Nevada Books

This one may be for readers who need to know every challenge in Anna Pigeon's career. Perhaps. This is not one of Barr's tightest plots. The wind-up takes awhile. The energy is flat at the beginning. Even after the initial fatality, events lull and sag for a few pages too long. Once energy gets moving and tension builds, however, it comes by the boat-load. "Liberty Falling" is good Anna time - tending to an ill sister, dancing around a "slightly used but still serviceable ex-boyfriend." It's terrific to see Anna with big city tourists, tunneling down in the subway (thinking of her New Mexico cave experience along the way) and walking the mean streets (at times) of New York. All along the way is the deep Pigeon cynicism and wry cracks. "Old bones had a litany of their own, reciting past injuries to any who would listen." "The apparition was either running away or low on ectoplasm," she observes at one point when sounds from a "ghost" grow faint. In this tale Anna sprouts a curious inability to come clean and be forthright with the people she encounters. And, of course, Anna questions why that is. She questions everything. She absorbs everything, as we all know, and Barr fans know what appears to be innocuous detail may very well surface later as the key to the unraveling the source of the danger.

At the core of "Liberty Falling" is a "nasty little story of hatred, fear and ignorance," as Pigeon observes. The ending vaults into high-speed action from sea to land. At one point, while she's soaked in the drink, Pigeon pauses long enough to observe that she isn't James Bond. Well, sure. That's what we like about Pigeon--she's grounded, earthy, self-deprecating and endlessly measuring her own inadequacies. "Liberty Falling" is rich with Pigeon insights. The "mystery" part of this book builds slowly but the ending packs a nifty wallop.

National Park Service agent Anna Pigeon would rather be anywhere other than New York City. However, her sister's critically failing health is more important than her need for wilderness solitude. Fortunately for Anna, Liberty and Ellis islands provide her with critical havens of peace when the crush of humanity overwhelms her. That is, until a fatal tragedy on the Statue of Liberty puts Anna on the scent of a conspiracy, one that becomes increasingly deadly the closer she gets to its center.

Barr does a good job of creating a patchwork quilt of seemingly unrelated clues for Anna to piece together. However, as likeable as Anna is, the clues fall a little too conveniently into her lap, and her investigative skills too often depend on lucky coincidence. This has the unfortunate effect of relieving any sense of tension, since it's always assured the winds of fortune will blow Anna's way when the leads start drying up. (On a minor note, Barr's unique fascination with anatomical references is distracting: for example, Anna getting a tingling in her duodenum.) On the positive side, though, Ellis and Liberty islands are fully realized and absolutely fascinating. By the end of the novel, the reader will probably feel as if he or she has been there. The non-suspense of the mystery is adequately redressed by the genuinely likeable Anna and a pleasant extended tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

This is the kind of book that you can skip-read every other page and not miss a thing.

I had read all the earlier and some of the subsequent Anna Pigeon books, and this was the book I was waiting for -- not so much for the mystery as for the subplot.

FINally Anna and Molly have scenes together in person (although Molly is comatose in the first one). FINally, a complicated, face-to-face denouement in the awkward triangle involving Anna and Molly and Frederick the Fed. (F the F is my favorite Nevada Barr character. I wish she had let him remain mysterious, wandering unexpectedly through every third book, sort of like Brenda Starr's Mystery Man. But this new side of FF was fun, too.) And I'm glad Barr gave Anna and Molly something really challenging to their sisterhood to work through.

As for the mystery itself -- OK enough. It was different for me. In the previous books, I was way ahead of Anna in figuring things out and had to watch her walk naively into the clutches of the very person who wanted her dead. In this book, Anna had it figured out and I was (mostly) clueless -- a nice change of formula.

I liked Anna's return to New York in real(?) time, rather than through memories. I work in an urban area where the National Park Service has a presence (Philadelphia), so it didn't seem odd to me. And I really connected to how out of place Anna feels there now.

