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The Road to Omaha

The Road to Omaha

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Delicious entertainment
Review: Dear Reader,

Only one word can describe this wonderfully comedic tale by Mr. Ludlum and that word is "DELICIOUS." I can't put this book down! Admittedly, the book starts off slow, but I can see that was just too build his the zany charactors and wacky premise. Once those elements have been established the "fun" begins. And I do mean fun. Like bumper cars in an amusement park the action is non-stop and the suspense of "what's next" is building like a crescendo. Without giving too much of the story away, let me just say give this novel a chance. If your a first time reader to Ludlum as myself, you too will be pleasantly surprized with the investment you put into this one. Delicious!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing farce/thriller (what is that anyway?)
Review: I have never read Ludlum before, although I enjoyed the film version (I know, the movie is never as good as the book) of the first two Bourne books.
I picked this up because the premise sounded interesting and I was looking for something 'light.' I was so disappointed, I actually stopped reading it--very unusual for me. The basic plot evolves in just a couple dozen pages and then quickly gets lost as a sequel to "The Road to Gandolfo." (I suppose if you liked "Gandolfo," you might be interested in this story of "what happened after all that."
My main criticism is that the "humor" is so painfully juvenile--he has characters arguing in the White House Situation Room with all the maturity of a junior-high food fight. The dialogue is forced and slapstick--which just doesn't play well in writing. I felt as though Ludlum was condescending to me and insulting my intelligence by making the characters so overtly farcical. I am intelligent enough to discern satire without being beaten over the head with it.
If you decide to read this, you would probably be best served by reading "Gandolfo" first so you at least have some context. I suppose that if you like "Gandolfo" you'll like this also.
If you've never read Ludlum, do youself a favor and read one of his "real" stories--i.e. any book without "The Road to..." in the title.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It's a shocker
Review: I have never read such drivel. How on earth anyone would read and recommend this book, or even finish it, is beyond me. It's typical of an author cashing in on previous books. It must have taken 2 weeks to write and 20 bottles of Tequilla

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What great characters!
Review: I haven't read the other "road", that is Gandolfo, but I can't wait to get it and see what made "the Hawk" so crazy. These characters are endearing and hilarious. I loved it. I listened to the tape, and Joe Campanella really adds to the story with his voices.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not My Cup of Tea
Review: I may be the one guy out there that does not like his books. What makes me mad is that I have gone through about three of them because he gets so much good press. I find the writing wooden and he just does not hold my attention. Maybe I just have a mental block with him and the movies will be better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Even funnier than The Road to Gandolfo.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed The Road to Gandolfo, but this novel is superior. The principal characters are back, with a new female character created to replace the lost love of lawyer Sam Devereaux's life. This is a terrific satire of the American economic and political system and the incompetence of people at the highest levels of authority. I left this book feeling that in some small way, all of us are Wopotamis

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The magic is Not here
Review: I was expecting a humorous ride ala The Road to Gandolfo. Sad to report that TRtO falls flat on Ludlum's face. Gandolfo was funny and exciting as the plot was plausible and the actors were not trying too hard to be comical. As you all know, comedy is lousiest when the actors attempt too hard to be funny. i was looking forward to having more of Hawk's 4 ex-wives, but alas they were not in the picture. This comedy required too much suspension of reality that it failed dramatically. The only reason I kept on reading was to see how ludicruous Ludlum can get. And I tell you it was very ludicruous to the end. I recommend you read this title only to see that Good Author's can have a bad day too.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This Book is Awful!!!
Review: I'm mad at myself for having bought this book. I'm even madder at myself for having read it all the way through. I just thought it had to get better. It didn't.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An Insult To His Fans
Review: I've been a Ludlum fan for years. I have a full collection in hardcover. FINALLY I get the opportunity to let the world know my opinion of ROAD TO OMAHA! Ludlum and his publishers OWE "me", not only the price of the hardcover edition but for my time wasted wading thru the first 4 chapters. This book is a crass insult to Ludlum fans. ROAD TO GANDOLPHO was mildly humerous. Not even that can be said for ROAD TO OMAHA. It was a struggle every stroke of the keyboard and the struggle was obvious. Ludlum would do well to leave attempts at humor to other authors and stay with doing what he does best - writing good thrillers w/o the need to rely on sex to fill out the pages.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not great, but has some fun moments.
Review: In "The Road To Gandolfo", we met General Mackenzie Hawkins and his unwilling sidekick, the kicking-and-screaming Sam Devereaux, attorney at law. The result was a satirical farce of rapid-fire action and broad humor, featuring an intricate plot to kidnap the Pope. In "The Road To Omaha" Hawkins and Devereaux return, with a new supporting cast and a new Hawkins plan: lay before the U.S. Supreme Court an old treaty and an airtight legal argument, and demand that much of the state of Nebraska (including the land around Omaha, site of the U.S. Strategic Air Command) be returned to its rightful owners, namely an obscure Indian tribe called the Wopotomis.

It is almost an axiom in both literature and film that sequels rarely live up to their predecessors, and this book is no exception. Where the concept of a funny espionage/intrigue novel was fresh and inspired in "Gandolfo", in "Omaha" it appears a trifle forced. The satire is less biting, and the humor devolves at times into a madcap, slapstick silliness reminiscent of the Keystone Cops. Reading the sequel, the reader too often gets an impression of the author struggling mightily to outdo the previous work in sheer hilarity, and in the process trampling subtlety and suspense completely out of some of the scenes.

That said, however, this is still a good book, and anyone who enjoyed "Gandolfo" will almost certainly get some fun out of "Omaha" as well. There is still plenty of wit and humor here, and Ludlum is a master at keeping the reader hooked into the story, turning the pages in anticipation and trying to get in just one more chapter before bedtime. The main characters grab you, and if some of the peripheral roles are mere cardboard cutouts, it's a flaw that's easy to forgive in the blazing pace of the story. The political satire may lack finesse at times, but it has teeth, and the casting of mob boss Vincent "Vinnie the Bam Bam" Mongecavalo as head of the CIA is a splendidly snide volley from an espionage writer.

This book does not really have the strength to stand on its own: if you didn't read, or didn't like, "The Road To Gandolfo", you'll most likely be disappointed. But if you liked "Gandolfo" and would like to revisit Hawkins, Devereaux and the oddly gripping world of humorous intrigue they pioneered, "The Road To Omaha" is good enough to make you overlook or forgive its flaws.


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