Rating: 
Summary: It was Awful!!!
Review: I can't believe that this book was published. The characters were not interesting. The plot was not original. The writing was juvenile. I just can't believe that a book of this caliber got published. I've read books that are hard to follow and didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I would read those books again before I read another book by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: two thumbs up
Review: I personally really enjoyed the book, it reads fast and the plot was great. It's not for everyone, but then again how many books are???
Rating: 
Summary: Meltzer blow's Grisham right out of the water!
Review: "People, 5/19/97 : Meltzer has earned the right to belly up to the bar in the company of John Grisham, Scott Turow and David Baldacci..." I'm sorry, but Meltzer has bellied up to the bar and blown them all out of the water. This was a great summer book to read on vacation - you won't put it down! The plot just keeps twisting and turning and making you want to keep turning the pages. I was sure I knew who Ben could trust on pages 166, then around 235, then around 267, then around 345, etc.
Rating:
Summary: A MAJOR THRILLER? A MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT
Review: I struggled to understand why this book was published. A self respecting author would have rounded up all copies of the final draft and burned them. Although the basic concept is intriguing, cardboard characters spouting wooden dialogue and enacting laughable situations for doubtful reasons is not my idea of a good time. Descriptions of unfolding action are as bad as you can possibly imagine. Upon finishing I tossed it in the trash instead of adding it to my library.Then I found the answer to my question: the only conceivable reason a publisher touched this dreck. The author was a speechwriter for Bill Clinton. (Now we know why the speeches are overlong, boring and smell of barely disguised incompetence.) Now we know. Oh. One more thing. There was a scriptish tone about this misbegotten project. If it gets made into a movie I'll have to contribute to the GOP.
Rating:
Summary: An irritating book
Review: I agree with all the negative reviews of this book; it is a very irritating book, for various reasons and on several levels. First, as many readers have noted, the dialogue and behavior of the main characters is sophomoric. One gets the impression that this is the way the author and his age coherts conversed and behaved when they were in law school, and Mr. Meltzer felt (for whatever reason) the general reading public would like to read about it. I don't think so. Second, where was the editing of this book? Mr. Meltzer is a fledging 'legal potboiler' author. Maybe he'll improve with age and experience. This book badly needed the experienced hand of an editor. Better yet, it never should have been published. Third, this book says a lot about the corruption of the 'book blurb' business. The inside pages of the paperback version of the 'Tenth Justice' were replete with accolades for this book, from 25 or so newspapers across the land. Is the caliber of newspaper book reviewing so execrable that these reviewers actually liked this book? Or were they paid to say something nice about the 'Tenth Justice'? Finally, it is not clear that the author (or his editors) even understands how the Supreme Court works. In several places in the book, Meltzer describes his protagonist clerks hammering out original opinions for the clerks' Supreme Court Justice. That ain't the way it works. Every case that lands at the United States Supreme Court (or at any appellate court, for that matter) is accompanied by the parties' extensive legal briefs (i.e., proposed court opinions) and legal briefs from dozens of 'friends of the court'. It is the clerk's job to wade through all this paper and 'cut & paste' an opinion once the justice decides how he or she wants the case decided. To suggest that the clerks create Supreme Court opinions 'from scratch' is dishonest. In summary, a very irritating book.
Rating:
Summary: highly entertaining-intriguing
Review: Although filled with constant petty arguments between characters, the book is intelligently written. Highly entertaing, with and intriguing plot that never stops.
Rating:
Summary: BORRRRRINNG!
Review: I am student who will be attending law school this next year, so I try to keep up on any new books I find related to the subject of law. This book was just BAD. The writing was dull, the characters lacked development, and the details were overdone. I kept turning page after page, hoping it would get better, but didn't have any luck. I was relieved to finish it. Even my boring accounting textbooks are better reading material.
Rating:
Summary: This book is grossly over-rated.
Review: After all the hype, I bought this book expecting something as least as good as Grisham and hopefully better. What a letdown: cardboard characters, a tepid plot, wretched pacing and inane dialogue. Why it is getting a big push from the publisher is beyond me. I found it juvenile and boring.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read for 20-something law students...
Review: I read this just after completing my first year of law school. This book was light, hip and just plain fun to read. I enjoyed the relationships b/w the roommates and the development of Ben. The author did a fine job portraying this young man fresh from law school. Meltzer provided me with just the right mix of fantasy, friends and the law.
Rating:
Summary: Wasted Money
Review: This is a prime example of a big publishing house paying huge dollars for less than amateur effort. The fact that Mr. Meltzer was a Supreme Court clerk held the promise that his book would be a best-seller. I wonder if the publisher has learned anything? In all fairness, it isn't Mr. Meltzer's fault that the book is so bad--this is a clear case of a publisher neglecting to edit the author (severely). Some advice for anyone who wants to write: "So-and-so said, taking another bite of her hamburger." "Lying on the bed, he" "Twisting in the sheets,he" "Wearing jeans and a crew neck sweater, he was thrilled" "Going to the kitchen," "So-and-so said, sitting at his desk" Every paragraph in this book has one, two, and sometimes four of these weak sentences. Not only does this make for weak prose that cause readers to cringe, but it trivialized the narrative and characterization to the point of disgust. Very poor prose and childish dialogue, throughout. Unbelievable, as well. Characters unlikeable. Could have been a good plot, but, due to poor writing, fell far short of being even mediocre.
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