Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Although there are some graphic as well as moving segments,overall this novel is poorly edited, often having abrupt transitions. It drags on and on in places and,plainly,isn't that interesting (altho it TRYS to be). I'd find a good 5 star mystery (there's lots) and not waste your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect book for a vacation or lazy weekend
Review: In a last minute attempt to find a perfect book for vacation, I picked up "Afterburn." But moments after I purchased it, I had second thoughts. I figured it would just be another book in the Grisham, et al. genre. Boy, was I wrong. The twists and turns were completely upredictable. And the characters were remarkably well drawn. This is a perfect vacation read and worthy of excellent word of mouth.
Rating:
Summary: A Disappointing Follow-Up to Nocturne
Review: After devouring Manhattan Nocturne, I was eager to read Harrison's next book. But I found it lacking. The characters came off as shallow and unsympathetic. While the plot moved along, at times it was jarring, with the action moving from one character to another. Some story lines were picked up and dropped. In places, the book was extremely gory, unnecessarily so. One scene in particular, where one character is brutally mutilated, was hard to get through. At the end of the book I felt cheated, that I had spent many hours with these characters and didn't feel anything for them, except perhaps distaste.
Rating: 
Summary: compelling, yet flawed
Review: I have read all of Colin Harrison's books, and had eagerly awaited this one. Although the pace is just as driving and the characters as interesting, the violence - expecially the scenes with the drill - seemed gratuitous to me. I know Harrison is drawn to the dark underbelly of society, but in the past any violence or kinky sex was tied to character development. Here Harrison seems intent on providing grisly scenes of torture simply for shock value. As another reader suggested, you would do well to read "Bodies Electric" and "Manhattan Nocturne" before this book.
Rating: 
Summary: More raves for AFTERBURN
Review: "This book is extraordinary, maybe even a masterpiece."--Carolyn Banks, The Washington Post"For those readers who got to the end of Thomas Harris' 'Hannibal' last year and wished that the finale . . . had been just a little more graphic and sickening, Colin Harrison has your dessert ready. It's AFTERBURN, his fourth novel. Not only is Harrison a vastly better writer than Harris, but he has written two extended torture sequences that make the depravities of Dr. Lecter look like the pastoral rompings of the Teletubbies. AFTERBURN is one rough read . . . But Harrison has always been in a classier league than other 'mere' noir thriller writers . . . He still writes with singular beauty."--Phil Kloer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "As thrillers, Colin Harrison's smart, jagged suspense novels are nonpareil. If there is a literary elixir of sex, violence and New York money, here's where the good stuff is bottled . . . AFTERBURN is one hell of a thriller."--Craig Ryan, Portland Oregonian
Rating:
Summary: quite a thrill
Review: i picked this book up because it was listed in the "and bear in mind" section under the best seller list in the NYT book review. having never read anything by mr. harrison, i didn't know what to expect. from the outset, i was hooked, first to the scrupulously detailed description of being a fighter pilot in vietnam and a prisoner of war, then to the inner dialogues of the main characters, what they were thinking and why, always scheming, always looking around, always cautious and mistrusting, until that moment of weakness, that flaw, that lapse and "poof" they're gone, they're trapped, it's too late, they can't escape. and i also enjoyed very much the little hints that were planted throughout the text but weren't given meaning until about 30 pages later, leading me to thumb back through to find the reference, the set-up, then re-read it in context with my "better" knowledge. yes, it was graphic, and yes it was gruesome, maybe unbelievably so, but it gave me quite a thrill and was quite a thrill to read. i peaked ahead to the last chapter with about 150 pages to go, not being able to stand it any longer, and even so, the book was not ruined and i dove back in to read the intervening pages. highly recommended. quite a ride.
Rating:
Summary: Slick, Hollow, and Forgettable
Review: A well written, yet uninspired novel. The sex and violence don't mean much because the characters don't seem quite real enough. They're certainly not likeable. And in the end it's just the usual mafia bad guys torturing and killing. How un-original! Two stars only because the writing is strong.
Rating: 
Summary: Not author's best.
Review: Colin Harrison has a wonderful eye for picking up all the movements of New York City. In this book, however, I think he pushes the sex and violence too far. It borders on pornography that isn't necessary. Read Bodies Electric and Manhattan Nocturne before you order this one.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful read
Review: Almost three decades have passed since Charlie Ravich's life was nearly destroyed in Nam. The scars of his capture by the enemy have never left his mind even though he is a very successful CEO of an international company. The Manhattan resident wonders if he is the victim of some form of cosmic revenge because of his actions in Viet Nam. His son is dying from leukemia. His daughter is infertile. Even his wife is ailing suffering from Alzheimer's. There is nobody to carry on his legacy after he dies. Desperate for a blood heir, he turns towards the concept of a surrogate mother providing him with a new child. He plans to ignore his child until it reaches adulthood. Christina Welles has just been released from prison. She sees Charlie's twisted but desperate plight as an answer to her own troubles. Her former employer, Mafioso Tony V wants to insure her silence. Her former lover tries to warn her but instead sets in motion a series of double-crosses that will leave everyone burned. Although not for all readers, AFTERBURN is a thought-provoking thriller that questions the legacy individuals leave behind. Filled with graphic violence, the complex story line cleverly blends together several subplots into a non-stop thriller that leaves little doubt that Colin Harrison is one of the sub-genre's grandmasters. The central theme will remind the audience of a scene from Dead Poet's Society when Williams shows the pictures of former students who have one thing in common; they are all now dust. Mr. Harrison will receive many accolades and awards for intelligently using that philosophy as the underlying focus of this triumphant but violent thriller. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Hannibal Lecter meets A Man In Full
Review: If Tom Wolfe and Thomas Harris were to collaborate on a novel, the result would probably look something like "Afterburn." Harrison shares Wolfe's knowledge of the world of the super rich and writes about their wheelings and dealings with just about as much verve and flair. And in the villainous Morris, a freelance amateur surgeon, he has created a character who makes Hannibal Lecter seem downright humane. Your worst nightmare will seem like a relief compared to some of the more ghastly scenes in "Afterburn."
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