Gene Hackman Books

In their first foray into the realm of fiction, Gene Hackman and Daniel Lenihan created "Wake of the Perdido Star", a novel that I believed to be one of the best seafaring novels of recent memory. It made me very eager for future efforts from this tandem. While it has been several years, the wait was well worth it. Their sophomore effort, "Justice for None", is a dramatic departure from their first work, but is a very enjoyable read.

I was frankly quite surprised that Mr. Hackman and Mr. Lenihan would release a novel that is of an entirely different subject and historical era from their first one. It is something that, I believe, most authors have not pulled off well, and in doing so, have alienated much of their fan base. However, Mr. Hackman and Mr. Lenihan proved to be the exception to this pattern.

"Justice for None" is set in the small Illinois town of Vermilion on the eve of the Great Depression. The story involves Boyd Calvin, a struggling World War I veteran who gets caught up in the murder of his estranged wife, which leads to a pair of runs from justice before a climactic trial to prove his innocence.

The Boyd Calvin character is developed very well, and proves to be an interesting focal point for this story. The authors created someone who elicits in the reader an internal conflict. On the one hand, he is a sympathetic character as he struggles with his dark history in the war, the reconciliation with his wife, and his fight against a justice system in which the odds are wholly against him. On the other, he is almost repulsive, as he consistently resists authority and pushes away those who are trying their hardest to help him. This character development works very well, and is somewhat rare to find in these types of stories. It holds your interest and keeps you locked into the plot.

The plot itself is also intriguing, though it is perhaps more of a part of a broader view of this pre-Depression, Midwest society. It seems almost underdeveloped in some places, and was less of a driver in advancing the story. Rather, it supplemented the character elements and external events, such as the impending stock market crash, race relations, and small town life. While this would seemingly be a liability, Mr. Hackman and Mr. Lenihan made it work. The prose is descriptive yet sparse, which paints a very vivid picture, keeps the reader interested, and also serves to drive the plot at a rapid pace.

I also give credit to Mr. Hackman and Mr. Lenihan for the story development. Novels like this usually have a pretty standard ending that the reader knows at the outset. So, there is usually a "surprise" ending, which sometimes works but more often is picked up by the attentive reader well in advance. In "Justice for None", the authors somehow developed a storyline that was unexpected in terms of how the climactic moment would unfold. Then on top of that, they advanced the story to a wholly satisfying conclusion that had an element of surprise that was also not anticipated. What made the ending so good is that while it was a surprise, it was also rather subdued, which actually served to emphasize the impact even more.

So often in reviews - my own included - there is the tendency to rate something in comparison to the authors' previous work. I tried very diligently to avoid doing so here, because of the stark difference between "Justice for None" and "Wake of the Perdido Star". If I were to rate this based on a comparison, I probably would rate this as 4 stars. However, taken as a stand-alone novel - which is more fair and representative of the work - it does merit a rating of a full 5 stars.

Once again, the work of Mr. Hackman and Mr. Lenihan has apppealed to me as a reader, and I am once again looking forward to their next work. Hopefully, it will not be as long a wait, but I am eager to find out what they come up with next.

Having grown up in a small southern Indiana town near the Illinois border, the book evoked strong images of scenes and people I knew in my childhood. The authors managed to avoid the usual stereotypes and gave us a surprise ending, proving their skill at creating characters who seemed like real human beings. Boyd reminded me of some clients I've known who were their own worst enemies, yet a strong sense of justice guided the proceedings despite his character flaws. I also enjoyed the development of the story lines involving WWI and stock market crash from the seldom-seen perspective of middle America.

I found "Justice for None" to be a very enjoyable read. It crackles with realism--the reader is transported back to the bad old days of the late 1920s, when prosperity was for the few, and hard work and hard luck was the lot of most Americans.

Against the backdrop of the looming and imminent Great Depression this story takes place. The protagonist is a World War One hero, who is also a hard-luck case. Rather than being rewarded and recognized for his heroism in Europe, he is scarred by his wartime suffering, and his marriage does not survive the strain. When someone murders his estranged wife, he is the suspect, and then a fugitive.

The eventual courtroom scenario, as it plays out in the novel, is the story's climax and also involves the best writing in the novel. Further, it seemed to me (I am a trial attorney) that the authors did an exceptionally good job of showing the reason for some of our procedural safeguards in court that protect defendants. The absence of these safeguards in this 1929 trial work to the very great, and unfair, disadvantage of the protagonist. I thought that the authors did an exceptional job of bringing this out, and the trial has a gritty feel of realism, right down to the incident (no real spoiler here) in which the defense attorney realizes that his client has not been entirely truthful or candid with him. There, as in real life, this is a potentially fatal mistake.

The ending surprised me a bit, and the authors do a good job of tying up the loose ends in the story, making for a startling conclusion to a satisfying read.

The atmosphere the authors created swept me back in time to the places and experiences of my youth in Illinois. Justice for None vividly and accurately describes post-World War I Mid-America and combines it with suspense to make a powerful novel. I was totally absorbed by this book and enjoyed it thoroughly.

I won't go into the storyline - you can read about that above. Just one thing: Don't listen to the critics. This is truely a good book.
I'm very glad I bought it and I'm also sure I'll enjoy a second read. If you like thrillers, adventure stories with solid characters, I suggest you read both the authors' books. All the talk about too many cliches, wobbling storyline - foget about it. Just read it. You won't be disappointed. Promised.

