My Book Reviews

A very disappointing book. To me it felt like Ian Rankin was trying to write a book in the style of Alistair McLean, an exciting thriller. In "Introduction by the author" is being told that the first edition only got one review, a bad one from the Guardian. I can see the reason why. The story is being told by an all knowing narrator. So you don't have to wonder why the characters do things. These characters are very flat, even the main ones; there are a lot of stereotypes. The action is very predictable. You can see things going to happen one or two pages before you get there. There are the standard things in it, pursuing cars, a damsel in distress. The heroes are almost identical and they can survive ordeals like they do in McLean's books. The plot is quite ridiculous. The writer is not serious, in some sentences irony pops up. It must have been quite a lot of fun to give the characters their names. Names stretching from historical figures to philosophers, writers, c...

I loved it! Having travelled a bit in the USA myself - I visited 26 States, so more than half - I recognised quite a lot. Some experiences are for everybody who travels in the States, I think, some are not. I clearly remember the one time in Florida where we went downhill, behind a bush was a bit hidden a sign "3o". Behind the next bush was a patrol car. The police man had sunglasses, the reflecting type you always see in films, and we had to pay a big fine for speeding. (7 miles over the limit.) I also remember Mount Rushmore where my sister and I were sitting at a table near some Dutch women who were make lewd comments about how people looked and how stupid Americans were. Especially the people close to them. (Meaning us; we were talking in English because of my brother in law, who is an American.) When we left we wished them "Een hele fijne dag". One woman almost got killed by her coffee, the other just by coughing. It made our day. All in all a lovely book, one ...

  A novel told from the point of view of four very different characters. Main character is a winner and loser of the IT-bubble with vague plans to become a winner again. Others are a receptionist in a luxury hotel with big dreams and expectations, a papparazzi with dreams of a better life, a dodgy horse trainer with political aspirations and last but not least an enjoyer of life without expectations, only adjusting to whatever is coming his way and exploiting that to the most. They all influence each other's lifes, use the others without excuse, escaping loneliness. Things go wrong because of the lack of real feeling for the other; the lack of real commitment and misunderstandings, maybe because of that. All in all life is here shown as one big disappointment and missed opportunity. This all sounds like the book is very dark, but it is not. It's very enjoyable and I'm certain readers will recognise certain situations in the book as something they could have encountered them...

  While this is not a book I would normally grab in a library or bookshop, I was delighted to get the offer to read the book. It was well written with a keen eye for details. I am very aware the writing must have required a lot of research while the scenes were situated in what looked like medieval Japan. It had some surprising turns. I can recommend it!

  This is an epic story in which facts and fiction are cleverly interwoven. I can see the love for the subject and all the research this story must have taken. Not only about the times, but also about geographics, clothing and so on. The period (early middle ages, sometimes called "dark ages") is perfect for some fiction added to known facts. It is very well written with very much care for details. It is even easy to imagine the circumstances the characters find themselves in. I highly recommend it.

Only because this book is a fantasy book I gave it 4 stars. I'm not very keen on fantasy. I was never abe to read Tolkien, even the Hobbit I could not get through. In fact I gave up after 30 pages. This book had a nice flow, was not too much about describing and I loved the characters.  

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover was not very inviting and looked a bit cheap to me and it almost gave me a reason to give the book only 4 stars. But don't let the cover fool you. It's a very entertaining description of living in the 60's as a musician and artist and as a creator and builder of an ecological holiday retreat in the upper Amazon in Peru. It's written in a style that almost make you feel like sitting with the author, having some great beers with him while he is telling these amazing stories. I highly recommend it for some relaxing hours!