The Summons

Rating:
Summary: Air
Review: I have to agree with all of the lone stars here. There was no substance to this work. I turned and turned and turned the pages, only to find the same pages.

Rating:
Summary: Best Seller? Based on reputation alone
Review: I am so tired of great books being ignored because people spend their time reading trash like this book. So he had a some great books in the past. Does that mean every book he writes will be a good book? Obviously not! This book was boring, unrealistic, and nothing like what I picture a Legal Thriller to be. The title, and the explaination of it's meaning, was really lame. I knew I was in for it after the first chapter. ...

I am off mainstream! I will never buy another book by the established writers of the world again! There are too many great works out there to expore.

Rating:
Summary: Just by a little.
Review: The surprise at the end is worth the wait, as this dreary novel contimues on and on about a person who found some money in his father's house and is hiding from the people who want it back. It would have been better for Grisham to write a mystery rather than cloud it in a courtroom, even though not one scene actually takes place in a courtroom. Oh well, great ending, but the people following him should have been more ruthless. Good book though and I stongly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Simple plot with a slight ending twist & few characters.
Review: The story seemed promising to me initially when Grisham introduced the Judge's summons (for the "appropriation of his estates" immediately in the first chapter. No wishy washy background painting through laborious description, but artfully done as the pages turn, in between events. I thought that Grisham has made a deliberate effort to create this atmosphere of suspense when the Judge died suddenly and US$3 million was uncovered almost simultaneously in the study (I thought it was a little unrealistically easy to uncover US$3 m). Though it sets you in the mood in anticipation of some great story, this later evolved into a lazy elimination game of who was threatening the safety of Ray (The Judge's first son) because he took the money, in which game the reader has to keep guessing among the few characters with the help of weak clues and unexciting links - e.g. the arson of a private jet, a series of photographs of Chaney's where the money was hidden. The perpetrator was however surprisingly unpredicted (at first, I may say), but even that, the chagrin is quite mild, if not insignificant. The open ended conclusion was a further let down. A simple read, and briefly compiled for the enjoyment of a summer holidays' vacationer. Not a typical thriller.

Rating:
Summary: I'll Let You In On A Little Secret
Review: I always keep a fiction and a non-fiction book going during the same time. I'm sorry, but I have to tell you, my fiction selection which was John Grisham's heavily-pushed "The Summons" was quite ordinary -- and, yet, it's a bestseller. My non-fiction selection which was Norman Thomas Remick's un-pushed "West Point:...Thomas Jefferson" was an extraordinary and pleasant surprise -- and, yet, it's relatively unknown. That's the book that should be the bestseller, not "The Summons". That's my little secret.

Rating:
Summary: Take A Break
Review: Perhaps I'll wait awhile before reading another Grisham novel - long enough to hopefully coincide with the time the author should take to decide where his passion really lies, what he longs to write about and how he can put his heart on paper again. Having just read THE SUMMONS I must say shame on authors who pump out books because they've established a name for themselves and don't care if they put any passion into the writing. And to the publisher, who does your proof reading? Being an Editor the errors in your text were distracting. Errors on top of mediocre writing causes one to think twice before buying again. Mr. Grisham, please don't let this book be a symbol of what you're worthy of creating because if it is, I found reading it wasted my time. You're better than this book signifies because I've read your repertoire and that's why I came back for more but not again. As my sister says, 'it seems like he's burned out'. Say it isn't so...

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad but not Great.
Review: I picked up "The Summons" and was not expecting much. So I was surprised to be turning the pages of this book with anticipation when I began reading. This book seemed to grab hold from the beginning ad not really let go until the last couple of chapters.

The story line is interesting and I was happy to see that this book did not play out in a courtroom, like many of Grisham's works. I found only one flaw and I would guess it is a fairly major one, the ending was very predictable. The story line kept you guessing for about the first half of the book, but mid way through, you could predict the end very easily.

I would say that this book fit the bill if you are looking for a fun, quick read that does not really require much thought to figure out. All in all I would say a so-so work by Grisham.

Rating:
Summary: Grisham is consistent
Review: What can you say about this book that hasn't been said about the others? It's not rocket science but it's a fun, compelling story about two brothers, a bad father and the inheritance. The lawyers are likeable, but not too likeable, the characters are just like an old friend, but one that you don't know so well anymore. The end is even what you think it is but have convinced yourself it can't be.

If you like Grisham, buy The Summons.

Rating:
Summary: Why All the Grisham Hate?
Review: Well, this is only my second novel by John Grisham. My first was "Skipping Christmas" which got great reviews but I thought was just average or worse. There was no mystery, no thrilling plot, no murders up around the bend. How anyone could think that book is better than this one is beyond me.

As a novel, it's not typical. It doesn't contain thousands of pages of padding and useless character development. You're thrust into the life of Ray Atlee who receives a "summons" from his father, a retired judge who still believes he owns the small town of Clanton.

When Ray arrives, he find his father napping on the sofa, but a closer look reveals that Judge Atlee is dead. Supposedly from cranking up his own morphine pack.

When Ray finds $3.2 million in the Judge's cabinet, the book takes off. Rattling doorknobs, freaky notes with no return address (that contain cryptic messages such as "You don't need an aiplane, quite spending the money" or photos of the storage place where Ray is hiding the money.

It had a good ending (though I personally suspected the guilty party the entire time), it had enough plot twists along the way to convince me I was wrong.

I think this is a miserably underrated book, and one of the finest mysteries I've read in a long time. It might not compare to The Brethren, but it has Grisham's signature of simple writing and believable plots. Take the book for what it is, don't try to make it something too fantastic to be believed.

Rating:
Summary: Grisham at His Best
Review: I thought this was a great book. It was very easy reading, full of memorable characters and funny, and heart warming all at the same time. I read and reread the ending to see if maybe it had changed. It was great.