Rating: Summary: Drab & Predictable Review: With apologies to an author who clearly tried very hard, this novel is drab and predictable, hampered mainly by the kill-or-be-killed philosophy so precious to American militants. The superficial characters are black-or-white, villain-or-hero types. The plot starts slow and than goes quickly nowhere. Frankly, if you're looking for the end of civilization, go for something better written and better thought out (like David Brin's The Postman) or the one that really started this genre and still captivates readers, Alas Babylon by Pat Frank. This book is not in that league.
Rating: Summary: This book is OK! Review: I really tried my best to enjoy this book, I really did, however this book is just not that interesting. The character development in this book is seriously lacking. Only by the very end of the book,did I really start to care about any of the characters.This book does not included much detail. This is not the book to get if you think you will learn something to help you live through some type of "End of the World Scenerio." If you are looking for pretty light reading, with some action and not much development, then this may be the book for you.
Rating: Summary: The Apocolypse for Dummies Review: Reisig has taken a fairly good plot and embellished it with shallow characters and sophomoric writing. An insult to the genre! Not recommended for adult audiences.
Rating: Summary: One of the best of the EOW genre' Review: Superior to "The Rift" and "Lucifer's Hammer", this apocalyptic novel will keep you glued to your seat for a great ride. The character development was good and you really will begin to feel for these people and the situation that they're in. My only complaint is that the book is too short. I wanted it to go on much longer. I hope that there is a "New Madrid Run, Part 2" in the works!
Rating: Summary: Great read! Review: I began reading this late in the afternoon of the day it arrived. I had to break for dinner, etc., but otherwise I couldn't put it down until I'd finished, in the wee morning hours of the next day. Michael Reisig has writen an absorbing, exciting, fast-paced adventure. It was, for me, as if the book disappeared and I was absorbed into the story. The science in the introduction may not be good, but Reisig avoids much of that in the novel. Why has the world as we know it ended? We don't know, but we're so fascinated by the tale that we don't care!
Rating: Summary: It's high on adventure! Review: I bought this on a whim, but I'm glad that I did. The New Madrid Run is nail-biting fun! A brisk-moving yarn that's high on adventure and low on high brow complexity that bogs down so many books. Pick it up, settle back and expect to be stuck to the chair for a while.
Rating: Summary: If you want a good read, here it is. Review: I've been reading some of the undue lambasting Michael Reisig has received from the "academia," -- those sophisticated folks who call themselves "amazon.com reviewers." I'm here to tell you that The New Madrid Run is a great book for the everyday man and women. It's a terrific adventure read, designed to carry you away into a frightening new world for a few hours--to entertain you--nothing more, nothing less, and it does this admirably. It's exciting, fast-paced, and easy to follow, with a plot that is both thought-provoking and entirely possible. I also greatly enjoyed Reisig's second book, "The Hawks of Kamalon," which is a more in-depth read. Keep it up Mr. Reisig. There are plenty of us out here who can't wait for the next one. -- A Midwest Reader
Rating: Summary: A galloping good time, sure fire family friendly fare Review: As an editor and former college English teacher I have read my share of first novels. NEW MADRID has all of the pluses - and none of the tedium. Apocalyptic thrillers are not normally my cup of tea but THIS ONE WORKS! Travis Christian is a man's man and a woman's dream. The plot moves, the characters live, there are good guys and bad guys and thrills and chills - by land and by sea. AND it can be shared with the family. A good read all round!
Rating: Summary: A sophomoric effort Review: I love end-of-the-world novels, from "Lucifer's Hammer" to "On the Beach" to "The Stand," I've read all I can get my hands on. But this reads like it was written for a junior college creative writing class. The characters are cliches, the action isn't terribly compelling and the apocalypse scenario at the beginning of the book is a total snore compared to others in the genre. An early example of the book's inadequacy as a story has the hero, a mere moments from seeing everything and everyone he knows destroyed in the Florida Keys, thinking about he's going to escape to the Arkansas mountains where a he and a friend bought land anticipating exactly the scenerio he finds himeself in. If he and his friend were so smart, what were they doing living in the Florida Keys in the first place? Overall, a very poorly written book that failed to hold my interest until even the halfway mark.
Rating: Summary: One of the worst books I've ever read Review: There have probably been worse books I've started but this is one of the worst books I've ever read cover to cover (and I tend to read a couple of books a week). This is the only work of fiction I've reviewed here because what a person enjoys in fiction is a personal and subjective judgement. If you don't like horror, no matter how good a job Steven King does you are probably not going to enjoy it; but as I do enjoy this genre, I felt I could review it relative to other apocalyptic novels. I recently decided to read/reread a bunch of these novels in a row: Fail-safe, earth abides, alas babylon, the last ship, a canticle for leibowitz, the stand and the new madrid run. This is by far the worst of the bunch - its all cliches, unbelievable dialogue and even less believable characters. You never get even a hint of honest emotion about what it might feel like to have the world as we know it disappear overnight. I still wouldn't have been so annoyed except for the fact that the blurb on the back of the book: "Adventure to make Clive Cussler envious! Riveting description and emotion. This one has it all. " - The Mena Star, is the same paper that the author of this book writes for and is an editior. I'm guessing that the Mena Arkansas Star is a small enough operation that using this review is pretty incestuous and by my way of thinking not particularly ethical.
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