Rating: 
Summary: Impressive Inconstistency or Slow Plot Exposition?
Review: About two-thirds of the way through "Mendoza in Hollywood", I found myself getting rather disappointed with the book. The sotry was beginning to drag, I was starting to find Baker's inside knowledge of California more a self-serving egotism than a colorful plot setting and the promised reincarnation of the other big protagonist from "In the Garden of Iden" had not yet shown up.The last hundred pages were a very impressive surprise. Interesting new twists were added, more information - and speculation - about The Company were slowly unpeeled and a few new genuinely fascinating questions popped up. Plot points that seemed overused or pointless even found their way into interesting and inexplicable threads. In retrospect, I find the book even more fascinating than I did immediately after I finished it. Like its predecessor, "Mendoza in Hollywood" differs very markedly from what came before. The glib parody of Joseph in "Sky Coyote" is replaced by the much more down-to-Earth - and depressed - Mendoza as she once again takes the stage and the plot evens out a lot. Her fligts of fancy in this book avoid parody and instead involve conspiracies, the paranormal and the glory days of Hollywood in the 1920s (even though the book itself primarily takes place in 1862/1863). The realism in the book may not be more pronounced than in "Sky Coyote", but at least Baker is using creative license to advance the plot and not to make social commentary. Taken in retrospect, I really enjoyed this book. Baker takes a lot longer to work up to the action than she did in "Mendoza"'s predecessors, but the plot entanglements certainly make up for this fact. As with the first two Company books, this one is not without its drawbacks, but the story and mystery that she weaves are such that they are relatively easy to overlook. The first two Company novels were wonderful and this one continues the saga impressively.
Rating:
Summary: Mendoza matures
Review: Another very satisfying "Company" novel. What struck me (apart from the usual fine characterisation and description) is the evolution of Mendoza's character. The first novel brought her to heights and then to exquisitely painful lows, and the second showed her wallowing. The third one portrays her finally getting over her lost love and beginning to mature and rejoin "human" society. "Mendoza in Hollywood" gave only a little space to the subplots that appeared in the second novel; I trust we'll see more of them in the next "Company" novel. But I didn't feel they were really missed; the time was spent on showing how Mendoza changed into a more mature and better person. And we the readers are the better for it.
Rating:
Summary: Another fun read!
Review: Continuing with the adventures of Mendoza, Kage Baker doesn't disappoint us with her motley cast of characters as they caper through time on their appointments for the Company. I don't like to give away too much information in reviews, telling too much plotline... but if you liked the first or second of this series, I'm sure you'll like this one, too! Lots of fun!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Hard to believe this is by the same author who wrote the first two. She wastes the whole first half of this book in being "cute" -- a forced kind of whimsy that goes nowhere. The really interesting developments that appear in midpoint are never followed up on (maybe in the next book?) The whole recapping of the plot of "Intolerance" seems barely germane to the plot of the book. Big chunks of the book are taken up by philosophizing thinly disguised as dialogue. The romantic part of the story was one step away from being a gothic bodice-ripper. I still think the whole concept of the Company is terrific. I know Baker can write with keen humor and sharp insight ("Sky Coyote"). Let's hope her inspiration returns for the next books in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Mendoza is a whiny prat... otherwise I like it...
Review: Honestly, the only thing that makes me stumble through the series is the fact that after a while, Mendoza really grates on my nerves. There comes a point at which I really wish that I, or one of the characters in the book, would grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Every time she bemoans her fate or declares her antipathy towards mortals the actual story comes to a shuddering halt. She is such a tremendously flawed character that I was actually relieved to see the ending of the book. But I like the book. Really. The setting is a break from stories set in a western city, the background characters are unique and intriguing and this is the book where the ominous undercurrents of The Company begin to surface. This book, much like the setting, is a way station before some exciting destinations.
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I actually liked this book better then sky coyote. It is rare that i become emotionally involved with the characters in a book, but by the end of the book, I really, really thought mendoza was a world class bonehead. It takes great craftsmanship to involve your readers viscerally in your novels. Baker has suceeded and I hope she continues. I love her stuff. Can't wait to read the graveyard game.
Rating: 
Summary: What is it like being immortal?
Review: I find this book the best of the trilogy. In all the three books the historical background is sound and the writing is smooth and unobtrusive.The first book, 'The garden of Iden', left me perplexed because it looked more a (very well documented, of course) historical novel and the SF side was playing a minor role, almost a pretext for describing the XVI century english society. The second one, 'Sky Coyote', was more focused on the interaction between immortals and mortals, the role of the Dr. Zeus Company and the psycology of the characters. But I felt that Baker's humor somewhat missed the point. I couldn't find believable the savant idiots from the future in charge of the rescue operation, nor the Indians and their behavior. But in this third book Kage Baker found a perfect equilibrium of style, insight into the immortal cyborgs psychology and sense of wonder for the mysterious Company which rules the past from the future.