A family emergency brings Anna Pigeon rushing to New York. Molly, her sister, is gravely ill and in the hospital. Anna unrolls her "sleeping bag" with friends on Liberty Island and discovers accidents are murder. Determined to find answers Anna plunges into the melee ignoring warnings to stay clear.
LIBERTY FALLING is not Nevada Barr's best effort. The intrepid Anna is vulnerable as she haunts the halls of the hospital and fierce in her hunt for those that would destroy an American icon. Maybe it is the contrast of personalities that confuse the reader. But then Nevada Barr, always brings "arm chair travelers a bird's eye-view" of our unique national heritage.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

This book was amazing, Ben writes some gripping and rather amzing stories considering they are nonfiction!

A great tale compellingly told. Would have been nice to have had some of the math exposed in an appendix for those who care, but a grand story

This book is pretty much an advertisement for one of the subject's seminars. So many things in this are clearly fabricated. If a casino sees you make hugely varying bets and coming out ahead, they will ask you to leave, ban you from the casino, then share your picture with the other casinos. It's actually fairly easy to beat blackjack, but it's hard to do it without the casino.

For the longest time, I thought Busting Vegas and Bringing Down the House were the same book with different titles. After not being thrilled with Mezrich's RIGGED, I ran into Busting Vegas at a nearby bookstore and realized that indeed it was a completely different book than BDTH.

I thoroughly enjoyed this very entertaining account of a completely different formula to "Beat the House" than card counting. If you have read Mezrich's other works and enjoyed them, as well as enjoy the game of blackjack, I think you cannot go wrong with this one. The characters are vivid and the story telling is rich and vivid with detail.

if this book were simply an exciting fast-paced story (albeit poorly written), i would rate it 2 stars

unfortunately, about halfway through it goes moralistic with dripping hypocrisy - an unnecessary element i found annoying. an example from page 151:

"'okay,' victor said as he surveyed the group, lined up on the balcony, blue water behind them, the glass casino glowing on the horizon. 'let's show this little island what a bit of math, in the right hands, can do to balance out a few hundred years of economic oppression, shall we?'

semyon grinned, and barely felt the pinch of his still bruised lower lip. robin hood had nothing on them"

just like robin hood - except they keep the money for themselves (MIT/harvard students)

the 'afterword' takes the ridiculous moral justification a few steps further. an example from page 283/4:

"for me and my teammates, beating the casinos has never been entirely about the money. of course the money was important, and on the surface, the whole enterprise may have even resembled a kind of crazy financial start-up on steroids, but anyone looking deeper would have seen that for us, the blackjack team was not a business, but a passionate, desperate struggle against the mighty evil empire that was and continues to be the casino industry... inspired by the success of open source, i've come to believe that to really make a substantial impact against a powerful adversary like the casino industry, you have to sacrifice the short term profits of a select few in order to enable the masses to cooperate and innovate... once this book is published, millions of people will get exposure to some of our key methods"

uhhh.. what?!!!! the book is glammed to the max with regard to gambling (the cover is no anomaly) and somehow it's still a "desperate struggle against the mighty evil empire"? comparing casino cheating to a productive venture - like a startup or successful open source teams - is ridiculous

with a world of other books to read, i do not recommend this one

I personally thought that this was one of Nevada Barr's very best books.It is informative and intertaining at the same time; with some amusing content.I highly recommend this one to any Barr reader, you cant go wrong.

After promising to look up other work by Nevada Barr in my review of `Women On The Case', I picked up `Blood Lure'. The premise sounded interesting: Anna Pigeon on loan to Glacier Nat'l Park to do a study on grizzly bears runs into murder most foul on the camp trail.

Barr's description of the natural beauty and the natural world are full-colored and vibrant. She makes grizzly bear DNA research downright interesting.

Her plotting is crafty indeed, her story trail strewn with misleads and false starts, and thirty pages from the end you're still not exactly sure who the murderer is.

Most of her characters are well-developed and fully-fleshed. Others are less so, but that's the art of the lure---how much do we know about these characters and should we bother or not?

Although I'm not entirely happy with the ending, the tale is well-told and is an enjoyable read.

But I wouldn't advise bringing it on a camping vacation.

