Customer Reviews

Denver

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I debated with myself for a few days about writing this review. I really liked John Dunning's previous works, and looked forward to this novel with great anticipation. After finishing it, I didn't want the only review of this work to be negative; but since no one else has written one, I will start.
There is no need for a "Spoiler Alert" about how the book ends; because it realy doesn't have an ending. It just kind of stops. There are a lot of open issues that go unresolved.
There are too many characters for any of them to be developed successfully.
One relatively major character in the beginning of the novel sort of disappears, and never shows up again except in letters written to his father.
Others have their lives ended in ways that don't seem to be "in character", or plausible.
In my opinion, there were too many vignettes and encounters that added nothing to the novel (i.e. Calvin Coolidge), and took up pages that could have been better served on a more satisfying conclusion, or explanations for some other character's behavior.
It was a hate filled, corrupt and bleak time; but I got that in about 100 pages. The rest was just "piling on", for no apparent reason.
I hope someone else will read, and comment on this book; because Dunning is better than this, and maybe I missed the point.