Rating: 
Summary: ..........wow............
Review: All right, bear with me here....So. We only use something like 2% of our brain capacity. Ok, let me look that up to be sure. Ok ok so it's 10%, but that's still pretty pathetic. That's 90% of your brain mass sitting there like a useless mass of jello. Supposedly. Ever wonder what the hell you could do with those "unused" parts of the brain? There's got to be something more to it. It's taken me awhile to complete "Tropic of Night" by Michael Gruber, but it's a mystery that makes you think beyond the plot, the above paragraph an example. It also makes you look at things at a completely different angle. Think those herbs that are burned in certain wiccan (et al) rituals/spells/etc. serve no other purpose but actual ritual? Hmmm... maybe not. Just another thing to think about, and this book gives you a lot of that. As much as it's a mystery it's really artfully done in the way he drops details. It keeps you reading to find out more without feeling frustrated. The characterization is great, I'm in love with the main character, she's amazing. She's an anthropologist who has studied and lived in cultures that people believe to be mythical, and are extremely advanced in the way they use their minds. The book centers around Santeria, a really potent form of African "magic." It goes back and forth between her present life in hiding and her journals, which cover both her anthropological trips with the Chenka and the Olo peoples, as well as her family life. This blows the "Da Vinci Code" out of the water.
Rating:
Summary: Best Mystery I've Read in Years
Review: As a student of African diasporan religion and a mystery junkie, I absolutely loved this book!!! The plot was coherently constructed, the text skillfully written and the characters were appealing, multi-textured people. And Gruber has really done his homework on African religion (at least that of the Yoruba). He even managed to avoid the pitfall of a corny, Hollywood conclusion. I was sorry to see this book end and I hope that his next is a sequel. I can't wait for it to come out in paperback , so I can afford to give some copies away as gifts.
Rating: 
Summary: Would have given it zero if possible
Review: I must not have read the same book as everyone else. Either that or I just completely missed the boat.
I could not even bring myself to finish this tiresome, tedious book. I tried so hard to find a way to care what happened but just couldn't do it. Jane Doe is the perfect name for the "heroine". Drivel, drivel, drivel characterizes her every appearance in this novel. Jimmy Paz has potential but alas it goes unrealized.
I didn't even bother to bring the book back from vacation. I only hope some unsuspecting soul doesn't pick it up.
Rating: 
Summary: Suspenseful, Entertaining, but Verbose
Review: This book has it's moments that keep you on the edge. The characters do feel real and are like-able. There is humor and there is terror nicely stitched together. I found Jane's journals tiring, though, and the flowery detail too unnecessarily time-consuming. I was slightly disappointed with the ending, but the book overall is a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Completely transcends its Genre, A Great Novel
Review: Tropic of Night is one of the great masterworks of the Thriller genre. Like the best works Raymond Chandler, John LeCarre and Patrick O'Brian, this book completely transcends its genre. It is a powerful and original novel. Beautifully paced with wonderful characters, serious primal themes that matter and a voice that is strikingly original. I have recommended it to many of my friends. I tell them to go out and buy it. Because this guy Gruber deserves to sell a lot of books and be successful. I hope he continues to write. God, I wish I'd written it.
Rating:
Summary: The best book
Review: The best book I ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Totally Engrossing
Review: Tropic of Night is a totally engrossing, can't-put-it down thriller that draws you in and won't let you go. The novel concerns a series of ritual, shocking murders in Miami and several people involved with trying to stop them. The story begins, not with a murder, or with a police detective heading to the crime scene, but with a woman watching a young child sleep. The woman, Jane Doe, is living under an alias with Luz, a young child who is not her daughter. She has thrown away her former, much more comfortable way of life to escape from a horror we learn about as we read the novel. The novel also follows Detective Iago Paz, a man of Cuban heritage who ultimately discovers that Jane can help him solve these murders. This novel is completely engrossing; however, I must warn you that much of the plot concerns a kind of sorcery and witchcraft that some may find completely implausible. Towards the end of the novel, it started to really bother me, but Gruber ties it up neatly (not too neatly) and brings the novel back to more solid footing. All in all, an excellent read. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Like no other novel I've read in recent times
Review: I don't understand the negative, rather vacuous reviews of this novel online (of which there are fortunately only a couple of). I can only assume these readers suffer from the New York, elitist "anti-hype" mentality that plagues the literary, music, and film inner circles. This book is both a terrifying thriller, a study on the nature of racism, and a mind bender on the power of delusion as it pertains to magic, projection, identity, and race. It is one of those books that you read and it sticks with you for weeks, months. I still have concepts from this book running through my head; race is an illusion, "magic" may be a term applied to a technology we don't understand, etc. The only problem I have with it is perhaps the slightly awkward "ebonics" that some of the characters speak. I think this can be forgiven however, as this changes so frequently in real life as to not detract from the essence of the novel. I think Mr. Gruber could have done better for himself had he bought the latest hiphop records and learned to love them, but then he'd run the risk of alienating all those who aren't hip to the lingo. In any case, this book is amazing. I recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Finally -- A Thriller That Was Written Well!
Review: I was really happy to finally pick up a "suspense" book that was not only well written but also had a plot that was fresh, unique and intriguing. There are a lot of good "suspense" novels out there but I am often left feeling when I finish most suspense books that it could have been written better. Tropic of Night far exceeded my expectations. It had writing I could savor and different voices throughout the book. Michael Gruber switched voices throughout the book with amazing ability, something that's not easy to do and do it well! I highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Real Surprise
Review: My friend lent me the book, he had bought too many and asked me to preview. With no expectations I jumped into one of the best books I have read in a while. Suspensful, well written, and imaginative. I do not write many reviews - this book deserved one!
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