I'd probably rank this three stars for plot and five stars for the Anna Pigeon character--always five stars for Anna. It's the integrity of her character, how she thinks and reacts. She is consistent, smart and terribly human. In Blood Lure, the work is an excellent combination of field work and office work. I enjoyed the long passage where Anna hikes alone way up into the wilderness, above timberline. Barr is not afraid to let the trip take time and the descriptions of the mountains and terrain are vivid, fresh and sharp. The puzzle pieces are few. In a way, this is a drawing room mystery splashed across the wide open landscape of Glacier National Park. By the middle of the book, the solution is going to be found down one path or the other and Anna keeps going back and forth between the two, trying to wrestle the facts to the ground in a way that makes senese. And it's that wrestling process that makes her so fascinating, the way in which every new piece of information is viewed, reviewed, considered and kicked around. That said, I found the ending also a bit over-the-top, as others have noted. But I give Barr credit for attempting an unusual situation; I just think the plausiblity factor was stretched to the max.

Nevada Barr's National Park-set mysteries are shelved in my mind with Tony Hillerman's books. Both authors present the landscape they are set in as a major character. The events in their books are shaped by the setting and couldn't happen anywhere else. Having a ranger in the Natural Park Service is a very clever device as it gives Barr the opportunity to move her character from park to park, and have recurring characters and new characters in each book.

In Blood Lure, Anna Pigeon, the park ranger heroine, is shadowing a grizzly bear researcher who is doing a population census of the bears by luring them to leave their hair on scratching posts. First Anna and the researcher are terrorized by a huge rogue bear, and then a body is found.

Blood Lure is one of Barr's more disappointing efforts. Although Glacier National Park is a jewel of the National Park System, it doesn't really come to life the way the Natchez Trace or the Guadalupe Mountains do. The resolution of the murders the park ranger heroine Anna Pigeon uncovers is also unsatisfactory. The situation seems contrived and well, unrealistic. I've read about five in the Anna Pigeon series and they were all more enjoyable. I look forward to sampling others and being able to lose myself in a national park once more.

BLOOD LURE brings Anna Pigeon out of the steamy south to Glacier National Park for a stark contrast in environment. Who killer the step-mother? The famed Grizzly or a more deadly creature? Anna searches for answers while playing the role of a student of DNA research on our largest bear.
Nevada Barr's skills of environmental description are in full swing, but the mystery is lackluster. If this is your first read of the exceptionally fine series, I recommend the first TRACK OF THE CAT or my favorite, FIRESTORM. Then pickup others an excellent series with lots of facts and information that spices the mix.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Written as a true story, Sara Davidson portrays a sophisticated and creative woman in her 40's, working as a writer on the "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" series, a divorcee with kids, who one day meets an illiterate trailer-park young cowboy and falls head over heels in lust.

Their relationship seems doomed from the beginning. Mentally, she could be his mother; in intelligence and educations she was centuries ahead of him; she had kids and other people's opinions to consider; she even needed to teach him where all the sexual female organs are. However, this ingénue hunk is a quick student and once he gets the important "lessons" he makes the leap to master and proceeds to virtually "show her heaven." Those were very hot and explicit scenes that would not shame any erotica writer!!!

There were parts in the book where I wanted to shout at her for behaving as she did in front of her impressionable kids without regard to anything, except the next "fix" she was going to get in the bedroom. In other parts I felt sorry for her that she had to give her lover up because she had to consider her kids and so many other people. She was torn and I could really feel her torment over this. I think her conflict was very well narrated and explained. Why shouldn't a grown self-sufficient woman choose to have a torrid sexual relationship with the man of her choice? On the other hand, why should her kids suffer because she was in thrall and addicted to her new young and very proficient lover?

The end was plausible and balanced, so I didn't feel disappointed. Also, as a longtime fan of the series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", I enjoyed reading some of the backstage drama that went on between the lead actors. Maybe I could enjoy the book because it was so far removed from my life (unlike other reviewers who took this story way too personally.) I thought it was an excellent book and I will definitely check Davidson's other books.

Congratulations Sara!!! You've written the absolute, hands-down WORST book I've ever read!!
I don't understand how a book like this could ever get published. Much less obtain any praise from anyone!! The positive reviews must have been from the author and her friends.
This book is badly written, pointless, unfocused, and most of all is drop dead boring. I'm just grateful that I only paid 99 cents for it in a used bookstore and the author got nothing from the sale!!!! I fed it to the shredder since it doesn't deserve a place on my book shelf. Seriously!

