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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as Kerr's best,
This review is from: Esau (Mass Market Paperback)
Philip Kerr is a writer of undeniable skill, but in Esau, his novel combining an expedition in search of the Abominable Snowman with an espionage/thriller subplot, he stretches credulity to the limit and leaves the reader longing for a more coherent story and more believable characters. The hero, for example, in order to satisfy his curiosity about a change in funding recommended by the National Geographic Society for his proposed expedition, breaks into the headquarters building in downtown Washington, DC so that he can rummage through the office of one of the decision makers. Does Kerr really expect that readers will think that risking a felony B&E charge to satify one's curiosity is normal - or even OK? There's a lot of over the top stuff like this in the book, and it makes it hard to relate to.There is no question that Kerr is a writer of great talent in some ways. His prose is beautiful to the ear and he pulls off occasional passages as insightful and resonant as anything being written today. But Esau, taken as a whole, seems like a great idea gone awry.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Every rule has an exception, and this book is it.,
This review is from: Esau (Hardcover)
"Never judge a book by its cover" (Except this one)The first book I read by Mr. Kerr was "The Shot". I enjoyed the book and was impressed by the skill with which he was able to spin a new tale about a subject that has been beaten to death, revived, and beaten again, for almost 40 years. Had `ESAU" been the first of his works I had read, it most probably would have been the last. The cover of the hardback does not give away the subject, the paperback is different artwork, and it is pretty blatant in exposing the story. If you are someone who is interested in the "Yeti, Abominable Snowman, Sasquatch, ESAU" you will enjoy the book. As he has done with the subject of "The Shot" he creates a new situation and adds great detail. I cannot stomach the subject so I never would have finished the book but for Mr. Kerr's writing. I enjoy well-researched reading. Mr. Kerr does his homework and that was what kept me reading. Every time I was going to give up, some detail appeared and it was enough to keep me going. The ending can be anticipated a bit past the halfway mark, but again his style kept me reading. Mr. Kerr writes some great dialogue. In this work I particularly enjoyed a lecture by a college professor, both for the way he wrote it and the information it contained. On the other end of the character spectrum he had a few CIA types that were awful, not one line of their story/subplot was needed, and the behavior by one at the close of the book was completely out of place, gratuitous, the real low water mark in the book. So, I have read 2 of his books and it was 1 great read and then this very marginal work. So off I went and read "A Five Year Plan". Best of 3 would decide whether I bought anymore of this Author's work. I read it and the review should be just behind this one.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent genre fiction,
By A Customer
This review is from: Esau (Mass Market Paperback)
It may be junk-science, but Philip Kerr can do one thing that most of his thriller brethren cannot; write lucid prose. Essentially, this book races through a plot with no obvious filler or hokey phrasings that are common to most generic thrillers. It's a well-constructed story, the action coming directly from the needs of the plot, and the characters behaving appropriately, if dramatically.
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