The Winner

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking!
Review: The Winner is my first David Baldacci book, and was I ever impressed! I normally read 2 to 3 books a week, and I must say this was one of the most riveting reads I've encountered in some time. The action is nonstop; there's absolutely no part of the book one could find boring. The plot is clever and unique, and the characterization is excellent. Add to this a very satisfying ending, and you have a true winner...maybe that's why the author chose The Winner as his book title! I'd enjoy hearing any recommendations from other readers who loved this book...

Rating:
Summary: Well I read it all the way. That means something, right?
Review: The most annoying aspect of this unintellectual and far-fetched suspense novel, was the annoying two-deminsional perfection of the herione, LuAnn Tyler. Beautiful, honest, couragous, superhumanly strong, intelligent, blah blah blah. She even had abnormally acute hearing - it was rediculous! The premise of a lottery being fixed, poor girl turned rich and murder sounded good. That's why I decided to buy it for the plane ride to North Carolina. But I was clearly to be dissapointed. The plot was pathetic with so many holes I'm too tired to list them all, the fight scenes were downright comical, and the whole thing seemed incredibly juvanile. It was dissapointing to say the least. But it was fast moving and I had it done by a couple of days (despite the fact it was much longer than it needed to be) If all you want is something fluffy and unbelivable, with characters you don't give a rat's bum about (and sometimes find down right irritating) but with a somewhat engaging plot, this is for you. But if I were you, I'd pass.

Rating:
Summary: UP ALL NIGHT!!! WHO CARES IF IT IS BELIEVEABLE!
Review: I dont enjoy a book more or less because the storyline is believeable... I was up all night with this extremely entertaining book. It beats the pants off Ab. Power in my opinion! Make a movie out of it, I'll pay the $7.50!!!!

Rating:
Summary: great book!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book! The middle dragged a little for awhile, but the pace is quickly picked up again a short time later. Great characters, great plot. I highly recommend this one!!

Rating:
Summary: Implausible, but fun.
Review: This book moves fast. If you stop to think about it too much, it won't work for you. Definitely unrealistic. The Lu Ann character is too unbelievably good to be true. "Stronger than any man, totally broke, but won't cash in on a chance of a lifetime, completely ethical, great mother and on and on and on." If you can get through her perfection, it's a fun story.

Rating:
Summary: GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT....
Review: THE WINNER started off slowly, but developed into a decent book, although, not on par with his first two novels. Great reading for the train, fast moving and easy to follow. A little too predictable at the end.

Rating:
Summary: THE LOSER!!!
Review: I just scrolled through 60 reviews and it surprises me that no one came up with the obvious--- The Winner is the Loser! Sorry DB, but you have done much better in the past. I loved Absolute Power and believe the movie was a gross injustice to the book. Total Control had me happily reading along. But The Winner? Argh!!! What agony! Please, if you must, dear determined readers of The Winner, borrow it from your local library and save your hard-earned dollars for a future and, hopefully, considerably improved, title worthy of the name Baldacci. Can't WIN 'em all, folks.

Rating:
Summary: Certainly fast-moving, but plausible? Well....
Review: The Winner, by David Baldacci definitely moves right along, and is undeniably original. But originality like this sometimes brings a plot that is contorted beyond description. Mr. Baldacci has something in his book for just about everyone, including gamblers and romance-novel purists. He spins quite a yarn, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a fast, riveting read even if it is a bit implausible. In some ways it may not quite stand up to comparison with his previous works (it is difficult for me to visualize this as a successful screenplay), but it's a pretty exciting read nonetheless, and that's worth a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read!
Review: This book caught me from the first page. Can't wait for his next novel

Rating:
Summary: Fast and adventurous, but only that
Review: I will come t disagree with some critics who wrote "Baldacci is the new dominator in the thriller field" (Arizona Republic), "Baldacci does not only surpass his fellow writers, sets them really out of the battlefield" (People magazine). Probably those gentlemen haven't read Robert Ludlum. And yes; Baldacci could be better than Ludlum or equal if only... The book is really not bad. It flows like a creek, the tempo is really uprising up till the ending climax scenes, the narration is setting complete scenes, not the Kellerman immediate type, but complete and speech of Baldacci is neither too intelectusl nor too naeve. Baldacci's words are common and uptodate, simple, but hold exactly what he wants to narrate and exhibit. Nothing more and nothing less. The same happens with dialogues. And this makes the book immediate with its own way. Then the story is nothing complicated, a simple detective adventure, of the non too complex type, including an economic conspiracy adventure inside, a romantic story and men and women with dak past lifes, agents and Phantom like villains. A Ludlum setup that is. the comparison comes clear but not the outcome. There are no great mysteries, the plot comes straightforward, but the twists and some elements of unexpected, make it interesting and increase the readers' intensityand follow up. As said, the tempo is such that grabs you and never leaves you. But. Too much coincidenses to help the heroes resolve situations, too much clear cut justifications that reach the naeve edge, too much "on the verge" happenings and enough last time savings. From a point and on we assume what is going to happen, but the tempo pushes us not to miss any line, word, or scene and "oops" the book is over. And the characters ? Some attention is tried, but yet not the multidimensional one, only a 2D, cause Baldacci does not want to intensify his heroes' minds and psychology and bring in the psychological thriller, like Ludlum in the Bourne trilogy, or like Thomas Harris does with his villains. Finally, the book is a galloping rythm detective adventure and as such is perfect, a top notch book for a blockbuster film (can tell you the cast I made if you want), but not a novel to be curved deep inside a reader.