My shrink says I should date worldly men since I'm a complex creature. But I've always loved "cowboy" types and this book explains why;....When a girl's had a bad day, a cowboy will just wrap his arms around her 'n make her feel safe.....A CEO doesn't want to hear about it, he's got problems of his own...... but he'll gladly pay for her shrink.
I LOVED this book, Sara. It was magical. And knowing.

I didn't know what this book really was about when I picked - but it was the perfect vacation reading for a 40 something woman.

I would not have believed that a book could so completely change my life but this one has. I found it in my local library --just stood frontways on ,under the Travel section !---the only book thus displayed and I just had to read it.
Well I read it in two evenings and then I read it again . Ive now decided I have to buy it. I wish the author would right a sequel .
Why did it change my life? I had had an affair with ,and then married ,a farmer who was younger than me and not the type of guy I would normally be with for many reasons and this book reaffirmed that Love can cross all barriers if we let it and are not afraid . I was nearly letting us drift apart by seeing only our differences. This book made me see my relationship with different eyes and be thankful for the rich and beautiful life I have.
The author is a very honest open woman with a wonderful style . I reccommend you read it with an open heart and mind.

I've read all of the Nevada Barr mysteries and this by far is the worst. Jumping back and forth between the two stories was tiring and boring. I only made it halfway through, and I had to struggle to get that far. The rest of the books in the series are good, but I don't recommend this one for a first time reader of the series.

I enjoyed the book. My husband likes to listen to audio books on our way cross-country.

Flashback (Nevada Barr): Our favorite national park ranger, Anna Pigeon, is temporarily filling in for the boss at Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, after the park's head ranger lost his girlfriend, along with his grip on sanity. It is very hot, and not horribly exciting in the park until Anna receives a box of old letters from her sister, who had unearthed them because they were written by their great, great aunt Raffia when her husband was an army captain at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Anna spends her days dealing with sunburned tourists, and her nights getting caught up in the history of the last days of the Civil War.

Two stories then unfold; one in the present involving Anna and the staff at the park, and Raffia's story from the time when Fort Jefferson was an active military station and jail for the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination plot. The time periods start to merge in Anna's mind, however, when she sees and hears people from the past late at night while she wanders through the fort. Anna thinks she may be losing her grip on sanity, which makes her suspicious, since the last person to hold her job was institutionalized for the same thing. When one of her rangers is injured when an explosion sinks his boat, Anna starts to tie all the strange clues together to uncover a nefarious plot. Meanwhile, she's reading about a nefarious plot of old in her Aunt Raffia's letters, involving a sadistic sergeant, a rebel soldier, and Raffia's 16-year-old sister Tilly.

Anna is a solitary person and spends much of her time in introspection. Because of her circumstances at the fort, Raffia is also fairly solitary, but it was obvious that the two main characters in this novel were living very different lives. Raffia's welfare is largely dependent on the men around her, whereas Anna completely takes care of herself, even refusing her boyfriend's offer to fly down to keep her company when things are at their worst. Both stories, though different in nature, had similarities, and it was fun to read about two bits of intrigue happening in the same place at different times, and for different reasons. Nevada Barr is always worth reading, and this book is no exception.

The technique of telling two stories in alternate chapters did not work.Neither story ever got off the ground and the endings were dull!We are Nevada Barr fans,but finishing this book was a chore rather than a pleasure.Sorry!

Paul Davidson, former priest and sheriff in Natchez has proposed marriage and Anna Pigeon isn't sure this is what she wants. To put a little space between her and a long-term relationship she accepts a temporary assignment at Dry Tortugas National Park. An island, anything but conducive to contemplation as she finds herself involved in three different mysteries.
To keep the plot elements separate and moving Nevada Barr executes a splendid juggling act. Molly, Anna's sister send her a packet of letters written by a great-great-aunt who had lived at the fort during it's days as a prison. Rich in historical detail, a clever blend of the past and present, plus Anna's dilemma will insure fans follow the trail to a surprising conclusion. Maybe it is the complexity or diverse elements, but somewhere something is lacking, FLASHBACK isn't up to par for a Barr.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Hunting Season is the second novel I read featuring Anna Pigeon (the first was Track of the Cat). This series, by Nevada Barr, probably has 10 or so books in it now. I was curious whether 1) Barr is still successful with the Anna Pigeon model, and 2) whether you had to have read the previous 9 (or so) novels to enjoy this one.

