Behold the Fire

Rating:
Summary: Not bad but where was the editor?
Review: A good book for the airplane and fairly well written. Unlike a number of thrillers, this one has some unique and interesting characters. Some errors of fact and continuity, however, reflect a negligent editor. For example, we are told that a just murdered person was 48 years old. Later we are told this person was 24 years old in 1963. This would imply the story is occurring in 1987 or, at the latest, 1988. Yet elsewhere the book proceeds as if it were the 1990s. For example, we are told that it has been over 20 years since the Vietnam war ended (a war which ended in 1975) and we are told that a Senator from Alaska has served for over 20 years since the 1970s. Errors such as these mar what otherwise can be an entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: Rather Dissapointing
Review: All in all an average book. The basic plot was excellent, but the telling of the story was too shallow. By the end of the book, I was reading just to finish it. I was dismayed by the destroyer/battleship mix-up; shouldn't someone have caught that before it was published?

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste your Time!
Review: Having enjoyed Salinger's, White Darkness, very much, I was very disappointed in this author's first book, Behold The Fire. While the basic plot was okay, Salinger's characters were too shallow and poorly developed, his writing style was too disjointed and after a while I found myself not caring at all about what was to happen next. My main goal became to just finish this book, which was a struggle. While I, obviously, don't recommend Behold The Fire to you, I would highly recommend White Darkness by Salinger. It not only has a well-developed plot and interesting characters, it clearly demonstrates Salinger's improvement as a writer.