Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read.
Review: Have you ever wanted to just become someone else? Ever had the feeling that you were meant to do something else with your life? Ever been bullied, and wished that just once you could fight back? If any of these themes grab you, then you need to get Able, Baker, Charley by John Maxim. This is one of those rare reads that just keeps getting better chapter by chapter. I noted that this excellent book has recently been re-released too, so should not be hard to find. I have reread this book a half dozen times, and will probably continue to do so until Mr. Maxim DOES A SEQUEL.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read.
Review: Have you ever wanted to just become someone else? Ever had the feeling that you were meant to do something else with your life? Ever been bullied, and wished that just once you could fight back? If any of these themes grab you, then you need to get Able, Baker, Charley by John Maxim. This is one of those rare reads that just keeps getting better chapter by chapter. I noted that this excellent book has recently been re-released too, so should not be hard to find. I have reread this book a half dozen times, and will probably continue to do so until Mr. Maxim DOES A SEQUEL.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: I have never missed a chance to read a "Maxim" book and Able Baker Charley does not disappoint. As with all Maxim books the unique plots and marvelous characters not only entertain and fascinate the author has made them so just plain likable that I find myself turning pages as quickly as possible to continue the adventure! ABC can take its place along side the rest of Maxim books as a "can't put down". If you have never read a Maxim grab one fast. The good news is that you are going to really love these books. If you have something else you need to be doing the bad news is you are going to really love these books!
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: I have never missed a chance to read a "Maxim" book and Able Baker Charley does not disappoint. As with all Maxim books the unique plots and marvelous characters not only entertain and fascinate the author has made them so just plain likable that I find myself turning pages as quickly as possible to continue the adventure! ABC can take its place along side the rest of Maxim books as a "can't put down". If you have never read a Maxim grab one fast. The good news is that you are going to really love these books. If you have something else you need to be doing the bad news is you are going to really love these books!
Rating: 
Summary: Both Good and Bad
Review: In this novel Maxim operates on the assumption that since the human brain is compartmentalized, each individual can become several personas sharing the same body. Therefore each is a totally separate individual. This is different than a split personality in which each personality is really a part of the total person.The other assumption is that genes can inherit memories from ancestors and thus if someone in an individual's past was a concert pianist, the memory is there in the individual's genes. Thus that individual can become a concert pianist. A doctor who specializes in creating new personalities for people, takes advantage of this theory and is able to transform individuals into totally new individuals. These theories are very interesting and are the only thing that keeps this book together. The book itself is a mismosh of activities and events. The author's descriptions often lack clarity where it is very difficult to picture what is happening and it is very difficult to follow the supporting characters. Some seem to appear out of the blue and it seems that the author assumes you know something about them. A lot of what happens is implausible and some of the ideas seem to be copied from the old tv series The Incredible Hulk. (meek David Banner would turn into a super strong monster when he was enraged). Maxim wrote a much better book dealing with the mind called "Time Out of Mind."
Rating:
Summary: Both Good and Bad
Review: In this novel Maxim operates on the assumption that since the human brain is compartmentalized, each individual can become several personas sharing the same body. Therefore each is a totally separate individual. This is different than a split personality in which each personality is really a part of the total person. The other assumption is that genes can inherit memories from ancestors and thus if someone in an individual's past was a concert pianist, the memory is there in the individual's genes. Thus that individual can become a concert pianist. A doctor who specializes in creating new personalities for people, takes advantage of this theory and is able to transform individuals into totally new individuals. These theories are very interesting and are the only thing that keeps this book together. The book itself is a mismosh of activities and events. The author's descriptions often lack clarity where it is very difficult to picture what is happening and it is very difficult to follow the supporting characters. Some seem to appear out of the blue and it seems that the author assumes you know something about them. A lot of what happens is implausible and some of the ideas seem to be copied from the old tv series The Incredible Hulk. (meek David Banner would turn into a super strong monster when he was enraged). Maxim wrote a much better book dealing with the mind called "Time Out of Mind."