In Hunting Season, Law Enforcement Ranger Anna Pigeon is in Mississippi, protecting a sliver of National Park Service Land, the Natchez Trace Parkway (never heard of it). She discovers a murder... or is it? As in Track of the Cat, Anna does her normal job while tracking down the human and forensic clues in this case. And as in Track of the Cat, she works with some interesting folk, is still getting over the loss of her husband, and doesn't mind getting dirty. It looks like she has stopped drinking, at least as much as she used to.

I had figured out the cause of death of Doyce about mid-way through the book. But I really missed the boat when it came to "whodunit."

I'll tell you, the pace, action, and employment focus of this series just keeps reminding me of Dick Francis and his mysteries relating to horse racing. Not bad company to be in!

I look forward to my next Anna Pigeon novel.

This was the MOST frustrating Anna Pigeon book I've ever read.

Anna was so incompetent I could have screamed at her over and over, had she been in my living room.
To let Randy Thigpen (among very many others) get away with such insubordination and ineptitude, did not a great boss make!!

And let's not even talk about the deer meat in the trunk!

This book was a DRUDGE to work through...

Like "Deep South," "Hunting Season" is set in Natchez Trace National Parkway. This is one of those units of the National Park system that nobody ever thinks of, but it takes up a 450-mile stretch from southwestern border of Mississippi through the northeastern border and up to Nashville. Because it's a strip of parkway, it is far more a part of the community than many other national parks.

Though she has been there a while now, and is deep in a relationship with a local pastor-sheriff, Anna remains an outsider to this community. She is a Yankee law enforcement officer who finds herself in a world Yankee stereotypes: good old boys, racists, pickup trucks and football. The facts that Nevada Barr loves the region and that Anna is falling in love with a sympathetic local smoothen the rough edges of this relationship between character and place.

As a supervisor, Anna continues to have to deal with some difficult employees. One of her two rangers is a real nightmare, a lazy, sexist, hostile, lawsuit-prone loser. His forms of resistance are so well drawn that they must be based on some people in Nevada Barr's own past as a ranger.

What about the mystery? It's less compelling than most others in the series. In addition, the book has an unfortunate title - - as you may find yourself halfway through the book wondering why it has this name. If you think too hard about this, you'll be in the rare situation of a mystery reader knowing more than the detective knows.

If you're new to the Anna Pigeon series, I'd read a different book first. If you're committed to the series, don't skip this one because there are personal developments that remain important for subsequent books.

I think you either like Anna or you don't. I can't say the plots are air tight. I can't say she's the most intuitive of detectives. I can say she's wonderful to spend time with -- and her insights and descriptions of very real people are, to use a well-worn word, palpable. She's focused, flawed, and fabulous (as a result). This plot is solid, the setting is well used, and the resolution is right there. Maybe not my favorite Nevada Barr, but still an enjoyable ride.

Anna Pigeon has parked her vehicle for a second time on the dark, gloomy Natchez Trace, which allows Nevada Barr time to strengthen characters and develop the atmosphere of setting. HUNTING SEASON treats readers to a return engagement of characters from DEEP SOUTH and allows you to sink deeper into the quagmire of place, local politics and "old friends."
HUNTING SEASON has all of the Barr standards, fast paced, extensive knowledge of park rangers, their problems and duties, great plotting and rapid pace.
You don't become bored with a Nevada Barr, Anna Pigeon novel, no matter where the location.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

This book was fascinating and I couldn't put it down until I finished the last page.
The reviewer who mentioned the author's lack of sourcing is correct and I wish they'd provided more.
I did, however, check out most of the information in this book (I did exhaustive, in-depth research) and found their information to be accurate.

I don't doubt that much of the reporting in this book is accurate. Even so, though the writing in TMATP is decent -- evocative and well-paced -- its reporting leaves much to be desired. TMATP has more than the whiff of conspiracy theory about it, and its authors are, at times, more breathless than dispassionate in their commentary. What is lacking most, in this book, is depth. Denton and Morris draw on numerous sources, to be sure, yet they bring little insight to their task. For a general, and colorful, introduction to Las Vegas and its problematic history, TMATP seems decent enough. For a sophisticated account, one must look eslewhere.

