Rating: 
Summary: I found it exciting, good chars. and dialog, mystery weak
Review: I liked the book very much, it kept you interested, good dialog, and interplay amoung the charictors, a little weak on the mystery
Rating: 
Summary: Okay so it's not the best, but it ain't bad!
Review: I listened to an abridged audiotape of this book and liked it from the beginning. The narrator was good and gave the story a kind of grittiness that makes you think of dark, foggy nights and footsteps in the dark. I found it very easy to visualize the scenes. The story was interesting (but not engrossing), and I liked the author's 'style.' I found myself reading on because I wanted to figure out what the woman's motivations were, and how far the reporter would go to help her (and himself) out. The author is a very "frank" writer (having the characters say whatever was on their minds) -- which surprised me, but didn't turn me off. The story was good but not as engrossing as I expected due to the narration and author's style. Meaning, this sounded like a book that would grab you from the start and keep you on the edge of your seat, but it wasn't. It did grab me from the start, but it wasn't suspenseful or thrilling enough to have me on the edge of my seat. But I did finish it. The ending was okay and the 'wrap-up' reminded me of the old detective noir stories. Again, the ending didn't lead up to a big bang full of excitement, but it wasn't bad. It kind of slowly unfolded before you with all the loose ends being wrapped up and tied together. I would recommend the book but only in an audiotape version. Had I been reading it visually, I don't know that I would have gotten through it so quickly. But on audio, it was a nice 'read.'
Rating: 
Summary: incredibly briliant writer!
Review: I was facinated by this book! I still cannt belive that an American writer could write it like that. Its fantastic! Its not that i thought that Russian writers are the best,but not many American writers have it so briliant and deep in style,phsyhology and knowledge of life. Mr.Harrison is definately one of the best American authors of modern time! Read his books--they re irrisistible!
Rating:
Summary: Harrison is a master
Review: I wonder if reviewers so offended by Harrison's writing are perhaps in denial about their own base tendencies. We all have them, and Harrison obviously enjoys exploring the darker areas of humankind. But it's hard to deny his complete mastery of language, his ability to create real characters instead of the cardboard cutouts common in typical by-the-numbers thrillers. Manhattan Nocturne is a fantastic novel, and it would be nice if more authors cared this much about the craft and less about churning out boring novels once a year to satisfy their profit-hungry publishers.
Rating:
Summary: A "Book Noir"
Review: If a book ever deserved to be defined as a "film noir," then Colin Harrison's "Manhatten Nocturne" is it. The author's descriptions of New York City evoke the mood of that town to the point of elevating this novel to the status of great literature. Is it a dectective novel? Not exactly. Is it a mystery? No, not exaclty, and yet it is both and more. A dark, and brooding story written in the first person, "Manhatten Nocturne" is a compelling book, not for prudes or the faith of heart. A gritty, tough, and at times sad novel about love, death, hate and everything that makes Manhatten what it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazon cheats the reviewer by not allowing a 0 star rating
Review: It is simply amazing that one person could create such a spectacularly rotten book. I believe this laughable, cereal-box drivel must have been a compilation piece. Perhaps Colin, his sick wife, and the stunningly uneducated Chessmaster NYC must have spent a whole weekend devising this garbage.
Rating:
Summary: I am surprised that anyone could dislike this book.
Review: It is unusual to find a book whose plot is exciting and whose characters at the same time are real. Real in that they experience the feelings we all experience in our lives at one time or another. This book is plot driven and yet insightful at the same time. The author's idealism and cynicism are evenly matched. This book contains suspense, mystery, and characters who you like and know. How can anyone not like that?
Rating: 
Summary: A good plot ruined by tangents and rotten ending
Review: It took too long for the action to take off in this book. That's ok for serious literature, but let's face it, this is a thriller that should be fast paced. The first 100 pages are quite slow. Furthermore, the author goes off on too many tangents, having the main character reminice about his childhood, etc. These wanderings contribute nothing to the plot and are not interesting in and of themselves. It helps to be a good skimmer! The suspense finally picked up and I was quite involved until the ending. What a disappointment! First of all, one of the last scenes involving Caroline and her late husband was vile and revolting in more ways than one. And there were two gaping holes: how could Caroline be sure that Simon had given her the right combination in the elevator, and how could Porter's wife, an educated self-assured surgeon, not confront him with his suspicious actions, especially after Caroline showed up at her office? And then she just came back to him and did not ask what had happened, even after her son was shot? No way. With lots of good books out there, don't bother with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Petty and Pompously Pedantic!
Review: Petty, pompously pedantic to no good result, including a truly missing ingredient - called a story. This was not the worst non-attempt at story telling I have read, but it is certainly in the top five. Thank goodness it was my first book by this author, so I am saved from further excursions into his non-stories. When I read, I want to 'experience' a story, not drown in an author's self-important pretentions and disdain for the idiot reader "feasting" on the imagined insights of a bitter view on life. Certainly not to be considered literature, and not even up to the level of so-called 'pulp'! If I could get a refund, I would, to prevent anyone from profiting from these 'wasted trees'. Bill barth, Sr.
Rating:
Summary: Liked the book, disliked the author
Review: Satisfying literary thrillers don't come along too often, so I'm grateful to Colin Harrison for his combination of complex plotting, subtle characterization, and good writing. I did like this novel overall, but it was in spite of its endless, arrogant philosophizing and its offensive sexuality. I don't recall ever being offended by a book in this way before--the female characters' sexuality bears no resemblance to that of real women--it's clearly one giant fantasy on the part of the author.
|
