Rating: 
Summary: Quite possibly...
Review: ...the worst book of all-time. What a dissappointment after reading the Alienist, which was one of my favorite books of all-time. Angel of Darkness was somewhere between those two.
Rating: 
Summary: Not What I Expected
Review: Although I had never previously read anything by Caleb Carr, I knew of his reputation and was curious about Killing Time - I'm more of a science fiction than historical fiction fan. So, I picked it up and promptly finished it and it left me somewhat disappointed. The story was just way too easy.I'll agree with previous reviewers who have stated that this is like a Jules Verne novel only worse. Verne could at least invent some likable, well developed characters. Carr seems to gloss over most characterization in favor of a quick read. While I wasn't impressed with the book on the whole, I did enjoy Carr's ideas of the future especially coming from one who so frequently studies the past. I would have expected and enjoyed a more complex story however. The verdict: Wait for the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: new genre but same quality writing
Review: Being a big fan of THE ALIENIST and ANGEL OF DARKNESS (which I actually liked better), I quickly devoured this latest novel by Caleb Carr. If you're familiar with Mr. Carr's work you'll know he usually writes period thrillers which introduce real-life people and events into a fictional tale. While I knew (from advance reviews) that this book wasn't historical (actually, it's set in the near future), I found the writing style and unique tone to be very smiliar to Mr. Carr's other novels. The book gets off to an exciting start with the main character of Dr. Gideon Wolff running from pursuing enemies in Africa - from page one I was sucked in and wanted to learn more. The story itself and it's central subject matter are fascinating - I don't want to give away any of the plot secrets, but overall the book is about how "truth" is easily manufactured by the public's willingness to believe whatever information the media and internet feed us. Even though this book is a new genre for Mr. Carr, I think you will find it an engrossing and timely read.
Rating:
Summary: An oldfashioned future
Review: Caleb Carr is a wonderfull writer. I loved both 'Alienist' and 'The Angel of Darkness'.
This book ... well, it was different. It's Carrs look into the future, written in the style of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.
The marriage of a century old style with modern ideas is an interesting one. The drawback is that Carr uses the same plot devices as the old masters. And for people who have read enough it's the same as giving away the plot.The idea of information as a weapon is not novel, but it is well argued here. Definetly, with the development of technology such use of history is possible.
If this short novel was a part of an anthology - I would have nothing to say against it. But I won't say that you have to buy the anthology just to read it.
It's a pleasant enough read, it's just can't be priced the same as 'Alienist'. Take it out of the libriary, but don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Non-Fiction Disguised as Fiction
Review: Call it intellectual, philosophical, prophetic, whatever. I call it boring and opaque. I felt like I was reading someone's undergraduate assignment.
I chose to read this book because I heard Carr was a great writer. I assume this is true for his other books, but this book is just beyond boring. It is less of a story and more of a string of worst case scenarios for Carr's predictions for the future.
Sure, it may be a commentary on today's problems and what will go wrong if we do not straighten up, but I really did not care as I was reading it. He just did not connect with me as a reader. Frankly, I'd rather read a non-fiction social commentary than an essay pretending to be fiction.
Skip it. Read his other books.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Awful
Review: I enjoyed The Alienist and Carr's derivative follow-up The Angel of Darkness. However, Killing Time is a slog. A ludicrous plot, stilted prose and "deep" ideas about propaganda and culture that are laughably naive. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Awful
Review: I enjoyed The Alienist and Carr's derivative follow-up The Angel of Darkness. However, Killing Time is a slog. A ludicrous plot, stilted prose and "deep" ideas about propaganda and culture that are laughably naive. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable....
Review: I listened to the audio version of this novel (narrated extremely well by the author), and I must say that after a slow beginning I found this novel to be quite exciting. Doctor Gideon Wolfe is a criminal Psychologist, specializing in you guessed it, Criminal Psychology AND conspiracy theories. When his best friend winds up dead because of mysterious photos discovered on an encrypted disc given to him by a client, Gideon finds himself sucked into a bizarre world of 'information sabotage,' ran by a reclusive genius Malcolm and his beautiful sister. At first I found the beginning WAY too fantastic, especially the 'jailbreak' scene, but I quickly found myself sucked into Carr's world of information sabotage, and enjoyed this audio book immensely. I loved the character of Leon who kept saying EVERYTHING had "Immense Sexuality." Too funny. Things I didn't like: the author used "Killing Time" to soap-box a bit about social and moral issues. Messages such as: Internet = Evil and 'information is NOT knowledge' made me want to grind my teeth after the third or fourth time I heard it. Also the narration where the author gives us a 'forsight' into future story events was bothersome. The novel is littered with phrases like: "If I had known then what I know now, I would never...." I HATE it when authors tell us in advance something bad will happen. I like to find this out for myself, thank you. Otherwise, loved this tape! Loved the character Leon and Malcolm, and really really hope there is a sequel featuring these characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent & philosophical/not a "thriller"
Review: In answer to those who think the writing is too overdone (like Henry James) I say that actually it's not; it's just intelligent. If you are going to converse on important issues you're going to have to use a few three-syllable words. I actually experienced this book through the unabridged audiobook version, and I had no trouble with the language. It sounded like natural speech between intelligent people. I would say that even though there is adventure in this book, it's not trying to ride on it's thrill-level. The best part of this book is cerebral and issues about the shape of the ship are really inane. If a ship's shape matters to you, you might be a little bored with this book. (...) I'm not saying there is no adventure, but you'll have to keep skipping over large parts of the book to get to it and the action will seem rather pointless.
Rating:
Summary: Why Caleb Why!!
Review: Looking back on how happy I was to see this book sitting quietly on the shelf in Borders it's funny to think of how much I disliked it. I agree with all the other negative feedback that has been left regarding this book. Anyone who hasn't read Carr's work should read The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness and pretend like this book was written by an author who deserves to be known for writting trash....like Dean Koontz.
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