Rating: 
Summary: Trashy Soap Opera
Review: It is disapointing that Ellis would write a book this bad. The Informers is just plain awful, and I am a fan of his first three books (Less Than Zero, The Rules of Attraction, American Psycho). The Informers is nothing more than a bad soap opera featuring undeveloped characters who are stereotypes of 80's L.A. Avoid.
Rating:
Summary: I was misinformed!
Review: I was quite disappointed in this novel. It was touted as a great "LA book" but I was left with only a bitter taste for Ellis' work. The characters are so self-indulged and vapid that it is hard to connect with any of them. Even the promise of an occasionally interesting scene was always a let down; cool bars, wealthy homes, even the beaches of Mexico were all numbed out by empty conversations and lack of character arc. I recommend you pass right by this book and look elsewhere for cool LA fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: A Writer depicting an Emotional Wasteland
Review: I think Bret Easton Ellis is getting at something that Americans don't really want to face--that in our emotional deadness and lack of concern for others we might as well be vampires. It was a brilliant turn to include a vampire as just another denizen of this soulless, wealthy L.A., the place where a lot of people want to be, and want to be seen. His vision is at turns horrifying and hilarious, but mostly what I feel is a deep, abiding sadness for the state of humanity in these twilight years of capitalism. (My favorite of his books is actually "The Rules of Attraction" which another reviewer mentioned and has been made into a film due for release in October, 2002.) Perhaps I overstate the case a bit, but what Chekhov did for the Russian aristocracy, Ellis is kindly doing for Los Angeles Decadents. I don't remember the titles of the stories, but the one I liked the best depicted a father taking his son to Hawaii for Christmas, and failing to make a connection. Also liked that the book opened with a quote from John Fante, THE L.A. novelist.
Rating:
Summary: I really didn't like this book . . .
Review: I really think Ellis is over rated. His fixation on cruelty and pain is just disturbing. I think many readers think that just because a book disturbs them, it must be good literature. This isn't right. With 'American Psycho,' Ellis created a character and there was a message to his maddness. Although I hated liking it, I liked it none the less. But The Informers says absolutely nothing and often made me feel just plain sick. Reading a lot of Ellis's work is like watching a talented artist paint something ugly. Well, this book is just ugly.
Rating:
Summary: wasted talent
Review: That is the sad thing, because he is a talented writer, but this novel says nothing. Some of the quotes on the back of the book truly amaze me. To say that this is an "important book" or to compare him to truly great writers like Fitzgerald is simply ludicrous. He has not earned that comparison yet. He has potential, but he needs to really work hard and write something worth reading, not this sad, empty, self-pitying, and egoistic [stuff]. Hey, Bret, here's an idea....write a story.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, exhausting to read
Review: Mr. Ellis' strength is in his realistic dialogue and characters, which is well on display here in this collection of character sketches. I say character sketches, and not short stories, because that's really what they are. A series of interconnected portraits of the different, intermingling layers of society in LA. And it is pretty impressive at that. Each of the characters in the book are going through very similar feelings, have very similar problems (spiraling depression, enstrangement from their parents, etc.). Luckily, Mr. Ellis is able to differentiate their characters and situations. As happens with books of this type, the ending seems to rush together more quickly, and feel more connected than the beginning. And frankly, as much respect as I have for Mr. Ellis' writing, it was exhausting to read story after story. The book is an interesting portrait of a city constantly on the edge of destruction, but there's only so much nihilistic fiction a guy can read before you curl up into a ball in the corner. As always, Ellis is a writer worth reading. But be prepared: it is a short book, but a long haul.
Rating:
Summary: If you're looking for novels about vampires in L.A.
Review: Try Todd Grimson's "Stainless". It's one seamless story, and has elements similar to those of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. I was sorry to see it go out of print.
Rating:
Summary: informers
Review: Not ellis' greatest work to date, but not bad. Much like Less Than Zero with a touch of American Psycho. Worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Short Stories...Some Good, Some Average....
Review: 3 and 1/2 stars leaning towards 4. Bret Easton Ellis applies his cold Californian brushstroke to another slice of L.A. life. He is still using the same kind of clipped, cold and quick-to-read writing, but the difference here is that is is applied to more marginal members of society (as opposed to highschoolers, uni students and yuppies) such as rock stars, modern-day vampires, murderous dealers as well as possibly more familiar family settings. Some of these stories are pretty good (The Secrets of Summer, Letters from L.A. & Discovering Japan), others are more average (Water From The Sun), but really if you know Bret Easton Ellis, then you know what you're are getting (bored, cold and uncaring charcters in interesting surroundings), the main difference here is due to the lack of an overall story there is a wider range of terrain and a little less cohesion. If you dig the man, you'll probably dig this book, it's a pretty decent page turner, but not in the same league as "Less Than Zero" or "American Psycho".
Rating:
Summary: A collection of short stories
Review: I went into this book thinking that it was a novel. Halfway into the book I realize that it is nothing more than a collection of short stories that are loosely related. Nowhere on the cover of the book does it say anything about stories. The stories all seem to be saying the same thing and sometimes seem monotonous. Give us something new besides the cocaine snorting, the lude popping, the nihilism, and the emptiness. All of this worked ten times better with LESS THAN ZERO.
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