All the Queen's Men

Rating:
Summary: Not enough romance, too much mainstream fiction suspense
Review: I love Linda Howard's books, have every one she's ever written, personal favorites are Duncan's Bride, White Lies and Diamond Bay. The heros in these books are tough, sincere and caring. They get "close" to the heroine. The sex is great and thorough. When Linda Howard moved to the suspense line, I liked Kill and Tell, again because of the hero and his love for the strong willed heroine. That seems to be missing in "All the Queen's Men". I struggled with the book from about page 75 on. I usually read Howard's books in hours, at the most days, not weeks. I kept thinking it would pick up and was extremely disappointed that I had to wait until page 272 (with only less than 50 pages to go) for the characters to make love, actually this was much more "having sex" than making love. After waiting so long for Howard's books, I felt cheated. I wanted a hero I could think about long after the book was over. Frankly, John Medina left me cold and his hardness wasn't masculine and sexy, just flat. I can only hope that this book is not a sign of things to come, because I really miss the old Linda Howard.

Rating:
Summary: Ms Howard's new book misses the mark
Review: As a huge fan of Linda Howard, I have been very disapointed in her recent works. This new book is so much better than Now You See Her, but still fails to deliver the old Howard charm. I long for the day that Ms. Howard returns to the writing style that made me love her.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, but the ending left me flat.
Review: One of the things I liked most about this book was that it didn't fit into the legendary 'romance formula', it concentrated on a plot filled with action and intrigue and let the romance come later. However, I did miss Howard's customary passion a little. And while I loved the body of the book, the ending fizzled because it seemed forced like she was only allowed to fill so many pages and she had to wrap it up in ten or less. The action dies at the end as does the romance and I found it a disappointing end to a rather interesting, fast-paced book.

Rating:
Summary: This is a book you can not put down until you finish.
Review: Linda did it again. She held my interest. The people are believable and very likeable. This is a great book and if you like Linda Howard you will love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I can hardly wait for a Linda Howard book to come out. Last year I was very disappointed in "Now You See Her". It was the only book by Linda Howard that I did not keep. But "All the Queen's Men" more that made up for that. I enjoyed the suspense and I enjoyed the romance. Linda, keep up the good work.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling and romantic!
Review: I loved John's character in "Kill and Tell" and was ecstatic to see that Linda's new book was about him. I just love these special forces type guys! He fulfilled all my fantasies. John's love interest, Niema, was delightful, witty and strong. I hope Linda will write more books that include this wonderful couple. (A book about the bad guy turned good -- Louis Ronsard -- would be welcomed.) A great read!!

Rating:
Summary: Howard starting a new series ??? (I hope!)
Review: No, All The Queen's Men is not quite as romantic and sexy as Howard's other books and that was disappointing (and why I give it 3 stars). I think it is great that she is branching out, but she needs to still do the things that made her so popular in paperback, if she is going to suceed in hardback. She certainly left the door open to start a series with John and Niema--I hope she gives them at least one more story. Both characters, but especially John, deserve to be developed more. She also introduced a secondary character that I predict will turn up in future works--Ronsard, the French arms dealer. I didn't enjoy this book as much as some of her earlier ones and I hope she is not going to abandon the style that made her so popular, now that she is printing in hardcover. That would be very foolish on her part. For a book that really succeeds in the places where All the Queen's Men let me down, try to get hold of a copy of Patricia Gardner Evans' "Quinn Eisley's War." It's worth the search.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointed
Review: I have to agree with some of the reviews I have read- it just isn't as good as her other books. She is still one of my favorite authors and I look forward to another McKenzie book. Also - I am glad that I'm not the only one who wonders who Harriet Klausner is. I have stopped reading her reviews because she "never" gives a bad one which seems highly unlikely she hasn't run across a story she didn't care for. Amazon, can you comment on her?

Rating:
Summary: As good if not better than her previous books
Review: I think this book by Linda Howard is even better than I expected precisely because she has expended beyond pure Romance. The reason being that pure Romance gets tiring after a while while Linda Howard always evolve hers for better. "All Queen's Men" has all the hot erotic nature of romance and the suspense and exitement of other genera. I highly recommand this book.

Rating:
Summary: A big disappointment.
Review: The author Linda Howard who once described herself as "easily bored with murder, mayhem and politics" has proven herself to be most interested in exactly that- for the third book in a row. I recognize any creators right to evolve and change view but I had always been able to count on this author for a truly rich romance story and the ultimate in alpha male characters-not anymore. After reading the words "scatter-burst transmission" for about the fourth time I asked myself what the heroe of the story physically looked like-I could not remember. The bits of information she relays about spec-war technology and techniques are very interesting but the characters are flat, the plot half-hearted and the romance virtually non-existent. In hindsight I would not have purchased (or read) this book in paperback- I will not be purchasing another one of Linda Howard's books.