Rating: 
Summary: Not Able
Review: Maybe its just me, but I just could not buy into the premise of this one. There were times I literally laughed out loud, and not because of a humorous passage, but that the scenario teetered on the brink of the ridiculous. I read MOSAIC and thought that was pretty good, but ABEL BAKER CHARLEY just didn't do it for me. I'm no stranger to psychological thrillers, and I can accept some pretty bizarre premises, but I think Mr. Maxim...I don't know what he was thinking with this. I have never felt so, well, insulted after finishing a book. I only give it a star because Maxim is not some hack and at least some effort was put into the building of suspense. I stuck with it in the hopes that I would have some moment of understanding, or at least acceptance, at the end, but I was sadly disappointed. If you are a Maxim fan, do yourself a favor and pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not Able
Review: Maybe its just me, but I just could not buy into the premise of this one. There were times I literally laughed out loud, and not because of a humorous passage, but that the scenario teetered on the brink of the ridiculous. I read MOSAIC and thought that was pretty good, but ABEL BAKER CHARLEY just didn't do it for me. I'm no stranger to psychological thrillers, and I can accept some pretty bizarre premises, but I think Mr. Maxim...I don't know what he was thinking with this. I have never felt so, well, insulted after finishing a book. I only give it a star because Maxim is not some hack and at least some effort was put into the building of suspense. I stuck with it in the hopes that I would have some moment of understanding, or at least acceptance, at the end, but I was sadly disappointed. If you are a Maxim fan, do yourself a favor and pass on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: An early Maxim; a must-have for thriller lovers
Review: The cover of the original paperback (published in 1983) asks the question, "who is Able Baker Charley and why should we fear him/it?" Well put. Jared Baker is an average guy until his wife is killed. He loses control and is himself arrested and becomes a fugitive. Shadowy behaviorist Marcus Sonnenberg "rescues" Baker and makes him a subject of study. But Baker wants none of it. He just wants to be re-united with his daughter and get on with his life. Not so simple in the hands of John Maxim. The characters are well developed and for the most part quite sympathetic. Imagine a government agent that is actually likeable. Learning who/what is Abel Baker Charley takes the reader into the life of Tanner Burke, a budding film star; Connor Harrigan, a government operative out to find Baker and then to protect him, and several others representing various shades of evil (or good). The government wants Baker to study him, to get at Sonnenberg's other subjects, and to settle a score between the bad guy Peck and Sonnenberg. In the ensuing shoot-outs, and with Maxim's usual healthy body count, the reader learns about Abel and Charley and how they relate to Baker as well as Burke and his daughter. This is Maxim on two levels: the mind games not unlike Platforms (one of his best novels) and the Bannerman series with all the thrills that he produces so well. I had to knock off one star because of a monologue of Sonnenberg's that went on too long and the final shoot out that got overly confusing. At the same time each of these helped to define the characters, both the good guys and the bad. You'll be pulling for Baker - whoever he may be - all the way through a quick read. A must have for Maxim fans.
Rating:
Summary: An early Maxim; a must-have for thriller lovers
Review: The cover of the original paperback (published in 1983) asks the question, "who is Able Baker Charley and why should we fear him/it?" Well put. Jared Baker is an average guy until his wife is killed. He loses control and is himself arrested and becomes a fugitive. Shadowy behaviorist Marcus Sonnenberg "rescues" Baker and makes him a subject of study. But Baker wants none of it. He just wants to be re-united with his daughter and get on with his life. Not so simple in the hands of John Maxim. The characters are well developed and for the most part quite sympathetic. Imagine a government agent that is actually likeable. Learning who/what is Abel Baker Charley takes the reader into the life of Tanner Burke, a budding film star; Connor Harrigan, a government operative out to find Baker and then to protect him, and several others representing various shades of evil (or good). The government wants Baker to study him, to get at Sonnenberg's other subjects, and to settle a score between the bad guy Peck and Sonnenberg. In the ensuing shoot-outs, and with Maxim's usual healthy body count, the reader learns about Abel and Charley and how they relate to Baker as well as Burke and his daughter. This is Maxim on two levels: the mind games not unlike Platforms (one of his best novels) and the Bannerman series with all the thrills that he produces so well. I had to knock off one star because of a monologue of Sonnenberg's that went on too long and the final shoot out that got overly confusing. At the same time each of these helped to define the characters, both the good guys and the bad. You'll be pulling for Baker - whoever he may be - all the way through a quick read. A must have for Maxim fans.
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