anti_formalist12's review against another edition
5.0
Real nightmarish stuff. As harrowing and as introspective as any of the better known "greats." "The Dime-store Dostoevsky" was a well earned moniker.
carlamaeshep's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
crabdaniels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
katieejayne's review against another edition
3.0
I can't quite say I enjoyed this one. It was a fast read but it wasn't that good. At least in my opinion. The first sixty or so pages was fine, a typical bank heist and after that it just got very confusing and difficult to figure out what was going on. The final chapter in particular was just a mess of all sorts of random things. I couldn't puzzle out what was happening, who was alive anything. All I knew was what I had been told in my lecture, that the final part of the novel went very Dystopian. I'm talking Terminus in the Walking Dead if you catch my drift...
The only reason this has a rating of three stars is because I really enjoyed the bank heist aspect and how Doc and Carol interacted. They had such an interesting dynamic. Neither never quite knew what the other was thinking and so they were always a little on edge around each other. But at the same time completely besotted with one another.
I'm glad I've finally read a Jim Thompson novel but I can't say I'll be massively inclined to pick any more up in the near future.
www.a-novel-idea.co.uk
The only reason this has a rating of three stars is because I really enjoyed the bank heist aspect and how Doc and Carol interacted. They had such an interesting dynamic. Neither never quite knew what the other was thinking and so they were always a little on edge around each other. But at the same time completely besotted with one another.
I'm glad I've finally read a Jim Thompson novel but I can't say I'll be massively inclined to pick any more up in the near future.
www.a-novel-idea.co.uk
bizzerg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kateyasmin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
(4.5) Interestingly enough, I thought most of this book was Thompson attempting to write a propulsive thriller sans his usual existential musings. But by the end, you see what the book has become and what he is trying to say the whole time...and it's frightening. Purely frightening. A remarkable read, perhaps my second favorite of his after Pop. 1280.
gemmabelle's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
teejayniu's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't enjoy this novel as much as Jim Thomspon's The Killer Inside Me. It was a litter far fetched. The general plot line was enjoyable, but the last half of the book is pretty weak.