A lot has changed in Las Vegas since this book was first published, but that doesn't change the fact that is remains a stunning read. Learn a little bit about the corruption that created America's playground, the hack "journalist" who started--what is now a media empire in the city--a newspaper to coerce politicians and land developers, and all the shady politics that involve a number of names you will recognize from today's "corporate" Las Vegas.

P.T. Barnum would be oh so proud if he could see what Las Vegas has become to America and the world. And to think once upon a time they used to lure the suckers out to the desert with cheap food and rooms. These days theres not room enough for all the so-called "gamblers" crowding in. I use the term gamblers loosely, because its better than calling all those nice folks losers.

If the movie "Casino" wasn't enough of an eye opener for them, this book should be. It brings together all the elements that created and sustain Nevada's almighty cash cow. From the Mormon's to the Mob, pension funds to junk bonds, it's all on display in this fascinating and well researched historic expose. An illuminated social, economic and crimal perspective, that shines brighter than any neon you'll find on the Vegas strip. The gangsters and the policticians, notice I lump them together along that is with the bankers and corporate tycoons. And if you thought Howard Hughes ended the mob's hold on the casinos, boy are you in for a surprise.

Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and alike, would often reference or joke about their mob bosses all the time, but only they could get away with it. It was no secret, because thats the way business was done back then. And when Hollywood turned its back on Sinatra, he was always welcomed back by the wise guys. The same guys that knew how to treat their customers right. If you didn't really gamble, Vegas was a helluva of a bargain bonanza with it's plentiful buffets, luxury rooms and top live entertainment. The public didn't get to see the cheaters getting beaten to a pulp by casino guards, the state didn't look too closely at what was being skimmed and embezzled. They got their cut and everyone was happy. Of course, if you want to peer behind this sparkling veil, if you really want to find out what really "stays in Vegas", then this is the book for you.

Read this book. Truth does set free. Seems 'conspiratorial' .. but the 'ring' of truth is there throughout .. if one has ears to listen for it.

To those who didn't 'get it' Sio is an alien, who live several millenia ago. She figured out how to make people/mice etc. Super intelligent with AI chips. She got cheated on by her boyfriend, got mad, killed him, used chips to conquer her world and then millions more. In the time it took, she became Godlike and then turned up on Earth. She was testing Earth's responses by using Cass and friends to see if they were worth her time. Okay lecture over. Brilliant novel by Pike as usual.

yes i agree this book/mystory is the best book/mystory i have ever read and the monkeys in were just exceptioinal and then i was thinking what the hell is going on here and then it all exploded and we fled of our gerbil powered spaceship made from the remains of a dead kitten and it was crazy and we were like omg omg this is crazy and then heaton came and he saved us with his awsome cs skills and the world was saved once again from the like of monkeys and gorilla and omg wow mr.macallum. and then he said to me wow whats going on here tim this isnt what your spose to be writing but i thouight this was just exceptional and then all the people read it and they were like wow u need to be put up to stanford univerity and im like phhhht sif that im better then that and i divised a way to explode the universe and i fled once againest on my dead giraffee powered apple tree and i was all like omg wow this works so well and in the background the universe exploded and i was laughing att it laughing like a dead monkey!! and then this review was found many years later on a distance universe and they thought it was the best thing they ever read and i went down in history for ever and ever and ever and then the world exploded and my review went on another journey to another distant planet and we were like omg wow this is great and the spirt of your mother and me were kept a secret for ever. The book was good too but i think my story was better because it interesting and the world must now know how cool i am and ill go down in history for being sioo cool and then omg the world is going to explode again

In The Hollow Skull, Christopher Pike writes about a lot of interesting and exciting things, which made me want to keep reading. There's an old abandoned mine which only scientists have been down into for about twenty years. Then one day, two teenage couples decide that they want to go down into the mine and explore. While in the cave something happens, and it changes everyone's lives in the nearby little town. Pike gives so much detail that when he ends a chapter, it starts getting better and you feel like you need to keep reading.
It's exciting because Pike, throughout the book, adds something surprising that I wouldn't have expected, especially the ending. I loved this book, because Pike ends the chapter when it's getting better, and that's what made me want to keep reading.

