Rating: 
Summary: Summon a better book
Review: John Grisham sometimes has a magical way of sucking you into a slickly developing plot while at the same time giving you characters that you become attached to. His Earlier books, the Firm, a Time to Kill ect... could hook you in on page 3 and not let you go until the final senatnce.Unfortunatly, The summons is NOT like those books, in fact it does not even seem to have been written by the same person. I wonder if, having success with books outside the legal arena, Grisham lost interest in the genre and was merely writing this book to fulfill a contractual obligation. The characters were paper thin, the small town in Mississippi was a pale shadow of the town in a Time to Kill, the supporting characters had the potential to be interesting but never made it past characatures, and the ending was tacked on and did NOT explore easy options that even a non-lawyer would have been able to see.
The basic plot, two brothers are summoned home by their honored old judge-father head back to their small Mississippi hometown. The father is sick, dying, and wants them to come back to deal with his estate. When the main character gets home he finds the father dead, a new will written leaving an estate consisting of the house and $6,000,... and $3,000,000 in cash hidding in a closet that is not mentioned in the will. The son is worried about three things, one that the money is the result of something illegal, two, that somebody else might know about it, and three, that his drug addict brother will find it. Should have been a good story but but it seemed as if Mr. Grisham was taking a , not undeserved, rest from writing during the writing of this book. I just wish that on the cover it has said "Grisham Lite" as a warning to book buying public.
Rating: 
Summary: Will the real John Grisham, please...
Review: I read The Summons and felt empty. I didn't say anything about it to anyone, because I thought, everyone loves Grisham and they'll think I'm being a snot, just because I've been blabbing about my own first novel (Mothertime), like I'm better than my colleagues, who are still chained to the medical profession, unable to consider risking their child's education, their house or their trips to Tuscany (it would leave them bereft of conversation at the next party). This is probably way out of line, but I kept thinking, the whole point of this book, is to let Grisham fantasize about his obvious flying hobby in a character who has no emotional connections to anyone, schemes on young woman and lives a secure, uncomplicated life as a law professor. The characters were unsympathetic because they demonstrated no cares beyond their own needs, nor compassion for the world at large. The one character, who had character, was the 300 lb. girlfriend in Memphis. I admire Mr. Grisham's writing, so let's just give him this one as a favor. After all his hard work and excellent writing, he deserves to have a little fun for himself. John, have a cold one on me.
Rating:
Summary: when summoned - don't show up for this one
Review: Terrible ~ boring ~ don't bother. Grisham has written a story that is lacking and one that is very predictable. I'm very disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Bites...
Review: Grisham really rips his fans off with this one. Don't waste time or money. I will never buy another book before reading info here.
Rating:
Summary: It had potential...
Review: Plot starts out with potential but does not develop. Characters lack personality and the only anticipation is waiting for something to happen. Not one of Grisham's finer moments.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham's worst ever!
Review: With The Summons, I have read all of John Grisham's books up to date. And unfortunately I had to struggle through this book because the plot began to develop and get interesting after two-thirds had already been read. The first couple hundred pages it's as if you're just reading Ray Atlee's live his life. There is absolutely nothing in there. Then the ending...actually what ending? It was so loosely fabricated that I think Grisham just weaved something together on the spur of the moment then called it quits. A very disappointing read. My suggestion is if you're interested in reading the book, borrow it from the library. Don't waste your money buying it.
Rating:
Summary: VERY DISAPPOINTING !
Review: Very well written book, but basically nothing really happens until the last pages of the book. Very slow-paced. The end is ridiculous and very disappointing. Total lack of imagination.
Rating:
Summary: Slack...
Review: The plot is slack and the book is too long; these characteristic are doubtless related. Disclaimer: Since I'm a screenwriter (unproduced), I'm biased against the leisurely pace of many novels, and feel that most novelists would benefit from learning the stricter requirements of screenwriting, where every scene must be shaprly etched, every bit of dialogue contributory, and every character hit off in four or five lines. Brevity is the key. So THE SUMMONS seems to me to have a lot of irrelevant detail, and the local color ain't all that colorful. And the protagonist teeth-grittingly behaves in a manner defying common sense--consistently, tho he a law professor at a presitgious school. The ending is kind of cool, but with inusfficient foreshadowing. Roger Ebert said of poorly plotted movies that if the characters did the obvious thing, the movie would be over in five minutes. If a writer's only plot device is to have his characters act stupidly (unless it's a comedy), then he has not penetrated into his characters or his plot deeply enough. THE SUMMONS might have made a decent novella--at best.
Rating: 
Summary: Reminiscent of earlier novels
Review: "The Summons" is a nice, neat little book that harkens back to the success formula that John Grisham used in his earliest novels "The Firm" and "A Time To Kill". Grisham again provides the reader with a sympathetic lead character who becomes an "everyman" as the story progresses. And, while the plot is surely not as complex as the storyline in "The Firm", it jumps off the pages early in the book and allows the reader to settle in quickly. Ray Atlee is a University of Virginia Law professor who's not had much contact with either his substance-abusing brother, Forrest, or his father, Rueben, a legendary judge from Clanton, Mississippi. When Rueben dies after a lengthy illness, Ray is named the executor of the estate and must come to grips with both caring for his brother and dealing with his father's legacy. As Ray begins to start the process of probating the will, he stumbles upon over $3 million in cash that is not included in the estate. Where did this fortune come from and why didn't his nearly-destitute father include it in his estate or use it while he was alive? As Ray searches for the answers (as well as what to do with the money) he finds out more about his father than he bargained for. Expect to put aside some time to read this book. Once you start the story, you WILL want to continue to read it through to the end. Grisham's rapid-fire dialogue and sentence structure make this an extremely quick "read". There are enough plot twists to keep most readers motivated and interested. My only complaint is with the ending. There were a number of different avenues that I felt Grisham could have taken to finish this novel. Without going into too much detail, let me suffice to say that Grisham could probably have used a little more imagination to wrap up the story a little more tightly. It was almost as if he was setting the stage for a sequel. This is not enough to detract from an enjoyable reading experience, though! RECOMMENDED!
Rating: 
Summary: Suspense with a little bit of everything
Review: This book has a little bit of everything.
It centers around Ray Atlee, a law professor at the University of Virginia-Charlottesville. His troubled brother Forrest (named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, a famous Civil War figure) and he receive a summons from their dying father. A judge, the father lived in the Deep Southern state of Mississippi in a small town. When Ray arrives he finds the Judge dead. The mess then begins. Forrest is having more trouble with alcohol and drugs after being clean for months. Ray also finds millions of unknown hidden money in the house. Was this money fake? Was the judge shady? While in Mississippi, the judge's house is broken into. Ray gets weary and hides it in his car. One night he travels out to a casino and spends some. After returning to Virginia, he receives a "sympathy" card saying its better to go to the IRS then keep it. Who is sending these threats? Was it Harry Rex, Judge Atlee's number 1 man and closest advisor? Was it Claudia, the money hungry former lover of the Judge? Let this book take you deep in the South and tangle you in the story. Mr. Grisham is a master and his work should be read by ALL.
| 
