Rating: 
Summary: "Alley McBeal"-like Lawyer Thriller
Review: "Brain Storm" is a just OK lawyer-as-detective thriller. The story is about geek-lawyer Joe Watson. Joe has been harboring doubts about having sold-out and gone for the big bucks of a corporate law firm. Some court assigned pro bono work forces him to make some major life changes. I like the way Dooling writes. However, I don't like his market-oriented story. His main character views the world dripping with irony. However, this is the story's greatest fault. The ironic narration does not stop when the main character really ought to be serious. This failure to segue form scene to scene gives it an unintentional sit-com quality, minus the laugh track. Another problem I had was the story's blatant info-novel orientation. Computer geek lawyer involved in a criminal case featuring neurobiology? About the only thing missing for total mass market appeal would be to make it a western or a war story. "Brain Storm" is entirely too over contrived to be a thriller. It is clever, and humorous, but like "Alley McBeal" without substance.
Rating: 
Summary: Neuronal advocate
Review: ...Dooling has made a serious attempt to show how poorly the law reflects the workings of the human mind. Changes must be made and the changes must be based on firmer understanding. A story of a struggling lawyer isn't unusual, although this one is tempered by a grasping wife and her Big Money father, a lush suburban house and a position with the city's leading law firm. The case itself seems simple. A vocal racist is accused of murdering a "African American" [the "scare quotes" are an essential facet of this book] - who happens to be deaf. There are heavy implications in this event, not the least of which is conviction for a provable "hate crime" invokes the death sentence. How is a young lawyer, with neither criminal law nor trial experience to cope with the enormity of this situation? The legal issues are more than words in the statute books. Dooling's knowledge of science and technology introduces some fresh twists. The circumstances, convoluted enough, become even more intricate as Joe Watson becomes mired in trying to understand the new "hate" legislation permeating American law. How is "hate" defined? As he researches the case, he meets neuroscientist Rachel Palmquist [whose name becomes an essential factor in their relationship]. Palmquist tries to educate Watson on the latest findings in human cognition as part of her efforts to seduce him. Watson is better at cognition than seduction, as you will likely be as you follow her lectures on why we lack free will and what happens when electrodes are used to stir emotions. All this cognitive studies material is, of course, the basis for the book's title. The issue in this story isn't attorney Watson's struggles with morality nor the respective merits of corporate or criminal law. What's really at stake is how the law defines and treats "hate" crimes and other politically correct issues. Dooling's point is what laws are now on the books and the prospects for future legislation. He wants proposed laws to consider the recent advances in behaviour studies. Can the cure be implemented before the symptoms come to light? Dooling, through his projection Watson, examines the science, the implications and the possible outcomes. We are shown how some of the studies are done, not always a pleasant vista, but with human and legal implications. Reading this book, it's easy to dismiss Watson as an over-focused simpleton. When you realize he's speaking for lawyer Dooling, however, who likely went through much of the introspection Watson relates, this book gains in importance as a social statement. Dooling uses several good sources for material for this book, although you have to go to his web site to discover who they are. Dooling has given us an entertaining view of law and science brought in conjunction. How good a job he's done depends on your tastes. This is certainly not escapist crime fiction. His concentration on legal and neuroscience issues far outweighs the specific crime involved. His characters try fervently to express the many concepts this book deals with, but fall short of the mark. The one success is Federal Judge Stang, whose seniority and astute understanding of law and lawyers make him the star of the book. If you want "mysteries", go elsewhere. ...Dooling's ideas and discussions of practical issues, however, are an excellent start in either direction. Read it, but don't stop here.
