abmgw's review
4.0
I liked the bok and the protagonist, I just wished that the autor would be more concrete some times. As it is, the book itself reads more like a list, not much different to the other books of Grossman,,, jsut that this kind of writing style worked better with the other plots.
banjax451's review
3.0
Loved this at first...and it really held up until about 300ish pages in, when it all falls apart. The ending made little sense to me, appeared rushed and put together hastily. That said, the voice is amazing and large parts of this are terrific. I wanted to know more about this alternate version of America, but not only do you not get much in the way of details, it is wrapped up so hastily that...I don't know what to say.
Nevermind that there are some basic errors in the story and the text that a decent editor should have caught. Nixon was in the Navy - he was a Lieutenant Commander, not a Lieutenant Colonel. Some of the chapter months/years are wrong for the events depicted (or if not wrong, confusing since the chapter is over a very wide timespan). Henry Kissinger is setup in a certain way, then that is ignored in the last pages. The opposite is true for Pat Nixon, who is ignored for much of the book, only to have a giant role in the last 30 pages - also unexplained. I -think- I know why, but it would have been nice if the author had spelled that out better.
Not my favorite Grossman novel. And yet...it still was very readable and provided a welcome bit of unease during an uneasy time.
Nevermind that there are some basic errors in the story and the text that a decent editor should have caught. Nixon was in the Navy - he was a Lieutenant Commander, not a Lieutenant Colonel. Some of the chapter months/years are wrong for the events depicted (or if not wrong, confusing since the chapter is over a very wide timespan). Henry Kissinger is setup in a certain way, then that is ignored in the last pages. The opposite is true for Pat Nixon, who is ignored for much of the book, only to have a giant role in the last 30 pages - also unexplained. I -think- I know why, but it would have been nice if the author had spelled that out better.
Not my favorite Grossman novel. And yet...it still was very readable and provided a welcome bit of unease during an uneasy time.
k5tog's review against another edition
3.0
Well, that was interesting... Richard Nixon meets Lovecraft/Gaiman. A rise to the highest office in the USA with the help of other-wordly beings? Hmmm...
eowyndoodles's review
3.0
This book is pretty weird. Such a weird concept, very intriguing. I was into it at first, it got weird in the middle and the story dragged a little, then it got better at the end. SO WEIRD THOUGH.
andrewgraphics's review
3.0
As always, Grossman's writing is good: descriptive, well-paced, etc.
However, since this is a first-person narrative told by Richard M Nixon, a lot of his very public life is told from his point of view as if we all know the details, so some info is glossed over; because of this, it would help if there were footnotes giving the historical info, or if it was actually written out within the novel.
And finally, after a very promising beginning, the ending sputters thru its final pages and trails off without a proper denouement.
However, since this is a first-person narrative told by Richard M Nixon, a lot of his very public life is told from his point of view as if we all know the details, so some info is glossed over; because of this, it would help if there were footnotes giving the historical info, or if it was actually written out within the novel.
And finally, after a very promising beginning, the ending sputters thru its final pages and trails off without a proper denouement.
3littlewordz's review against another edition
3.0
This read started out with so much promise. I was truly looking forward to a spy/supernatural thriller. Instead, I felt as though I was taken through the stumbles and falls of Nixon's political career with splashes of the fantastic here and there.
philfromocs's review against another edition
5.0
Great book. It suggest sequels which probably are not going to come.
alexcannotread's review
3.0
This book was definitely not what I was expecting and I practically dragged on only because of that voice in my head saying “You only have ___ pages to go, just get to the end!” And still, as much as I said this, it still took over 20 days more then it usually takes for me to finish a book.
The description doesn’t really indicate any type of sci-fi theme, why annoyed me because I’ve never been a fan and probably wouldn’t have picked this book up had I known. Not only that, but the magic and Gregor and what not was so ill expanded upon. Grossman never made any exact place for Gregor to be and didn’t detail the “presidential powers” well enough, nor did it have a big effect on the plot, which I honestly wasn’t even sure of by the end of the book. This may just be because I haven't read any Lovecraft, but more less.
Another thing I dislike is the fact that he wrote Pat Nixon as such an unlikeable, unnoticeable character, but then added her in as some big part in the last 50 pages or so. At that point it was just annoying having her there because of how much Grossman had written her to be hated.
The only characters I liked and thought were well (enough) developed were Richard Nixon (it’s hard to hate the narrator,) Arkady, and Tatiana. Arkady I just thought was so cool (horrible descriptive word, I know) because of how light hearted but smart about every situation he was. Tatiana, I’m not exactly sure why in all honestly. I think I just liked the idea of her being written more like-able and more “connected” to Nixon.
Overall, I would rate this 2.5 stars.
The description doesn’t really indicate any type of sci-fi theme, why annoyed me because I’ve never been a fan and probably wouldn’t have picked this book up had I known. Not only that, but the magic and Gregor and what not was so ill expanded upon. Grossman never made any exact place for Gregor to be and didn’t detail the “presidential powers” well enough, nor did it have a big effect on the plot, which I honestly wasn’t even sure of by the end of the book. This may just be because I haven't read any Lovecraft, but more less.
Another thing I dislike is the fact that he wrote Pat Nixon as such an unlikeable, unnoticeable character, but then added her in as some big part in the last 50 pages or so. At that point it was just annoying having her there because of how much Grossman had written her to be hated.
The only characters I liked and thought were well (enough) developed were Richard Nixon (it’s hard to hate the narrator,) Arkady, and Tatiana. Arkady I just thought was so cool (horrible descriptive word, I know) because of how light hearted but smart about every situation he was. Tatiana, I’m not exactly sure why in all honestly. I think I just liked the idea of her being written more like-able and more “connected” to Nixon.
Overall, I would rate this 2.5 stars.