Empire State [Paperback]

Colin Bateman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 1998

It's bad enough having a name like Nathan Jones - unless you're a Supremes fan, which Nathan isn't - but when his girlfriend leaves him (for a drag artist) and he gets mugged, then handcuffed to a bed and cut up in a misunderstanding with an S&M hooker, can things get any worse?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Divorcing Jack: 'As sharp as a pint of snake-bite... Richly paranoid and very funny' Sunday Times Cycle of Violence: 'Fast-paced, very black and very funny. Roddy Doyle meets Carl Hiaasen' Independent on Sunday Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men: 'Fast, furious, riotously funny, and at the end, never a dry eye in the house' Mail on Sunday

From the Publisher

'Bateman on epic form in gloriously over-the-top saga' - Daily Telegraph

'A hugely enjoyable novel ... blessed with a beautiful sense of irony ... it's like Carl Hiaasen, Tom Wolfe, and Roddy Doyle at their best' - The Herald

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (January 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006498027
• ISBN-13: 978-0006498025
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,794,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Ever Bateman!, February 21, 2000

By 

Shane Morgan (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire State (Paperback)

This is by far Colin Batemans greatest achievement. The epic scale of the Empire State Building is matched word for word by Batemans snappy dialouge, wickedly sharp characters and wonderful twists. It reads like a Hollywood blockbuster in the making. Without taking away the glory of 'Divorcing Jack' or 'Of Wee Sweetie Mice and Men' I would say this is the Bateman to recommend to anyone. Without a doubt the book of the 90's.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Colin Bateman 'does' New York, but not very well..., June 2, 2004

By 

lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire State (Paperback)

Colin Bateman is one of my favorite authors; I've read nearly all his novels. Its not to say they are uniformly good, but they are all entertaining and sometimes hilarious. He has been described as a Northern Ireland version of Carl Hiaasen, which is actually a compliment.

Unfortunately 'Empire State', like a couple other books of his with a storyline rooted in North America, is not among his better works. It is a rather far-fetched story of a racist, a rejected lover turned reluctant terrorist, a kidnapped American President who seems oddly like Bill Clinton, with the most of the activity situated atop the Empire State building. The action is a bit slapstick in nature, and the characterizations rather ... crude. But it all sticks together, somehow.

Not central to the story, but I cannot help by adding a mini-spoiler here:

//spoiler//
There is a plane crash at the top floors of the Empire State building. Although this book was written a few years before 9/11 I imagine this minor element of this book has not encouraged the publisher to promote it, which is a bit of shame.

//end spoiler//

Bottom line: a curious yet overall very average effort by Colin Bateman. Best left to his loyal fans only.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outrageously funny and witty, October 7, 2003

By 

Miguel Gonzalez (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire State (Paperback)

This was my first contact with Colin Bateman whose work, I believe, hasn't been published in the US (making it really hard to get any of his books in either North or South America, even as imports).

When I was reading this novel, I could actually imagine it as a feature film (or better yet, mini-series, since it's quite long). The characters are very much alive, for better or for worse (that George is too much sometimes!), and though the story is quite contrived (especially in the last 150 pages), it flows and works perfectly.

If you like it, try Divorcing Jack as well (but avoid the movie, it's awful).