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Rating: 
Summary: Microserfs meets the Godfather
Review: Being a member of the growing techie field I picked up Dog Days based on the characters job titles. I was expecting a redoing of Microserfs and got it up until the the first quarter of the book. After that I gained tremendous respect for Daniel Lyons. His angst ridden, gen-xers (excuse the cliches) have more depth than other characters I have encountered in other novels. All the characters are passionate about things you wouldn't expect. Techies love cars and jazz and mobsters love comedy and dogs. The twists and turns of the story kept my interest. Just when you think Reilly is over his head the water gets deeper. All of the characters, except for Maria, have faults and are not totally likeable but I cheered the hero and hissed the bad guys. It was a fun read, a few parts are memorable and I'm looking forward to Lyons next book.
Rating: 
Summary: I insist you borrow this terrible book
Review: Dogs Days by Daniel Lyons was a unique book for me to explore. I work in the dot com world, own a retired greyhound and have spent many years in the past working in the field of waste management in New Jersey if you know what I mean, so I feel uniquely qualifed to review this book. I cracked up at the description of the techie hotshots because it was so right on the money. The arrogance and self centeredness of these kids was descriptive and precise. We know almost immediately that these geeks would get what they deserved and there was nobody better to complete the task than the goons from North Boston, two cultures intertwine that deserve eachother. I really felt sorry for the grey since I know how high maintenance they are and the poor dog had to put up with this high tech high jinx insanity. The first half of the book was great, describing the false promises the software industry offered these kids resulting in unbelievable work schedules and enthusiasm for their work. When the corporate powers that be finally nixed their project things get ugly as they often do. The kids were unable to see between the lines and through their bosses smoke and mirrors, something the older generation is more adept at which is why high tech hates greyhairs. The book was well done but falters during the second half when the focus is on the race track and gumbas in Florida.
Rating:
Summary: Potential turned mess
Review: I enjoyed peering into the life of a top notch computer programmer. It had an excellent 90s edge. Lyons could have done with the computer industry what John Grisham did with the law profession. But he quickly veers from this trying to market the book as more mainstream, not just a book for the computer illiterate. In trying to make a unique computer centered book (not another "Microserfs"), "Dog Days" because your VERY basic love story. THEN Lyons throws in stealing a grade-A racing dog, the mob, satire on Boston, and more- in an effort to make the book less of what I wanted- the John Grishman for the computer world. It's a nice, light, quick read- nothing more. There are big holes and it slides all over, as if Lyons had no sense of where he was going while writing. Read it; accept it for the rather immature book (like a bad sitcom centered around computer nerds) that it is. I do recommend reading it though, just don't expect to be wowed.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK, UNTIL THE VERY END
Review: I just read this book, and let me tell you, the coincidences between the main character and my own life are so numerous that I feared Reilly would get hit by a bus at the end of the book. Allow me to list them: 1) The main character's name is Tim Reilly. I am also Tim Reilly (same spelling of a commonly misspelled last name). 2) Reilly is 24 years old. I am 22. 3) Reilly is the son of a lawyer. I am also the son of a lawyer. 4) Reilly is a computer programmer. I am a computer programmer. 5) Reilly works at a tiny startup company and dreams of riches. I am currently the only computer programmer at a web startup company, and am also dreaming of riches. 5) Reilly lives in the North End of Boston. In another week, I will be living in the South End of Boston. 6) Reilly's uber-hacker sidekick Evan bears a very significant resemblance to an uber-hacker close friend of mine (also with a 4 letter name -Ok, with this one I'm stretching). 7) At one point in the book, the characters visit "A Portuguese breakfast place in Somerville", which happens to be the "The Neighborhood" -the very same restaurant which I have been frequenting regularly for the last year. 8) Reilly's got his BMW, I've got my Volkswagon GTi. Despite the fact that this book struck eerily close to home, it was an extremely enjoyable read, and on several occasions actually made me laugh out loud as few books do. The ending felt a little rushed, almost as if Lyons wasn't sure how to conclude the fantastic journey of his characters. Also, this was an incredibly fast read, due partly to the fact that I was very curious to see what happened to Reilly.
Rating:
Summary: I insist you borrow this terrible book
Review: I know you love to read, and I think I have something you'll really, really dislike. I just finished this book called Dog Days, by Daniel Lyons, and it changed my life. I've never read anything that so perfectly captures the shallow things I think and feel every day. You absolutely must borrow it. I know you're a busy person, but this book is just incredible. (To me, that is.) I mean, it blew my mind. I haven't read a book this meaningful since Catcher In The Rye back in high school, when I stopped reading books assigned to me by people with good taste. If you just give the first few cliche-ridden pages a try, I swear you'll be so put off, you'll want to throw it away. But I won't allow that, because I'll continue to hound you about it for weeks. Look, I have it right here, and I think it's perfect for me. It's this incredibly trite story about a man who can't connect with people, so he creates a world where he talks to his pets. Then, after a while, they start to talk back to him, only you don't know if they're actually talking to him or if it's all in his imagination. I mean, like I said, you probably will be able to put it down after the first few pages. After that, it really doesn't pick up. I really wish you'd read it, because I've been dying to discuss it with somebody. My mind has been reeling ever since I finished it. It's like a combination of William S. Burroughs' stream-of-consciousness and J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy sensibility. It's a little "out there," and the narrative is a total mess, but it kind of just barely makes sense once you've finished and digested it. Yes, it is a "pointless pile of claptrap." But why would you say such a thing? That kind of cynicism is just the sort of thing this book talks about. It says that people like you mask your real feelings with sarcasm and are incapable of genuine human expression. If anyone really needs to avoid this, it's you. You won't change your tune once you get to the part about the kleptomaniac monkey in the candy store. Or the part where the protagonist tearfully confesses his failings to a cat he's dressed as his mother. Well, okay, I'm just going to leave it here, and you can pick it up. Go ahead. I'll turn my back so you won't feel guilty or foolish. My back is turned. Do you have it? No? I can't believe you're so closed-minded! The predictable twist ending alone is worth the 572 pages you have to plod through. Actually, it's not, but it was to me. Dog Days is so much more than an endless string of cliches with a gimmicky ending slapped on, seemingly from out of nowhere. The characters are forgettable, too, failing to leap to life off the page. Like Salty, the wizened sea captain whose life of loneliness parallels that of the nameless protagonist. Or the ghost of Eva Braun, who tempts him and tries to keep him from doing good. It's a rich tapestry of bizarre, poorly established characters, implausible plot developments, and thinly veiled autobiographical conversations that a dumb guy like me can't help but fall in love with. Well, if you change your mind, I'd be happy to loan it to you. That is, if I haven't loaned it to someone else by then. Right now, I'm reading the new John Gray book, which you'll find every bit as bad as you expect. I'll have to get it to you when I'm done.
Rating: 
Summary: Not much here.
Review: Lyons' prose are elegant and beautiful without being wordy and unreadable. He very obviously has an immense gift for creating a sentence. It's writers like him that discourage me from writing, because I know I could never be this good. But I feel like he should be using this gift to tell us something more important than stories about stealing dogs from the mob. Granted, he does throw in some life lessons and insights into human behavior and is very funny, but I hope he learns from this first novel and uses the experience to give us something with real teeth next time.
Rating:
Summary: Not much here.
Review: While it was enjoyable to read about the different areas in the city I live in, I thought this was not a very well written book.
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