Rating: 
Summary: The Devil is in the Details
Review: This is a top-flight debut suspense thriller with only one weakness--it's obsession with detail. Anthropologist Jane Doe falls for two men who introduce her to two disparate communities with isolated and pristine societies ; one in Siberia, the other in Africa. The common denominator in the two locales is an integral link to magic, as in witchcraft.Doe's first husband, an anthropologist, is involved recreationally with the Siberian Chenka but is in control of it ; whereas the second husband, a black poet and author, cedes control to the African magic and becomes a gruesome mass killer. Parallelled with Doe's story is that of police detective Iago Paz. Paz is assigned to solve the murders and bring the murderer to justice. He learns that human wisdom is limited when dealing with the otherworld. And Doe is needed if the killing is to end. Michael Gruber has a unique voice and uses it well to create honest and believable characters. The interplay between characters is wonderful. He builds his suspense slowly to a chilling finale that may have some readers losing sleep. His weakness is that he perhaps builds his suspense a little too slowly for some. Gruber obviously knows the subject of magic well. He spends much of the book building the reader's understanding of magic in great detail, eventually showing clearly the difference between white (good) magic and black (bad) magic. He depicts clearly the finite nature of human mind and reason and our refusal to listen to multi-dimensional thought. Family relationships shadow the characters and become a major factor in the end. Fantastic writing! Chilling climax! Unfortunately, it took me more than 100 pages to be hooked. A book not for the impatient.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious
Review: I don't like thrillers. I get annoyed by mystery writing that involves exotic poisons and religions. I abhor violence. Intricate plots bore me. And I loved this book. I loved it because I loved the mind of the main character, the way she thinks and expresses her thoughts. I love the inner and outer worlds that this novel travels, and among the geographical locations I especially enjoyed reading about the different Miami subcultures - I'm not American and had no previous familiarity - and was deeply fascinated by the description of an imagined hidden African village, untouched by anything un-African. Above all else, this book is intelligent fiction, and with all the hack writing and hack politics and hell, hack living that's just rampant these days, what a refreshing change.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I'm trying to remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much. Incredibly well written with complex characters and a plot that just crackles. It IS possible to write a literary thriller -- read this book and see how it's done.
Rating: 
Summary: The book is overhyped
Review: I didnt/couldn't finish this book. I found it tried too hard and while I don't mind violence, this violence is there for its own sake.
Rating:
Summary: It ain't hype
Review: I read this book when it first came out, so it's been a few weeks and I'm still thinking about ideas and notions from the novel. And the characters feel real and I wonder how they're doing. The rave reviews helped me open the book in the first place .. since I tend to avoid books with knives on the cover (even very exotic and evocative knives) -- but I was lucky enough NOT to read any of the "reviews" that are really a synopsis of the plotline (why do people do that?) I wasn't going to post a review here since others had done such a fine job, but I've been recommending this book to my friends, and someone mentioned the negative reviews over here. So I just dropped in to say _don't believe them_ this is an amazing book .. literally 'thought-provoking' ..
Rating:
Summary: A Masterfully Told Story
Review: I loved reading Tropic of Night. Maybe "reading" isn't the right word. I inhaled it in two days flat. I already had an interest in Yoruba religion, but even if I hadn't, I would have savored this fabulous concoction of so much magic and so many different compelling worlds. I don't enjoy gratuitous violence, and I didn't find any in this book. I've seldom read a male writer who gets so convincingly inside a woman protagonist's head. Michael Gruber tells the story in a masterful way. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: I read a lot of what would generically be called literary fiction and a lot of what would generically be called thrillers. As such, I'm always excited to hear about a novel being touted as a "literary thriller," a book that works on both levels. Alas, these books are almost usually disappointments, mediocre works by authors who don't have the chops to write either great novels or great thrillers. So I picked up Tropic of Night with both excitement and skepticism. And, boy, am I happy I did. You'd be hard pressed to find the depth of character, the richness of theme and the sheer, exhilirating intelligence that Tropic exhibits in the best of today's literary fiction; you'd be just as hard pressed to find Tropic's intense momementum, nailbiting suspense and narrative juice in the best of today's thrillers. It's just an out-and-out masterpiece. Read it -- it's simply amazing.
Rating:
Summary: What's All The Hype About?
Review: I was so looking forward to reading this book. But it's just a kind of uneasy mixture of at least two different books and maybe three. I think the author was trying to come up with something different, but grinding one book on top of another and hoping it'll all work out is not the way to go about it. Add a lot of gratuitous violence and no real attention paid to character and you've got a book that's all sound and no substance.
Rating: 
Summary: not as good as the hype
Review: This was overhyped to me -- it's not bad, just not that great. I found myself skipping over many parts, and finished it with little feeling. There are much better writers out there doing the same thing.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping and fascinating.
Review: Truly hard to put down. Michael Gruber has created a richly atmospheric world, a gripping plot and fascinating characters. "Tropic of Night" is a great thriller (and definitely not for the faint of heart) but it's so much more - it's an exploration of the dark places in the human soul. I'm making it sound heavy, when it really isn't - the proceedings are lightened by a wry sense of humor, not to mention the incredible roller-coaster ride of a plot. Gruber takes us to some pretty strange and supernatural places in this book, but never loses track of the heart of his story - the wonderful and complicated humanity of the characters. Be prepared to miss appointments...or stay up all night...because once you start reading you won't want to stop.
| 
