Customer Reviews

The Color of Night

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As both a writer and artist, I was taken with this exquisitely-drawn - and I do mean "drawn" - novel. It is like a perfectly beautiful colored drawing, sometimes black and white, in brush and inks, just like the works of art Lindsey writes about with obvious knowledge of his subject.

You just saw everything so vividly. I particularly appreciated the mouthwatering European travelog, the descriptions of scenes, restaurants, food, hotels - visited by the rich and famous.

There is a flaw in this book that keeps it from being a great, however. (Sorry if it bothers some amazon review readers, but I often give five stars to a book for having entertained me thoroughly, and this one did). It is this: every truly great book is laced with wit. Read the grimmest novels, say, by Dostoevsky, Dickens or Tolstoy, and even and even some of the best contemporary detective and mystery writers and you will be chuckling, laughing, amused. "The Color Of Night" would have benefited had Lindsey given us a few wry touches here and there. He was too dead serious, which sometimes lent it a slightly precious tone. Of course, "precious" can be hilarious, and he might have capitalized on some of his foppish characters, but I found this novel too stolid.

Another flaw: like some of the beautiful drawings one sees, the perfect, deft creations of the greatest artists, there is a coldness about the book itself. If I didn't know otherwise, I would have guessed that the author wrote the whole book with a quill pen and ink. I can see him thinking, dipping, scribing, again and again, with a dispassionate hand - and heart. Not exactly an insult, but sometimes I like a feeling (and the word 'feeling' is exactly the word I meant to use) that the work is coming from the artist's gut. Like Van Gogh, for example, who wasn't afraid to make a mess.

Nevertheless, despite these flaws, "The Color Of Night" is a fun book to read and Hollywood would be crazy not to make it into a movie. Clint Eastwood as Harry? This time, clean, of course. Harry Strand is a morally upright man, despite his years of spying and his (acceptable) thievery. I'm glad he lived to "watch" Mara cross the street.

I read Color of Night, because it sounded interesting (though I don't usually like spy novels). I am still glad I read it, but my opinions are mixed. Lindsey's treatment of action was superb - I really almost felt the anxiety of the characters as they executed their plans. But the book was quite a bit longer than it needed to be, and only a few characters did I really like (or care about). Attention to detail was good, and the various European locales were refreshing. All and all, while the story could have been better, it was still a decent and thrilling read for me, and I may well read more of this author's works.

i have been an avid reader of lindsey since heat from another sun. a cold mind was superb and the dark underbelly of guatamala city in body of truth made for good social commentary as well as a nicely constucted thriller.Lindsey is now out of his milieu. obviously took a first cabin trip to europe on the proceeds of his earlier works. a conde nast guide to europe is no substitute for a convincing plot and real characters. i also have to say the three stooges look alike serbs were quite ridiculous. Mr lindsey should return to Houston immediately and base his next novel between bogota and oklahoma city. there is enough things going on in Tia Juana for 3 major novels. San Antonio would be a interesting study as i am sure Mr Lindsey knows full well.

This is an enjoyable and fast-paced read. As with all David Lindsey books, tension and suspense are carefully crafted and page turning becomes inevitable. The book begins explosively and continues in much the same way until the end. Early on in the narrative a series of multi-layered plots begin to emerge. We are brought deeper, and deeper, into the world of espionage, international crime, passion, betrayal, fear, and revenge. The plot is rich. It is carefully developed in the central section of the book and resolved in a dramatic, if somewhat predictable, manner in the last few pages.

Lindsey has carefully researched his work and provides very rich detail of location: the story flickers like a kaleidoscope from one sparkling European location to another. He really has a great skill for conveying place and mood. Another well research area is that of the international art world, especially the market for drawings. The writing here is direct, convincing, and informed.

The writing is also elegant and Lindsey always manages to surprise or enthrall with a particularly finely turned metaphor or phrase. In a curious and unexpected way this is a sensitive and appealingly literary work, Unlike many of his others, violence is more often reported and distanced rather than confronted directly: in that sense "The Color of Night" is a softer, less contentious read.