What is it like being immortal, having lived for millennia and being separated for good from everything one loved? Seeing the unfolding of the history, the birth and the death of countless generations? Which kind of man and women do these cyborgs become? From this point of view the slowly paced, fluid narrative of the eveyday life in the the californian Company outpost is perfect, the reader is thoroughly immersed in the thoughts and the feeelings of the characters. Even the section on Griffith's 'Intolerance', which some reviewers found superfluous, is absolutely delicious, full of humor and human understanding. And the subsequent fit of despair and the wild dance of the babylonian Imarthe is one of the highlights of the book.
The climax of the novel is attained in the final section, where Mendoza comes across what appears to be a reincarnation of her dead lover. The dramatic events in the last pages, the hint of a cycle of deaths and rebirths where they will meet again and again, is a worthy conclusion of the novel.
I would not recommend this book to the the fans of starships zapping death rays against improbable aliens. But if you like SF that broadens your horizons, which involves you emotionally and makes you reflect on life, love and death, then read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very slow...
Review: I found it very difficult to keep reading this book. I had already read both of Baker's earlier Company novels, and I had enjoyed them, but this one just seemed to drag.
I've had this book sitting around for months now, I'd start it, lose interest, and give up. Recently I had a long plane flight and I decided I'd bring it along. It starts off slowly, and mostly stays there until the third section of the book. While I thought the idea of the characters watching old Hollywood movies (as they find themselves based outside LA in the area that will become Hollywood) amusing, I really could do without a 20-page (in my exasperation I counted it, it really is double digit pages) scene by scene description of D.W. Griffeth's "Intolerence".
For the most part, the book is a character study, but without any real interesting insight into it's characters. This could be because (as other commenters have noted) Mendoza really stops being an interesting character in this novel, but instead becomes boring and annoying. Then, in the final section things begin to happen, and an engaging story it told. Of course this is only the last 100 pages or so. For me, it seemed as though Baker suddenly remembered a lot of interesting Company details she wanted to include, so supporting characters are suddenly shoved around to allow for the events of the last section without too much logic being employed. However, for those who have read the other Company novels, the revelations within these last pages will certainly grab your attention.
With all of the above, you may expect 1 star, well the last part did capture my interest, and reminded my why I had bought the book in the first place. It ends a bit abruptly (forcing me to head to the bookstore for the 4th installment if I want any questions answered), but I read those final 100 pages in about half the time it took me to read the middle 100, so that gains it a star.
Rating:
Summary: Very slow...
Review: I found it very difficult to keep reading this book. I had already read both of Baker's earlier Company novels, and I had enjoyed them, but this one just seemed to drag.
I've had this book sitting around for months now, I'd start it, lose interest, and give up. Recently I had a long plane flight and I decided I'd bring it along. It starts off slowly, and mostly stays there until the third section of the book. While I thought the idea of the characters watching old Hollywood movies (as they find themselves based outside LA in the area that will become Hollywood) amusing, I really could do without a 20-page (in my exasperation I counted it, it really is double digit pages) scene by scene description of D.W. Griffeth's "Intolerence".
For the most part, the book is a character study, but without any real interesting insight into it's characters. This could be because (as other commenters have noted) Mendoza really stops being an interesting character in this novel, but instead becomes boring and annoying. Then, in the final section things begin to happen, and an engaging story it told. Of course this is only the last 100 pages or so. For me, it seemed as though Baker suddenly remembered a lot of interesting Company details she wanted to include, so supporting characters are suddenly shoved around to allow for the events of the last section without too much logic being employed. However, for those who have read the other Company novels, the revelations within these last pages will certainly grab your attention.
With all of the above, you may expect 1 star, well the last part did capture my interest, and reminded my why I had bought the book in the first place. It ends a bit abruptly (forcing me to head to the bookstore for the 4th installment if I want any questions answered), but I read those final 100 pages in about half the time it took me to read the middle 100, so that gains it a star.
Rating:
Summary: Slow Beginning
Review: I have to say that I do not agree with the other reviewers. I found the book difficult to get into because the story line did not seem to start until page 220. I kept waiting for the big event to happen that they eluded to throughout. They seemed to infer that she has a power to travel through time without help from the Company, but did not explain this further. I found the long descriptions of the silent movies boring and not at all useful to the story line. I will say that by page 220, the book did get good and I could not put it down. It seemed to be over too fast and felt angry that she hadn't put more time into that part of the book. I loved the first two of this triology and would definitely continue to read Kage Baker's Company books. I could see where the book was heading and it sounds like a great next story. She also was able to give insight into the Company's history, which can also lead to an interesting story line.
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