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Gideon

Gideon

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely unput-downable,an excellent thriller !
Review: Carl Granville.a failing New York novelist,is approached by a top book publisher to ghost write a book called Gideon.In return for his efforts and his secrecy,he will recieve $250,000.He is given information from an old diary,in which all important names and places have been blanked out,and is asked to turn it into compelling fiction.He learns that a boy killed his handicapped 1 year old brother and was never persecuted.Carl begins to wonder if this book will just be used as fiction,or to destroy someone's carreer.Then,he recieves no information,his appartement is ransacked,and two people close to Carl are murdered.He is the prime suspect.He becomes a man on the run with only his ex-girlfriend to help him through.He is persued by an assassin and a deranged cop in his search for the answer to his mystery,who will stop at nothing to kill them both.The plot twists with such ease and finesse you find it hard to put down.The Russell Andrews partnership will prosper if they continue to produce books of this quality.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Too many holes
Review: I read Gideon quickly, gliding past the tortured prose (it reads like a book written by committee, which it is) and the obvious plot holes more because I wanted to get it over with than because I was enjoying it.

Gideon is one of those books in which characters who are portrayed as ruthlessly efficient and highly intelligent make stupid mistakes or illogical decisions for the sake of the narrative. Generally, this means that as soon as the story calls for them to fail and or die they must step out of character.

It's also time, I think, to put to death the plot "twist" in which one the villain boasts about his evil machinacions while secretly being recorded by one of the good guys. Are master criminals all so self-absorbed they've never seen a movie or read a bad thriller?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Formulaic, based on "Writing like Grisham -- at His Worst"
Review: Previous customer comments were so mixed, I began to wonder if there were two different GIDEONs. Those who said it is "Brilliant" and words to that effect, must also think The Pelican Brief a masterpiece. This pair's previous, mostly screenwriting, experience, must've been of the Buncha Guys Sittin' Around a Table variety. On page One we see sentence structure so clumsy, one wonders if the editor made it through her AA. Then we get a genuinely engaging protagonist, and we get Harry, who has some qualities. Gradually, we realize all the hype is unsupported. To say the least (or most) this is NOT "...a cut above the rest"... rather the opposite. Encountering "The Closer" is like a bad joke, but I notice none of the other customer comments registering surprise at the "surprise." The Closer wears highly polished ankle boots. From concealment in the right boot comes a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver... with a SILENCER! Here's a thought: Why not a shotgun? No, a Weatherby .375 Magnum rifle... no, no, a grenade-launcher, or maybe a bazooka! I realize effete northeasterners aren't familiar with firearms, but have they ever SEEN a .357 Magnum? Could they consult a... book? Maybe they did, maybe they thought the photos in the book were "life-size," so such a huge handgun could be concealed in an ankle boot. Suspension of disbelief needs a bit of work by the wordsmiths. Even cutting them slack on the impossibilty of a "silencer" for a .357 Magnum, this combination is as realistic as a five-wheeled Harley. Then, Carl "Granny" goes nuts at The Four Seasons, flipping tables, kicking waiters... Why? Okay, most of us know that Grisham only got Popular once he realized his Readers didn't WANT good writin' -- and started cranking out bestsellers over a dull weekend. It CAN be done. But this pair hasn't mastered the technique.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great read!
Review: It is interesting to see the difference in reviews. I absolutely loved this book. I had a very difficult time putting it down. I read it in about 48 hours, and with a 3 month old son, that is saying a lot. I have passed this book on to other friends, and keep getting it back within 24-48 hours, with the same results, "Couldn't put it down, sorry to see it end". Hope to see more from this collaborative team in the future, they're off to a great start.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: WARNING!
Review: I am a mystery/suspense novel junkie... and Gideon was the one of the worst suspense novels I have ever read. I can't even describe my waning interest as the novel slumped after a wonderful, gripping beginning. I've never written a review before, but after Gideon, I felt is was my duty to warn other suspense novel enthusiasts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent-A Fast-Paced, Witty Thriller!!
Review: This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. I took it on vacation to the beach and didn't even touch the sand until I had finished reading this book. The writing is fresh and witty, and the characters a very realistic. The book moves at a white knuckle pace all the way up to the multiple thrilling climax. With thrilling car explosions, evil villians, and a thrilling sequence on top of a mountain. But the best part of this book is The Closer. Probably the best fictional assassin since Delaroche in The Mark of the Assassin, the Closer's identity is kept secret until the end. This assassin is dangerous and super cool at the same time. When the guys write another book, I pray that it contains another assassin as cool as the Closer.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A mediocre "fast food" thriller
Review: Written in prose that makes Stephen King seem like a Pulitzer Prize winner by comparison, this is formula fiction at its most forgettable. I'd be ashamed to put this book on the same shelf with works by John Le Carre or Martin Cruz Smith.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A potboiler
Review: This book started out well and promised a lot. It soon settled down to an improbable chase through the south with two improbable charactors with inane dialogue and outwitting the entire law enforcement agencies and the bad guys while stumbling to a conclusion. Someone tell me why the "Closer" was called off of the chase to be replaced with the inept ex-cop" Why would such an efficient organization use such an inept person anyhow. I thought most of the main haractors were sterotyped.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Intensely Fast-Paced And Exciting
Review: Make sure that when you start Gideon you have lots of spare time because you won't be able to put this book down. There is action and thrills throughout, although,at times, some of the plotting is far-fetched. Gideon is a very good first effort by the writing team named "Russell Andrews" and I look forward to their next book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well written page turner. A good light read.
Review: It is interesting to see such a range of reviews. My guess is that some readers were disappointed that the ending was not as filled with twists and turns as the rest of the book. Yes, the revelation of the ultimate malefactor was a bit predictable, but the end-game was handled at least as well if not better than some books written by much bigger named authors I have read. I loved the descriptions of the various regions of the southeast where the book takes place. I found the overall quality of writing to be very good. In sum, a solid page-turner that will reward the reader who is not looking for the next Crime and Punishment but just wants to escape for a few hours into a well crafted tale.


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