Rating: 
Summary: Not as great as the classic Slaughterhouse 5
Review: Although Hocus Pocus does not have the same quality of genius as Vonnegut's classic Slaughterhouse Five, I can assure Vonnegut fans that this similar attack on war (Vietnam, this time) will not disappoint. As in Slaughterhouse, the plot shifts back and forth to different locations and times: Vietnam during the war, a college for mentally challenged but privileged students, and a prison. The main character's acerbic wit is what carries the novel and is its most enjoyable feature. Anyone who appreciates Vonnegut's social commentaries will revel in the passages of Hocus Pocus that carry the reader on to the hilariously dark ending. Vonnegut has mastered his approach to science fiction/fantasy/war novels. Anyone who has not yet read a Vonnegut novel is missing out...
Rating: 
Summary: SATIRE AT ITS BEST
Review: Debs Hartke is a Vietnam Veteran, turned College Professor, turned Prison Warden, turned convict in this hillarious sattirical tale by Vonnegut. Although this novel doesnt get the attention of a BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS or SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, it is just as worth the read.Vonnegut uses the character of Hartke to chastise big government, big money, big media, and big egoes everywhere. Even if you dont agree with his assessment you cant help but laughing anyway. Things just keep getting worse for Hartke as life goes along, he wanted to be a journalist who graduated from Michigan. Instead his father forces him to go to Westpoint and things snowball from there. He goes through Vietnam, he marries a woman that goes insane in her forties,..........and every moment is brilliantly written. I recommend the book, I recommend the author. This will not be the last Vonnegut novel that I pick up.
Rating:
Summary: Vonnegut's Best
Review: Easily my favorite work by Kurt, and I've read them all. Some I have forgotten, others are fond in my heart, but my mind remembers Hocus Pocus above all others. Whenever I'm in need of a book to occupy a week or two and nothing else is striking my fancy at the moment there are three or four book I always go back to and never grow tired of . . . Hocus Pocus is at the top of the list. Just to give prespective on what other novels I like, my other top two favorite books of all time are Brave New World and Catch 22. Take that for what you will. Peace
Rating:
Summary: A model of insanity
Review: Forget the plot for a second and all of the witty banter, the sheer layout of this novel is enough to make one laugh. If anyone can show me someone who isn't intrigued enough by the editor's note to read the book, I will show him an obvious product of the American education system. I swear it made me chuckle everytime I saw a black line running the width of a page. Back to the plot, it is of course original as are all the plots in Vonnegut's novels and will at the very least make you scratch your head once or twice if it doesn't keep you enthralled and laughing. I would recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor and a distaste for humanity, essentially any Vonnegut fan.
Rating: 
Summary: There Have Been Better
Review: I have read many of Vonnegut's books, and this one has the same structure as all the others, but it just didn't excite me like many of his other books have done. It is worth checking out, but know that Vonnegut has written better material.
Rating:
Summary: A dissappointment to Vonnegut fans
Review: I'm a big Vonnegut fan. I love his writing style, his subtle humor, and most of all his commentary on the world we live in. I dove right in to Hocus Pocus and was excited to follow up my read of Cat's Cradle. I was greatly disappointed! This is definitely not one of Vonnegut's better works. His style was probably the most consistant factor - it was certainly "Vonnegutesque" - but this book was not as funny or relevant as his others I have read. Of course, it was still good. I give it three stars because it was a worthwhile book in its own right. The plot was interesting, if particulary slow, and the prespectives on war, the educational system, nationalism, and more were unique. But if you go into this book expecting another Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five, you're going to be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: I beg to differ?
Review: In contrast to some of his other works I felt that Hocus Pocus didn't provide a good structure. It took me a good 100 pages to actually get into this book; the early part of the novel to me entailed a lot of "brain gibberish" that I didn't know what to do with until later on in the story.
Yet with time, characters start to come into place and develop further for the rest of the novel. And as always, Vonnegut's creativity and wit takes it toll and makes the read more worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: ANTIWAR POSTERBOY
Review: In HOCUS POCUS Vonnegut presents the journal of Eugene Debs Hartke -atypical Vietnam Vet-Antiwar poster boy. The story reminded me of what John K Toole did with Ignatius Reilly in CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES. However, it's difficult to sustain interest when a writer puts all his eggs in one basket. All the other characters became keys on the piano that Hartke kept playing, on and on. Now that the Vietnam vet has been pounded to death from every angle, as time goes on, the story loses much of its poignancy. When it was written twelve years past it may have gotten my five stars, unfortunately, literature must be evaluated with one eye on its longevity....
Rating:
Summary: Great Book (And refutation to some reviws)
Review: Let me first tell you that this is by far one of Vonnegut's best. The social commentary that is diguised in the form of satire is rather tremendous and poignant. It has definitely an anti-war flavor to it, but it never overshadows the real substance of the author's witticism. It's a funny book, but not "hillarious" as the back cover of this volume attests. From a different point of view, it's a rather sad book if you understand the implications of the subject matter. A very good book and would recommend to any one interested in modern and post-modern American prose. Refutations: * Vonnegut is a post-modernist, which implies that the book (or any work of art) can and more likely be free of classical rigidity. So, complaining that he jumps back and forth through time and places is not a good criterion to undermine this work. * Repudiating this work because of Vonnegut's anti-war passages is as unfair as doing the same for say, Hemingway, O'Brian, Dalai Lama. * This is a quinteseential post-moder work, and as said above, it should and does not need to conform to the cannonical rules of plot flow, time flow, and characater development. You could even call this book a Cubist work due to its subdivisions within chapters. * This book goes much more than just war. It goes into love, sex, selling of American enterprises (and hence America) to foreign investors, race, class consciousness, and the attempt to keep the status quo by those who are ver well-off. * This book is completely well structured. Your could easily read just one chapter and be as happy as reading the whole book. The chapters are self-sufficient and self-contained. The further chapters are elaborations of thing, characters and bits from preceding chapters. * This is a GOOD book!
Rating:
Summary: Pure Vonnegut
Review: This book is Vonnegut at his best. The story is narrated by the main character, Eugene Dabbs Hartke, discussing the twists and turns that his life has taken and goes on to answer the all important question of how many woman he has slept with in his life. Coming with a large dose of irony, a big dose of satire and a helping of humor, it is close to perfection for Vonnegut. I would not recommend that as an introduction to Vonnegut for I think it takes his style to an extreme that newcomers might not be used to. But anyone who is familiar with the Vonnegut way, this book is highly recommended.
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