My boyfriend bought this book as a joke from the Dollar Tree. We were laughing in the store at the pathetic opening lines. Anyone who reads this book and takes it seriously without laughing out loud at its poorly, and ridiculously, constructed prose is a moron. For example, "Fred able was her main squeeze, better than fresh orange juidce in the morning, more an extra-large cappuccino late at night." Are you kidding me? I realize that these are teen books, but does that mean the writing must be boarderline retarded? The book is full of disconnected imagery and half-baked ideas. "He had a great toothy smile that made him look gentle and clever at the same time." Huh?

But, if you seriously liked this book, then I envy you. Because any peice of crap will seem like a hemmingway. Your dim mind must be in a whirl of entertainment and satisfaction. Lucky you.

This is not only the worst Chrisopher Pike book I've ever read, but one of the worst books I've ever read, period. If you enjoyed this you must not have read a lot of his books before, because this book rips off of just about every single one of them. Teens trapped in a small desert town? Check. (See "Whisper of Death") Unrealistic confrontation with the military? Check. (See "The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice") A possessed boy killing his girlfriend way out in the desert? Check. (See "Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil") Tiny alien beings from billions of years ago who enter the bodies of teens via liquid and turn them into something non-human, then spread? Check. (See "Monster") An all-powerful female who created the race she later destroys? Check. (See "The Starlight Crystal")

Pike must have needed a quick check from his publisher because he obviously reeled this one off in a hurry. In fact it's more like he excreted it from . . . well, you see where I'm going with this. This book is just simply a piece of ****.

It's so badly written that the editors obviously got tired of reading it too, because there are formatting mistakes in the latter half of the book. As for me, I had to keep starting and stopping because it was so bad that at times I wanted to throw it across the room, or pour water all over it. I might have done, if it wasn't a library book. In fact, I'm still not sure why I bothered finishing it at all. This half-baked book is an insult to Pike's readers and a waste of their time. DON'T READ IT!!!

You have been warned.

betting football is neither less nor more "euphoric" than winning at chess, ping-pong, or the stock market: euphoria is absolutely tangential to bringing home the bacon.

as a winning NFL and NCAA football bettor, i can say emphatically, books which emphasize the "inevitability" of losing at the game only promote the mentality of losing to an elevation akin to destiny, or worse, fate.

the fault is not in our stars but ourselves, that we lose thus or thus.

i have known other winning players; i AM a winning player; you, however, are probably not a winner, and the author of this book is CERTAINLY NOT a winning player.

tlt.

I love to read books about gambling and gamblers. A well written book allows me to really get into the heads of the "characters" and somewhat vicariously experience their highs and lows. This book was a disappointment in that regard.

Millman spent far too much time on the "basics" of gambling and gambling history. This may have been informative to the uninitiated, and perhaps he was hoping for broad-based readership and a best seller, but if you're looking to read the book in 2007 chances are you're already familiar with the basics of sports betting.

Millman focuses on two gamblers and the bookmaker for the Stardust casino. We never really get to "know" these three. We get a glimpse into the mind of Allen Boston, a "professional" gambler, but know virtually nothing about the other two. There is not enough detail of the decision-making process that the gamblers go through in deciding on their bets.

After reading Michael Konik's latest book which really DID give me a good view of gamblers and the gambling world, I was disappointed in this one.

After tracing the history of sports wagering, and examining the sports wagerer, this book leaves the reader bewildered, disgusted and bereft of the innocence once had when first encountering sports and athletic events. The gambler is exposed as socio-pathic and lost, but worst of all, aware of their own situation. Unlike narcotic addictions, there is little escape or euphoria, but instead self loathing is reinforced by immediate recognition of folly. It reads quickly and well, but is devastating to the illusion of the glamour of betting.

This is a good/great book for everyone. This is a very well balanced book that deals with both "Action" sports betting as well as the lives of the men who risk it all on the bounce of a ball. The author does a good job of presenting the reader a voyeuristic look into the lives of these three men. You can almost feel your heart pound as you read about the games coming to a close with a one point difference meaning winning or losing tens of thousands of dollars.
Great read for the beach or to keep yourself entertained this winter.

