The Second Angel

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Quite an exceptional bit of writing when you consider the author combined a medial thriller, sci-fi (borderline), and action thriller all in one. The only author I thought who could pull that off is Charles Wilson (Donor, Game Plan, Embryo).

Rating:
Summary: So bad I was actually glad that I read it...
Review: ...because it makes all the books I have read since seem so much better. It's not that this book is bad (there are a lot of poorly written books out there), it's that it is SO bad you have to read it to understand. It's like driving by a train wreck. You don't really want to see the carnage, but you can't force yourself to turn away.

The character motivations are confused or missing, the characters themselves more like single-dimensional charicatures, and the frequent narrator distractions are a lame cop-out (TELL me a story, don't EXPLAIN to me a story). The outcome hinges on a gamble, which could have easily been checked before-hand but never was. The book repeatedly tells us how smart these people are, but their actions follow no logic.

And there are so many things that are just plain WRONG. The author either has no grasp on how reality works, or figures that the reader doesn't, or at least doesn't mind a little artistic license in that area. It is a bit of a distraction, however, every time you come across such an inconsistency. You lose the sense of immersion. These actions can't be taking place in this reality, because the physics just don't match up, so the book becomes less real, and therefore less involving.

This could really be an enjoyable read (except of course for the very end, which was a horrible cheat (don't read the last few pages. I know that the book will feel incomplete, but trust me, the actual ending is so bad, when you finally give in to temptation and curiousity and read it, you will have wished that you had taken my advice)), but mostly only for people who know little about science, and don't do much critical thinking (there are numerous instances where the book refers to how clever someone's actions are (even using the word clever. Don't tell me that someone is clever, show me their clever actions and let me come to my own conclusions), but all I was thinking was how I could have accomplished the same goals much easier. Now, if the reader is not smart enough to figure out a better solution, they won't have a problem with this).

The pseudo-science is REALLY bad though. There is a formula given that calculates the number of planets with potentially intelligent life on them, and it goes something like this: Take the number of planets upon which we know for certain intelligent life exists (one, the Earth). Divide by the number of estimated planets that can support intelligent life (Billions). Conclusion: Virtually no planets contain intelligent life, Earth is unique in the cosmos. If you see nothing wrong with this formula, than this book is for you!

Rating:
Summary: Not nearly Crichtonesque . . . .
Review: This Briton who's been called "Michael Crichton's Smarter Brother" disappointed me for the last time. Of the three novels I've read by him, the only book worthy of comparison was "The Grid." "Esau" was disappointing and so was this one. There is "food for thought," as in his earlier works, but it wasn't integrated into the book in a fluid, seamless manner. Mr. Kerr has quite a ways to go before being inducted into the pantheon of literary greatness.

Rating:
Summary: Nice ideas let down by flat writing
Review: Biotech, like most thriller subjects, can get awfully dull when the writing isn't stylish, clever or imaginitive. And here, it isn't. Consequently the whole thing becomes very hard work. Also, the quasi-science fiction feel of this book lessens its impact. Something happening TODAY or, at least, tomorrow, would have been more engaging. But then, I guess truly contemporary subjects that haven't been worked to death are very hard to come by.

Rating:
Summary: An angel - but second rate
Review: I'd give this book 3.5 stars. Very imaginative, and makes you think. The plot and characters are under-developed. The main character in the story loses his wife and child ... and never once reflects on that or reacts to it or expresses sorrow. Their deaths are merely convenient twists in the story line. The author obviously doesn't care, so the father/husband doesn't get to either.

Nevertheless, the book is creative, and I especially liked the narrator's comments and eventual revelation of his identity. The very end is not terribly satisfying, but it's cute.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This book is fantastic. I cannot believe the readers who did not like the book, I guess it was too above them...

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent and Extremely Interesting
Review: Philip Kerr has really written a suberb book with the Second Angel. His writing style is smart and flows well, resulting in the reader getting involved with his characters on a personal level. The research to write such an intelligent book must have been emense and I admire writers who know what they are talking about, as Kerr demonstrates in the Second Angel.

Rating:
Summary: He's the Master
Review: What a great book. I was amazed at the vast knowledge of Kerr. Unlike other reviewers I had no problems with the footnotes, they only added to getting totally involved in another world.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sci-Fi Read
Review: This novel by Phillip Kerr is an excellent, thought provoking sci-fi read. Mr. Kerr does not follow the typical styles of sci-fi books which results into Second Angel becoming a more intelligently written and believable book. This is a suberb read for people who enjoy books that are not only written for pure entertainment but, written in a manner that is believable and mind expanding.

Rating:
Summary: Spectaculary fascinating on all levels of consciousness!!
Review: Kerr's book, "The Second Angel" is a enlightening and hypnotic journey through the inner-realm of the readers psyche. A book as forthright and objectively stimulating hasn't been written in many moons. This book will grab you by your jugular and enrapture you in a state of gratuitus dissarray. The plot was so cleverly and deviously concocted that the reader is left dumbfounded with humility by the time their journey has been completed.