<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, from beginning to end.
Review: A great book from the beginning to the very end. A poor family in Kansas with nothing to go on in their lives decides to stage a fall of their 8-year old son into a 90-feet deep shaft, so that they will get media coverage and support from people all over US. Instead of the son, their even younger daughter falls in. When she is rescued, she doesn't return as the same person, she brings something back with her. The family gets rich and Andromeda returns to avenge her fate along punish those who benefited from her tragedy. Dark, creepy, scary, gory... one hell of a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable revenge thriller
Review: Derivative of Stephen King's "Carrie", this tale is nevertheless highly readable and entertaining. The story involves a plan gone awry when down-on-their-luck parents hatch a dangerous plot. They set their son up to fall in a mine shaft and hope that the resultant publicity will bring them fame and fortune, and restore their family resources. Unfortunately, their other child is an unintended victim. The first half of the book that describes the family, its decline, and the subsequent accident are quite gripping. Once Andromeda is rescued; however, the book becomes quite predictable and it's only a matter of time before she wreaks the havoc the reader knows is coming. Still, one can't help wondering if the author will let Andromeda "go all the way" and you will just have to read the book to find out for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: great story
Review: i liked the book alot but i could have come up with a better endind despite that it was really good goes into good detail.
Rating:
Summary: Unputdownable
Review: I really wanted to award Martin Schenk more than two stars for this novel. It started off so promising. I actually read the entire first half in one night, just because I couldn't put it down. Really great characters (even though they were a bit stereotypical) were engaged in an original and believeable tragedy of greed and media hype. Then...I started the last half. It was so predictable, and by the time I was nearing the end, I was actually skipping paragraphs at a time just because the writing was so overdramatic and absurd, I couldn't wait to finish. The entire "revenge of the roots" storyline almost made me laugh out loud. Martin Schenk could have done SO much more with this novel. He definitely has talent, as was apparent in the first half. I just wish he would have used his talent in the second half.
Rating:
Summary: Early promise, later a let-down
Review: I was thoroughly captivated by the first part of the story - the desperation, the plan and the going awry of said plan. Unfortunately the second part of the book just didn't cut it. At least one chapter read as though the story had been serialized and was catching readers up on previous events and should have been better edited. The havoc visited on the town was exciting, but not exceptional. The ending was really the downer. I'm not certain what I would like to have seen, but this wasn't it, especially when the dust jacket talks about an old evil. This was just plain wishy-washy. Nonetheless, I give it a 7, still interesting enough to spend my time reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable book.
Review: I'm not sure how I even got this book - I think maybe it was with some other ones I found at a yard sale. I liked Schenk's writing style and story line so much that as soon as I was finished with his book, I checked Ebay to see what else he had written. I was disappointed to find none.
Rating:
Summary: It's a cliche but...."Didn't want to put it down"
Review: If you are wondering how I read this so early before it was published, it's because Martin is my brother. But, honestly, I would not say I liked this book and wouldn't even want to show my face if it was bad, especially since I've been bragging about it for months. Martin has a sixth sense that I have been extremely jealous of, and wanting to obtain all my life. He can spot greediness and dishonesty a mile away, but he has always had a soft spot for the forgotten and the misfits in the world. This story has two people that seem to be forgotten by their town. They were once extremely popular in high school, but when the husband decides to try and make a living from farming organic vegetables and fails, they can't seem to get a break. When they eventually lose their home, the wife comes up with a "Baby Jessica" type scheme, only in this case, it's not an accident, and instead of a girl, they would use their son.The problems start when their daughter mistakenly becomes the victim of their plot. So as not to ruin the story, I will not go further into the particulars, but I will tell you that the characters are so well developed you feel you know them. His descriptions of time and place are so precise at times, I felt as if I was watching the story unfold in front of me. Quite honestly, I continue to be amazed at my own brothers talent.The dialogue is believable and the language is easy to follow, and I can see now why people are already comparing him to Stephen King. The story grabs you and holds you. You become angry, sad, scared, disgusted, and you like it. You want more, and you are mad when the book is done. This is the first story of his that I have read, and I am thoroughly impressed. Even if he wasn't my brother I would say the same thing -- Martin, write more books that are just as or more interesting than this one!
Rating:
Summary: Combines social element with schlock
Review: Martin Schenk captures the total essence of his characters' greed and capitalistic tendancies with this book. While baby Andromeda suffers in the dark hole, city council members are debating whether to spend the necessary money to rescue her. Others are plotting ways to benefit financially. In the end, the town becomes a tourist trap, complete with a museum recreating her tragedy. The first half of the book sets the stage and is well written. I found Martin to be a bit editorializing at points and seemed to be trying too hard to stereotype some of his characters' actions. But there are also moments of pure, crisp writing that makes the reader really think. The second half shifts to 15 years after Andromeda is rescued and reads like Stephen King's Needful Things. Quick, schlocky and gross at times. But it is fun. There really isn't one character the reader can like when the book is over, but so the case with humanity, I guess. I will definitely pick up any more books writtten by Martin Schenk. I think he will develop quite a following.
Rating:
Summary: Good enough to keep me off my computer for 2 days!
Review: The narrative flows smoothly, the characters are interesting, and, for a change, you can see how people can manipulate the media, rather than the media manipulating the situation! But you will keep thinking about baby Jessica, throughout the 1st part of the novel! OK, so it's your basic good vs. evil, but it's more like The Bad Seed than anything by Master King.
Rating: 
Summary: started off good, then a disappointment.
Review: What happened with this book. It almost seemed as though the first half and the second half were written by two separate authors. The writing started off crisp and thrilling, then disintigrated into cardboard characters, silly happenings and a totally ridiculous ending. What, no one else in this little town (except for Andie's brother) noticed that people were suddenly dying at an unexpected rate? And the editing was sloppy, which was a surprise considering this came from a major publishing house. At one point Andie laments the fact that she "can't lift one eyebrow at a time", and later she "arches an eyebrow"; then Velocover is capitalized at the first mentioning and not capitalized at the second. In all, this was a disappointment, and by the time I was finished I was wondering why I'd bothered.
<< 1 >>
|