This quick read about what makes the world of sports betting tick from the perspective of the gambler and the casino reads like an extended magazine article (not surprising as the author is a former Sports Illustrated writer and now a contributor to ESPN The Magazine). What I found most enlightening was the world of the sports book managers of the casino's. The devotion to setting the proper line was facinating and speaks to the business of sports book - the odds are set by a person everyday and the books profits or losses are determined by how well the line is drawn. Also of real interest is how the on-line books have taken the major gambling action away from Vegas and is the death of old Vegas. Its not about action its about profits as Vegas has become a corporate entity. Interesting in the end but I would have enjoyed a little more analysis of the structure of what has brought about these shifts in the way money drives sports.

I've read Trevor before and consider him a master because who wouldn't? But this story was really slow and felt like waiting for hours in antique shop for the rain to stop. Think of when you were a kid and for some reason, your grandmother's friend who doesn't have a TV volunteered to watch you for an early winter afternoon. She brings out a shoebox full of buttons and thimbles and teacups and that's all you have to play with for five hours and you're a ten year old boy. That's how this book felt to me. I think it was written for Trevor's peers and that's fine. The writing is always good, just quite boring and dusty.

OK, now I am usually the first to give a novel the benefit of the doubt, especially when I'm picking it up on the recommendation of a friend... I do the "first page test", I read with attention, I finish it if at all possible.

Boy, did I have a hard time with this one.

Let me get this off my chest right away - I don't care for novels written in the present tense. It sounds pretentious in the mind's ear and looks pretentious on the page and most stories just do not benefit from it. This one certainly did not. When nothing happens in a story, it might as well be in past tense - at least you can fool yourself into thinking it's already happened and you don't have worry that anyone is *currently* being bored into a catatonic stupor...

And what is with the stereotype of the cold, emotionally distant English? Every Briton I've known (and I lived there for 5 years) was certainly reserved, but quite emotionally in-touch. Just like anyone else. None of the characters in the book, with the possible exception of the over-drawn and over-wrought potential nanny had any but one gray emotion for the duration. Please.

I'm falling asleep just thinking about this book, so I'll stop now.

And don't you start by buying this snoozer.

Nothing's really great about the story, although it has some surprising elements. The language is quite cumbersome, with lengthy sentences. It might be appealing to some readers, but not exactly me. Ever feel like you're dragging yourself to endure something? That's how I feel trying to complete reading the book.

With his simple style Mr. Trevor offers a haunting story of the entanglements of human relations. A superb novel, subtle in narrative, with characters that stay with the reader long after finishing the book.

Trevor's "Death in Summer" is a well-written but odd story to which I found myself somewhat indifferent.

Set in contemporary rural England, the outset of the tale revolves around two young people released into the world, recently discharged from a kind of asylum for young people, The Morning Star. We aren't told exactly what kind of institution but I'm assuming it was a mental institution of some sort, based on the characters' memories of it. After living in an abandoned shack following their release, the boy and the girl who have grown up as friends, try to build normal lives in society. Albert, responsible, kind and sensitive, secures a job washing grafiti off walls and boarding with a middle-aged invalid, as her live-in caretaker. While Pettie, impressionable, brooding, flighty, and prone to acts of petty thievery, decides to apply for a nanny position at a manor - the home of wealthy widower Thaddeus Davenant and his small infant daughter. When Thaddeus' mother-in-law decides to move into the manor to care for the child, there is no longer a need for a nanny. Unstable and imagining herself in love with Thaddeus (who she has only met once), Pettie sets out to prove her love and compassion for him and the infant...in a somewhat distorted way. Albert is instinctively protective of his vulnerable friend Pettie, and ultimately tries to help her out of the desperate situation she soon finds herself in.

As the story unraveled in third-person, the reader is afforded a glimpse into each character mind. Since two of the main characters are afflicted with mental infirmities, the barrage thoughts and their purposes can get a bit confusing. The reader may also find the dialogue and certain details a bit puzzling at times, if they are unfamiliar with certain English sayings or allusions.

Aside from it's unique perspective, "Death in Summer" exhibited an over abundance of unnecessary information, thoughts and observations which often detracted from the thought at hand, and diverted any interest I may have had in a current scene or plot turn in the novel. Granted, it was not a "dull" read, but not an overly memorable one either..."lukewarm" comes to mind. I feel the storyline itself had a lot of potential that could have been further developed into something more rich and impressive. It failed to involve and capture me.