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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
barely got 3, SHOULD have gotten 5, April 10, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The 6 Messiahs (Hardcover)
I wish I could in good conscience give this book a higher score, since Mark Frost is a very good writer and the story has POTENTIAL to be great. But there were in my opinion just too many flaws to be overlooked. Aside from the floating p.o.v. from paragraph to paragraph (not just by chapter or section, which is acceptable) and the often choppy language, the story was...rushed. Characters who SEEMED as if they were supposed to be important were abandoned without comment, while others that served no real purpose were hung onto anyway (Scruggs is the most obvious example.). We were given the old "drawn together by a dream" plot device but no explanation as to WHY the people in question were chosen. Given the intent to be multi-religious, the lack of a Muslim character was noticeable. There were also too many stereotypes: has anyone ever seen a story of this sort with a Native American woman who WASN'T a deep adherent to the ancient ways, a Japanese cleric who WASN'T a deadly warrior, a lapsed citified Jew who WASN'T drawn back to his faith AND depicted as somewhat incompetent? And the story didn't reach a conclusion, it just...stopped, as though Mr. Frost suddenly remembered something else he had to do. We were built up for something that never happened. And if the villain was destined to close down the forces of evil (as suggested by his inclusion in the Six), then what the heck was he doing OPENING them in the first place? Finally, there was no golem in the story, so the depiction of one in the inside cover art was inappropriate. All in all, yet another example of how an author's efforts to follow an excellent start somehow fall through.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I Beg To Differ: A Classic Story of Redemption, October 23, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The 6 Messiahs (Hardcover)
I was not nearly as disappointed by this sequel to Mark Frost's The List of 7 as many of the other "customer-reviewers." In fact, although I understand the reasons for this disappointment, they are minor compared with the deeper treasure of this two-book story: it is a well-crafted tale of evil, redemption, love, and forgiveness, written with the clever, suspenseful build of the Victorian adventure novel. The addition of so many new characters may leave fans of the first novel feeling bereft of that book's tightly-woven play of Sparks-off-Doyle and vice versa, but the scenes where they communicate directly: darker, more mature, human, and alive than in the more light-hearted List - are a superb, deeply felt address to the question of the nature of evil as it exists in its most powerful tools: human beings. As for the ending: do not mistake "abruptness" for the power of brevity. Although many readers would love to see the story continue, it would meander and lose meaning if an Epilogue were provided within this novel. The last sentence of the book beautifully sums the whole of the two books: Sparks redeemed by his own choice, true friend Doyle waiting with open arms. Classic and well-worth the read. Thank you, Mr. Frost, for continuing the original story of us all. Any chance of a third book? After all, there's always life after redemption.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What Happened?, April 18, 2001
This review is from: The 6 Messiahs (Hardcover)
Mark Frost's first novel was _The List of 7_. This is a book that shall probably forever be one of the finest stories I have ever read. Mark Frost's second novel, _The Six Messiahs_ I grabbed up with an eager ferocity I have not experienced often. The copy I read was 424 pages in length. Reaching page 419, I would have given this one 4 stars; a fine work, a few flaws. The last five pages took three and a half of those stars away. He... just... stopped. The ending would have to have done something to even be bad. This one wasn't even enough to get my Anne Rice Bad Ending Award. His third novel I shall pick up with much more caution. He won't sucker-punch me again. _Six Messiahs_ would have ended better if the Saint of Killers [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156389405X/qid=987578376/sr=1-7/ref=sc_b_8/107-7354386-9366968] had shown up, his six guns a'blazin'... or might have reached some conclusion if, perhaps, Miaowara Tomokato, the Samurai Cat, brought in a couple of Mausers.[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812552466/qid=987578190/sr=1-6/ref=sc_b_7/107-7354386-9366968] The saddest thing about how bad this book ended was that it held so much potential. Potential to spare. It was mating season for Potential, and this story was dosed with pheromones. But somewhere, in the last few pages of the book, Mark Frost received a telephone call, and walked off to leave his agent to publish the book without a conclusion or resolution of any sort. Perhaps an explanation of what happened and why might have been in order. But the reader is not even granted that much. If you are Tantalus, standing the river of your local bookstore and want to torture yourself with a novel. This is the book for you. If you want to read a fine fine tale from the co-writer of Twin Peaks, pick up Frost's first novel _The List of 7_ [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380720191/qid=987578941/sr=1-1/ref=sc_b_2/107-7354386-9366968]. It shows the incredible talent and power for storytelling of which he is capable. _The Six Messiahs_ needs to be crucified and left in the tomb.
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