Rating:
Summary: Neuronal advocate
Review: ...Dooling has made a serious attempt to show how poorly the law reflects the workings of the human mind. Changes must be made and the changes must be based on firmer understanding. A story of a struggling lawyer isn't unusual, although this one is tempered by a grasping wife and her Big Money father, a lush suburban house and a position with the city's leading law firm. The case itself seems simple. A vocal racist is accused of murdering a "African American" [the "scare quotes" are an essential facet of this book] - who happens to be deaf. There are heavy implications in this event, not the least of which is conviction for a provable "hate crime" invokes the death sentence. How is a young lawyer, with neither criminal law nor trial experience to cope with the enormity of this situation? The legal issues are more than words in the statute books. Dooling's knowledge of science and technology introduces some fresh twists. The circumstances, convoluted enough, become even more intricate as Joe Watson becomes mired in trying to understand the new "hate" legislation permeating American law. How is "hate" defined? As he researches the case, he meets neuroscientist Rachel Palmquist [whose name becomes an essential factor in their relationship]. Palmquist tries to educate Watson on the latest findings in human cognition as part of her efforts to seduce him. Watson is better at cognition than seduction, as you will likely be as you follow her lectures on why we lack free will and what happens when electrodes are used to stir emotions. All this cognitive studies material is, of course, the basis for the book's title. The issue in this story isn't attorney Watson's struggles with morality nor the respective merits of corporate or criminal law. What's really at stake is how the law defines and treats "hate" crimes and other politically correct issues. Dooling's point is what laws are now on the books and the prospects for future legislation. He wants proposed laws to consider the recent advances in behaviour studies. Can the cure be implemented before the symptoms come to light? Dooling, through his projection Watson, examines the science, the implications and the possible outcomes. We are shown how some of the studies are done, not always a pleasant vista, but with human and legal implications. Reading this book, it's easy to dismiss Watson as an over-focused simpleton. When you realize he's speaking for lawyer Dooling, however, who likely went through much of the introspection Watson relates, this book gains in importance as a social statement. Dooling uses several good sources for material for this book, although you have to go to his web site to discover who they are. Dooling has given us an entertaining view of law and science brought in conjunction. How good a job he's done depends on your tastes. This is certainly not escapist crime fiction. His concentration on legal and neuroscience issues far outweighs the specific crime involved. His characters try fervently to express the many concepts this book deals with, but fall short of the mark. The one success is Federal Judge Stang, whose seniority and astute understanding of law and lawyers make him the star of the book. If you want "mysteries", go elsewhere. ...Dooling's ideas and discussions of practical issues, however, are an excellent start in either direction. Read it, but don't stop here.
Rating: 
Summary: Could not put it down!
Review: A great read for anyone tired of John Grisham-style lawyers
Rating:
Summary: Smart, funny page-turner
Review: A stranger next to me on a plane finished Brain Storm and handed it to me because she wanted someone else to enjoy it as much as she did. Lucky me. Dooling combines a medical novel, a legal thriller, a sex comedy, and a sf novel while providing genuine character development ... and a book-length consideration of the meaning of free will. It's a funny, thoughtful, provocative book and total fun to read. After I finished, I went back and read everything Dooling has written. What a find! This one is my favorite, but the others are terrific, too.
Rating:
Summary: What a hoot!
Review: Absolutely delightful! With one of the cheekiest pens this side of Carl Hiassen, Dooling spins out a terrific mystery that pulls the leg of every "classic" young-lawyer novelist of the past ten years. He manages to meld his sharp tongue with an accute observation of current debate between reductionist biology and mind-body philosophies. The book got off to a shaky start: it took some 50-or-so pages to realize what he was trying to do. The leaden dropping of techno-geek terms seemed careless. But as the reader finds the right register--this is not a serious detective novel--it becomes clear. If you relax, there's a lot of fun ahead. If you're all tensed up, you're going to miss the roller coaster thrills as this novel rockets around the curves of today's trends, allusions and illusions. Good stuff!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor and long winded effort.
Review: Boy, did this long-winded book need some editing. If I had to suffer through any more sections on how the main character was just "some Westlaw geek" I thought I would choke. Gave up after about sixty pages because only about five pages of plot had occurred. This guy just tries too hard to let you know how up he is on "contemporary" stuff. PS I suspect some of the reviews are from the author himself.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, informative, screamingly funny in places...
Review: Brain Storm is the kind of book that is very easy to like, with characters you can easily get to know and entertaining situations which drive the book forward. We've all been vastly unprepared in our life at one time or another and so it's interesting following the lead character on their adventure from fear and ineptitude to a confince and sucess. All in all a very entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining
Review: Brain Storm is the kind of book that is very easy to like, with characters you can easily get to know and entertaining situations which drive the book forward. We've all been vastly unprepared in our life at one time or another and so it's interesting following the lead character on their adventure from fear and ineptitude to a confince and sucess. All in all a very entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Some of the best characters in recent fiction.
Review: Brainstorm reminds me of Bonfire of the Vanities in the way it is dealing with real issues with over the top characters.The book has terrific dialogue in the Elmore Leonard tradition and the defendent and the judge are two of the most enjoyable characters I've encountered in recent years.This is an enjoyable read that doesn't take itself too seriously and still deals with relevant issues.
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