After reading some other reviews,i almost didn't read the book. i'm glad i did! Don't listen to the literary snobs who find fault with every book;if you like a good story, this one has everything. Adventure, conflict, danger, complex human emotions, friendship and teamwork. i like a story that keeps me wondering what will happen next! i found this one thoroughly satisfying,and it could be a great movie.

This book has more action in a single chapter than most authors can put in a trilogy! The best sea saga I've ever read!

I wonder who the professional literary critics were who gave this book such high marks. I agree with whomever wrote the review "The Lightning Never Strikes." I am a former reviewer for INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER MAGAZINE and was given the go-ahead to review Mr. Gene Hackman's first novel. Since I am also a writer who writes nonfiction books about piracy, I was definitely enthusiastic about this swashbuckling novel! But unfortunately I struggled through quicksand to the middle of the book, then called my editor and pleaded with him not to make me finish it and write a review. Since this was right after the book's publishing date, I don't remember the specific superficial scenes I slogged through. I just remember the book was filled with cardboard characters, dumb dialogue, many erroneous facts, and a stupid plot. I don't recommend that anyone waste their time with this novel. Instead, read a novel such as THE DIARY OF A SLAVE GIRL, RUBY JO that includes pirate photos and illustrations as well as nonfiction information about pirates that seems accurate.

Reminiscent of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin and Julian Stockwin's Kydd/Renzi in the pairing of the intellectual LeMaire with the man of action O'Reilly, it is also set in the same period, albeit American- rather than European-based.
We follow half-caste Jack's progression from mild-mannered teenager to ruthless pirate on a mission to eradicate slavers and avenge his parent's death and dishonour.
In a mixture of 'Swiss family Robinson' and 'Captain Blood', the Perdido Star, captained by a crazed drunkard, is wrecked on a desert island, having made heavy weather of rounding the Horn. Neighbouring islanders, salvaged materials and the ingenuity of the survivors combine to provide a comfortable semblance of home, which is rudely shattered by the appearance of a Dutch VOC ship collecting human 'cargo'. Jack is persuaded by circumstances and his friend Paul that the only way to right the wrongs of the world is to take action - and there is action aplenty in this gripping, although slightly pulpy, first novel from Hackman & Lenihan.
Well-drawn characters and an intriguing plot combine to make a story to rival the best in the genre.

Fair enough. It reads like a pulp action story, at times. And our hero Jack is a little to good to be true. Mighty thews and all. Brooding countenance and flashing eyes. However that doesn't make this a bad book. It makes it a pretty entertaining and action-packed book, and while Jack may be a little unbelievable, the action and story aren't unbelievable. Essentially, Jack, the 18 year old son of a gun smith, is swept off on a whirlwind adventure that takes him from the fledgling USA to Cuba to the South Pacific. In it, he encounters self-righteous Yankees, evil Cuban noblemen, bloodthirsty Pacific Islanders (savages, don't you know), bloodthirstier Dutch slavers, and British press gangs. Okay, there are a lot of cliches (and I mean a lot), but there is a lot of fun in here too. And despite the notorious and nigh-legendary phrase "the pintles were sprung from the gudgeon," there's not an overwhelming amount of sea-stuff in here. Try reading Patrick O'Brian and you'll see what I mean. This book is comparable to Wilbur Smith's "Birds of Prey." Kinda like an old Errol Flynn movie. I enjoyed this book a good bit, and would be interested in reading more from these authors.

First and foremost, this book is filled with untruths about Andersonville. For instance, there was no such things as "cat walks." Also, Camp Sumter was for enlisted men only, no officers were held there. I realize this is supposed to be fiction but even that is stretching it.

I think this was a great read. The action is continual but interspersed with a lot of interesting reflections on the times. I particularly like the fact that the authors take no sides and don't preach. It is particularly neat that they seem to have the two main characters, Parker and Marcel, almost reverse their roles in the character arc. I have no trouble with the violence and sex in the story myself but I would not recommend it to readers younger than 16 or so. A couple smarmy reviews by Amazon customers I saw seem to have some agenda behind them. In particular, the guy who says the authors should have known that Camp Sumter (Andersonville) was for enlisted men couldn't have read the story. Anyone who actually read the book would know that the authors were fully cognizant of the fact that Andersonville was intended for enlisted personnel as they frequently refer to Captain Nathan Parker lying that he was a sergeant to allow him to stay with his men. A really well done review of the book is by Allan Barra of Salon and Wall St.Journal. I read Wake of the Perdido star by Hackman and Lenihan and enjoyed it also. I haven't read Justice for None but on the basis of this book I'm going to get it.

While Escape from Andersonville seems to be well-researched historical fiction, and an easy read, I didn't enjoy the book as well as I thought I would. This is a chapter of history of which I didn't need to know all the details. It's not a book for everyone.

This book might have been written by an eighth-grader. Poor grammar, run-on sentences, mis-used commas, etc.
I got through about 60 pages and quit.

Love it - I think the characters were colorful and the historic contribution strong and accurate. Very happy to know Gene Hackman is writing and offering us continued great works of his art.

This was a good book. Case closed. Hackman was great in BONNIE AND CLYDE! I love that movie.

In just picking up the book I found one typo on the first page I turned to, and when I looked at the pages on "Get Shorty," Dennis Farina's name was spelled incorrectly (this was not a typo, even the index had it wrong). Any idiot who knows anything about character actors would know how to spell his name, or at least have an accurate cast list. The book doesn't do a good job dealing with the films. The author writes a few anecdotes, then simply reports how it was reviewed. Hackman deserves better