Rating: 
Summary: An clever and intriguing plot
Review: This is one of the best novel I've ever read since it requires more than a passive reader. To fully appreciate it, the reader must actively put himself in the shoes of the main protagonist in order to keep up with the events in this criminal labyrinth.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like this book
Review: I am Japanese and I think this book is a disgrace to my family's heritage and all of the principles that I stand for.
Rating:
Summary: A great book by a great author
Review: The book is an great primer for anyone studying Japanese-American relations in the last 25 years of this century. The people who often complain about the book are people who are quite willing to sell anything for any price. The book points out that America is the land of Corporate garage sales that will eventually weaken or destroy the fabric of American society.
Rating:
Summary: A Bad Book
Review: This book is a ridiculous, repetitive piece of propaganda; in the middle of the novel, the story is virtually dropped for some 100 pages in favor of endless examples of "Japanese corporate treachery." While the examples provided are apparently true, they take on racist undertones when Crichton utterly fails to separate "Japanese corporations" from "the Japanese." I'm sure Crichton would object to being judged by the actions of Nike, McDonalds or Microsoft. Propaganda aside, the thriller aspect of the novel is a snore, and Crichton's writing is mediocre at best. The most outstanding characteristics of his prose are his odd usage of punctuation and the awkward lack of contractions in dialogue. This novel is insulting to the intelligence and a waste of time and energy.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read if you don't mind the politics
Review: I've read most of Crichton's work and have been thoroughly unimpressed with the majority of it. This novel and the Andromeda Strain are a step above his other work, though. I personally disagreed with some of Crichton's politics in this book, and in many instances I felt he was walking a fine line between legitimate cultural criticism and thinly-veiled racism against the Japanese. That knocks a couple of points off my rating. Nevertheless, it is a terrific and exquisitely constructed suspense thriller, and I can't discount its sheer entertainment value. I picked this one up in an airport, and found it to be excellent reading for a long plane ride.
Rating:
Summary: A page turner. Very fast and exciting.
Review: A great book to read because it is very suspensful. There are a lot of twists and turns throughout. The beginning of the the book was very exciting and action packed. In the middle, it was slow for a little bit when he introduced Micro Con. He could have made the book go faster if he wouldn't have gone into so much detail about Micro Con. Other than that, he kept the story moving very quickly and made me want to keep reading it. I like fast books a lot, and this book was definately one of those. I really like to see the movie, but I here the book is a lot better.
Rating:
Summary: Crichton's BEST!!
Review: Crichton develops characters with superb literary skill and maintains suspense with superior command of mystery and the English language. A must-read for anyone interested in Japanese-American relationships or looking for a great Crichton novel
Rating:
Summary: Murder, corporate takeovers and kinky sex.
Review: A very intriguing book where a Japanese corporation tries to cover up the murder of a blonde with very odd sexual preferences. Great techno-thriller / mystery. This book will keep you guessing and keep you reading. For once Crichton's characters actually take on some dynamics... some. - J.A.S.
Rating:
Summary: Fast, exciting and a page-turner
Review: This book is a must for any Business-thriller reader. Crichton's second best(Behind Lost World.) The way this book goes from twist to twist is amazing. BRILLIANT!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, exciting, and scary!
Review: This was a great surprise. I have to say that I just picked up this book because I received it as a gift and it was collecting too much dust just sitting there on my shelf. Plus it looked sad. But WOW I am glad that I read it. The pages flew by because I constantly wanted to find out what the next page held. There were countless twists that kept me on the proverbial "edge-of-my-seat." I like Crichton's writing and I thought that the soft and easy way that he took the reader through some of the more complex parts in the book was a necessary and uncomplicated way of handling it. I was scared only because I really hope that the U.S. isn't being taken over the way that many of the characters in the book say it is. I understand the need for fair competition but I hope that, unlike the book, there is a lot of "fair" involved. Good book.
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