Personally, I found the central character, Harry Strand very irritating. We are told that he is a thoughtful and considerate - perhaps, one suspects, too thoughtful and considerate for his kind of professional work - yet as the story unfolds he displays incredible lack of concern for the fate of those closest to him. Stand remains for me a very gray, exasperating, fractured, and hazy central character. One wonders to what extent he actually has befriended the shadows in his life. However, in the world that Lindsey writes about most participants are gray and fractured: perhaps that's his point?

I enjoyed this book, even although I confess to the occasional burst of skimming pages. Not, I would have to say Lindesy's best but certainly a very good read that I hope you also enjoy.

I do not understand the reviews that praise plots, character development, writing style and intelligence then reward a 3 or 4. Lindsay has to be one of the best kept secrets in modern American literature. His stories are without exception deft, deep and dramatic and the characters are so utterly REAL - with hidden sorrows, unforgiven deeds and hosts of other problems. Yet they all strive for love and completeness.

As usual the research complements the story. I knew next to nothing about the business side of collecting drawings - or the drawing world in general for that matter. But the way he weaves this world with his "other" plot is superb. His heroes (he is a man's writer) are uniformly suave, masculine, Thomas Crownes with angst. Our apparently relaxed and successful collector is of course not what he appears but instead is a former spy.

In a Ten Little Indians reference, all members of his team are being murdered one by one. He meets a beautiful woman who may or may not be all she seems and in the end there is an act of revenge that literally stuns. Mara and Strand are the perfect couple in Lindsay's universe. Teir sophistication, panache and verbal foreplay are the stuff of great movies and great novels. A great read!

Harry Stroud is trying to put behind his life as an American intelligence agent, while still mourning the death of his wife, when suddenly enters Mara Song, a beautiful woman with a deadly business proposition.

After accepting Mara's propostion, Harry will be catapulted into the nightmare world he desperately is trying to escape. Then one day, Harry happens to find Mara with a video tape of his wife's final moments. As watching the tape, Harry knows who her killers are, and through a carefully orchestrated plan, Harry will make them pay...each and every one of them!

'The Color Of Night' is a novel full of action, intrigue, and tricky plot twists to keep readers up all night.

David Lindsey is among the best writers of action thrillers. His novels are always smooth, easy to read, guaranteed up-all-nighters that never disappoint. Mr. Lindsey has never been so prime for bestsellerdom as he is now, so do yourself a favor and read him, you will thoroughly entertained.

Nick Gonnella

I really liked Lindsey's earlier books. This one falls a bit short, but is still a worthwhile read. I would recommend Requiem For A Glass Heart as his best.

I discovered David Lindsey first in 'An Absence of Light' (hummm ... 'The Color of Night' ... 'An Absence of Light ... I should have guessed something was on the fritz here just from that). Backtracking from that first book, I read all his prior work and became a awed admirer of his unique ability to construct real lyricism from both the horrific and the mundane. Alas, however, everything since has been a stunning disappointment. 'The Color of Night' is a bit of a mess -- unfocused, overwritten, rambling, clumsy, and almost pointless in its core narrative line. Of course it's not nearly as awful a book as 'Requiem for a Glass Heart' was, but then nothing possibily could be. I really don't get it. Has the David Lindsay of 'Body of Truth', 'In the Lake of the Moon', 'Spiral' and 'Mercy' died, and a vastly less-talented imposter taken over writing under his name? You know, now that I think about it, I'd bet on it.

This was my first sampling of David Lindsay, and I was very dissappointed. I bought it on a whim after reading the flap, and thought it would be enjoyable spy/thriller/mystery novel...I was wrong.

This book was too wordy. It could have been 200 pages shorter, and still managed to tell the story sufficiently. What's more, when I bought the book I did not realize that a specific knowledge of fine art and European geography were prerequisists for comprehending (and enjoying) this book.

It was my impression that Harry Strand, former US spy turned art dealer, would dabble with art as a "tickler" to keep the reader interested; however, what I came to realize was that a detailed knowledge of art was needed to simply follow along. I found myself rolling my eyes and losing my composure all too often.

I agree with many of my fellow readers that "Color of Night" was a laborous read, and would caution people that this book may not be for everyone.

This book is laborious reading. It is much longer than necessary to handle the thin plot. The mix of characters with their 'in and out' appearances is disconcerting and only seems to add puff to the book.