Rating: 
Summary: Oh please!
Review: The book starts off as a decent read, not great. The the following flaws are encountered:1. A very DUMB idea for a conspiracy--ooh, Omega might blackmail businessmen around the country and create a depression! Better to try it in 2002, not 1972, heh heh. 2. A very STUPID plot, which just isn't believable. EG, if your family were gassed with ether and left in an abandoned railway depot, would you just keep following the advice of this one CIA guy who was your only contact? I think not. And in the end, none of it makes any sense at all. 3. Ludlum is no master dialog writer. His adults mumble, grumble, fix each other drinks, smoke cigs, and try to act like good 1970s grownups, but it's just silly, just plain silly. 4. Corny, off-key elements that make the book seem even dumber: a dog's head is severed, etc. In short, this book is flat-out FOOLISH. The recommendation must therefore be DO NOT READ. Thanks for reading this review.
Rating: 
Summary: An average read for an average weekend.
Review: The Osterman Weekend doesn't live up to the promise that Ludlum would normally offer for a weekend thriller read. John Tanner's plans for the weekend are disturbed when he is confronted by CIA agent Fassett. Fassett tells Tanner that some of the three couples who are coming over to spend the weekend with the Tanners as long-time friends are actually part of a huge international conspiracy code-named Omega. But Fassett needs Tanner to help uncover which of the couples - the Cordones, the Tremaynes, and the Ostermans - really are part of the Omega conspiracy. So when the friends of the Tanners visit, the weekend is anything but ordinary, as the various couples hold varying suspicions of each other in a rather icy atmosphere. It is only in the last quarter of the novel that the action and intrigue really heats up and all hell breaks loose. For most of the novel, the reader is just as confused as John Tanner, and the last pages really fly by as you try to discover who is really part of the conspiracy. It's a complex web with various double crossing and threats on all sides. But until the last few chapters, the book is quite easy to put down, and neither gripping nor convincing, although heavily dosed with profanity. For a good weekend read, Ludlum has produced much better gems than The Osterman Weekend. For a more enjoyable weekend, re-read your dog-eared copy of The Bourne Identity or The Matarese Circle.
Rating:
Summary: An average read for an average weekend.
Review: The Osterman Weekend doesn't live up to the promise that Ludlum would normally offer for a weekend thriller read. John Tanner's plans for the weekend are disturbed when he is confronted by CIA agent Fassett. Fassett tells Tanner that some of the three couples who are coming over to spend the weekend with the Tanners as long-time friends are actually part of a huge international conspiracy code-named Omega. But Fassett needs Tanner to help uncover which of the couples - the Cordones, the Tremaynes, and the Ostermans - really are part of the Omega conspiracy. So when the friends of the Tanners visit, the weekend is anything but ordinary, as the various couples hold varying suspicions of each other in a rather icy atmosphere. It is only in the last quarter of the novel that the action and intrigue really heats up and all hell breaks loose. For most of the novel, the reader is just as confused as John Tanner, and the last pages really fly by as you try to discover who is really part of the conspiracy. It's a complex web with various double crossing and threats on all sides. But until the last few chapters, the book is quite easy to put down, and neither gripping nor convincing, although heavily dosed with profanity. For a good weekend read, Ludlum has produced much better gems than The Osterman Weekend. For a more enjoyable weekend, re-read your dog-eared copy of The Bourne Identity or The Matarese Circle.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: The story line alone was worth the reading of this book
Rating:
Summary: a look back
Review: This book is good, considering the time period in which it was written. In 1972, this was probably the ultimate in thriller novels; however, by 2002, it's a little light. The Osterman weekend is a weekend when 4 couples gather to hang out. The Ostermans are from California, and seem to be the glue that holds all of this together. John Tanner, one of the group, is approached by the CIA stating that the Ostermans are really involved in organized crime, as are the other members of the group. The story if full of miscalculations, deception, and cross-betrayals. By the end, you just want a list of who is actually involved in the nefarious group, and who isn't. but then again.....
Rating:
Summary: a look back
Review: This book is good, considering the time period in which it was written. In 1972, this was probably the ultimate in thriller novels; however, by 2002, it's a little light. The Osterman weekend is a weekend when 4 couples gather to hang out. The Ostermans are from California, and seem to be the glue that holds all of this together. John Tanner, one of the group, is approached by the CIA stating that the Ostermans are really involved in organized crime, as are the other members of the group. The story if full of miscalculations, deception, and cross-betrayals. By the end, you just want a list of who is actually involved in the nefarious group, and who isn't. but then again.....
Rating:
Summary: Best of the lot - Perfect
Review: This is the first Ludlum book I ever read and it still remains my favorite. For sheet storytelling, suspense and convoluted plot resolution, it remains supreme. It is characterization that drives this book - much more so than the movie - and particularly the interplay among the various guests. This is vintage Ludlum before he became Ludzilla, the author of sagas of immeasurable length. This is also the typical formula that Ludlum uses in his best books - a lone guy gets involved in nefarious activities involving the government and both people and events are not what they seem. The moment when he awaits the arrival of the agent, when the agent walks up and we all hold our breath - the revelation is simply stunning! This is a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the lot - Perfect
Review: This is the first Ludlum book I ever read and it still remains my favorite. For sheet storytelling, suspense and convoluted plot resolution, it remains supreme. It is characterization that drives this book - much more so than the movie - and particularly the interplay among the various guests. This is vintage Ludlum before he became Ludzilla, the author of sagas of immeasurable length. This is also the typical formula that Ludlum uses in his best books - a lone guy gets involved in nefarious activities involving the government and both people and events are not what they seem. The moment when he awaits the arrival of the agent, when the agent walks up and we all hold our breath - the revelation is simply stunning! This is a classic.
Rating:
Summary: A Ludlum surprise but a great read
Review: This one is pretty impressive! Ludlum scales down his scope and tightens up the suspense! You should not pick up this book if you need sleep. This book is about what is seemingly a normal American family, but Ludlum keeps piling on the twists and tension until you wonder if anyone in the book is who they seem. This is a must read. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: Rather dated
Review: This was probably a good book in its time, but it's pretty dated. It has a strong 70s feel, and the central themes - the government may be spying on us! our neighbors may be spies! conspiracies! - have been done over and over again since then, and done better.
| 
