in these pages, sometimes buried deep, there was a story. Towards the middle of the book the pace picks up and the author stops all of his non-sense about his views or mundane details of the characters lives, details I felt, should be within the first 1/4 of the book. I don't want to be on page 200 and still be getting to know these characters, it's bad form to me. Anyway, afterall that, I picked up the book and finished it. Part of the reason for that was that it was this month's selection in my book club, and the other part was that I was very interested to see how it would end! I was pretty pleased with the ending. I did end up liking many of the characters (and beware, there were MANY to choose from)as well. My advice- Pay attention to them all, many serve a purpose later in the story.
Rating: 
Summary: TOO LONG!
Review: Certainly this novel contained some interesting and insightful observations about American society, but generally, it disappointed. The "mystery" dragged through the first two thirds. Each chapter ended with an annoying pseudo-suspensful sentence that lead... nowhere. There was no character development beyond the initial impressions/sketches of each person, including the protagonist, Talcott, who remained a drip to the end, and his wife, "Kimmer", who, impossibly, grew more and more evil with each chapter. (Yet he loves her so!) There were, in fact, too many characters to keep track of or care about, especially in the law school. The political musings detracted from the story rather than adding to it. (At one point, Talcott walks past some sort of sub-par ghetto grammar school, and wishes his colleagues who don't support school vouchers could see this proof of their need. What?) The ending was corny and cliched. And did I mention it was too long?
Rating:
Summary: Stunning debut
Review: From the first few pages I felt myself in the hands of a master story teller. Carter's fiction debut clearly places him in the category of gifted writer and he should abandon any thought of publishing non fiction about the law. John Grisham could only dream of writing on this level. Sink back into an easy chair and let this author take you on a slow and rewarding ride. His descriptions are unique, his observations witty and come from a tangential angle. This book could hardly be classified as a traditional mystery and I defy most readers to guess where it is heading. Nonetheless, the mystery of the protagonist's father and his life and death unfold as Talcot finds himself more in peril, his life unwinding around him. This is the type of book you want to consume, yet never want to end. Treat yourself to a story for the intelligent reader, one who can appreciate a fascinating tale as well as the beauty of skilled writing.
Rating:
Summary: Business or pleasure?
Review: Apparently, Carter has never heard the writerly dictum to 'show don't tell'. His characters are introduced with long wordy descriptions that reveal nothing. This discursiveness extents to every part of the writing, not just character creation. His dialogue is flat. His prose is flat. An MFA program would do him wonders. There's a good plot in there, but the book is a stylistic snooze that makes it hard to plod through.
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